American broadcast television network
Television channel
MeTV
|
Type
| Broadcast
television network
(
classic TV
)
|
---|
Country
| United States
|
---|
Broadcast area
| Nationwide
|
---|
Affiliates
| See:
List of affiliates
|
---|
Headquarters
| Chicago
,
Illinois
|
---|
|
Language(s)
| English
|
---|
Picture format
| |
---|
|
Owner
| Weigel Broadcasting
|
---|
Parent
| Me-TV National Limited Partnership
[1]
|
---|
Key people
| |
---|
Sister channels
| MeTV+
MeTV Toons
Movies!
Heroes & Icons
Catchy Comedy
Start TV
Story Television
Dabl
|
---|
|
Launched
|
- January 6, 2003
; 21 years ago
(
2003-01-06
)
- (as a programming block on
WFBT-CA
)
- January 1, 2005
; 19 years ago
(
2005-01-01
)
- (as a programming format, in
Chicago
)
- March 1, 2008
; 16 years ago
(
2008-03-01
)
- (as a
Milwaukee
subchannel on
WDJT-TV
)
- December 15, 2010
; 13 years ago
(
2010-12-15
)
- (as a national network)
|
---|
|
Website
| www
.metv
.com
|
---|
|
|
|
MeTV
| Service(s):
DirecTV Stream
,
DIRECTV
,
Verizon FiOS
,
AT&T U-Verse
,
Frndly TV
,
Philo
|
---|
MeTV Plus
| Service(s): Frndly TV, Philo
|
---|
|
MeTV
, an acronym for
Memorable Entertainment Television
, is an American
broadcast
television network
owned by
Weigel Broadcasting
. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television programs from the 1930s through the 1990s.
The concept began as a 1950s to 1980s programming block on Chicago's
WFBT-CA
in 2003, growing until becoming a national network in 2010. Since 2010, the network has spun off six sister networks:
MeTV+
, the action/adventure-oriented
Heroes & Icons
, the sitcom-oriented
Catchy Comedy
, the film-centered
Movies!
(joint venture with
Fox Television Stations
), the drama-oriented
Start TV
(joint venture with
CBS News and Stations
), and the history/documentary network
Story Television
, and on June 25, 2024, will launch a new network called
MeTV Toons
in partnership with
Warner Bros. Discovery
featuring classic cartoons.
MeTV is carried on
digital subchannels
of affiliated
television stations
in most markets; however, some MeTV-affiliated stations carry the network as a primary affiliation on their main channel, and a small number of stations air select programs from the network along with their regular general entertainment schedules, with a few carrying the network in
high definition
. The network is also available nationwide on
DirecTV
and
DirecTV Stream
, free-to-air
C band
satellite via
SES-1
in the
DVB-S2
format,
[3]
and in some markets on
AT&T U-verse
and
Verizon FiOS
and
cable television
through cable TV providers nationwide.
[4]
As of March 28, 2022,
[update]
MeTV is available on the streaming service
Frndly TV
.
[5]
As of August 9, 2022,
[update]
MeTV is available on another streaming service
Philo
.
[6]
MeTV's operations are located in Weigel Broadcasting's corporate headquarters on
North Halsted Street
in
Chicago
,
Illinois
.
History
[
edit
]
Chicago beginnings
[
edit
]
MeTV was originally developed as a programming block that launched on January 6, 2003, on
Class A
television station WFBT-CA (channel 23) in
Chicago
,
Illinois
, an
independent station
owned by Weigel that otherwise maintained a format featuring programming aimed at the
market
's diverse ethnic demographics. The block ? which initially aired for three hours daily from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m., before expanding to seven hours a day (from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) by 2004 ? featured a broad mix of series from the 1950s to the 1980s, which included among others
The Honeymooners
,
I Love Lucy
,
Perry Mason
,
The Carol Burnett Show
,
One Day at a Time
, and
Hogan's Heroes
; although the programs that aired as part of the lineup changed occasionally.
[7]
On January 1, 2005, Weigel rechristened the Chicago
low-power
station as
WWME-CA
and removed the ethnic-oriented programming that filled its late afternoon and nighttime schedule, adopting the MeTV format and on-air branding full-time. Channel 23's former ethnic programming and WFBT-CA call letters were transferred to its
sister station
on
UHF
channel 48, which used the W48DD call letters prior to the format change.
[8]
On August 4, 2007, WWME launched a weekend morning
block
that primarily featured Spanish dubs of select classic series, "Si! MeTV" (the first two parts of the moniker were based on the phrase "see me", although "Si" is the Spanish word for "yes"). Most of the programs carried as part of the "Si! MeTV" lineup ? which ran on the station until its discontinuation on January 25, 2009 ? were sourced from the
Universal Television
library (including
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
,
Xena: Warrior Princess
,
Miami Vice
,
Quantum Leap
, and
The Incredible Hulk
), with syndication restrictions imposed on the original English-language versions resulting in some of the programs being made available to the station only in Spanish.
[9]
Weigel expanded the format to its station on UHF channel 48 on March 1, 2008 ? which adopted the WMEU-CA call letters at that time ? under the "MeToo" extension brand, with the two
low-power
stations also being broadcast locally on separate digital subchannels of Weigel's
flagship station
WCIU-TV
(channel 26).
