Natalie Grant fixes her baby blues on the camera in front of her, sweeps her arms out and soulfully belts out "I Will Not Be Moved," a song from her latest album.

Red, white and blue stage lights beam into the artificially fogged, dark background as four cameramen shoot a music video of Grant, contemporary Christian music's female singer of the year.

Jenni Girtman/AJC (ENLARGE)

The Gospel Music Channel's studio in East Point produces programming for the network, which started 3 1/2 years ago.

Jenni Girtman/AJC (ENLARGE)

Makeup artist Princess Brown touches up singer Natalie Grant, contemporary Christian music's female vocalist of the year, during taping of 'The Kitchen Sink,' which airs Saturday night.

Jenni Girtman/AJC (ENLARGE)

Production assistant LaShunda Edmond (left) handles the slate as 'The Kitchen Sink' host Elle Duncan and Christian singer Natalie Grant begin taping on Tuesday in East Point.

BUSINESS Latest Headlines: Subway to add freshly brewed Fuze iced tea  NAPA parent names new auto-parts chief  Delta discontinuing U.S. to Mumbai flights  Delta combines with NWA WorldVacations  Eon at Lindbergh safe from auction for now  • More business news • Business photo galleries

The video will air Saturday night on the Gospel Music Channel's "The Kitchen Sink" show. The Atlanta cable TV startup is fighting to make money in a competitive industry, but its founders say the channel is passing the right signposts on the way to success.

The company opened a studio in February in the Wagon Works building in East Point, where it produces programming such as "The Kitchen Sink."

The channel began broadcasts on cable systems with fewer than 4 million subscribers 3 1/2 years ago. When DirectTV added the Gospel Music Channel for its 16.8 million subscribers Wednesday, it brought the total of households the channel reaches to 40 million.

In the last 12 months, the channel has doubled its staff to 52. It is producing more of its own slick programs such as Christmas specials, an "American Idol" knockoff and live broadcasts of the Dove Awards, the Grammys of the gospel set. Blue chip companies such as Wal-Mart, Sara Lee, Allstate Insurance and General Mills advertise on it.

Charles Humbard, the founder and president, estimated the channel, backed by large investment firms, will turn a profit in 2009.

He is not surprised at the growth, but said his research into the potential audience for religious music "was eye-opening, even for me, who grew up in this."

He is the son of the Rev. Rex Humbard, a TV ministry pioneer, and grew up hanging around with musicians such as Johnny Cash, who appeared on his father's show.

Charles Humbard went on to a secular career that included a stint as a Discovery Networks executive. He left Discovery not long after the attacks of Sept. 11 and teamed with Brad Siegel, a former president at Turner Broadcasting, to found the new venture.

Their research showed Christian music is estimated to be a $7.5 billion-a-year industry. Its followers are devoted and diverse. About 44 percent are white, 41 percent African-American and 15 percent Latino, and often include community leaders. Hundreds of Christian radio stations have dotted the landscape for decades.

"[Others] never saw the commercial aspect of this audience," Humbard said.

Selling a 24/7 TV channel based on religious music — from rap to country styles — to two large New York financial backers was easier after "The Passion of the Christ" turned into a surprise blockbuster movie, Humbard said.

Still, specialty TV channels pop up faster than cigarette lighters at the end of a concert. Producers offer cable carriers everything from the Martial Arts Channel and Black Women's TV.

To succeed, channels have to attract viewers in numbers the advertisers want, said Adam Swanson of SNL Financial, which does media analysis.

Senior analyst Derek Baine said, "Unless you have got that kind of proven audience, cable operators are very reticent about adding a new channel these days."

A yearly survey of cable operators by Beta Research that the Gospel Music Channel seems to have found the right combination.

"For two or three years in a row, they have been ranked among the top channels operators are interested in adding," said Andy Klein, president of Beta's Cable Division.

Humbard said making the channel successful feels like a culmination of his early life and adult career.

"I have gone to school for this for 40 years," he said.

The Gospel Music Channel is available in Atlanta to digital subscribers of Comcast cable.