 | |
| Type | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Affiliates | |
| Headquarters | West Palm Beach, Florida |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | E. W. Scripps Company |
| Parent | Ion Media (Scripps Networks, LLC) |
| Sister channels | |
| History | |
| Founded | January 1995; 30 years ago (1995-01) (as inTV) |
| Launched | August 31, 1998; 27 years ago (1998-08-31) |
| Founder | Bud Paxson |
| Former names |
|
| Links | |
| Website | iontelevision |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Services | The CW app,Peacock (streaming service),DirecTV Stream,Frndly TV,FuboTV,Google TV,PLEX,Pluto TV,Prime Video Live TV,The Roku Channel,Samsung TV Plus,Sling Freestream,Tablo TV,Tubi,Vizio WatchFree+,YouTube TV |
Ion Television (referred to on-air as simplyIon) is an Americanbroadcast television network andFAST television channel owned by theScripps Networks. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, asPax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented entertainment programming. It rebranded asi: Independent Television (commonly referred to as "i") 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.
For many years, Ion has focused primarily on off-network reruns of existing series, with most of its current schedule devoted tomarathonblocks ofprocedural dramas, along with occasional broadcasts of films (includingtelevision films during theChristmas season). In the past, Ion had acquired first-run airings ofCanadian series not picked up by other American networks and had also been infamous for devoting much of its schedule toinfomercials. Under Scripps ownership, Ion has increasingly added national sports programming from the newly establishedScripps Sports division, beginning with packages ofWomen's National Basketball Association basketball andNational Women's Soccer League soccer.
Ion is available throughout most of the United States through its group of 44owned-and-operated stations and 20network affiliates, as well as through distribution on pay-TV providers andAVOD streaming services; since 2014, the network has also increased affiliate distribution in several markets through thedigital subchannels of local television stations owned by companies such asGray Television andNexstar Media Group where the network is unable to maintain a main channel affiliation with or own a standalone station, for the same purpose as the distribution of Ion's main network feed via pay-TV providers and streaming services.
The network's stations cover all of the top 20 U.S. markets and 37 of the top 50 markets.[1] Ion's owned-and-operated stations cover 64.8% of the United States population, by far the most of any American station ownership group; it is able to circumvent the legal limit of covering 39% of the population because all of its stations operate on theUHF television band, which is subject to adiscount in regard to that limit. In the digital age, the restoration of the UHF discount has proven controversial with other broadcast groups andFCC rulings between presidential administrations, though as the network's parent company mainly acquired low-performing stations and stations on the fringes of markets which targeted lower-profile cities in the analog age, it has not been an issue withIon Media itself.[2]
The network was launched byBud Paxson, co-founder of theHome Shopping Network and chairman of parent company Paxson Communications (the forerunner to Ion Media).[4] It was originally to be calledPax Net, but was renamedPax TV (often referred to as simply "Pax"; stylized as "PAX") – a dual reference to its founder and corporate parent, and theLatin word for "peace" – shortly before its launch. Paxson, who felt that television programs aired by other broadcast networks were too raunchy and not family-friendly enough, had decided to create a network that he perceived as an alternative. Since the new network would focus on programming tailored to family audiences, PAX maintained a considerably more conservative programming content policy than the major commercial television networks, restrictingprofanity, violence and sexual content; accordingly, many of the network's acquired programs were edited to remove sexual and overt violent content, while profane language wasmuted.
Most of the network's initial affiliates were Paxson Communications-owned affiliate stations of theInfomall TV Network (inTV), a network launched by Paxson in 1995 that relied mainly oninfomercials and otherbrokered programming.[5] During the late spring and summer of 1998, a half-hour preview special hosted by formerWaltons starRichard 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.
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. At launch, Pax aired general entertainment programming on weekdays from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and weekends from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 pm. Central Time. Through an agreement with then-Disney owned animation studioDIC Productions L.P., its schedule also included a children's program block called "Cloud Nine" on Saturdays from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and Sundays from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 am. Central.[8][9] In addition, the network aired religious programming through time-lease agreements withThe Worship Network (which aired its overnight programming on PAX seven nights a week) and Praise TV (featuringContemporary Christian music and other faith-based programs aimed at teenagers and young adults, which aired on Friday and Saturday late-nights from 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 am. Central until 2000). The remainder of the schedule was filled by paid programming.
Initial programming on PAX consisted of first-run shows (such as the true story profile seriesIt's a Miracle, game showThe Reel to Reel Picture Show, and talk showsWoman's Day andGreat Day America), along with reruns of older programming (includingHighway to Heaven,Here's Lucy,The Hogan Family,Dave's World,Touched by an Angel, and new episodes and older reruns ofCandid Camera, the latter of which moved to the network following the revival series' cancellation byCBS earlier in 1998). The network also produced some original drama series such asSue Thomas: F.B.Eye,Doc,Mysterious Ways (which originated onNBC),Hope Island andTwice in a Lifetime through its programming division, Paxson Entertainment. PAX also aired many game shows including first-run revivals of established games that originated on cable networks such asSupermarket Sweep andShop 'til You Drop, along with some original game shows such asOn the Cover,Balderdash,Dirty Rotten Cheater, a 2002 revival ofBeat the Clock,Hollywood Showdown (in conjunction withGame Show Network, which also aired the show) and reruns ofBorn Lucky. The network would later carry reruns of the syndicated revival ofFamily Feud (consisting of episodes fromLouie Anderson,Richard Karn andJohn O'Hurley's tenures as host, airing on a one-year delay from their original syndication broadcast) and, due to its alliance with NBC,The Weakest Link (both from theAnne Robinson-hosted network run and theGeorge Gray-hosted syndicated version) as well as the 2000 revival ofTwenty-One.
