Bounce TV viewership continued to climb in the just-completed third-quarter ratings period — which the network ended with posting its most-watched month ever. In primetime viewership for the quarter, Bounce TV delivered 152,000 households, up 45%; 85,000 adults 25-54, up 21%, and 75,000 adults 18-49, up 15%.
The new network is called H&I, which stands for Heroes and Icons. It went live in Chicago Monday, and also hit the air in Milwaukee, with plans to add a South Bend, Ind., TV station and Chicago cable systems soon, according to Neal Sabin, vice chairman of Weigel Broadcasting. H&I features iconic police shows such as Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue.
Bounce TV Adds Affil, Advertisers, Viewers
E.W. Scripps-owned Fox affiliate WSYM Lansing, Mich. (DMA 114), is now offering the African-American multicast network Bounce TV on a subchannel. Its addition drives the network past 90% of African […]
Bill Horton, general counsel of Luken Communications, a Chattanooga-based television network provider, announced today that the company will successfully emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy by the end of October. The […]
With these stations from Hearst, Gray, LM Communications, M33 Media, OTA Broadcasting and Ironwood Communications, the classic movie multicast channel’s clearances now top 50% of U.S.
E.W. Scripps-owned ABC affiliate WMAR Baltimore (DMA 27) is now offering the African-American multicast network Bounce TV on its 2.3 subchannel. “This will present an exciting opportunity for the Baltimore […]
Exclusives
Classic TV diginet Retro Television has signed an affiliation agreement with WRCF-CD Orlando, Fla. (DMA 18). WRCF, owned and operated by LocusPoint Networks, will launch Retro TV today on its […]
The two new diginets from Katz Broadcasting adds 150 films to its library. The deal comes on the heels of the networks’ Aug. 18 launch and movie package purchases from Warner Bros. and NBCUniversal.
Bounce TV Sponsors 11-City Music Fest
Antenna TV, Tribune Broadcasting’s multicast network, today announced the addition of 11 series to the classic TV network’s lineup for 2015. Antenna TV, which airs in 89 markets across the […]
Grit (for men) will open with the Oscar-winning classic High Noon, whilethe female-targeted Escape will bow with Body Heat.
Luken Communications’ Retro TV signed its latest affiliate — KTMW Salt Lake City, Utah (DMA 33). KTMW, owned by Alpha & Omega Communications, launched the Retro TV diginets on Aug. 1 […]
The women-focused diginets has made deals for 538 episodes of Snapped from NBCUniversal/Oxygen Media; Unsolved Mysteries from Cosgrove/Meurer Productions; and Forensic Files from Trifecta Entertainment & Media. The new network is set to launch later this summer.
Luken Signs Multi-Network Affiliation With KPHE
Luken Communications has entered into a multi-network affiliation agreement with Minds Gate Communications-owned KPHE-LD Phoenix (DMA 12). The station plans to launch Luken’s Retro TV and PBJ on Friday, Aug. […]
Univision to carry both in Washington, San Francisco and Phoenix; Cox adds Grit in Orlando, Escape in Charlotte, both in Tulsa; KJWP to air the two in Philadelphia; and Citadel will launch both in Providence, R.I., and Lincoln, Neb. Both networks are now past 50% U.S. coverage.
Luken Communications is adding the classic soap opera The Doctors to its Retro TV diginet later this year. The Doctors ran on NBC for 19 years, spanned 5,280 episodes and […]
The offer will allow Georgia residents to buy stock in the male-targeted diginets.
