Ion Television also maintains film distribution deals with Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Studios and Warner Bros. In early 2006, it was announced that the i stations in Memphis, Tennessee (WPXX-TV), Rapid City, South Dakota (KKRA-LP) and Greenville, North Carolina (WEPX-TV, as well as its satellite WPXU-TV in Jacksonville, North Carolina) would add programming from MyNetworkTV in September 2006, causing preemptions of i programming during prime time due to the stations' programming commitments to carrying the MyNetworkTV schedule. Ion in Charlotte later moved to the DT6 feed of WJZY-TV. ION Television's audience is among the most loyal and engaged in the nation, leading the industry with 92% live viewing. Just because an actor has been on television before, doesn't mean they are compelling to watch, even in a Hallmark movie. On June 25, 2012, Ion Television entered into a deal with WWE to air a new hour-long series titled WWE Main Event on Wednesday nights, the series debuted on October 3, 2012[37] and ran until April 2, 2014. Catherine Bell, though, is solid. Station Info: Digital Full-Power - 270 kW. A limited number of non-Ion-owned stations that are merely affiliated with the network (such as Louisville outlet WBNA) do carry additional local or syndicated programming that, in some instances, pre-empts certain programs within the Ion master schedule. Unplug the Converter Box or Digital TV from the electrical outlet for one minute. In 2006, Ion Media Networks reached several programming deals, two with major programming suppliers that were announced within a week of each other, and another that among other things would bring original programming to Ion Television's lineup. Since paid programming once made up a relatively sizable portion of Ion's schedule (prior to 2008), the benefit is that it provides the main source of revenue. [8] "Cloud Nine" was discontinued in the spring of 1999, and was replaced by a new block under the title "Pax Kids. In its home state of Florida, the network's stations had served as a statewide chain to carry play-by-play coverage of a number of games for Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays and Florida Marlins (demarcated by each team's territories) until the late 2000s, when cable's Fox Sports Florida/Sun acquired the exclusive rights to both teams. [5] During the late spring and summer of 1998, a half-hour preview special hosted by former Waltons star Richard Thomas, featuring interviews with Lowell Paxson about PAX's development and initial programming, aired on inTV stations slated to become charter outlets of the new network. Originally from its 2007 launch as Ion Life, the network had primarily featured lifestyle programming, consisting of shows pertaining to subjects such as health and wellness, cooking, home decor, and travel. [54] Its initial format was composed of a four-hour block of shows that repeated six times a day, all featuring programming exclusive to the new channel; by 2010, the channel adopted a more traditional schedule featuring a larger array of programs. In 2019 with expanded cable carriage, Ion Media switched the network's schedule to match the main format of Ion … Cloud (60 miles (97 km) northwest of the Twin Cities); Detroit, where O&O WPXD-TV is licensed to Ann Arbor, Michigan (40 miles (64 km) west of Detroit), though its digital transmitter is located in Southfield, where the bulk of Detroit's television stations base their studios and transmitter facilities; Hartford, where O&O WHPX-TV is licensed to New London, Connecticut (located 40 miles (64 km) to the southeast); and Milwaukee, where O&O WPXE-TV is licensed to Kenosha, with its digital transmitter located at a tower farm on Milwaukee's north side (its former analog transmitter was located south of the city in Racine County). PAX launched on August 31, 1998,[6][7] with the network's initial schedule being much larger in scope than it would be in later years. ION Television launches original series “Saving Hope.”. Within 4 years of its initial launch, ION had already cracked the top 10 cable entertainment networks. Programming on Qubo Channel and its companion block on Ion Television and Ion Plus account for all educational programming content on Ion's owned-and-operated stations, thus relieving the network from the responsibility of carrying programs compliant with Children's Television Act guidelines on its other subchannel services. Most of the network's initial affiliates were Paxson Communications-owned affiliate stations of the Infomall TV Network (inTV), a network launched by Paxson in 1995 that relied mainly on infomercials and other brokered programming. ION Television, a top 5-ranked U.S. general entertainment network, is the flagship of the independent, privately held media company, ION Media. [53] Qubo features content from the programming libraries of each of the partners, though there was an early promise of each company producing a new series for the network each year; most of its programs are targeted at children ages 2 to 11, though its late night programming