In September 1999, National Broadcasting Company, Inc. purchased a 32% share of Paxson Communications for $415 million in convertible stock, with an option to expand its interest to 49% by February 2002, pending changes in ownership regulations set by theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) that would allow it to acquire additional television stations.[10] NBC later sold its share in the network back to Paxson in November 2003.[11]
In lieu of a national news program, in 2000, Paxson Communications signed an agreement withJackson, Mississippi-basedWeatherVision – which mainly produces weather forecast inserts for television stations in certain markets that do not operate an in-house news department or maintain a news share agreement with another local station – to produceTomorrow's Weather Tonight, a five-minute national forecast segment that aired Monday through Friday nights at the conclusion of PAX's entertainment schedule. Starting in 2000, many PAX stations also entered into news share agreements with a local major network affiliate (mostly involving NBC-affiliated stations, though some involved an affiliate ofABC, CBS, orFox) to airtape-delayed broadcasts of evening, and in some markets, morning newscasts from the partner station; in a few cases, the agreement partner produced live newscasts for the PAX station (as examples of the latter, NBC affiliateWTHR inIndianapolis produced a prime time newscast for PAX O&OWIPX-TV from February to June 2005, after CBS affiliateWISH-TV (now aCW affiliate) took over production of the newscast that WTHR had been producing forUPN affiliateWNDY-TV (now aMyNetworkTV affiliate) since 1996;Cleveland NBC affiliateWKYC-TV produced evening newscasts forWVPX-TV that focused primarily on that O&O's city of license, nearbyAkron). In some cities, a major network affiliate also provided some engineering and other back office services for the PAX station.
In an effort to increase revenue due to low viewership and other financial issues, PAX gradually increased the amount of paid programming content on its schedule throughout the early 2000s, at the expense of its general entertainment programming. Infomercials and other types of brokered programs ultimately became the dominant form of programming during the network's broadcast day; by January 2005, the time that PAX had allocated to entertainment programs had been reduced to six hours on weekdays (from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 pm) and five hours on weekends (from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 pm. Central Time). Original programming was also affected by the network's programming changes; PAX was originally offering five or six new series each season. However, in 2003, the number of new series that aired on PAX dwindled to just two:Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye, which was cancelled in 2005, andDoc, which was cancelled in 2004 after PAX's international backer, Canadian broadcast networkCTV, pulled out of producing the shows. The network seemingly recovered a year later when seven series made it to PAX's 2004–05 schedule.
On June 28, 2005, Paxson Communications announced that it would rebrand PAX asi: Independent Television, to reflect a new strategy of "providing an independent broadcast platform for producers and syndicators who desire to reach a national audience." The network used a lowercase letter "i" for its branding and other items such as itselectronic program guide listings.
The rebranding also resulted in several changes to its programming lineup: paid programming replaced overnight programming from The Worship Network, which began to carry its full 24-hour schedule on a fourth digital subchannel of locali owned-and-operated stations and affiliates until the network was dropped in January 2010; in addition,Tomorrow's Weather Tonight and rebroadcasts of network affiliate newscasts were discontinued the day prior to the rebrand on June 30, 2005 (though a few stations not owned by the network's parent company retained news share agreements with major network stations after that date, such asWBNA inLouisville, Kentucky, which continued to air newscasts from NBC affiliateWAVE). The network shifted its format almost entirely to reruns of television series from the 1960s to the 1990s (such asGreen Acres,Amen, and Pax holdoverDiagnosis: Murder) and feature films, reruns of former Pax TV series (such asDoc) and first-run episodes (and later reruns) of Pax holdover seriesAmerica's Most Talented Kids were also included as part of the schedule. In turn, the network adapted its programming content standards to those similar to other broadcast networks. During the 2005–06 season, the network launched only one new series that met the network's new mission of being an "independent broadcast platform", the teen dramaPalmetto Pointe, which only lasted five episodes and was criticized as a poor imitation ofDawson's Creek andOne Tree Hill; the network went entirely to a lineup of reruns with limited original programming for the 2006–07 season (except forHealth Report and specials branded under the name iHealth).
At one point in this era, the network programmed eighteen hours of paid programming per day, ¾ of the network's broadcast day, with the network only programming theearly fringe and prime time periods with traditional programming.
In November 2005,NBCUniversal was granted a transferable option to purchase a controlling stake in Paxson Communications.[12] Had this option been exercised, NBC would have acquired approximately 63i owned-and-operated stations (though this could have resulted in a forced divestiture of eitheri or Spanish networkTelemundo, which NBC had acquired in April 2002 (prior to its merger withVivendi Universal), along with the divested network's O&Os due to FCC rules that prohibit broadcasters fromowning more than two television stations in the same market unless there are either a minimum of 20 full-power stations in the market or one of the stations is asatellite). As part of the agreement, Lowell Paxson stepped down from his position as chairman of Paxson Communications. In April 2006, published reports surfaced thati owed more than US$250 million to creditors.[13]Standard & Poor's reported a much higher debt in March 2008, owing $867 million to creditors and having a bond rating of CCC+/Outlook Negative.[14]
According to a statement on its website,[15]DirecTV (which ironically had, and still has, multiple networks made up of full-time paid programming) planned to terminate its carriage agreement withi on February 28, 2006. The satellite provider cited that "most of [i Network's] programming consists of infomercials and other promotional shows", despite an earlier promise by network executives that it "would consist of general, family-oriented entertainment". At its peak, infomercial time stretched across eighteen hours of the network's broadcast day, or 126 hours of a 168-hour broadcast week. To appease DirecTV management, the network launched a secondary feed of the network for providers adverse to its over-the-air programming direction, replacing paid programming time with olderpublic domain programs and cancelled Pax TV original series. DirecTV and Paxson then reached a new carriage agreement in May 2006.
In September 2006, i launchedQubo, a children's programming block, as part of a partnership with NBCUniversal, Corus Entertainment, Scholastic Entertainment, and Classic Media.