[10]
[11]
The two stations eventually carved out their own identities, culminating in a format shift on September 14, 2009, when WWME began to exclusively carry off-network sitcoms (such as
I Love Lucy
,
Leave It to Beaver
,
The Andy Griffith Show
,
The Bernie Mac Show
,
All in the Family
,
The Honeymooners
, and
Frasier
),
[12]
while MeToo on WMEU began running only off-network drama series.
[13]
Milwaukee expansion
[
edit
]
On March 1, 2008, Weigel expanded the MeTV format to
Milwaukee
,
Wisconsin
, where it began airing on the third digital subchannel of the group's
CBS
affiliate in that market,
WDJT-TV
(channel 58).
[14]
[15]
The Milwaukee version of the service featured much of the same programming as that aired on the Chicago outlets (some of which aired in different timeslots than on WWME and WMEU), as well as certain programs that were exclusive to the Milwaukee service.
The following month on April 21, Weigel moved the MeTV programming to its dedicated full-powered channel ? WJJA (channel 49) in
Racine
, a
Jewelry Television
-affiliated station that the group had recently purchased from Kinlow Broadcasting and had its call letters changed to
WBME-TV
on April 29.
[16]
[17]
It later began transmitting the station's signal from a new digital transmitter on the Weigel tower in Milwaukee's Lincoln Park on October 20 of that year, after WBME officially transferred its operations into the
West Allis
studios of WDJT and sister stations
WMLW-CA
and
WYTU-LP
. MeTV continued to be carried on digital channel 58.3 until October 30, 2008, when it was replaced by newly launched sister network
This TV
on the same channel. The station also aired
public affairs
programming including
Racine & Me
, and because of its full-power status at the time of the move of MeTV programming to channel 49, programming compliant with FCC
educational programming
requirements such as
Green Screen Adventures
(a children's program produced for Weigel's Chicago
flagship station
WCIU-TV
) and
Saved by the Bell
.
National expansion
[
edit
]
On November 22, 2010, Weigel announced that it would take the MeTV concept national and turn it into a full-fledged network with a standardized schedule, available to any station that wished to affiliate. As a result, MeTV would compete fully with the
Retro Television Network
and the then yet-to-launch
Antenna TV
, while complementing successful then-sister network This TV, which carried library product from
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
(with a limited number of classic television series featured alongside its movie-dominated schedule) and ? until
Tribune Broadcasting
took over Weigel's operational interest in This TV on November 1, 2013 ? children's programming from the Canada-based
Cookie Jar Entertainment
(now WildBrain).
[18]
The national MeTV network launched in December 2010. As with This TV, MGM handled distribution of the network to prospective affiliate stations.
[1]
As part of the standardization with the new network, Chicago's local version of MeTV was integrated with MeToo, combining a selection of comedy and drama programming that had respectively been featured on WWME and WMEU onto the latter station's schedule under the MeToo brand as a locally programmed service. In the Chicago market, the national MeTV is carried on WCIU subchannel 26.3 and WWME-CA (the latter of which serves as its
flagship
station, and through its ownership by Weigel, an
owned-and-operated station
of the network); the new MeToo moved to WCIU subchannel 26.4 and remained on WMEU-CA.
[19]
Low-powered
WBME-CD
in Milwaukee carries the national feed of MeTV in its entirety on digital channel 41.1; as a full-power station, prior to an August 2012
license
swap that saw sister independent station
WMLW
move to full-power channel 49, while WBME moved to low-power channel 41 (the latter of which resulted in MeTV returning to its former secondary 58.2 slot to allow the latter to reach the entire market and to provide cable providers with a quality source of its signal),
[20]
Weigel-owned ABC affiliate
WBND-LD
(channel 57) in South Bend began carrying MeTV on its 57.2 subchannel on December 15, 2010.
On April 1, 2013,
Nielsen
began to tabulate national viewership for MeTV, including the network in its
prime time
and total day ratings reports. In February 2016, the network began to transmit its master feed in
16:9
widescreen
standard definition (which is also the preferred
aspect ratio
for sister networks Heroes & Icons and Decades), after conducting beta-testing in the format on WWME-CD months earlier. Although most affiliates continue to carry the MeTV feed in the
4:3
format due to technical considerations regarding transmission of their primary channel in high-definition and/or carriage of other subchannels, the switch to a widescreen feed was done mainly to accommodate national and local advertisers that produce commercials exclusively in the 16:9 format and prefer not to have their advertising
letterboxed
into a 4:3 presentation, and stations which carry newscasts and other local programming on their MeTV subchannels that prefer to present them in widescreen. With the conversion, MeTV also began to carry remastered widescreen prints of some programs (such as
Leave It to Beaver
,
I Love Lucy
,
The Honeymooners
, and
The Monkees
) and present its program promotions in the 16:9 format; most other programming to which Me-TV has only obtained 4:3 prints are presented in an
anamorphic
14:9
format. According to Nielsen, MeTV averaged 719,000 viewers in prime time for 2019, a 2% increase over 2018.
[21]
Programming
[
edit
]
MeTV's program schedule relies primarily on the extensive library of television programs that are currently owned by
CBS Media Ventures
and
20th Television
(the latter now part of
Disney-ABC Domestic Television
), along with select programs from other distributors. The only original programs on MeTV are
Svengoolie
, a hosted movie series that had been airing on WCIU since 1994, and cartoon-centered
Toon In With Me
. Similar to the former local MeTV and MeToo formats, the network maintains a broad variety of classic television programs, carrying approximately 60 program titles on its weekly schedule;
[22]
the network's slate of programming is regularly altered at the start of its fall, winter and summer programming seasons, which respectively begin on
Labor Day
,
New Year's Day
and
Memorial Day
. Since MeTV broadcasts programs that it acquired through the syndication market, episodes of these shows are usually edited to fit into the allotted running time with commercials factored in.
