WHY THIS MATTERS: Diginet purveyors have created multimillion-dollar businesses by converting extra spectrum and at least initially library programming into free over-the-air networks.
Updated: Monday, Nov. 19, 9:15 am PT
As the audience for diginets grows, so do their programming offerings.
And diginets' audiences are growing, make no mistake. While the nets also known as multicast networks got their start due to the availability of spectrum and extra channels when high-definition television came online, they have grown their businesses due to the unexpected rise of so-called cord-cutters and cord-nevers.
Instead of subscribing to expensive cable packages, cord-cutters, or people who abandon their cable subscription, and cord-nevers, or those who've never subscribed to cable in the first place, figure out other ways to watch television. One way that is growing in popularity is pairing inexpensive over-the-air antennas with over-the-top streaming subscriptions.
For example, a user could put an antenna on his house and then subscribe to advertising-supported Hulu for $7.99 per month, thereby creating a virtual cable package composed of over-the-air linear broadcasters, including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and The CW, as well as multicast networks, such as MeTV, This TV, Antenna TV, Cozi TV and many more.
The share of U.S. households that acquire their TV signals via over-the-air antenna increased to 20% or about 24 million homes from 16% from early 2015 through the end of 2017, according to Parks Associates data from March.
If you put yourself in the shoes of someone who can't afford or chooses not to subscribe to cable or satellite, an entertainment option with a free price point becomes popular, Katz Networks president and CEO Jonathan Katz said. It's a pairing that has organically happened as consumers have combined these two platforms into their own bundle.
In August 2017, The E.W. Scripps Co. acquired the 95% of Katz it didn't already own, including four multicast networks, Bounce, Escape, Grit and Laff, and subscription streaming service Brown Sugar, for $302 million. With the additional cash infusion, Katz has been able to accelerate its programming acquisitions.
"Scandal"
For example, in November, Bounce acquired all seven seasons of Shonda Rhimes' Scandal from Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International, which it began airing in primetime on Monday, Nov. 12.
Katz also has acquired Disney's According to Jim, to premiere on comedy-focused network Laff in 2019, joining Home Improvement, 3rd Rock From the Sun, That '70s Show, The Drew Carey Show, Night Court, Spin City and more.
On Jan. 1, 2019, female-focused Escape is adding the first 12 seasons of Law & Order and every episode of Boston Legal to a programming lineup that also includes Without a Trace.
And Western network Grit will add Warner Bros.' movie library of Westerns to its schedule.
Bounce also is the first diginet to expand into original scripted series and movies, Katz said.
Over Thanksgiving weekend, it will premiere holiday movie Stone Cold Christmas, a modern and female-driven take on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. On Monday, Jan. 7, it will premiere half-hour series Last Call, starring Empire's Charles Malik Whitfield as an ex-NFL player who opens a comedy club. Last Call joins a slate of original series that includes Saints & Sinners, Family Time and In the Cut.
Netting Nostalgia Viewers
While the Katz networks are growing quickly, the highest-rated and best-distributed diginet continues to be Weigel Broadcasting's MeTV, which airs nostalgia programming such as Charlie's Angels, Big Valley, Bonanza and The Beverly Hillbillies. In the coming months, MeTV will launch its first original program, which it is producing in-house.
Besides MeTV, Weigel offers diginets Heroes & Icons, Movies and Decades. MeTV was one of the first diginets to launch and continues to offer nostalgia fare, along with competitors such as This TV, Antenna TV and Cozi TV.
In September, Weigel launched Start TV in partnership with the CBS-owned stations. The network airs scripted crime dramas that target women, such as The Closer, The Division, Early Edition, Family Law, Joan of Arcadia, Medium, Profiler, Touched by an Angel and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.
Start TV already has done well enough that it will be nationally rated by Nielsen come December. In January, it will add five shows to the schedule, including The Good Wife and Crossing Jordan.
We continue to schedule dramas with women in leading and significant roles, Weigel vice chairman Neal Sabin said. That's one of the reasons we think the network has resonated so well with women. The network was correctly positioned at the right time.
Another network that got its start largely as a nostalgia net, NBCUniversal's Cozi TV, is starting to program more recent series. On Jan. 1, it will launch sitcom The Office.
It's a bold, innovative show that has proven to be rewatchable and has such a fan following, Cozi TV senior VP Meredith McGinn said.
"Little House on the Prairie"
Cozi airs classic sitcoms in primetime blocks, having found that viewers stick around for them. During the day, it airs dramas such as Murder, She Wrote and Little House on the Prairie. The diginet is available in more than 90 million homes and in 82% of the U.S.
