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Katz Broadcasting, LLC,
doing business as A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...
Scripps Networks, is an American specialized digital multicasting network
media company Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit information e ...
and a subsidiary of
E. W. Scripps Company The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...
. The company owns (as of 2022) nine
television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or multichannel video programming distributo ...
s that each carry programming with specified formats targeted at individual demographics. Originally, Katz sold the network to affiliated TV stations via ad split, but by October 2015, had moved to carriage fees in exchange for the network getting the ad inventory due to greater inventory with stations adding a third or fourth subchannel.:1 Their networks used direct response advertising as a meter of viewers before switching to Nielsen rating C-3.:3


History

Katz Broadcasting, LLC was founded on February 3, 2014, by Jonathan Katz, who serves as
chief operating officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the "C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...
of
Bounce TV Bounce TV is an American digital multicast television network owned by Katz Broadcasting, a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. Promoted as "the first 24/7 digital multicast broadcast network created to target African Americans", the channel fe ...
and formerly served as an executive at the
Turner Broadcasting System Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...
. The company was announced concurrently with the announced launches of its first two networks,
Escape Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some so ...
and Grit, which were both launched that April with
Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
and
UniMás UniMás (, stylized as ''UNIMÁS'', and originally known as TeleFutura from its launch on January 14, 2002, to January 6, 2013) is an American Spanish free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. The network's programming, which is ...
owned-and-operated station In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...
s run by
Univision Communications TelevisaUnivision (formerly known as Univision Communications) is a Mexican-American media company headquartered in New York and Mexico City, which owns the American Spanish language broadcast network Univision. 45% of the company is held by the ...
serving as its charter station group; both of Katz's initial networks are targeted at individual
gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
s (with Grit aimed at men and Escape aimed at women). Besides Jonathan Katz, some of the initial investors included some Bounce investors notably
Gray Television Gray Television, Inc. is an American publicly traded television broadcasting company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1946 by James Harrison Gray as Gray Communications Systems, the company owns or operates 180 stations across the United St ...
and
Al Haymon Al Haymon (born April 21, 1955) is an American businessman and boxing manager. He was the manager of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and has won the Boxing Writers of America Manager of the Year Award five times. Early life Haymon was raised in Cleveland, ...
. At some point,
E. W. Scripps Company The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...
also becomes an owner purchasing 5% of the company. Katz and
Bounce Media Bounce TV is an American digital multicast television network owned by Katz Broadcasting, a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. Promoted as "the first 24/7 digital multicast broadcast network created to target African Americans", the channel f ...
share staff from the former company's launch, including Jonathan Katz (who serves as president and
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of Katz, while continuing to serve as
chief operating officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the "C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...
) and Jeffrey Wolf (Katz's chief distribution officer and Bounce's
executive vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
of network distribution). Katz and Bounce continued to share executive staff with the hiring announcement of Jim Weiss (a former executive at sports marketing agency CSE) as the former's senior vice president of corporate communications in August. On January 18, 2015, Katz Broadcasting announced the launch of its third specialty network,
Laff Laff (legal name: Laff Media, LLC) is an American digital multicast television network headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and is owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network specializes in comedy programmi ...
, a comedy-focused network that was tapped for an April 15 debut with
ABC Owned Television Stations ABC Owned Television Stations is a division of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution operated by Disney Networks Group that oversees the owned-and-operated stations of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), a division of The Walt Disney C ...
and Scripps serving as its core charter affiliate groups. On March 24, 2015, Katz signed a multi-network agreement with the
Meredith Corporation Meredith Corporation was an American media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, that owned magazines, television stations, websites, and radio stations. Its publications had a readership of more than 120 million and paid circulation of more ...
that would add all three Katz-owned networks to Meredith-owned stations in five markets, boosting Laff's national coverage to 50%, Escape's to 58%, and Grit's to 78% of all U.S. television markets. Escape and Grit switched from direct response advertising as a meter of viewers to Neilsen rating C-3 late 2015 with Laff expected to follow suit.:3 On June 15, 2016, Katz Broadcasting signed a multi-network agreement with
Nexstar Broadcasting Group Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarter offices in Irving, Texas; Midtown Manhattan; and Chicago, Illinois. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 te ...
and operated affiliated TV station companies that would bring all three Katz-owned networks (as well as Bounce TV) to stations owned and/or operated by Nexstar in 54 markets, jumping national coverage of both Escape and Laff to 85% and Grit's coverage to 93%. On August 1, 2017, Scripps announced the purchase of Katz and its three networks plus
Bounce Bounce or The Bounce may refer to: * Deflection (physics), the event where an object Collision, collides with and bounces against a plane surface Books * Mr. Bounce, a character from the Mr. Men series of children's books Broadcasting, film and ...
which Katz operates, for $292 million, acquiring the other 95% of the company. Katz will remain based out of
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
as an autonomous division of Scripps. The purchase was completed on October 2, 2017. In December 2018,
Turner Broadcasting Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...
sold the rights to the brand and programming library of defunct cable network
Court TV Court TV is an American digital broadcast network and former cable television channel. It was originally launched in 1991 with a focus on crime-themed programs such as true crime documentary series, legal analysis talk shows, and live news cove ...
(which relaunched as
TruTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows. The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that focu ...
in 2008) to Katz, who re-launched it as an over-the-air digital network in May 2019. On September 30, 2019, Katz Broadcasting rebranded Escape as Court TV Mystery to make it a Court TV brand extension. Following Scripps' acquisition of
Ion Media Ion Media (formerly known as Paxson Communications Corporation and Ion Media Networks) was an American broadcasting company that owned and operated over 71 television stations in most major American markets (through its television stations group ...
in 2021, the Katz-owned networks were moved over to the subchannels of
Ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...
-owned stations beginning February 27, 2021. On March 2, 2021, Scripps announced that it would launch two new complementary multicast networks,
Defy TV Defy TV is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. Defy TV is targeted at men aged 25–54. Defy TV and TrueReal, a complementary network targeted at women aged 25–54, ...
and
TrueReal TrueReal (working title: Doozy) is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. TrueReal is targeted at women aged 25–54. TrueReal and Defy TV, a complementary network targ ...
, in the aftermath of Scripps' acquisition of Ion Media and television transmitters across the United States. The channels are part of Scripps's strategy to increase penetration among
cord cutter Cord or CORD may refer to: People * Alex Cord (1933–2021), American actor and writer * Chris Cord (born 1940), American racing driver * Errett Lobban Cord (1894–1974) American industrialist * Ronnie Cord (1943–1986), Brazilian singer * Co ...
s that do not have traditional pay TV packages. Both services launched on July 1 with 92 percent national coverage, mostly on Ion transmitters but also on subchannels of some Scripps local TV stations and by agreement with other station groups. On April 6, 2021, Scripps announced that it would expand Newsy into a free over-the-air network, as well as being available on streaming platforms, starting October 1. The network would be available over-the-air on Scripps-owned
Ion Television Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented enter ...
stations, along with some traditional Scripps stations without an Ion sister station and the former Ion-owned stations transferred to Inyo Broadcast Holdings, along with offering the network to other station groups. It also announced plans to relocate Newsy's national headquarters to Atlanta. In advance of the move exclusively to over-the-air distribution, Scripps began to notify traditional cable and satellite providers, along with Internet television providers, at the end of March that it would end distribution of Newsy via those means effectively on June 30, 2021. The Newsy over-the-air network launched on October 1, 2021. On February 24, 2022, the Court TV Mystery network was rebranded as
Ion Mystery Ion Mystery (formerly Escape and Court TV Mystery, stylized as ESCAPE and MYSTERY; formerly branded on-air as Mystery) is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. It focus ...
, with the "Ion" brand now more established regarding
procedural drama A procedural or procedural drama is a cross-genre type of literature, film, or television program involving a sequence of technical detail. A documentary film may also be written in a procedural style to heighten narrative interest. Television pro ...
s in general, including Ion Mystery's overall programming, whereas
Court TV Court TV is an American digital broadcast network and former cable television channel. It was originally launched in 1991 with a focus on crime-themed programs such as true crime documentary series, legal analysis talk shows, and live news cove ...
is more associated with its news division.