The network does not air a
split-screen credit sequence
or feature voice-overs promoting upcoming network programming during the
closing credits
(borrowing a format standard in local broadcast syndication). The network's
continuity
announcers
are staff members Richard Malmos and Carol Gallagher, who both do equal share of announcing duties. Carol Gallagher is a Chicago-based voice-over artist, who has served as MeTV's staff announcer since its existence as a local programming format on WWME-CA and WMEU-CA, prior to its establishment as a national network; longtime voice-over artist Richard Malmos, who has been the continuity announcer for Weigel's flagship station WCIU since December 1994 (and is also known as the continuity announcer for many stations owned by, among other groups, the
Sinclair Broadcast Group
).
Unlike other digital multicast networks such as former sister network This TV and competitors Antenna TV and Rewind TV, MeTV does not usually run day-long marathons of its programs on major national holidays. Instead, the network airs holiday-themed episodes of its shows on occasional holidays (such as
Halloween
,
Thanksgiving
and
Christmas
) as part of its regular schedule, which air in the program's normal time slot but are shown out-of-order from their regular episode rotation. Since its inception as a national network, MeTV has also aired marathons of
The Doris Day Show
on
Christmas Eve
as well as Christmas-themed specials during the month of December. In December 2014, the network aired Christmas episodes of its programs each weeknight from 10:00 to 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time, as part of the "MeTV Christmas Conundrum" stunt block,
[23]
along with airing Christmas episodes of its programs from late Christmas Eve through Christmas night (this was repeated in 2015, albeit in an earlier prime time slot, featuring Christmas-themed episodes of series feature on the network's schedule and other shows from its program distributors that were not part of the regular lineup).
The network occasionally pays tribute to a recently deceased actor or actress with a marathon showcasing episodes of their past television roles (either those that the performer had starred in as a regular or appeared as a guest star) to which MeTV has access to broadcast through its distributors, pre-empting episodes originally scheduled to air that day; however, these have aired in a significantly decreased usage since the discontinuance of the "MeTV Sunday Showcase" block in September 2012.
MeTV premiered its first original series since the introduction of
Svengoolie
, a reality show called
Collector's Call
, in 2019, later with more original series in 2021,
Toon In with Me
and in 2022,
Sventoonie.
Current lineup
[
edit
]
The network's schedule is a mix of programming ranging from the 1930s to the 1990s.
Weekdays feature
Toon In with Me
(mornings), crime/legal dramas (late mornings),
westerns
(afternoons), and sitcoms (evenings through prime time).
On Saturday, there are blocks of cartoons (mornings), westerns (afternoons),
The Three Stooges
shorts (early evenings),
Svengoolie
(prime time), and sci-fi programs late evenings through the overnight hours.
Sundays feature the
Saved by the Bell
"Sunday School"
E/I
block early mornings, the
Flintstones
"Breakfast in Bedrock" block late mornings, and sitcoms all through the day into the late night hours.
Movies
[
edit
]
Despite access to program content from the Universal Television, CBS Media Ventures and
20th Century Fox
libraries, movies have a relatively limited presence on MeTV's weekly schedule. The network airs the
Rich Koz
-hosted
horror
and
sci-fi
film showcase
Svengoolie
, which is syndicated by sister CW-affiliate station WCIU-TV, on Saturday evenings.
From September 2013 to January 2014, MeTV aired a prime-time film block on Friday evenings, "The MeTV Made for TV Movie", which showcased
made-for-television films
from the 1970s to the 1990s. Until September 2013, the network also aired
Laurel and Hardy
movies and
shorts
Sunday mornings.
MeTV's weekly showing of
Columbo
on Sunday nights had been the only program that appeared regularly in any feature length form. For a brief period in the 2010s, MeTV aired reruns of several
NBC Mystery Movie
series (including
Columbo
) as part of a daily late night block called "The MeTV Mystery Movie". Columbo departed the network on November 21, 2021. From 2022 to 2023, MeTV aired
Perry Mason
TV movies from the 1980s/90s on Sunday nights until the program left the schedule in early February.
Morning programming blocks
[
edit
]
Former
[
edit
]
In order to comply with
educational programming requirements
mandated by the
Federal Communications Commission
's
Children's Television Act
on behalf of the network's affiliates, MeTV carried an hour-long block of
Green Screen Adventures
(Weigel's Chicago-based program originally meant for local viewing) on Saturday mornings and a two-hour block of the
teen sitcom
Saved by the Bell
(which has long been used to meet E/I ? or educational and informative ? requirements, including by the original Chicago MeTV on WWME-CA prior to the national network's launch, and the
TNBC
block it formerly anchored) on Sunday mornings.
