 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | North America |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles New York City Toronto,Ontario, Canada Hatillo, PR |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | JLTV, LLC (Privately Owned) |
| History | |
| Launched | 2007 (17 years ago) |
| Links | |
| Website | www.jltv.tv |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| WIMN-CD (Arecibo, PR) | 36.1 |
| Streaming media | |
| Digital media receiver | Roku |
Jewish Life Television (JLTV) is an American entertainment television network broadcastingJewish–themed programming. The network was founded in 2007 by Phil Blazer, a longtime journalist and producer of programming for the Jewish community;[1][2] Blazer remained with the network until his death in August 2020.[3] The JLTV is funded by theJewish Life Foundation,[4][5] and its remaining earnings come from advertising.[6][7]
In the United States, JLTV is available in almost 50 million households throughComcast,Spectrum andDirecTV as well as various regional cable systems, in addition to offering a live feed of its programming on the Internet.[8] JLTV's broadcast facilities are located inLos Angeles, California.[9]
JLTV's newest programming features shows, such as international favoritesFauda andPrisoners of War along with many other news, sports, lifestyle and entertainment programming. These include films, documentaries, music, reviews, interviews, reality shows such asInOverOurHeads and special events, such as programming from theMaccabiah Games.[10]
An agreement was made with theIsraeli Broadcasting Authority's second outletChannel 33 to relay JLTV's programs to Israeli over-the-air and cable television, as well as by satellite to Europe and the Middle East in 2009, but its implementation was sluggish due to bureaucracy problems at the broadcaster, coupled by a string of resignations.[11]
In 2019, the network launched the original series,Bubbies Know Best, featuring three Jewish grandmothers serving as matchmakers for a variety of people searching for romance.[12] In 2020, JLTV premiered an episode of their global travel seriesAir Land & Sea featuringPorto, Portugal,[13] which was awarded "Outstanding Religion Documentary" by theReligion News Association.[14] JLTV, theMuseum of Jewish Heritage andJewishGen announced the co-production of aJewish genealogy series calledGenerations, set to premiere in 2023.[15][16]
The network also carries a collection of classic general-interest series with Jewish hosts or leads, includingThe Jack Benny Program,That Show withJoan Rivers,Candid Camera withAllen Funt,You Bet Your Life withGroucho Marx,TheSoupy Sales Show,Bonanza (Lorne Greene andMichael Landon), the Ukrainian sitcomServant of the People (Volodymyr Zelenskyy) and the mid-20th century dramedyThe Goldbergs, along with general-interestpublic domainWesterns andsitcoms (The Lucy Show,The Beverly Hillbillies,Stories of the Century andAnnie Oakley). As of 2023, JLTV also broadcasts the original 1951-59 version ofDragnet.
In 2021, JLTV announced that they would be the first cable television channel in North America to broadcast the two award-winning thriller seriesFauda andPrisoners of War.[17]
As of 2025, JLTV has expanded its online offerings into afree ad-supported streaming television suite, which includes the main JLTV service, a fitness channel, a comedy channel, a channel with Israel-centered content, a "classic" channel with public domain shows, and a full-time channel devoted to Soupy Sales.[18]
In 2011, JLTV was officially added to theCRTC'sapproved list of foreign services, allowing the channel to expand into Canada. Ethnic Channels Group, who sponsored the application to get JLTV on the approved list, is the official Canadian distributor of the channel.[19] In July 2014, JLTV officially launched in Canada onBell Fibe TV.
