 | |
| Type | Free-to-airtelevision network (classic TV) |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Broadcast area | American coverage: 62%[1] |
| Headquarters | New York City,New York |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) 1080i16:9 (HDTV;widescreen) |
| Ownership | |
| Parent | NBC Owned Television Stations (NBCUniversal Television and Streaming) |
| Key people |
|
| History | |
| Launched |
|
| Former names | NBC Nonstop (2009–2012) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| List of affiliates | |
| Streaming media | |
| Service(s) | Hulu + Live TV,YouTube TV,DirecTV Stream |
Cozi TV (stylized asCOZI TV[3]) is an Americanfree-to-airtelevision network owned by theNBC Owned Television Stations division ofNBCUniversal. The network airs classic television series from the 1950s to the 2000s.[2][4][5]
The network originated as a local news and lifestyle programming format that was launched between 2009 and 2011; it was seen ondigital subchannels operated by nineowned-and-operated stationstelevision stations of theNBC television network in theUnited States under the brandNBC Nonstop.[2] The sitcoms and drama series now appearing on Cozi are primarily from theNBCUniversal Television Distribution program library. Cozi is available viaAT&T U-verse,DirecTV,Dish Network, and streaming servicesYouTube TV andHulu + Live TV,DirecTV Stream.
After NBCUniversal shut downNBC Weather Plus in December 2008 (shortly after the company, along withBlackstone Group andBain Capital, purchasedThe Weather Channel), the company'sflagshipWNBC inNew York City replaced Weather Plus' successor, automated local weather service, NBC Plus, on digital subchannel 4.2 on March 9, 2009, with NBC New York Nonstop, a channel that featured a mix of locally produced news and lifestyle programming.[6]
On June 5, 2010, NBC Local Media appointed former WNBCGeneral manager Tom O'Brien in the newly created position ofExecutive vice president of Nonstop Network.[7] In October, WNBCsister stationsWCAU andWRC-TV respectively launched their own versions of the Nonstop channel in thePhiladelphia andWashington, D.C. markets.Chicago'sWMAQ-TV launched its own local version in November 2010. NBC's three owned-and-operated stations inCalifornia (KNBC inLos Angeles,KNTV inSan Jose, California-San Francisco andKNSD inSan Diego) collaborated to launch the only regional Nonstop channel, NBC California Nonstop, in January 2011; Nonstop channels were also launched byKXAS-TV inDallas-Fort Worth, Texas andWTVJ inMiami that same month. Each station's Nonstop subchannel carried eight hours of locally produced programming (usually in the form of additional local newscasts exclusive to the subchannel that were produced by each station for their respective market, and some lifestyle or talk-oriented programs), along with core programming from affiliated production companyLXTV (such asTalk Stoop,First Look andOpen House – the latter two of which were later picked up byNBC for its Saturday late-night lineup).[8]
In October 2011, NBC Station hired Meredith McGinn as a vice president to lead the development and launch of the network.[9]On November 3, 2011,NBC Owned Television Stations announced that its seven local Nonstop subchannels would become a single national network under the proposed name NBC Nonstop Network (also to have been called NBC Nonstop or Nonstop Network); the format of the national network was originally planned to feature a format similar to the local Nonstop channels, which would have placed the network in direct competition with theLive Well Network.[2][10] An NBC executive indicated that the independently formatted Nonstop channels were performing well, but needed separate programming. NBC stated that the network would carry reruns of classic television series during daytime hours and lifestyle programming at night, and that local stations would be able to preempt the national Nonstop Network programming to carry their own local content. By July 2012, it was announced that NBC was considering using a different name for the national network, with "Bob TV" among the names being put under consideration.[11]
On October 17, 2012,Time Out reported that NBCUniversal would launch a new classic television network (similar toMeTV) called Cozi TV. This turned out to actually be the new name of the retooled national version of NBC Nonstop.[4][12][13] NBC soft launched Cozi TV on its owned-and-operated stations as well as some charter affiliates on December 20, 2012; the network officially launched on January 1, 2013.[14] McGinn was promoted to Senior vice president of Cozi TV andLXTV in July 2013.[9]
NBCUniversal broadcasts Cozi TV in most markets served by a station owned by theNBC Owned Television Stations group, either on subchannels of NBC orTelemundo stations. The network is also available on the digital subchannels of other television stations, primarily those affiliated with NBC.[4][5] The network is available to stations on abarter basis, in which Cozi TV and its affiliates split the responsibility of selling advertising inventory as well as the commercial time allocated each hour.
The network soft-launched on NBC and Telemundo owned-and-operated stations in most markets, with NBC O&Os carrying the network in most markets where the company owns stations, and Telemundo O&Os carrying it in markets where an NBC does not own a television station.
The network's initial affiliates outside of the core NBC O&O group includedKAIL-TV inFresno, California,KVOA inTucson, Arizona,KSNV-DT inLas Vegas and eight Texas stations owned by London Broadcasting Company, includingKCEN-TV inWaco, Texas and itssemi-repeaterKAGS-LD inCollege Station, Texas, with a total initial reach of 26% of U.S. television households.[16] By July 2013, the network's reach had expanded to 42% of the U.S., or an estimated 47.5 million households with at least one television set, and through affiliation deals withWMFP inBoston,KUBE-TV inHouston and theE. W. Scripps Company'sKSHB-TV inKansas City.[17]
On June 2, 2014, Cozi TV's programming was made available onAT&T U-verse channel 578 andDish Network channel 82 on a part-time basis, through a deal withLeSEA'sFamily Entertainment Television (FETV) network. LeSEA's relationship with Cozi TV was extended to its stations on June 17, 2014, when it signed an affiliation deal to carry the network on its stations inSouth Bend,Honolulu,Colorado Springs,Tulsa,St. Croix andNew Orleans (WHMB-TV inIndianapolis was exempted from the agreement due to an existing affiliation contract withDispatch Broadcast Group'sWTHR andWALV-CD).Meredith Corporation andMedia General both reached agreements in early 2015 to add Cozi TV to their multicast channels in a combined twelve markets.[18][19] The network announced a deal with OTA Broadcasting, LLC to affiliate withKFFV inSeattle and WEPA-CD inPittsburgh. Both deals expanded the network's reach to 60% of the U.S.[20][21] Those deals expired on June 26, 2017; with WEPA-CD going off the air shortly afterwards, because that stationsold its spectrum. ABC affiliateWTAE-TV picked up Cozi TV on January 8, 2018, replacingThis TV.[22] FETV now carries its own schedule of acquired programming.
Sometime in 2024, Cozi TV was taken off of Dish Network. According to Dish, "a fair offer to (NBCUniversal) to continue carrying COZI TV" was made and ultimately rejected leading to their contract expiring. In its place is a splash screen recommending other channels with similar programming and a link to a Dish Promise page explaining why the station is unavailable.[23]