In September 2013, MeTV began customizing its weekend morning lineup in order to allow its affiliates to choose between running both Saturday and Sunday E/I blocks, or running the children's lineup on one weekend day and a three-hour block of classic series in place of the children's programs on the other, allowing stations to fulfill educational programming quotas by running the minimum three-hour requirement or an overall total of six hours of E/I content (this was reconfigured in January 2015 to allow stations the option of pre-empting the last two hours of the Saturday E/I block to carry only
Green Screen Adventures
and
Saved by the Bell
to reach their weekly E/I requirements). The network moved its children's programming to Sunday mornings in October 2016 for more classic television programming on Saturday morning including
The Little Rascals
and three additional hours of westerns. Starting on October 2, MeTV’s educational/informational block on Sunday mornings was overhauled with the addition of
Beakman’s World
and
Bill Nye the Science Guy
, the latter acquired from
Disney-ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution
.
Saved by the Bell
also continued to air on the station on Sunday mornings (as it still does).
MeTV also previously ran a children's program block on Saturday mornings called "AniMeTV" (which despite how the name ? due to the network's use of the "Me" moniker as a branding avenue for its blocks ? makes it appear, aired no Japanese-originated
anime
programming), that was handled by
New York
-based
Classic Media
[24]
(which, along with
NBCUniversal
,
Nelvana
and
Scholastic Entertainment
, previously co-owned the now-defunct digital multicast network
Qubo
in conjunction with
Ion Media Networks
, later acquired by
The E. W. Scripps Company
in 2021). The three-hour block premiered on April 7, 2012, to compete with
The CW
's
Toonzai
and
This TV
's
Cookie Jar Toons/This Is for Kids
. The block featured animated series such as
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
and
She-Ra: Princess of Power
, along with
Gumby
and
Mr. Magoo
animated shorts;
[25]
[26]
the block officially ended on October 6, 2012, rendering
Vortexx
(which replaced Toonzai in 2012) and Cookie Jar Toons/This Is for Kids as the only children's blocks on a broadcast network without a strictly-E/I lineup. MeTV began airing the
cult classic
Sid & Marty Krofft
productions
H.R. Pufnstuf
and
Land of the Lost
during the 2013 Christmas season; the shows became part of the regular Saturday morning lineup on December 28, 2013, as part of an hour-long block called "Sid & Marty Krofft and Me".
[27]
Current
[
edit
]
As of Fall 2019, MeTV's E/I programming obligations are covered by the weekly three-hour Sunday morning
Saved by the Bell
"Sunday School" block (7-10 a.m. ET).
In addition,
Toon In With Me
? a block of classic cartoons and original skits, airing for one hour on weekday mornings ? premiered on January 4, 2021, and a three-hour block of classic cartoons airs Saturday mornings under the branding of
Saturday Morning Cartoons
.
[28]
Its companion network, MeTV Plus, airs the three-hour block of classic cartoons Sunday nights under the branding of
Sunday Night Cartoons
, and airs
Toon In With Me
weeknights.
Affiliates
[
edit
]
As of November 2017
[update]
, MeTV has current or pending affiliation agreements with 203 television stations in over 185 television markets encompassing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the border regions of Canada, covering approximately 92.54% of the United States; this makes MeTV the largest subchannel network by population reach percentage (a distinction once held by former sister network This TV), and the seventh largest commercial broadcast television network in the U.S.-based on total number of affiliates. Of these affiliates, 24 stations carry the network as a formal primary channel affiliation and two are general entertainment stations that air select MeTV programs on a
tape-delayed
basis.
[29]
[30]
In almost all of its affiliation agreements, the network's channel slot is mandatorily required to be slotted on either a station's primary channel, or its secondary digital subchannel; in San Diego, this stipulation required the move of MeTV from CBS affiliate
KFMB-TV
's second subchannel, to ABC affiliate
KGTV
's second subchannel upon KFMB's launch of a subchannel for
The CW
to replace
XETV-TDT
's affiliation.
Like former sister network
This TV
, many of MeTV's affiliates (some of which replaced This TV with MeTV, after the former was partially acquired by Tribune Broadcasting) include regional descriptors reflecting the station's primary broadcast area underneath the
logo bug
displayed during the network's programming (these descriptors are also used in the customized
station identifications
shown at the top of each hour between programs or during commercial breaks, which differ from the silent
lower third
in-program IDs seen on This TV). Some stations either display customized logos using adapted versions of their current logo with the subchannel number below the main MeTV logo bug (such as
WPXI
in
Pittsburgh
) or in order to fit in with the network's "retro" format, a logo formerly used by the station (such as
WHIO-TV
in
Dayton
). Others display their callsign and
city of license
(and in some cases, the affiliate's virtual channel number) below the MeTV bug full-time in case the full-screen ID sequence malfunctions in some manner. From August 2014 to August 2015, station identifications for MeTV were based on the motif "Thank You for Making Us America's #1 All Classic TV Network", allowing local affiliates to customize their IDs to refer to their individual viewing area (for example, "Thank You, Chicago" on WWME-CD).
Although MeTV prefers that its local affiliates carry the entire schedule,
[31]
some affiliates regularly pre-empt certain network programs in order to air morning and/or prime time newscasts produced by the station specifically for the subchannel or public affairs programs (such as with
WLKY-TV
in
Louisville
and
WBAL-TV
in
Baltimore
); this has become particularly more common since September 2015, when other Hearst Television-owned stations in markets where the group does not maintain a
duopoly
(as is the case with WBAL and WLKY, which launched theirs earlier) gradually began launching prime time newscasts on their MeTV-affiliated subchannels. Some of the major network affiliates that carry MeTV full-time (such as WBAL, WLKY and
WCVB-TV
in
Boston
) use the affiliated subchannel as a buffer during network sports coverage,
breaking news
or
severe weather
coverage situations to carry regularly scheduled network and/or syndicated programming seen on its main channel.