The flip side of the Cozi coin is Spanish-language diginet TeleXitos, which launched in December 2014 and offers classic English-language series and movies dubbed in Spanish. So, U.S. Hispanics who enjoyed shows such as Miami Vice and Law & Order when they were growing up in their home countries can enjoy those shows again in their native language and with their families. TeleXitos just debuted Buffy the Vampire Slayer, also dubbed in Spanish.
The beauty of thi
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Mavis has launched Mavis Camera 8.2, the latest release of its professional camera app for the iPhone and iPad. This update brings support for iPhone 18 Pro and...
29/09/2026
Oak View Group (OVG) has announced Cisco as an Official Technology Partner, with plans to standardize infrastructure across its venue network on Cisco solutions...
29/09/2026
SportsNet Pittsburgh (SNP) won three honors at the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
Program awards went to Bucs BP in the Sports Program Live category (produced ...
29/09/2026
The Professional Women's Hockey League has announced home openers for all 12 teams for the 2026-27 season, along with a broadcast partnership with CBC under...
29/09/2026
Manifold technologies has been recognized as a contributor to the Media eXchange...
29/09/2026
FuboTV has announced My Local Sports, allowing subscribers in select markets to add their local regional sports network (RSN) as an add-on to a Fubo Sports subs...
29/09/2026
Asian News International (ANI), a wire agency and video news provider based in India, has deployed Grass Valley's AMPP Media Operating System and Framelight...
29/09/2026
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has deployed Ikegami UHK-X600 cameras as part of an upgrade to IP-based production infrastructure. The deployment ...
29/09/2026
REMI, REMCO models will drive the bulk of the broadcaster's NHL productions ...
29/09/2026
Three years in, the facility is supporting more centralized race production, com...
29/09/2026
NBC, Peacock, and NBSN are carrying all four Wild Card series with a production ...
29/09/2026
19 Nonfiction Projects Across All Stages of Production to Receive More Than $1 million in Support as Documentary Film Program Approaches 25th Anniversary
LOS ...
29/09/2026
Two new plug-ins launch alongside updated bundles
Zynaptiq have just announced the launch of two new plug-ins, alongside new and improved versions of two of...
29/09/2026
All-in-one bus processor revealed
Wes Audio's ng product range has come a long way since it was first introduced, and now includes a tasty selection of ...
29/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Ikegami announces that the South African Broadcasting Corporation, SABC, has chosen Ikegami UHK-X600 camera systems as part of an advance to IP-based operation ...
29/09/2026
Blendkit Offers 20% Discount to Celebrate Crossing 150K Asset Milestone
Brie Clayton September 29, 2026
0 Comments
Blendkit, the largest 3D asset libr...
29/09/2026
Interactive streaming specialist Ease Live supported more than 76.5 million fan sessions across three major European media operators during this summers FIFA Wo...
29/09/2026
Ease Live has added support for VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) to its graphical overlay technology, opening up new ways for broadcasters, streamers and rights...
29/09/2026
Rise AV has announced the launch of the inaugural Rise AV Awards, a new global awards programme celebrating the women, advocates and organisations across the AV...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Clear-Com announced that First Baptist Nashville has upgraded its production communications with a Clear-Com intercom solution as part of a comprehensive sanct...
29/09/2026
Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K Captured Action Shots for Sketch
Brie Clayton September 28, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's portable design and dynamic range...
29/09/2026
Kean Production Services Deploys AJA ColorBox to Deliver Consistent, Accurate Co...
29/09/2026
Berklee Alumni and Faculty Nominated for the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards A total of 28 Berklee alumni and faculty earned nominations across 20 categories this ye...
29/09/2026
Berklee's K-Pop & Beyond Explores Connections Between K-Pop and Hip-Hop Now in its fifth year, the series brings together artists, industry leaders, and s...
29/09/2026
We tend to think we live in a digital world, with hopes and fears around artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, data centres and the next big technolo...
29/09/2026
Today, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Apple relea...
29/09/2026
Final Cut Camera, the professional filming app for iPhone, receives a major upda...
29/09/2026
RT lyric fm is proud to announce the annual Choirs for Christmas competition callout. Warm up those vocal chords and join us on RT lyric fm for a celebration ...
28/09/2026
The NHL has announced Adobe as an Official Creative, Marketing and AI Partner beginning with the 2026-27 season. The partnership will provide the league and its...
28/09/2026
MultiDyne will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (October 5-7, Dubai Exhibition Centre), showcasing an expanded technology portfolio following its June 2026 acquisition of...
28/09/2026
ARRI and HONOR have announced the HONOR Magic9 Pro Max, a flagship smartphone carrying ARRI branding on the device and packaging as the first product-level expr...
WHY THIS MATTERS: Diginet purveyors have created multimillion-dollar businesses by converting extra spectrum and at least initially library programming into free over-the-air networks.
