Bellamy announced Friday that he's launching a third outlet, the Surf Channel, that will devote itself to beach, water and board sports.
The new endeavor, which launches in mid-September, will offer original shows, events, films, series and short-form programming.
Appropriately enough, the Surf Channel will kick off with the classic 1966 surfing documentary "The Endless Summer."
Bellamy said in a statement that the Surf Channel will encompass not just the sport of surfing but the lifestyle as well.
“Surf, its lifestyle and environment, create an unparalleled canvas for a television network,” Bellamy said. “The Surf Channel will be a sports channel, travel channel and lifestyle channel all in one. Viewers will go on the most expensive vacation of their lives, to the most remote and exotic destinations the planet has to offer. They will get to see some of the most incredible athletes pushing the human spirit and the boundaries of human capability to the furthest of limits.”
The channel will launch to 20 million households via distribution deals with Comcast, Cox Communications, DirecTV, Dish, Filmon.com and YouTube, with which it has a preferred channel partnership. Further distribution deals will be announced in the near future.
"The Surf Channel is going to be one of the best things to ever happen to our industry," said "Endless Summer" filmmaker Bruce Brown in a statement. "Giving tens of millions of people living room access to the sport and culture of surfing is something we have never had before. I stand with the rest of the surf ambassadors to do everything to help this channel be successful!"