On January 29, 2007, the network changed its name again toIon Television (as a result of its parent company's renaming toIon Media Networks). Days after the rebrand, California-based entertainment group Positive Ions, Inc. filed atrademark infringement lawsuit against Ion Media Networks, claiming that the network stole the "Ion" branding.[16] Positive Ions had registered trademarks on the word "Ion" and had used the mark commercially since 1999. On May 14, 2007, Positive Ions filed for an injunction that, if granted, would have required Ion Media Networks to change its name once again.[17] On May 4, 2007, Ion,Citadel Investment Group, and NBC Universal announced a deal to transfer NBC Universal's rights to purchase a controlling stake in Ion to Citadel, in exchange for Citadel investing $100 million into Ion's growth and digital plans.[12]
Ion Television's programming, for the most part, remained unchanged upon the rebrand; the network continued to feature programming from the content deals it signed while under thei brand (such asWho's the Boss?,Mama's Family,Growing Pains, andThe Wonder Years). The network also aired a late afternoon sitcom block called "Laugh Attack", which featured reruns of comedy series targeted at African American audiences (originally consisting ofHangin' with Mr. Cooper andThe Wayans Bros., the latter of which was later replaced byThe Steve Harvey Show).[citation needed]
In January 2008, Ion Media andComcast reached a carriage agreement to continue carrying Ion Television, while also addingQubo andIon Life to the cable provider's channel lineups.[18]
On May 1, 2008, Ion Television held an upfront presentation announcing its programming for the 2008–09 season at theNew York Public Library inManhattan. In addition to the announcement of its programming acquisitions, the network unveiled a new logo (awordmark that incorporated a positive ion symbol as a pseudo-period next to the "ion" typeface) and slogan for the network, "Positively Entertaining" (a form of wordplay, asions are atoms or molecules that have a positive or negative electrical charge).[19]
With the September 8, 2008, rebrand, the network also retooled its focus, emphasizing the key demographic of adults between ages of 18 and 49, and airing more recent acquired programming aimed at young adults (such asBoston Legal,NCIS, andCriminal Minds).[citation needed]
By this point, the network shifted its programming to feature extended blocks of its acquired series (which consist mostly of drama series, with sitcoms becoming an increasingly less integral part of the schedule); it also began a gradual expansion of the number of hours devoted to entertainment shows, starting with the addition of a two-hour block of programming in the late afternoon (from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 pm. Central) in January 2008, and expanding further into thedaytime and late fringe/early graveyard periods over a five-year span (however, this resulted in the network increasing its reliance on regularly scheduledmarathon-style blocks of a relatively small inventory of programs in lieu of acquiring a much larger lineup of series to fill out the schedule). More recent theatrically released feature films were also added to the lineup, alongside older movie releases from the 1980s and 1990s.[citation needed]
In April 2009, it was announced that Ion Media Networks was once again facingbalance sheet problems. The company disclosed that it was in discussions with lenders on "a comprehensive recapitalization" of itsbalance sheet, translating to an effort to restructure its considerable debt, which, according toThe Wall Street Journal, stood at $2.7 billion as of April 2009.[citation needed]
The network launchedhigh definition operations in the720p format, announcing they would do so on January 28, 2009,[20] with an original launch date of February 16, 2009, but delayed to March 16, 2009, after the passage of theDTV Delay Act,[21] which pushed the nationaldigital television transition to June 12, 2009. Most Ion stations began to switch their main signals from480istandard definition to 720p HD in late February; an early decision topillarbox 4:3 programming with blue rather than black pillarboxing was eventually abandoned as black coloring became the industry norm. Some Ion-owned and affiliate stations which carry the network as a multicast offering continue to carry the network in 480i widescreen over-the-air.
On May 19, 2009, Ion Media Networks filed forChapter 11bankruptcy protection, putting the Ion network under bankruptcy for the second time in its history; it had reached an agreement with holders of 60% of its first lien secured debt that would extinguish the entirety of its $2.7 billion legacy debt and preferred stock, and recapitalize the company with a $150 million new funding commitment.[22] On July 15, 2009,RHI Entertainment entered into a settlement agreement to resolve a dispute with Ion Media Networks, which resulted in the termination of a programming distribution agreement between RHI and Ion.[23]
In November 2010, Ion Television began airing its first made-for-TV movies, in the form of Christmas-themed films that air between the weekend afterThanksgiving (airing the weekend before that holiday in 2013) and Christmas Day, with up to five films premiering each year on the network, although they are advertised as "original movies" in on-air promotions (the 2012 filmAnything But Christmas is the only movie aired to date in which Ion Television had actually held a production interest), most of the films are produced by independent film and television studios such as Reel One Entertainment, Hybrid, LLC, The Cartel, andVancouver-basedMarVista Entertainment without the network's financial involvement (Ion does not maintain exclusivity to most of the films, which are also distributed via syndicated film packages or carried by other networks); the network extended these themed made-for-TV movies to other holidays in 2015, with the premieres of the romance filmsMeet My Valentine (which aired as part of the network'sValentine's Day programming slate) andYou Cast a Spell on Me (which aired as part of its "Wicked Week"Halloween block).[citation needed]
On September 24, 2020,E. W. Scripps Company agreed to buyIon Media for $2.65 billion.[24] The transaction, which closed on January 7, 2021,[25] saw Ion Television and its sister networks absorbed into Scripps'Katz Broadcasting subsidiary, which already operates fivespecialty networks, most notablyBounce TV andCourt TV. In regards to Ion Television's programming, Scripps indicated it would maintain the status quo, with no plans at the time to invest in original content or deviate from the channel's off-network programming approach.[26] To get FCC approval for the transaction, 23 Ion Television stations were sold by Scripps toInyo Broadcast Holdings.[27]
On April 8, 2024, Scripps announced that they would reposition Ion into a general entertainment channel, turninglive sports broadcasting as a tentpole of the network withWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA) andNational Women's Soccer League (NWSL) games occupying weekly slots in the programming lineup and to launch a refresh of their brand identity and new year-long brand campaign based on the new tagline from the new branding being "Ion. It's On", replacing "Positively Entertaining" after 16 years. Sister channels Ion Mystery and Ion Plus would also be rebranded with similar graphics based on Ion's branding.
