Defy (also known by its original name Defy TV) is an American

digital multicast television network A digital multicast television network, diginet, or multichannel is a type of national television service designed to be broadcast terrestrially as a supplementary service to other stations on their digital subchannels. Made possible by the conve ...

owned by

Free TV Networks Free TV Networks is an American specialized digital multicasting and advertising-supported video on demand network media company owned as a joint venture between Warner Bros. Discovery, Lionsgate and Gray Television. The company plans to l ...

in partnership with A&E Networks, airing primarily reality shows from the latter company, having launched on July 1, 2021, with broadcast coverage of 64% of the United States.

History

On March 2, 2021, Scripps announced that it would launch two new multicast networks—Defy and TrueReal—in the wake of its acquisition of Ion Media and television transmitters shutting Qubo and

Ion Plus Ion Plus is an American free linear television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company that formerly operated as a broadcast television network until February 28, 2021. The network originally launched in 200 ...

down across the United States. The channels are part of Scripps's strategy to increase perception among cord cutters that do not have traditional pay TV packages. The services launched on July 1 with 92% national coverage, mostly on Ion transmitters but also on subchannels of some Scripps local TV stations and by agreement with other station groups. On March 10, 2023, Scripps announced that TrueReal would shut down on March 27, merging its programming into Defy TV. On June 17, 2024, Scripps quietly announced on Defy's social media platforms that a refreshed version of

would return on Defy TV's channel space on July 1. The A&E programming library would move to a new over-the-air digital network, Dare, owned by the

joint venture. Shortly before the network's launch on July 1, Free TV Networks acquired the rights to the Defy branding from Scripps Networks and launched a new version of the network at 6 a.m. ET the same day, discarding its plan to launch the network under its originally announced Dare name. The "TV" portion of the original Defy network was removed for its immediate relaunch.

Programming

The network's schedule is mainly made up of repeats of unscripted shows from the library of A&E Networks (mainly A&E and History), including '' Swamp People'', '' American Pickers'', '' Ax Men'', '' Counting Cars'', '' UFO Hunters'', ''

Forged in Fire ''Forged in Fire'' is an American competition series that airs on the History channel and is produced by Outpost Entertainment, a Leftfield Entertainment company. In each episode, four bladesmiths compete in a three-round elimination contest ...

'' and '' Pawn Stars''.

References

External links

* A&E Networks Television networks in the United States Men's interest channels Women's interest channels Television channels and stations established in 2021 Defy TV E. W. Scripps Company {{US-tv-station-stub