Associated Press: “Pat Robertson, who turned a tiny Virginia television station into a global religious broadcasting network, is stepping down after a half-century running the ‘700 Club’ on daily TV, the Christian Broadcasting Network announced on Friday. Robertson, 91, said in a statement that he hosted the network’s flagship program for the last time on Friday, and that his son Gordon Robertson will take over the weekday show starting on Monday.
“’I will no longer be the host of the “700 Club” after, I think, 54 years of hosting the program,’ Robertson said on the show on Friday, although he vowed to return from time to time, if he’s had a ‘revelation’ he needs to share. ‘I thank God for everyone that’s been involved. And I want to thank all of you.’
“Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network started airing on Oct. 1, 1961 after he bought a bankrupt UHF television station in Portsmouth, Virginia. The ‘700 Club’ began production in 1966. Now based in Virginia Beach, CBN says its outreach extends to more than 100 countries and territories in dozens of languages through TV and video evangelism, online ministry and prayer centers. The ‘700 Club’ talk show can be seen in the vast majority of U.S. television markets. Robertson, who ran for president in 1988, also founded the Christian Coalition, galvanizing American evangelicals into a conservative political force.”