As of April 2024, Ion provides general entertainment programming to owned-and-operated and affiliated stations every day from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. Eastern Time (except Fridays outside of the Holiday season which start at 7:00 a.m. ET; awhile the entertainment programming schedule starts at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 1:00 a.m. from Christmas to New Year's Day), with paid programming filling the remaining vacated hours. A children's programming block ofScience Max (one past Qubo series), andXploration Station fromSteve Rotfeld Productions – which features programs compliant with FCCeducational programming requirements – airs for three hours each Friday at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Four hours overnight are programmed withcompensated religious or commercial paid programming, a comparably small fraction of the paid programming schedule it aired in the past.
Ion owned-and-operated stations and affiliates formerly also provide limitedlocal programming on weekday mornings to fulfillpublic affairs guidelines, which ranged from entirely local productions to Ion Life-sourced programs within which commercial slots are instead devoted to local physicians or experts giving locality-specific health advice or advertising their services. This programming has ended as the Main Studio Rule repeal by the FCC in 2019 freed Ion stations from this requirement. Ion also served as the over-the-air broadcast distribution point forTiVo'sTeleworld Paid Program, a weekly 30-minute compilation program – usually carried during the overnight on Wednesdays or Thursdays within the network's designated paid programming time – it was specifically coded to distributeprogram previews and device tutorials for TiVo'sdigital video recorders; in 2011, the time was used in early September to preview the pilot ofFox's new sitcomNew Girl, before its actual Fox premiere on September 20.[28] TiVo discontinued the program in 2016 as broadband had become commonplace enough to end it.
Most programs broadcast by Ion Television are distributed by eitherNBCUniversal Syndication Studios,Disney–ABC Domestic Television,CBS Media Ventures, orWarner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. Ion Television also maintains film distribution deals withUniversal Pictures,Paramount Pictures,20th Century Studios andWarner Bros. Pictures.[29] Series broadcast by Ion Television (as of October 2015[update]) are mostly dramas such asCriminal Minds,Law & Order,Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,Law & Order: Criminal Intent,Numb3rs,Bones,Blue Bloods, andThe Listener. As of 2014, the network's format is predominantly devoted to marathon blocks of hour-long drama series, with consecutive episodes of a given series airing between two and 16 hours a day (depending on the day's schedule, with fewer hours in the morning and late fringe).
The network broadcasts feature films released between the 1980s and the 2000s under the banner "Ion Television at the Movies", which fill the majority of the network's Sunday afternoon and evening schedule (holiday-themed made-for-TV films are also broadcast under the banner throughout the entertainment programming day on weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day regardless of where either holiday falls during the calendar week). Ion Television occasionally airs short, hosted segments during its prime-time lineup – particularly during film presentations – known as the "Ion Lounge", a lifestyle segment used mainly to advertise a company's product within the featured program's commercial breaks.
In the recent past, Ion Television has aired a limited number of comedy or comedy-drama series that were cycled on-and-off the schedule such asMonk,Psych andMarried... with Children, with half-hour sitcoms used on certain occasions tofill scheduling gaps prior to the telecast of its late-morning film presentations (usually in the 10:00 am. Central Time half-hour, if the succeeding film ran for at least 21⁄2 hours) because of their erratic scheduling; the network shifted to a more exclusive focus on dramas as part of its series content in January 2015, although the network continued to carry comedic programming in the form of select feature films aired within the "Ion Television at the Movies" block.
Ion's method of running predominantlysyndicated programming is very similar to the international model of broadcasting used in Europe, Canada, Latin America, Asia and Australia, which mixes imported and syndicated shows with original programming – a model used only inUnited States broadcast television by digital multicast services (particularly those that specialize in acquired programs such asMeTV andAntenna TV), smaller English language entertainment-based networks (such asAmerica One),PBS member stations, and networks broadcasting in languages other than English (such asUnivision,UniMás, andTelemundo). 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 (The CW Plus andMyNetworkTV, which are somewhat similar to Ion Television in their formats, mixes elements of both models as acquired programs are supplied both during prime time by the services and by their stations at all other times). A limited number of non-Ion-owned stations that are merely affiliated with the network (such as former Louisville outletWBNA) do carry additional local or syndicated programming that, in some instances, pre-empts certain programs within the Ion master schedule.
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. On June 27, 2006, Ion Media announced a comprehensive programming deal withWarner Bros. Television Distribution, which gave it the broadcast rights to movies and television series owned by the company.[30] One week later on July 5, 2006, Ion announced a similar deal that resulted in the acquisition of broadcast rights to films and series distributed bySony Pictures Television (nowSony Pictures Television Studios).[31] Starting in September of that year, series and feature films from both libraries were incorporated onto the network's prime time schedule (includingWho's the Boss?,Designing Women,Mama's Family,Growing Pains,Green Acres, andThe Wonder Years). However, these older series were later dropped when the network shifted towards more recent series. Ion also struck a library content deal withNBCUniversal, which gave it access to shows such asLaw & Order.[32]
In September 2008, Ion Television reached a multi-year film rights agreement with Warner Bros. Television Distribution to broadcast more recent movies from Warner Bros. and its related studios. Meanwhile, three series from CBS Television Distribution (nowCBS Media Ventures) were added to the schedule:NCIS joined the lineup in September 2008, whileCriminal Minds andGhost Whisperer were added to the Ion Television lineup in 2009. In January 2009, the network announced that it had acquired the broadcast rights to theCanadian television drama seriesDurham County;[33] that show aired on the network for less than a year.
