Diginets Come of Age
20/11/2018
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
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with URSA Broadcast G2
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
25/04/2024
Qurate Launches The Big Dish on The Roku Channel
WEST CHESTER, Pa. Video commerce provider Qurate Retail Group has launched The Big Dish, a new culinary-themed FAST channel on The Roku Channel....
25/04/2024
HPA Opens Submissions for 2024 HPA Engineering Excellence Awards
LOS ANGELES The Hollywood Professional Association has announced that submissions for the 2024 HPA Engineering Excellence Awards are now being accepted. This re...
25/04/2024
DV Earns MRC Accreditation for CTV Viewability
NEW YORK The digital media measurement and analytics firm DoubleVerify has announced that it has received Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation for Video Vie...
25/04/2024
DAZN FAST Channels to Launch on Tubi
SAN FRANCISCO Fox Corp.'s ad-supported streaming service Tubi has announced a licensing agreement with the sports platform DAZN that will see DAZN Ringside ...
25/04/2024
IAB Makes Three Appointments to Its Leadership Team
NEW YORK In the runup to the 2024 IAB NewFronts, the IAB has announced three key appointments to its leadership team....
25/04/2024
Epic Games releases Unreal Engine 5.4 with new Motion Design Mode, Unreal VCam for Android, and more
Epic Games releases Unreal Engine 5.4 with new Motion Design Mode, Unreal VCam f...
25/04/2024
Content Creation, Production, Distribution Is In a State of Flux
Content Creation, Production, Distribution Is In a State of Flux Andy Marken April 24, 2024 0 Comments My empathy is creeping towards what I would de...
25/04/2024
Capitol Broadcasting Company to Air Carolina Panthers Games on Triangle's Strongest Broadcast Signal
The Carolina Panthers and Capitol Broadcasting Company (CBC) announced they have...
25/04/2024
Berklee Student Riko Sasaski Named 2024 Yamaha Young Performing Artist
Berklee Student Riko Sasaski Named 2024 Yamaha Young Performing Artist The accomplished saxophonist secured a spot among the elite winners of this year's ...
25/04/2024
Local News Close-Up: St. Louis Born and Bred
Stations everywhere take pride in having a main anchor who comes from the market they represent. That applies in St. Louis, too, but it also pertains to general...
25/04/2024
Edward Moody Joins WBTW Myrtle Beach Anchor Team
Edward Moody is joining the WBTW Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, anchor crew, and will anchor the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts alongside Trish Williford. He comes f...
25/04/2024
MTV Moving VMAs To New UBS Arena in New York
MTV said the 2024 Video Music Awards will return to New York and take place at the new UBS Arena....
25/04/2024
Offbeat Comedy The Outlaws' Returns to Prime Video Next Month
Season three of comedy The Outlaws premieres on Prime Video May 31. Stephen Merchant co-created the show, and stars. There are five episodes....
25/04/2024
Bidders Interested in Buying Bounce, Says Scripps CEO Adam Symson
The E.W. Scripps Co. is evaluating offers for Bounce, its multicast channel for African-American viewers, according to a report from CNBC....
25/04/2024
Paramount Plus Renews Dora'
Paramount Plus has ordered a second season for Dora, the animated preschool show based on Dora the Explorer. The show, featuring Dora on a rainforest adventure ...
25/04/2024
AI-assisted optronics: an unprecedented European project to increase combat perception capabilities
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn The European Commission signed the Grant Agreeme...
24/04/2024
UKTV's pay TV channel Alibi joins forces with S4C and All3Media International for new legal crime drama series Mudtown
Cast set to star include Erin Richards and Tom Cullen Wednesday 24 April 2024 ...
24/04/2024
K-Hip-Hop's Biggest Names Take Center Stage on KrOWN X HAN 2024'
This month marked the return of Spotify's HAN, our collaborative program that brings the unique sounds and culture of Korean hip-hop to the world through ex...
24/04/2024
RADAR Italy Returns With 6 Artists Transforming the Country's Music Landscape
As Spotify's program to spotlight rising talent from around the world, RADAR...
24/04/2024
Spotify Partners With Les Flammes Music Awards To Celebrate French Rap
Spotify is once again teaming up with Les Flammes, the only music awards dedicated to rap, R&B, Afrobeats, and popular culture in France. Spotify helped create...
24/04/2024
Taylor Swift's THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT' Becomes Spotify's Most-Streamed Album in One Week
Records smashed. History made. It's been just five days since Taylor Swift u...
24/04/2024
SBS marks Earth Day as The Cook Up with Adam Liaw becomes first Australian show to have its carbon footprint validated through SSA
SBS marks Earth Day as The Cook Up with Adam Liaw becomes first Australian show ...
24/04/2024
Save money every day with SBS's Ricardo Gonalves and Peggy Giakoumelos on new Cost of Living Secrets podcast
Save money every day with SBS's Ricardo Gon alves and Peggy Giakoumelos on n...
24/04/2024
Authentic Perspectives
The first feature film from writer-director Shaun Seneviratne, Ben and Suzanne: A Reunion in 4 Parts depicts the struggle between love and duty as Ben (Sathya S...
