Company type | Joint venture |
---|---|
Industry | Media |
Predecessor | Circle (broadcast operations) [1] |
Founded | November 7, 2023 |
Founder | Jonathan Katz |
Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia , United States |
Key people | Jonathan Katz (President/CEO) David Decker (President, Content Sales, Warner Bros. Discovery) Jim Packer (President of Worldwide Television Distribution, Lionsgate) Pat LaPlatney (President/Co-CEO, Gray Television) |
Products | Television networks |
Brands |
|
Owners | |
Website | freetvnetworks |
Footnotes /references [2] |
Free TV Networks is an American specialized digital multicasting and advertising-supported video on demand network media company owned as a joint venture between Warner Bros. Discovery, Lionsgate and Gray Television. The company owns and operates two broadcast television networks and plans to launch four FAST streaming networks that each carry programming with specified formats targeted at individual demographics. The company was founded and is led by broadcasting veteran Jonathan Katz, who previously launched what is now the Scripps Networks division of competitor E. W. Scripps Company.
The venture launched with two digital multicast television networks on January 1, 2024, each resembling networks Katz originally launched, which are The365, a channel for Black audiences (similar to Bounce TV) and Outlaw, a network for Western programming (similar to Grit). The venture launched its third broadcast network, Defy, on July 1, 2024 in partnership with A&E Networks, which features action and male-targeted reality programming from A&E Network's library; Scripps's Defy TV (which previously carried said library) ended operations the day before with the move of that programming library to Defy and was replaced by Ion Plus. [3] Other channels to launch at a later time on AVOD platforms include FAST streaming versions of the former two networks as well as VCR Action (similar to Ion Mystery), a channel for older action/crime programming, and VCR Haha, a network for older comedic programming (similar to Laff). [2]
Ion Television is an American broadcast television network and FAST streaming television channel owned by the Scripps Networks subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented entertainment programming. It rebranded as i: Independent Television on July 1, 2005, converting into a general entertainment network featuring recent and older acquired programs. The network adopted its identity as Ion Television on January 29, 2007, and for many years aired programming in daily binge blocks of one program, usually acquired procedural dramas. More recently, the network has acquired and begun airing many more shows of the same or similar format. The network also carries some holiday specials and films before Christmas.
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. is a Canadian-American entertainment company currently headquartered in Santa Monica, California. It was founded in Canada by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, and domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Gray Television, Inc. is an American publicly traded television broadcasting company based in Atlanta. Founded in 1946 by James Harrison Gray as Gray Communications Systems, the company owns or operates 180 stations across the United States in 113 markets. Its station base consists of media markets ranging from as large as Atlanta to one of the smallest markets, North Platte, Nebraska.
A regional sports network (RSN) in the United States and Canada is a television channel that presents sports programming to a local media market or geographical region.
WNPX-TV is a television station licensed to Franklin, Tennessee, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the Nashville area. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company alongside CBS affiliate WTVF. WNPX-TV's transmitter is located near Cross Plains, Tennessee.
Qubo was an American television network for children between the ages of 5 and 14. Owned by Ion Media, it consisted of a 24-hour free-to-air television network often mentioned as the "Qubo channel", associated website with games and programs available through video on demand, and a weekly programming block on Ion Television, along with Ion Life, later known as Ion Plus.
Court TV is an American digital broadcast network and former pay-television channel. It was originally launched in 1991 with a focus on crime-themed programs such as the true crime documentary series, legal analysis talk shows, and live news coverage of prominent criminal cases. In 2008, the original cable channel became TruTV.
Bounce TV is an American digital broadcast television network owned by Scripps Networks, a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. It launched on September 26, 2011, and was promoted as "the first 24/7 digital multicast broadcast network created to target African Americans". Bounce features a mix of original and acquired programming geared toward African Americans between 25 and 54 years of age.
Ion Plus is an American broadcast television network and FAST streaming television channel owned by the Scripps Networks subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network originally launched in 2007 as Ion Life, maintaining a format featuring lifestyle programming focused on health and wellness, cooking, home decor, and travel. With expanded cable carriage, in 2019, Ion Media converted the network into a general entertainment format that matched that of parent network Ion Television, featuring day-long marathons of various drama series.
Grit is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Scripps Networks subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network features classic westerns, both TV series and films.
Ion Mystery is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Scripps Networks subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. It focuses primarily on mystery, true crime, and police/legal procedural programs.
Laff is an American digital multicast television network headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and is owned by the Scripps Networks subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network specializes in comedy programming, featuring mainly sitcoms from the 1990s through the 2020s.
Scripps Networks, LLC, formerly known as Katz Broadcasting, is an American specialized digital multicasting network media company and a division of the E. W. Scripps Company. The company owns eight broadcast television networks, nine FAST streaming networks and a streaming service that each carry programming with specified formats targeted at individual demographics.
Circle Country, previously known as Circle, is a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service owned by Gray Television as part of its PowerNation Studios division. The network's programming consists of country music oriented shows, western films and rural/blue collar themed material, featuring a mix of original and off-network shows sourced from Opry Entertainment Group.
Defy is an American digital multicast television network owned by Free TV Networks in partnership with A&E Networks, airing primarily reality shows from the latter company, having launched on July 1, 2021, with broadcast coverage of 64% of the United States.
TrueReal was an American digital multicast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, targeting women aged 25–54.
The Roku Channel is an over-the-top video streaming service owned and operated by Roku, Inc. Launched in September 2017, the service tops U.S. viewership for free ad-supported streaming TV and reports 120 million viewers as of 2023.
Warner Bros. Discovery Networks, formerly known as WarnerMedia Entertainment and WarnerMedia Studios & Networks, is an American mass media division of Warner Bros. Discovery that oversees the operations of many of its television channels and assets owned and operated in the United States. Its related international division is Warner Bros. Discovery International.