On January 21, 2011, Ion Television acquired the U.S. television rights to the Canadian drama seriesFlashpoint, which gave it first-run rights to the fourth season's final 11 episodes, after CBS aired that season's first eight episodes, as well as rights to air reruns of all episodes produced to date and thereafter;[34] Ion (along with the show's originating Canadian broadcaster, CTV) also renewed the series for a fifth and final season that aired during the fall of 2012.
In July 2011, Ion Television acquired the broadcast television rights to six films produced byStarz Media (nowLionsgate) as part of its weekend film block (then branded as the "Big Movie Weekend"); the films started airing on the network in November of that year.[35] Ion also acquired the syndication rights to theUSA Network seriesPsych andMonk from NBCUniversal; the two series respectively began airing in late 2011 and early 2012.House, also from NBCUniversal, joined the network in September 2012. In September 2011, Ion Television acquired the syndication rights toGeorge Lopez[36] andLeverage.[37]George Lopez began airing on September 29, whileLeverage debuted in July 2012, the former has since been dropped from the network, while the latter has been cycled on-and-off the schedule.
On October 4, 2011, Ion Television acquired the rights to the first two seasons of the Canadian dramaThe Listener for broadcast in 2012, with an option for future seasons through an agreement withShaw Media (parent of the show's originating broadcaster,Global); the series would not join Ion's schedule until March 2014, by which time Ion Television had entered into a co-production arrangement for the program.[38][39] A similar deal reached in September 2014 withEntertainment One gave Ion the American rights to the medical dramaSaving Hope (which made its American debut on NBC in the summer of 2012); Ion began airing first-run episodes and repeats of the series in October 2015.[40]
In December 2011, Ion Television acquired the syndication rights toCold Case, which debuted in 2012. On June 25, 2012, Ion Television entered into a deal withWWE to air a new hour-long series titledWWE Main Event on Wednesday nights; the series debuted on October 3, 2012[41] and ran until April 2, 2014.
Prior to Ion Television's original launch as Pax TV in 1998, the network had reached an agreement withDIC Entertainment to produce a five-hour children's programming block calledFreddy's Firehouse, to air on Saturday and Sunday mornings.[9][42] The block of animated series was instead launched on September 5, 1998, as "Cloud Nine", featuring a trio of winged teenage angels that hosted the wraparound segments that bridged breaks during the block's shows, which were mostly sourced from the DIC library.[8] "Cloud Nine" was discontinued in the spring of 1999, and was replaced by a new block under the title "Pax Kids."[43] The DIC programs were replaced in 2000 with reruns ofJack Hanna's Animal Adventures, which was replaced byJust Deal andCalifornia Dreams the following year. Pax TV became the first major commercial broadcast network in the U.S. to not supply children's programming in January 2002, and later one of only two until it restored a children's block in 2006 (UPN eventually joined it in this distinction after it dropped itsDisney's One Too block in August 2003, following the termination of a programming agreement withBuena Vista Television). Between 2002 and 2006, Pax and i used original reality series such asMiracle Pets,Animal Tails, andAmerica's Most Talented Kids to fulfill its stations' E/I requirements.
On September 15, 2006, Ion Television debuted a weekly children's program block called "Qubo on Ion Television", through a partnership betweenIon Media Networks,NBC Universal, theNelvana unit ofCorus Entertainment,Scholastic Media,Classic Media, and its subsidiaryBig Idea Productions. The Qubo block originally debuted onNBC andTelemundo on September 9, 2006, with NBC's Qubo block initially being rebroadcast on Ion Television on Friday afternoons (making it the last weekday afternoon children's block to be carried by a major commercial broadcast network until 2010).[44] On January 4, 2015, the Qubo block on Ion was relaunched as the "Qubo Kids Corner", concurrent with the block's move to Sunday mornings. As mentioned above, Scripps now purchases syndicated programming to meet Ion Television's E/I requirements with its wind-down of Qubo.
The network has previously broadcast certain sporting events, includingConference USAcollege football games (produced byCollege Sports Television), soccer matches from theWomen's United Soccer Association,Real Pro Wrestling (which more resembles the amateur form than the theatrically-based ring sport), theChampions Tour of golf, theParalympic Games and a weeklymixed martial arts program fromBodogFight. 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 forMajor League Baseball'sTampa Bay Rays andFlorida Marlins (demarcated by each team's territories) until the late 2000s, when cable's Fox Sports Florida and Sun (nowBally Sports Florida andSun) acquired the exclusive rights to both teams.
Ion Television airedNFL Films' weekly highlight program, theNFL Films Game of the Week on Saturday evenings from September 16, 2007, to January 5, 2008, with its initial broadcast focusing on theSeptember 9, 2007 game between theNew York Giants and theDallas Cowboys. The series was not renewed for the fall 2008 season. Ion also obtained rights to televise games from theAmerican Indoor Football Association, which were slated to begin airing in March 2008.[45] However, the game's producers did not provide a live broadcast and the agreement was terminated.
On December 28, 2010, Ion Television signed a deal with theUltimate Fighting Championship to air the preliminary fights to the January 1pay-per-view eventUFC 125.[46] Ion also aired the preliminary fights forUFC 127 andUFC 140 later in 2011, before the organization signed an exclusiveprogramming agreement with Fox.