Hispanic broadcast network Estrella TV increased its affiliation lineup with the addition of WGPS-LP Fort Myers-Naples, Fla. (DMA 62). The network will make its premiere this month. “Estrella TV is […]
Luken Communications diginet The Heartland Network has signed an affiliation agreement with KCHF Albuquerque-Santa Fe, N.M. (DMA 47). KCHF, owned and operated by Son Broadcasting, Inc., launched Heartland on July […]
Luken Communications diginet Retro TV has signed an affiliation agreement with KYNM Albuquerque-Santa Fe, NM (DMA 47). KYNM, owned and operated by Belmax Broadcasting, launched Retro TV on Tuesday, July 1, […]
TUFF TV To Give $10K For 30-Second Promo
Luken Signs Multi-Network Affiliation With WLFG
Luken Communications today signed a multi-network affiliation agreement with independent WLFG Tri-Cities, Tenn.-Va. (DMA 97). WLFG, owned and operated by Living Faith Ministries, will begin broadcasting Luken’s Retro TV, PBJ […]
The new male-centric and female-centric over-the-air broadcast TV networks — Grit (for men) and Escape (for women) — have acquired the television rights to 157 demo-targeted motion pictures in a multiyear licensing […]
The agreement will bring the classic movie diginet to 33 new markets including Minneapolis, Pittsburgh and St. Louis, boosting its U.S. clearance to nearly 70%.
Pay-For-Play Is Growing Diginet Strategy
By buying time on station subchannels rather than splitting ad revenue with an affiliation deal, multicast networks remain in charge of selling inventory and the stations collect a monthly fee with a minimum of effort and outlay. However, the upcoming spectrum auction could make subchannel space to rent a scarcer commodity. This is part 3 of a three-part special report. Read parts 1 and 2 here.
Classic TV Diginets Make The Old New Again
One of the staples of the multicasting universe are networks that offer programming from television and film’s past. While some of the early efforts haven’t survived, there are many that have and more slotted to launch. The diginet with the widest distribution, in fact, is Me-TV, the classic channel from Weigel Broadcasting. This is part 2 of a three-part special report. Read part 1 here.
The classic TV network signs stations in South Bend, Ind.; New Orleans; Tulsa, Okla.; Honolulu; Colorado Springs; St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands; KFFV Seattle; and Pittsburgh.
The agreement for the male- and female-targeted classic programming multicast channels set to launch this summer boosts coverage to 45% of the U.S.
Diginets Building Themselves A Market
The multicast networks that stations are using to populate their subchannels are estimated to generate between $250 million and $350 million a year in total ad revenues, growing 4% to 5% a year. “It’s still early in the game, says Katz TV Media’s Bill Carroll. “They’re in the ‘build-out phase,’ the news being they’ve extended the reach, and enhanced the profile, of broadcast stations. A few are already visible in ratings terms, and others are quickly becoming so.” Here’s a look at the diginet trends and our exclusive ranking of the top 25 by TV household coverage.
Entertainment Studios Inc. will debut a new 24-hour digital subchannel with original HD content, Automotive.TV, in January 2015. Entertainment Studios is also owner of the Emmy Award-winning television series and […]
What Was Behind Live Well’s Demise?
The decision to shut down Live Well appears primarily to be driven by the difficulty of selling advertising around the programming. “The economics didn’t work,” says Bill Carroll, VP, director of programming for Katz Media. However, Carroll thinks the shutdown may also have been influenced by a recent announcement from CBS that it is creating a new digital news network which will likely be carried in the digital space.
Movies! Network, a classic movie multicast network, has signed agreements with new affiliates in Charlotte, N.C.; Salt Lake City; Boise, Idaho; Wausau, Wis.; and Victoria, Texas. These five new markets […]
The new channels buy package of 135 movies in advance of the gender-targeted multicast networks’ launches in August.
Why Did Live Well Die? What’s Next?
The decision to shut down the diginet appears primarily to be driven by the difficulty of selling advertising around the programming. “The economics didn’t work,” said Bill Carroll, VP, director of programming for Katz Media. “It’s difficult for [broadcasters] to sell smaller audiences when advertisers are used to broadcast delivering bigger numbers. It’s just that simple.”
ABC will shut down the diginet in January, replacing it with some form of local programming, probably a news channel.
Former Husband & Wife Anchors Reunite In Boston
Luken Communications announced today that’s it will be featuring classic episodes of the BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who to its lineup beginning this summer. The series follows the adventures of […]
MeTV, Memorable Entertainment Television, has signed an affiliation agreement with WMDT Salisbury, Md. (DMA 142). WMDT, which is owned by Marquee Broadcasting Inc., is launching on May 26, and will […]
Will Givens joins from KSWB San Diego to oversee marketing for the two Weigel Broadcasting diginets.
