 | |
| Type | Digital broadcasttelevision network |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Broadcast area | Nationwide coverage: 94%[1] |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Programming | |
| Picture format | 1080i16:9widescreen or480i4:3letterbox |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | E. W. Scripps Company |
| Parent | Scripps Networks, LLC |
| Key people | Jonathan Katz (president CEO, Katz Broadcasting) Bill Cox (SVP of programming, Grit)[2] |
| History | |
| Founded | April 3, 2014; 11 years ago (2014-04-03) |
| Launched | August 18, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-08-18)[3] |
| Founder | Jonathan Katz |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| List of Grit affiliates | |
Grit is an Americanfree-to-airtelevision network owned by theScripps Networks subsidiary of theE. W. Scripps Company.[4] The network features classicwesterns, both TV series and films.[5]
The network is available in manymedia markets via thedigital subchannels offree-to-airtelevision stations and on thedigital tiers of selectcable providers through a local affiliate of the network.
Originally, Katz sold the network to affiliated TV stations via ad split, but by October 2015 had moved to paying carriage fees in exchange for distributing the network's ad inventory.[6]1 Grit used direct response advertising as a meter of viewers before switching toNielsen rating C-3.[6]3 It is available onDish Network,DirecTV Stream,Sling TV,U-verse TV, andFrndly TV.
Grit was announced byKatz Broadcasting along with a sister networkEscape on April 3, 2014, with a formal launch scheduled for that summer with initial affiliates announced at this time beingUnivision Communications owned stations.[4] On August 11, 2014, Katz announced that the two networks would launch simultaneously on August 18, 2014. Grit launched at NoonEastern Time on that date,[7] with the 1952 filmHigh Noon as the network's inaugural broadcast, leading off a week-long festival ofJohn Wayne films.[3]
Katz estimated, based on direct response advertising business by September 2015, the network had over 250,000 prime time viewer and available in 91 million homes and 81% of the country. At that time, Grit along with its sister network, Escape, were signing up fornational ratings fromNielsen. Previously handling the network's direct response advertising, Marathon Ventures would continue after the change over with advertising and sponsorship sales.[8]
Following Scripps' acquisition ofIon Media on January 7, 2021, a previous agreement for the network to air on the subchannels ofUnivision Communications-owned-and-operated stations, was nullified. The network then moved to the stations of Ion Media and Inyo Broadcast Holdings (which acquired stations Scripps could not) as a subchannel, doing so by March 1, 2021 replacing theIon Plus,Shop Ion andQubo channels.[9]
Grit's program schedule featureswesterns such asDeath Valley Days,Laramie,The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp,The Lone Ranger,Zorro andTales of Wells Fargo, along with various western films.[10]
Katz Broadcasting president and CEO Jonathan Katz based the demographic-targeted concept of Escape and Grit after Bounce TV, a network Katz co-founded withMartin Luther King III andAndrew Young in 2011 that is targeted atAfrican-American audiences. Katz stated Grit and Escape are "the country’s first ever male-centric and female-centric broadcast networks," featuring different programming from other classic television multicast networks that Katz referred to as "generic brands with generic names, created by studios to serve the studios."[11]
Grit's program schedule features an extensive library of films through multi-year program licensing agreements with several majorfilm studios:Warner Bros. Pictures,[12]Universal Pictures,[13]Paramount Pictures,[14]Sony Pictures Entertainment,[15]Shout! Factory, andWalt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (including 20th Century Fox titles).
Grit also operatesGrit Xtra, an InternetFAST streaming service that carries older Western movies and TV series.[16]
As of June 2016, Grit has current or pending affiliation agreements with television stations covering approximately 78% of the United States.[17]
When the network was first announced, Grit entered into an affiliation agreement withUnivision Communications, which launched the network in 24 markets served by a station owned by the group or operated throughlocal marketing agreements withEntravision Communications – giving Grit affiliates in 12 of the 20 largest U.S. television markets (including markets such asNew York City,Los Angeles,Chicago, andDallas-Fort Worth). The network immediately sought carriage on the digital subchannels of television stations owned by other broadcasting companies,[4] on June 17, 2014, Katz signed group deals to carry Grit on stations owned and/or operated byRaycom Media in 26 markets (Raycom was merged intoGray Television at the start of 2019).[18]
On July 17, 2014, Katz announced affiliation deals with theCox Media Group to carry Grit onWFTV inOrlando andKMYT-TV inTulsa, as well asPress Communications-ownedKJWP in the Philadelphia market, andCitadel Communications-owned stations inProvidence (WLNE-TV) andLincoln (KLKN). It also expanded its affiliation deal withUnivision Communications to add stations inWashington, D.C.,San Francisco, andPhoenix to the network's originally announced Univision-owned charter affiliates.[19][20]
On October 9, 2014, theSinclair Broadcast Group announced that it would carry the network on stations it owns and/or operates in 47 markets.[21] The deal lasted for three years, and Sinclair dropped the network on their stations from February 2017 until the start of 2018 in preference for their co-owned network withMGM (and Grit's most direct competitor),Charge!.
On November 16, 2015, Katz announced an affiliation deal withMedia General adding the network to five more markets.[22]
On June 15, 2016, Katz announced more affiliation deals withNexstar Broadcasting Group andCordillera Communications'sKATC-TV.[23]
Following Scripps' acquisition ofIon Media in January 2021, Scripps moved many of its subchannels, including Grit, toIon-owned stations.[9]