On April 20, 2023, Ion Television, throughScripps Sports, signed a multi-year deal with theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA) to air a 15-week slate ofdoubleheader games on Friday nights (branded asWNBA Friday Night Spotlight on ION), beginning with that year'sregular season. It will be the first national sports broadcast carried by Ion since 2011, and marks the first ever television contract for Scripps Sports, which was founded by the E. W. Scripps Company in December 2022 to acquire sports events for Ion and the group's local television stations. The agreement also grants local rights to selected IonO&Os for games involving regional WNBA teams, which stations may carry in early- or late-evening broadcast windows depending on tip-off time.[47][48][49]
On November 9, 2023, theNational Women's Soccer League announced Scripps Sports as a rightsholder beginning in the 2024 season, with Ion to air Saturday night doubleheaders. Ion will also air the2024 NWSL Draft.[50][51]
As of October 2020[update], Ion has 64 owned-and-operated stations, and current and pending affiliation agreements with nine additional television stations encompassing 36 states and theDistrict of Columbia.[52] The network has an estimated national reach of 60.63% of all households in the United States (or 189,453,097 Americans with at least one television set). Ion Television has the most owned-and-operated stations of any commercial broadcast network in the United States, reaching 65.1%[53] of the United States (well above the Federal Communications Commission's coverage-based national ownership limit of 39%[54]); it is also the only American commercial broadcast network whose stations almost exclusively consist of network-owned stations, similar to the ownership model of many commercial broadcast networks in Europe, Canada, Latin America, Asia and Australia, and to a somewhat more expansive extent, many U.S.-basedreligious broadcast networks.
Ion's programming is available by default via a national feed that is distributed directly to pay television providers in markets without a local Ion station (this contrasts with the major networks, which under FCC regulations, allow providers to import an owned-and-operated or affiliate station from a nearby market if no local over-the-air affiliate exists). In some markets,DirecTV carries a "placeholder" simulcast of the national modified feed of the network (for example, Los Angeles area viewers can watch Ion on both channels 30, via local O&OKPXN-TV, and 306; New York City on channel 31WPXN besides 305).
In most markets with a Scripps or Inyo-owned Ion station outside early mornings, the only sign of the network being carried on a broadcast television station is a small automatically generatedstation identification on the bottom of the screen at the top of each hour containing the call letters,city of license and state abbreviation, which is repeated across its subchannels.
Ion does not have any over-the-air stations in several majormarkets.
Two major factors that have limited the network's national broadcast coverage are that unlike the major commercial broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox), Ion did not actively seek over-the-air distribution on thedigital subchannels of other network-affiliated stations in the five years following the digital television transition (with limited exceptions inLas Vegas, Nevada,Tucson, Arizona andFresno, California through agreements withTelemundoowned-and-operatedstations in those markets), until it reached a multi-station agreement withMedia General in November 2015;[55] prior to that deal, it long had very few stations thatcontractually carry the network's programming (with limited exceptions in markets such as Louisville, Kentucky andAnchorage, Alaska). As a result, Ion Media Networks owns the vast majority of the stations within Ion Television's affiliate body, as well as those of co-owned multicast services Qubo Channel and Ion Life.
InPittsburgh, a deal by Paxson to buyWPCB-TV and trade it for secondaryPBS member station WQEX was approved by the Federal Communications Commission, but rejected by WPCB-TV ownerCornerstone Television in a 2000controversy; it would not be until November 2010 that Paxson's successor, Ion Media Networks, would successfully buy WQEX, which has since been converted into a commercially licensed outlet as Ion O&OWINP-TV.[56][57] InCharlotte,independent stationWAXN-TV carried some programming aired by the network during its original iteration as Pax TV from 1998 to 2000, but never maintained a formal affiliation. Under an agreement withFox Television Stations, Ion was added to the fourth digital subcarrier of then owned-and-operated stationWJZY on September 29, 2016. Ion in Charlotte later moved to the DT6 feed of WJZY-TV.
St. Louis, at one time, received the network by way of alow-power repeater of O&OWPXS in nearbyMount Vernon, Illinois; in December 2013, theUnited States bankruptcy court approved a plan by creditors ofRoberts Broadcasting to transferEast St. Louis-based MyNetworkTV affiliateWRBU and its sister stations, CW affiliateWZRB inColumbia, South Carolina and former CW affiliateWAZE-LP inEvansville, Indiana, to a trust with Ion Media Networks – a creditor in Roberts'Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, for which it filed in 2011 – that would serve as its beneficiary. Roberts' attorney subsequently stated that Ion would purchase the three stations.[58][59] WZRB and WRBU switched to Ion in February 2014 (although WZRB retained a secondary affiliation with The CW untilMyNetworkTV affiliateWKTC joined theprogramming service in March);[60] WRBU dropped MyNetworkTV upon becoming an Ion O&O (MyNetworkTV would not return to St. Louis until November 2014, when CBS affiliateKMOV launched a third digital subchannel to serve as an affiliate). WAZE-LP wassilent at the time of acquisition, having gone dark the previous year after failing to construct its digital transmitter facilities, and Ion eventually decided on an affiliation deal withNexstar Media Group's cluster in the area instead, using a subchannel of CW affiliateWTVW.
Buffalo andRochester, New York, normally treated as separate markets, share Ion affiliateWPXJ-TV, which is centrally located between the two cities and is licensed toBatavia. An equivalent case exists involvingBattle Creek, Michigan-licensedWZPX-TV, which serves both theGrand Rapids andLansing markets (it also unusually served as a secondaryWB affiliate due to a lack of stations in both markets until the digital age); additionally,Ann Arbor-licensedWPXD-TV also once provided an equivalent over-the-air signal for Lansing before moving their signal to a new transmitter in the Detroit suburb ofSouthfield in 2012.
