PTL Satellite Network

Infobox Network
name = PTL Satellite Network
launch_date = 1977
dissolved = 1987
country = United States of America
type = Religious broadcasting
availability = Defunct
founders = Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Bakker|

The PTL Satellite Network was a global evangelical Christian television network based in Charlotte, North Carolina, founded by Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker in 1977. During PTL's ten year history, the Bakkers, as hosts of the network's flagship talk show, "The PTL Club", became two of the most recognizable televangelists in the United States. PTL was affiliated with the Assemblies of God. Over the course of its existence, the PTL ministry would develop Heritage USA, a religious theme park in Charlotte that would gradually become the third most popular vacationing destination in America, behind Disneyland and Walt Disney World. The PTL ministry would collapse in 1987, after one of Jim Bakker's former secretaries, Jessica Hahn, accused the evangelist of rape, and subsequent scandals revealed that the couple had used the non-profit PTL's donations to fund an opulent personal lifestyle. Bakker would be sent to prison for embezzlement in 1989. The PTL Satellite Network currently exists as the Inspiration Network (better known as INSP), owned by fellow televangelist Morris Cerullo.