24/04/2024
Melanie Georgieva Joins Panalux as Long Form Sales Director
LONDON, England (24 April 2024) Panalux, a leading rental provider of lighting and power solutions for the motion-picture industry and part of Panavision'...
24/04/2024
Deutsche Telekom Powers New MagentaTV Service With Broadpeak's Cloud DVR Solution
April 24, 2024 -- Deutsche Telekom Powers New MagentaTV Service With Broadpea...
24/04/2024
Mundo Hispano Digital Launches MundoNow Connect
ATLANTA Mundo Hispano Digital has launched a new advertising product, MundoNow Connect, that is designed to help advertisers reach Hispanic audiences on connect...
24/04/2024
Epic Games Releases Unreal Engine 5.4
Epic Games has released a major new version of Unreal Engine, which has become a mainstay in virtual production, that includes new features and improvements to ...
24/04/2024
NAB Show Welcomes Creators to Las Vegas
The National Association of Broadcasters welcomed the industry to its annual extravaganza last month in Las Vegas. The sights and sounds were similar to previou...
24/04/2024
Chptr, Gray Television Launch on Video Obituary Platform
NEW YORK Chptr and Gray Television have announced that they are introducing a new video solution for funeral homes and communities that will allow funeral direc...
24/04/2024
Adobe Charts the Future of Creativity and AI at MAX London
Adobe Charts the Future of Creativity and AI at MAX London Brie Clayton April 24, 2024 0 Comments Adobe is taking MAX, the world's largest creativ...
24/04/2024
Curtis LeGeyt, NAB President and CEO, Extends Contract
National Association of Broadcasters president and CEO Curtis LeGeyt has agreed to a contract extension that keeps him at the trade association's helm throu...
24/04/2024
Jo Ann Ross Steps Down as Ad Sales Chairman at Paramount
Jo Ann Ross, the long-running queen of television advertising sales, is stepping down from her role as chairman of Paramount Advertising at the end of the month...
24/04/2024
Scripps Names James Galindo as Station Manager in Bakersfield
E.W. Scripps said it named James Galindo as station manager for KERO, the ABC affiliate in Bakersfield, California....
24/04/2024
Amazon Prime Video's Fallout' Tops TVision Power Score Rankings
Amazon Prime Video's Fallout topped TVision's Power Score rankings of shows on connected TV for the week of April 15....
24/04/2024
DoubleVerify Gets MRC Stamp for CTV Viewability Metrics
DoubleVerify said that it received accreditation from the Media Rating Council for its measurement of video viewable impressions and related metrics for connect...
24/04/2024
PlayBox Neo Highlights Latest Advances in Smart Media Pla...
PlayBox Neo reports a successful and well attended 2024 NAB Show, held in mid April at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Now in its 101st year, the event attract...
24/04/2024
MPEG-5 LCEVC Showcase at NAB 2024 demonstrates ecosystem...
MPEG-5 LCEVC ecosystem support continues to grow and includes TVs and set-top boxes, gearing up for the deployment of TV3.0 in Brazil New, never-before-seen ...
24/04/2024
Black Box and NOVO at Integrate Middle East 2024 Featurin...
At Integrate Middle East 2024 in Booth AR-F45, where the company is exhibiting along with its partner NOVO, Black Box will feature IP-based KVM and AV solution...
24/04/2024
NEP Belgium Taps manifold CLOUD in Virtual OB Setup for Live Sports
FRANKFURT, Germany Software solutions provider manifold technologies has announced that its manifold CLOUD was selected by NEP Belgium to provide a signal proce...
24/04/2024
Integral Ad Science Achieves MRC Accreditation
NEW YORK Integral Ad Science has announced that it has earned Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation for its sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT) filtration f...
24/04/2024
Plex Launches NFL Channel
LOS GATOS, Calif. Streaming media company Plex has announced a partnership with the National Football League that will add the NFL Channel, the NFLs 24/7 free l...
24/04/2024
NAB Extends Contract for President & CEO Curtis LeGeyt
WASHINGTON, D.C. NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt has agreed to a contract extension that will keep him at the helm of NAB through 2029, according to NAB Joi...
24/04/2024
GlobalM, scoopa Form Strategic Partnership To Enable Speedy Content Distribution
GENEVA, Switzerland Software-defined video network (SDVN) platform specialist GlobalM and broadcast-quality content distribution expert scoopa have formed a str...
24/04/2024
Screen Australia celebrates Australian projects bound for Cannes Film Festival 2024
24 04 2024 - Media release Screen Australia celebrates Australian projects bound...
24/04/2024
Berklee Online to Hold 2024 Berklee Onsite Music Conference May 31-June 1
Berklee Online to Hold 2024 Berklee Onsite Music Conference May 31-June 1 The in-person conference is open to Berklee Online students and the music community ...
24/04/2024
Kargo Gives Buyers More Detail on CTV Campaigns
Kargo said it has launched a new product that gives advertisers more details about the connected TV campaigns they are buying....