In addition, in several other markets, Ion's predecessor was sold to another television station group to affiliate with a different English or Spanish language network, and through either a lack of channel space or interest in the network, Ion would not reappear in most of those markets until reaching deals to air on digital subchannels of other stations. These include:
In November 2015,Media General and Ion came to terms on an affiliation deal to add Ion's main feed as a standard definition digital subchannel in non-Ion O&O markets with Media General stations to replace the programming of the long-defunctLive Well Network, the first of its kind for Ion. Ion subchannels were added in markets such asAustin, Texas;Colorado Springs, Colorado;Green Bay, Wisconsin;Lafayette, Indiana;Davenport, Iowa;Lafayette, Louisiana;Lansing, Michigan;Richmond, Virginia;Springfield, Massachusetts; andWichita, Kansas.[55][61] These deals would carry over after the Media General stations were integrated into theNexstar Media Group in January 2017, with WBAY-TV continuing to carry Ion underGray Television ownership.Morgan Murphy Media's two Wisconsin stations (WISC-TV inMadison andWKBT-DT inLa Crosse–Eau Claire) began to carry the network as a third subchannel at the beginning of February 2017. The network further expanded its affiliate reach into small and lower-ranked mid-sized markets during late 2016 and 2017, with Ion Media striking additional deals with companies such as Gray Television,Hubbard Broadcasting,Block Communications,Forum Communications,Heartland Media and theMeredith Corporation to carry Ion Television on digital subchannels of stations owned and/or operated by those groups.
In the fall of 2021, with the purchase of Ion Media by Scripps, it began to end outside contracts in markets with a Scripps station where Ion Television was on a subchannel rather than an Ion station, with the network being activated on Scripps-owned stations as a subchannel onWGBA-TV inGreen Bay, Wisconsin (ending the subchannel deal with WBAY),KGUN-TV inTucson, Arizona (fromKOLD-TV),Richmond, Virginia'sWTVR-TV (taking over fromWRIC-TV),KRIS-TV inCorpus Christi, Texas (fromKIII), andWFTX-TV in theFort Myers, Florida market (rectifying the network's longest absence, as the market previously had no Ion station at all).
In several markets, the station'scity of license is considered outside the main portion of a market's metropolitan area. Such cases includeMinneapolis–Saint Paul, where that area's Ion O&O,KPXM-TV, is licensed toSt. Cloud (60 miles (97 km) northwest of the Twin Cities); Detroit, where affiliateWPXD-TV is licensed toAnn 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 affiliateWHPX-TV is licensed toNew London, Connecticut (located 40 miles (64 km) to the southeast), which moved its transmitter to theFarmingtonRattlesnake Mountain site in the digital age; andMilwaukee, where O&OWPXE-TV is licensed toKenosha, with its digital transmitter located at a tower farm on Milwaukee's north side (its former analog transmitter was located south of the city inRacine County). In the Cleveland market, Ion airs on Akron-based WVPX-TV, which had formerly targeted Akron,Canton and nearby areas as an ABC affiliate (then competing with the market's existing ABC stationWEWS) prior to 1998.
Ion Television's stations have made notable use of "multiplexing" or splitting a digital broadcast television signal into separatesubchannels. The network's stations usually carry up to six of these digital subchannels (in contrast with most other full-power stations, which usually carry a maximum of four channels over the same signal), each of which broadcast separate networks. Due to the bandwidth limitations caused by its carriage of multiple subchannels over a single broadcast signal, only the primary Ion network feed is transmitted in high definition, a mode of operation that remains under Scripps ownership. A small number of Ion stations have channel sharing agreements with other broadcasters after the FCC's 2016 spectrum re-allocation auction, while others such as Atlanta-area stationWPXA-TV contract with other lower-power stations in a market to provide a full-power signal, such asTelemundo affiliateWKTB-CD.
Qubo was a children's television network that launched on January 8, 2007, and is carried on the second digital subchannel of Ion Television's stations. Its launch was announced on May 8, 2006, when Ion Media Networks, NBCUniversal, Nelvana, Scholastic Media, Classic Media (nowDreamWorks Classics which would later be owned by NBCUniversal) and itsBig Idea Productions unit announced plans to create Qubo as a multi-platform children's entertainment endeavor that would extend to a weekly programming block on Ion Television as well as NBC and Telemundo, and avideo-on-demand service fordigital cable providers.[62] 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 theFilmation 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.
The network debuted on January 8, 2007.[63] 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. As a consequence to the pending launch of Qubo, thei secondary feed was replaced oni O&Os with a repeating promo loop in late September 2006. NBCUniversal dropped out of the venture in 2012, with NBC and sister network Telemundo replacing their Qubo blocks with their own E/I-compliantchildren's lineups programmed byPBS Kids Sprout (nowUniversal Kids, which is part-owned by NBCUniversal's corporate parentComcast) that July, relegating Qubo's companion programming block exclusively to Ion Television. Ion Media Networks acquired the stakes of the remaining partners in the channel, which all retained distribution partnerships with Qubo, in 2013. An additional Qubo block would later launch on Ion Plus on September 8, 2020.
Programming on both Qubo Channel and its companion Qubo blocks on NBC, Telemundo, Ion Television, and Ion Plus accounted for all educational and informative (E/I) programming, relieving Ion Media (both its O&O stations and certain Ion affiliates that carry the 24-hour channel) from the responsibility of carrying programs compliant with guidelines dictated by theChildren's Television Act on its other subchannel services.
Qubo ceased broadcasting on February 28, 2021 after Ion Media's acquisition by theE. W. Scripps Company and merger withKatz Broadcasting.[64]
Ion Plus (originally named "iHealth" prior to its launch and "Ion Life" until July 1, 2019) launched on February 19, 2007, and was carried on the third digital subchannel of Ion Television's stations. 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); someextreme sports programming previously aired on weekend evenings until July 2014. Much of Ion Life's programming consists of Canadian-imported programs, with some limited U.S.-produced programming. The network originally maintained a 24-hour entertainment schedule until 2013, when Ion Life added a limited number of infomercials in mid-morning and midday timeslots. As of July 1, 2019, it was rebranded to Ion Plus, acting as ade facto extension of the main Ion service, featuring all-day marathon scheduling of one series, along with the same scheduling of paid programming.