[31]
Some affiliates may also preempt select MeTV programs to air
infomercials
(such as with
WZME
in
Bridgeport, Connecticut
pre-2021, which pre-empted much of the network's morning and late night schedule with paid programming), locally acquired
syndicated programming
(such as with
WJLA-TV
in
Washington, D.C.
, which aired events from the
American Sports Network
, a syndicated college sports distributor owned by WJLA parent Sinclair Broadcast Group, over its former MeTV subchannel on some weekends), local live sporting events (such as
WTOV-TV
in
Wheeling, WV
-
Steubenville, OH
which has pre-empted the schedule for
Wheeling Nailers
ECHL
hockey game broadcasts and local high school sporting events), or in some cases, because the local syndication rights to a particular program are held by a station other than the MeTV affiliate (such as with
The Andy Griffith Show
, which since the network began airing the program in September 2014, is substituted in many markets with an alternate feed of its spin-off
Mayberry R.F.D.
).
[31]
To address these variances, MeTV includes the
fine print
notation "
On most MeTV stations
" at the end of its
program promotions
regardless of whether a program or block is specifically promoted, typically during the timeslot card. Additionally, stations may also air select MeTV programs that are recorded in advance on their main channels in order to fill unprogrammed time slots or for use as a backup source of programming in the event that a network-televised sports event is
delayed or postponed due to inclement weather
as well as during the
Christmas season
to provide supplementary holiday-themed programming.
Two of MeTV's subchannel-only affiliates ?
WBBJ-TV
in
Jackson, Tennessee
(which primarily affiliates its
7.3 subchannel
with
CBS
)
[32]
[33]
and
WIBW-TV
in
Topeka, Kansas
(which primarily affiliates its
13.2 subchannel
with
MyNetworkTV
)
[34]
? carry its programming on a secondary basis while nominally serving as an affiliate of a major broadcast network due to the lack of enough available stations in their markets for a standalone main channel affiliation (though despite the 'secondary' status, these stations still carry the majority of MeTV's broadcast schedule). One other affiliate,
WBBZ-TV
in
Springville, New York
(which serves the
Buffalo
market), operates as an
independent station
carrying the network's programming part-time within its main channel's regular schedule, while running the full MeTV network feed on a separate subchannel. Over time however, MeTV's ratings strength and popularity have actually caused some of these split situations to end, with MeTV going full-time on two affiliates,
Charlottesville, Virginia
's
WAHU-CD
2 and
Paducah, Kentucky
's
WQWQ-LD
at the start of 2019 and 2020, ending their runs as MeTV affiliates carrying MyNetworkTV and CW programming under secondary affiliation agreements. The MeTV channel in the
Cleveland, Ohio
market,
WOIO-DT2
, also carries MyNetworkTV, though as a non-prime contractual
burn-off
in the
graveyard slot
in lieu of sister station
WUAB
, which switched to
The CW
in 2018.
On January 7, 2011,
KCTU-LD
in
Wichita, Kansas
became the first television station not owned by Weigel to carry the MeTV network.
[35]
However, KCTU's affiliation with the network lasted only about one week, as that station's owner, Great Plains Television Network LLC, and Weigel could not come to terms on a long-term affiliation contract.
[36]
Afterwards, on September 7, 2012, another Wichita station (
KAKE
) became the Wichita MeTV affiliate, and is still around to this date.
[37]
In early 2011,
Bahakel Communications
became the first non-Weigel station group to sign selected stations to carry MeTV on their digital subchannels, with its stations in
Charlotte, North Carolina
(
WCCB
) and
Columbia, South Carolina
(
WOLO-TV
) adding the network in early March of that year. On April 4, 2011, Weigel announced affiliation agreements for MeTV with 14 broadcasting companies, most notably
Hearst Television
,
Hubbard Broadcasting
,
Graham Media Group
,
Nexstar Media Group
,
Gray Television
,
Cox Media Group
, and
Tegna Inc.
[38]
Also of note, in December 2013, the network moved its
Dallas
-
Fort Worth
affiliation to a newly created subchannel of independent station
KTXA
(replacing
Greenville
-based
KTXD-TV
, which abruptly disaffiliated from MeTV three months earlier), marking CBS Television Stations' first affiliation deal involving a major subchannel network (Weigel and CBS would later partner to create Decades, a similar classic television-focused network that launched on May 25, 2015
[39]
).
On August 31, 2022, 12 affiliates owned by
Sinclair Broadcast Group
and 4 affiliates owned by the
E. W. Scripps Company
dropped their affiliation with MeTV.
[40]
Related services
[
edit
]
MeToo (WMEU-CD/WCIU-DT2)
[
edit
]
MeToo
was a companion programming format, which launched on March 1, 2008, on WMEU-CA in Chicago as an
extension
of the local MeTV format on sister station WWME-CA. It initially maintained a wide selection of off-network sitcoms and drama series from a variety of distributors (similar to WWME's locally exclusive MeTV format, but differing from the limited distributor output of the present-day national MeTV network). Initially, WMEU maintained a similar programming schedule as WWME; however by the fall of 2008, their formats were modified to feature one station focusing mainly on sitcoms and the other largely focusing on dramas.
