Tegna will be a charter broadcast launch partner in the new adventure and exploration multicast network set to debut in January and will hold a minority ownership stake.
Tegna, Cooper Media to Launch Quest Diginet
Tegna Inc. today announced it has partnered with Cooper Media to launch Quest, a new ad-supported adventure and exploration multicast network free to consumers. Quest is expected to debut in January 2018 across Tegna’s station portfolio. Tegna will receive an ownership stake in Quest and will share in the network’s revenues.
Quest “will capture the wonder, imagination and excitement of the natural and man-made world and features shows about natural history, engineering and science, as well as military history and man’s greatest achievements,” Tegna said. It added: “The only broadly-distributed factual-entertainment multicast network, Quest will show how the world really works and will not only entertain but will inform and educate viewers as well.”
“As part of Tegna’s ongoing content transformation initiative, we are always examining ways to reach new and underserved audiences through entertaining, informative and relevant content across platforms,” said Dave Lougee, Tegna president-CEO. “Quest will do just that. It will offer engaging programming that will appeal to a national audience currently under-represented by multicast networks. Launching Quest across our portfolio is also a cost-effective and advantageous use of our valuable distribution capabilities.”
Cooper Media is the newly-formed parent company of both Quest and the Justice Network, a 24/7 multicast network delivering mystery and investigations entertainment programming with a commitment to safety. The Justice Network debuted across Tegna’s multicast portfolio in early 2015. Both networks are founded by Cooper Holdings Chairman Lonnie Cooper.
“Quest is a fresh take on a nature and science factual entertainment network designed specifically for the growing over-the-air multicast audience,” said Steve Schiffman, CEO of Cooper Media. “We are thrilled to build on our thriving partnership with Tegna to fill a programming gap in the multicast space and to double down on the growing over-the-air segment.”
Comments (5)
Amneris Vargas says:
November 7, 2017 at 2:15 pm
Like the genre (discovery/history/learning) and as under-served category for broadcast diginets and works well on MVPDs. Stadium Channel (sports) might argue a bit with “…the only broadly-distributed factual-entertainment multicast network.”
Brian Bussey says:
November 7, 2017 at 4:14 pm
where would this air on the schedule ?
Amneris Vargas says:
November 7, 2017 at 4:25 pm
Sub channel
Joshua Pila says:
November 7, 2017 at 3:37 pm
Like this idea a lot. Every other diginet just shows 70s sitcoms. This will be of interest to the Discovery/History crowd as they consider cutting the cord
Veronica Serrano Padilla says:
November 7, 2017 at 10:52 pm
Sounds like a good channel. But it’ll no doubt air all those terrible “per inquiry” ads that many of the other diginets run – enough to turn off a few viewers.