Ion Plus originally ceased broadcasting over-the-air after Ion Media's acquisition by theE. W. Scripps Company and merger withKatz Broadcasting on February 28, 2021,[64] though the network continued to air as aFAST network through several AVOD streaming services, including Samsung TV Plus, and Vizio WatchFree.[65]
On June 17, 2024, Scripps quietly posted a promotional video to the social media presences of Ion Plus andDefy TV that the latter would be wound down at the end of June (with itsA&E Networks library reality programming moving to another unrelated network provisionally known as Dare, launching that day, but which was sold the Defy branding by Scripps shortly before its debut and returned to the air with the same brand and imaging), with Ion Plus returning to over-the-air availability on July 1;MacGyver andScorpion were added to Ion Plus to augment its schedule as the mainline Ion network adds further sports programming to its schedule.
In April 2012, Ion Media Networks launched a new service known asIon Shop (originally "iShop" prior to November 2012, and "ShopTV" thereafter, both are names used only by thePSIP identifiers on digital television tuners and converter boxes; there was never explicit on-air branding used by the channel itself); some Ion owned-and-operated stations, however, did not begin carrying the network until as late as that November. Carried as a fourth digital subchannel on Ion Television's owned-and-operated stations, it primarily carried informercials; until June 2013, Ion Shop also aired blocks of programming from Ion Life in some morning and late night timeslots.
Ion Shop ceased operations on February 28, 2021.
On February 24, 2022, the Court TV Mystery network was rebranded asIon Mystery, with the "Ion" brand now more established regardingprocedural dramas in general, including Ion Mystery's overall programming, whereasCourt TV is more associated with its news division.[66]
On August 5, 2013, as part of a partnership betweenQVC and Ion Media Networks to expand the channel's broadcast television coverage, Ion Television began carrying the cable and satellitehome shopping network via a fifth digital subchannel on most of its owned-and-operated stations. Although the network maintains a high-definition simulcast feed, QVC is transmitted in standard definition to preserve channel bandwidth to allow the primary Ion network feed to transmit in HD, with the normallyletterboxed SD feed squeezed to full-screen to fit4:3 television sets (preventingwindowboxing of the subchannel on 16:9 sets). QVC is also broadcast on digital subchannels oflow-powered television stations (mainly those not owned by Ion Media Networks) in selected areas, including in some areas where an Ion station also carries it. The channel's broadcast service is branded as "QVC Over the Air", with an accompanyingon-screen bug appearing on the lower right corner of the screen during the network's programming; the service can be differentiated from the cable network due to the use of a differenttoll-free number andQR code on-screen to account for any sales made from shoppers through the over the air version of the network. Some Ion-affiliated and owned stations have declined to carry QVC's programming because of other partnerships between QVC and other broadcasters, along with other spectrum agreements to carry other stations and networks; this is also the case with HSN in the next section. The partnership remains in effect in many markets under Scripps ownership and Inyo affiliations, though some stations ended distribution of the network after February 2021 in favor of the Katz networks.
On November 18, 2013, Ion Television began carrying the Home Shopping Network via a sixth digital subchannel on most of its owned-and-operated stations, as part of a partnership with Ion Media Networks (both once controlled by Lowell "Bud" Paxson) to expand the channel's broadcast coverage. Although it has a high definition simulcast feed, HSN is transmitted by Ion stations in standard definition, due to the same digital multiplexing limitations that prevent QVC from being carried in 16:9 SD or HD. HSN has been widely available over-the-air throughout the United States since its inception – through stations that the network had owned prior to the 1998 reorganization of its Silver King Broadcasting group intoUSA Broadcasting (some of which were converted into general entertainment independent outlets, and were later sold toUnivision Communications to form the charter stations of the present-day UniMás network), and had been mainly available onlow-power television stations immediately prior to its subchannel-leasing agreement with Ion; HSN is carried on low-power stations in some markets where an Ion station also carries the network, though HSN's programming is exclusive to an existing affiliate in a few areas where both networks are present (such as Atlanta, whereWPXA-TV formerly simulcastTelemundo affiliateWKTB-CD on its DT6 subchannel under a time-leasing arrangement until the sale of that station toGray Television and its move toWANF's spectrum, andW13DQ-D carries HSN). Some Ion-affiliated stations decline to carry HSN's programming, and some Ion Media-owned stations are unable to carry that network due to affiliation agreements between HSN and other broadcasters that existed prior to the Ion deal. The partnership remains in effect in many markets under Scripps ownership and Inyo affiliations, though some stations ended distribution of the network after February 2021 in favor of the Katz networks.
Separate national feeds (formerly known as "i Plus" or "Ion Plus") have been made available to pay television providers, includingDish Network, DirecTV,Comcast andCharter Communications. In the summer of 2022, Ion Television launched afree ad-supported streaming television feed onThe Roku Channel and otheradvertising-supported video-on-demand streaming providers, includingSamsung TV Plus,Vizio WatchFree+,Xumo,Tubi,Pluto TV,PLEX, andTCL Channel.[67] The FAST and AVOD feeds air programming sourced from Ion Plus in place of paid programming that airs on the main network. Prior to the launch of Ion Life, the Ion Plus feeds carried reruns of cancelled Pax original programs (such asMiracle Pets andBeat the Clock), as well aspublic domain movies and sitcom episodes (such asI Married Joan andThe Beverly Hillbillies). The feeds used the Pax name andbug after the network's rebrand asi, until about September 2005. As Ion has refocused towards its current schedule however, along with a de-emphasis on local advertising, the national feed effectively repeats Ion's main feed outside a lack ofstation identification.
NBC Universal is transferring to Citadel the call right on Bud Paxson's controlling shares it acquired in November 2005 when NBC Universal restructured its investment in ION. According to the terms of the agreement, Citadel will exercise the call right, commence a cash tender offer for ION's outstanding Class A common stock at a price of $1.46 a share, and invest $100 million to fund ION's future growth and digital investment plans.
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