[10]
[11]
When WWME adopted a sitcom-intensive format for its MeTV schedule on September 14, 2009, the MeToo schedule on WMEU-CA was similarly streamlined to feature only off-network
dramatic
programs (such as
Perry Mason
,
Star Trek
,
Star Trek: The Next Generation
,
The Rockford Files
and
The Twilight Zone
) and films.
[13]
As WWME became a charter station of the national network on December 15, 2010, WMEU concurrently reverted to a general entertainment format ? combining some of its existing inventory of drama programming with a selection of comedy programs aired by WWME prior to MeTV's format-to-network conversion; however it continued to carry a mix of both classic and recent programs, resulting in the local MeToo channel airing a broader variety of programming than that provided by the national version of MeTV, which largely restricts its acquired programming to series that debuted prior to 1985. The MeToo format was relegated to WWME's analog signal and WCIU digital subchannel 26.4 on November 1, 2013, when WMEU was converted into a standalone extension of WCIU's "The U Too" subchannel, itself an extension of the general entertainment independent station format carried by that station's primary channel, albeit with some classic series remaining on the schedule. The MeToo format was discontinued outright on December 29, 2014, when it was replaced on WCIU-DT4 by Weigel's new male-targeted classic television network
Heroes & Icons
.
[41]
Weigel Broadcasting had planned to expand the MeToo format to Milwaukee, intending to launch a similar locally programmed subchannel on WBME-TV in early 2011. However, these plans were delayed and ultimately scuttled due to the launch of sister network
Movies!
on
May 27
, 2013, which took the 49.3 channel slot that had been proposed to carry the Milwaukee MeToo service.
[1]
After Movies! moved to a newly created second digital subchannel of ABC affiliate
WISN-TV
(channel 12) in August 2014, WMLW-DT3 became a charter affiliate of Heroes & Icons.
MeTV FM
[
edit
]
Through a
local marketing agreement
with owner Venture Technologies Group, Weigel operates
WRME-LD
(channel 6) in Chicago as a co-branded radio station, known as "MeTV FM", which maintains an
oldies
format focusing on classic music from the 1950s to the 1980s. The format change, announced on February 9, 2015, and formally commencing on February 23, coincided with Weigel's assumption of an LMA first formed in April 2012 between Venture Technologies and Merlin Media (the LMA was transferred from
Cumulus Media
to Tribune Broadcasting ? which had operated it as a
sports talk
station ? in February 2014, before switching to an FM simulcast of sister station
720 WGN
in December of that year).
[42]
[43]
[44]
[45]
[46]
WRME-LD is licensed as a low-power television station, but operates as a
radio station
due to a technical anomaly with the
analog
VHF channel 6 frequency for television transmissions that allows the audio feed of such stations to be heard on
87.75
MHz
on the
FM band
(with a visual
station identification
slide used on the station's television broadcasts to fulfill FCC licensing requirements).
In May 2017, it was announced that Weigel had partnered with Envision Networks, now
Sun Broadcast Group
, to syndicate the MeTV FM brand and format as a
radio network
, with Weigel handling programming and Envision handling distribution. The company cited the success of the original station (which, by then, was tied for audience share with its closest full-power competitors
WJMK
and
WLS-FM
, and by March 2018, was the 6th highest-rated station in the market), as well as the possibility of cross-promotional opportunities with MeTV television affiliates.
[47]
[48]
In April 2018, Northern States Broadcasting, which just acquired purchased WHHQ AM in
Bridgeport, Michigan
(serving the
Saginaw
-
Bay City
-
Midland
radio market), affiliated with MeTV FM at its relaunch as
WJMK
, using the call sign vacated by one of MeTV FM's Chicago competitors, which had changed its call sign to
WBMX
.
[49]
Affiliates
[
edit
]
- WRME-LD-FM6
87.7, Chicago, Illinois
- WJMK (AM)
1250 AM, Bridgeport, Michigan (market of Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City, Michigan); April 2018
- WMYX-FM
HD2, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; August 2018
[50]
- WXZO
96.7 FM, Willsboro, New York (market of Champlain Valley of Vermont and New York); January 11, 2019
[51]
- WGTO
910 AM, Cassopolis, Michigan; July 2020
- WMEX (AM)
1510 AM, Quincy/Boston, Massachusetts; 2020
- WMEE
HD4, Fort Wayne, Indiana; November 2021
- WTUG-FM
HD3, Tuscaloosa, Alabama; February 2022
- KVOL
1330 AM/97.7 FM, Lafayette, Louisiana; March 2022
- KSLO-FM
105.3, Simmesport, Louisiana; March 2022
- KMEE
103.1,
Palm Springs, California
; March 2023
- KGGM
93.9,
Monroe, Louisiana
; July 2023
- WOCO-FM
107.1 Oconto Wisconsin; 2023
MeTV+
[
edit
]
On May 3, 2021, it was announced that Weigel would launch MeTV Plus (MeTV+), a new 24/7 digital network that extends the brand and expands the audience of MeTV. The new channel launched on Saturday, May 15 on
WCIU-TV
26.5 Chicago, Illinois and
KMOH-TV
6.3 Kingman, Arizona, later spreading to other Weigel stations.
[52]
[53]
In September 2021, MeTV Plus expanded their carriage beyond the two stations.
[54]
The streaming service
Frndly TV
added MeTV Plus to their lineup in October 2023.
[55]
The streaming service
Philo TV
also added MeTV Plus to their lineup in October 2023.