block "Qubo Night Owl" (which originally featured animated series from Qubo's partners and the Filmation library, but after August 2013 features a mix of animated and live-action series sourced solely from the distribution partners) is aimed at older teenagers and adults. According to a statement on its website,[14] DirecTV planned to terminate its carriage agreement with i in February 2006. The network shifted its format almost entirely to reruns of television series from the 1960s to the 1990s (such as Green Acres, Amen, and Pax holdover Diagnosis: Murder) and feature films, reruns of former Pax TV series (such as Doc) and first-run episodes (and later reruns) of Pax holdover series America's Most Talented Kids were also included as part of the schedule. Some Ion-affiliated stations decline to carry QVC's programming, and some Ion Media-owned stations are unable to carry that network due to affiliation agreements between QVC and other broadcasters that existed prior to the Ion deal. Go to SETUP or SETTINGS. ION Media and the five Katz networks operate in the over-the-air (OTA) television marketplace, which saw 67% growth, to 25% of all TV households, from 2018 to Q3 2019 (Parks Associates research, March 26, 2020), as consumers opted to supplement their digital television services with free over-the-air, linear broadcast television and its quality programming to create a … KFPX 39 ion. November 13, 2009 / 4:53 AM / 11 years ago. The 2007 launch of Qubo and ION Life [15] Positive Ions had registered trademarks on the word "Ion" and had used the mark commercially since 1999. As of October 2015 , Ion Television has 52 owned-and-operated stations, and current and pending affiliation agreements with nine additional television stations encompassing 36 states and the District of Columbia. The remainder of the schedule was filled by paid programming. Days after the rebrand, California-based entertainment group Positive Ions, Inc. filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Ion Media Networks, claiming that the network stole the "Ion" branding. [25] Series currently broadcast by Ion Television (as of October 2015[update]) are mostly dramas such as Criminal Minds, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Numb3rs, Blue Bloods, and The Listener. Ion also struck a library content deal with NBCUniversal, which gave it access to shows such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents.[28]. ION Television acquires the rights to “Law & Order” and "Law & Order: SVU." On June 28, 2005, Paxson Communications announced that it would rebrand PAX as i: Independent Television (commonly referred to as "i", stylized as i), in order to reflect a new strategy of "providing an independent broadcast platform for producers and syndicators who desire to reach a national audience." The additions of programming such as “The Listener,” “Rookie Blue,” and “Blue Bloods” further strengthens the ION Television roster and spurs a steady growth in ratings. The major commercial broadcast networks in the U.S. – ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, and The CW – carry first-run programs produced for the network, while leaving the responsibility of acquiring shows from the syndication market to their owned-and-operated stations and affiliates to fill time not allotted to network and, where applicable, locally produced programs (MyNetworkTV, which is somewhat similar to Ion Television in its format, mixes elements of both models as acquired programs are supplied both during prime time by the service and by its stations at all other times). Under its former format, the network mainly featured health and lifestyle programs, as well as feature films on Sunday mornings and select weeknights (which consist mainly of those its parent network is scheduled to air during the given month as part of the "Ion Television at the Movies" block); some extreme sports programming previously aired on weekend evenings until July 2014. That being said, he is … ION Media launches ION Life, the country’s first 24/7 digital network dedicated to promoting active lifestyles, personal growth and wellness. Initial programming on PAX consisted of first-run shows (such as the true story profile series It's a Miracle, game show The Reel to Reel Picture Show, and talk shows Woman's Day and Great Day America), along with reruns of older programming (including Highway to Heaven, Here's Lucy, The Hogan Family, Dave's World, Touched by an Angel, and new episodes and older reruns of Candid Camera, the latter of which moved to the network following the revival series' cancellation by CBS earlier in 1998). Qubo is a children's television network that launched on January 8, 2007, and is carried on the second digital subchannel of Ion Television's stations. ION Media's dedication to employees is evident in its comprehensive benefits plan, which includes health insurance, paid time off, a wellness program and 401(k) plan. includes health insurance, paid time off, a wellness program and 401(k) plan. BELLEVUE, Neb. 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