Affiliates
[56]
- Streaming service Frndly TV
- Streaming service Philo TV
- WMEU-CD
48.4, Chicago, Illinois; March 2022
- KMOH-TV
6.3, Kingman, Arizona; May 2021
- KCSG
8.5, Cedar City, Utah; September 2021
- WCWW-LD
25.4, South Bend, Indiana; September 2021
- KFFV
44.5, Seattle, Washington; September 2021
- KVOS-TV
12.6, Bellingham, Washington; September 2021
- KHTV-CD
6.1, Los Angeles, California; September 2021
- KTLN-TV
68.4, Palo Alto/San Francisco, California; September 2021
- WZME
43.2, Bridgeport, Connecticut/New York; March 2022
- WJFB
44.6, Lebanon/Nashville, Tennessee; September 2021
[57]
- KYAZ
51.3, Katy/Houston, Texas; September 2021
- WHCT-LD
35.6, Hartford, Connecticut; October 2021
- WJLP
33.8, Middletown, New Jersey/New York; March 2022
- WDME-CD
48.4, Washington, D.C.; May 2022
- WMLW-TV
49.5, Racine/Milwaukee, Wisconsin; August 2022
- KAZD
55.4, Lake Dallas/Dallas, Texas; November 2021
- KNLC
24.7, St. Louis, Missouri; February 2022
- KREG-TV
3.6, Glenwood Springs/Denver, Colorado; March 2022
Programming blocks
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Marcucci, Carl (January 23, 2013).
"Me-TV signs with WJLA-TV DC"
.
Radio & Television Business Report
.
Archived
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. Retrieved
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2019
.
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Channick, Robert (June 29, 2014).
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.
Chicago Tribune
.
Archived
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. Retrieved
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.
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
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.
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.
- ^
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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(January 3, 2003).
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'ME-TV' joins 'The U' on Weigel's local menu"
.
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.
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.
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.
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b
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. Retrieved
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.
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.
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.
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(PDF)
.
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. Weigel Broadcasting. Archived from
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2014
.
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a
b
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.
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. Retrieved
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2014
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.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
.
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. Archived from
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. Retrieved
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2016
.
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Tim Cuprisin (February 7, 2008).
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.
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. Journal Communications. Archived from
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on October 6, 2008.
- ^
Tim Cuprisin (April 21, 2008).
"A new WJJA-TV"
.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
. Journal Communications. Archived from
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on April 25, 2008
. Retrieved
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2016
.
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Tim Cuprisin (April 21, 2008).
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.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
. Journal Communications. Archived from
the original
on April 25, 2008
. Retrieved
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2016
.
- ^
Phil Rosenthal
(November 22, 2010).
"Weigel Broadcasting Taking Me-TV National"
.
Chicago Tribune (Tower Ticker)
. Tribune Publishing.
Archived
from the original on November 24, 2010
. Retrieved
November 22,
2010
.
- ^
"Channel Grid"
(PDF)
.
WCIU-TV
. Weigel Broadcasting.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on October 20, 2013
. Retrieved
December 12,
2013
.
- ^
Duane Dudek (July 19, 2012).
"WISN-TV parent, Time Warner settle feud over fees"
.
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
. Journal Communications.
Archived
from the original on July 22, 2012
. Retrieved
July 23,
2012
.
- ^
Michael Schneider (December 26, 2019).
"Most-Watched Television Networks: Ranking 2019's Winners and Losers"
.
Variety
.
Archived
from the original on January 6, 2020
. Retrieved
June 23,
2020
.
- ^
Elizabeth Guider (June 18, 2014).
"Multicasting Special Report Part 2: Classic TV Diginets Make The Old New Again"
.
TVNewsCheck
. NewsCheck Media.
Archived
from the original on March 22, 2015
. Retrieved
January 25,
2015
.
- ^
"Me-TV Christmas Conundrum"
.
Me-TV
. Weigel Broadcasting.
Archived
from the original on November 27, 2014
. Retrieved
December 1,
2014
.
- ^
"Me-TV and Broadcast Partners Set Deal"
.
TVNewsCheck
. NewsCheck Media. January 23, 2012.
- ^
"Me-TV Spring Schedule Changes"
.
Me-TV
. Weigel Broadcasting. April 7, 2012.
Archived
from the original on March 31, 2012
. Retrieved
April 8,
2012
.
- ^
"Me-TV: AniMeTV"
.
Me-TV
. Weigel Broadcasting. April 28, 2012. Archived from
the original
on January 4, 2013
. Retrieved
April 28,
2012
.
- ^
"Me-TV Network ? Sid & Marty Krofft"
.
Me-TV
. Weigel Broadcasting.
Archived
from the original on November 24, 2013
. Retrieved
November 23,
2013
.
- ^
Miller, Mark (October 19, 2020).
"MeTV Launching 'Toon In With Me' Hosted Morning Cartoon Show In 2021"
.
TV News Check
.
Archived
from the original on August 20, 2022
. Retrieved
October 19,
2020
.
- ^
"Stations for Network ? Me-TV"
.
RabbitEars
.
Archived
from the original on June 28, 2017
. Retrieved
November 3,
2017
.
- ^
"MeTV Adds 5 Affils, Passes 92% Coverage"
.
TVNewsCheck
. NewsCheck Media. October 17, 2014.
Archived
from the original on October 3, 2015
. Retrieved
January 25,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
Diana Marszalek (July 23, 2013).
"News Finds A New Home Among Diginets"
.
TVNewsCheck
. NewsCheck Media.
Archived
from the original on August 19, 2014
. Retrieved
August 16,
2014
.
- ^
"Where to watch Me-TV: WBBJ"
.
Me-TV
. Weigel Broadcasting.
Archived
from the original on May 12, 2012
. Retrieved
March 1,
2012
.
- ^
Merrill Knox (November 7, 2011).
"Jackson, TN Will Get CBS Affiliate In January 2012"
.
TVSpy
. Mediabistro Holdings.
Archived
from the original on November 22, 2011
. Retrieved
November 8,
2011
.
- ^
Bill Blankenship (September 5, 2012).
"WIBW 13.2 to switch from My TV to Me-TV"
.
Topeka Capital-Journal
.
Morris Communications
.
Archived
from the original on October 10, 2013
. Retrieved
October 2,
2012
.
- ^
"BRAND NEW!! All the..."
KCTU-LD
.
Archived
from the original on August 20, 2022
. Retrieved
April 18,
2012
– via
Facebook
.
- ^
"KCTU TV 43 Facebook Page"
. KCTU-LD. January 17, 2011.
Archived
from the original on August 20, 2022
. Retrieved
August 5,
2011
– via Facebook.
See post dated 1/17/2011
- ^
"KAKE News on Facebook"
.
Facebook
. Archived from
the original
on April 30, 2022.
[
user-generated source
]
- ^
"Weigel Broadcasting Co.'s "Me-TV" Exceeds 45% Clearance Mark Finalizing Deals with 14 Domestic Station Groups"
(PDF)
.
MeTV
(Press release). Weigel Broadcasting.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on December 18, 2011
. Retrieved
April 18,
2012
.
- ^
Cynthia Littleton (October 21, 2014).
"CBS to Launch Retro Digital Channel Focused on Pop Culture, History"
.
Variety
. Penske Media Corporation.
Archived
from the original on October 22, 2014
. Retrieved
October 21,
2014
.
- ^
"Sinclair, Scripps to pull Me TV from some stations on August 31 ? here's how to keep watching"
. August 26, 2022.
- ^
"T Dog Media's Stocking Suffer: Heroes & Icons takes over MeToo"
.
T Dog Media
. December 30, 2014.
Archived
from the original on March 26, 2016
. Retrieved
March 29,
2016
.
- ^
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"MeTV launching radio station at 87.7 FM"
.
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. Tribune Publishing.
Archived
from the original on February 9, 2015
. Retrieved
February 9,
2015
.
- ^
Robert Channick (February 14, 2014).
"WGN launching new FM station Monday"
.
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. Tribune Publishing.
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from the original on February 15, 2014
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
Robert Channick (February 17, 2014).
"WGN launching FM sports talk station 'The Game'
"
.
Chicago Tribune
. Tribune Publishing.
Archived
from the original on February 18, 2014
. Retrieved
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2014
.
- ^
Robert Feder (December 30, 2014).
"Weigel Broadcasting to become radio active on 87.7 FM"
.
RobertFeder.com
.
Archived
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
Robert Channick (December 30, 2014).
"WGN-AM to simulcast on 87.7 FM beginning Wednesday"
.
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. Tribune Publishing.
Archived
from the original on December 30, 2014
. Retrieved
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2014
.
- ^
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.
RobertFeder.com
.
Archived
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. Retrieved
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2017
.
- ^
"Chicago radio ratings: 'Me-TV FM' hits it bigger than ever"
.
robertfeder.com
. Retrieved
January 10,
2019
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Feder, Robert (March 23, 2018).
"Robservations: 'Chicago's Very Own' WGN to celebrate 70 years on TV"
.
RobertFeder.com
.
Archived
from the original on June 11, 2019
. Retrieved
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2019
.
- ^
Ross, Sean (September 6, 2018).
"Five New Stations To Stream"
.
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.
Archived
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. Retrieved
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2019
.
- ^
"96.7 MeTV-FM Debuts In Burlington/Plattsburgh"
.
RadioInsight
. January 13, 2019.
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. Retrieved
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2019
.
- ^
Feder, Robert (May 3, 2021).
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"
.
RobertFeder.com
.
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. Retrieved
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2021
.
- ^
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(PDF)
.
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.
Archived
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. Retrieved
May 17,
2021
.
- ^
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.
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.
Archived
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. Retrieved
September 30,
2021
.
- ^
Bouma, Luke (October 3, 2023).
"Frndly TV Adds MeTV+ a Day Early To Its Lineup"
.
Cord Cutters News
. Retrieved
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2023
.
- ^
"Stations for Network - Me-TV Plus"
.
RabbitEars
. Retrieved
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2024
.
- ^
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.
Nashville DTV News & More
. September 16, 2021.
Archived
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. Retrieved
March 3,
2022
.
External links
[
edit
]
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i
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- Dual feeds for channel in California, and nationwide
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and/or
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- 1
Carried on a digital subchannel of WMLW & WMYS.
- 2
Carried on a digital subchannel of WDJT.
- 3
Carried on a digital subchannel of WCIU.
- 4
Owned by Venture Technologies Group; operated by Weigel under an
LMA
as a radio station.
- 5
Joint venture with
Fox Television Stations
.
- 6
Joint venture with
CBS News and Stations
.
- 7
Shares spectrum with WBME-CD.
- 8
Carried on a digital subchannel of KAZD
- 9
Carried on a digital subchannel of KVOS
|