Major assets


Television networks

* Bounce Media, LLC **
Bounce TV Bounce TV is an American digital multicast television network owned by Katz Broadcasting, a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. Promoted as "the first 24/7 digital multicast broadcast network created to target African Americans", the channel fe ...
– A digital broadcast network which specializes in programming for the black community. ** Bounce XL – A free linear television network which specializes in programing for the black community. ** Brown Sugar – streaming service featuring 1970s black films and TV series *
Court TV Court TV is an American digital broadcast network and former cable television channel. It was originally launched in 1991 with a focus on crime-themed programs such as true crime documentary series, legal analysis talk shows, and live news cove ...
(Court TV Media, LLC) – A digital broadcast network specializing in crime-themed programs such as
true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...
documentary series,
legal dramas A legal drama is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice play ...
, and coverage of prominent criminal cases. *
Ion Mystery Ion Mystery (formerly Escape and Court TV Mystery, stylized as ESCAPE and MYSTERY; formerly branded on-air as Mystery) is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. It focus ...
(Escape Media, LLC) – A digital broadcast network which specializes in programming for women, featuring series and films focusing on mystery and true crime stories. * Grit Media, LLC ** Grit (Grit Media, LLC) – A digital broadcast network which specializes in programming for men, featuring mainly western series and films. ** GritXtra – A free linear television network which specializes in programming for men, featuring mainly western series and films. *
Laff Laff (legal name: Laff Media, LLC) is an American digital multicast television network headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and is owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network specializes in comedy programmi ...
(Laff Media, LLC) – A digital broadcast network specializing in
comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
programming, featuring a mix of
feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
s and archived
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
s. *
Scripps News Scripps News is an American news network headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. It was previously known as Newsy, from its launch in 2008 until December 31, 2022. Its content is available for free on Over-th ...
(Scripps Media, LLC) – A digital broadcast network which specializes in nationwide news programing. *
TrueReal TrueReal (working title: Doozy) is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. TrueReal is targeted at women aged 25–54. TrueReal and Defy TV, a complementary network targ ...
(TrueReal Media, LLC) – A digital broadcast network which specializes in reality programming for women. *
Defy TV Defy TV is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. Defy TV is targeted at men aged 25–54. Defy TV and TrueReal, a complementary network targeted at women aged 25–54, ...
(Defy TV Media, LLC) – A digital broadcast network which specializes in unscripted programming for men. *
Ion Media Ion Media (formerly known as Paxson Communications Corporation and Ion Media Networks) was an American broadcasting company that owned and operated over 71 television stations in most major American markets (through its television stations group ...
, LLC **
Ion Television Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented enter ...
– A digital broadcast network which specializes in general entertainment. ** Ion Plus – A free linear television network which specializes in general and lifestyle entertainment.


Former assets

*
Qubo Qubo ( ; stylized as qubo) was an American television network for children between the ages of 5 and 14. Owned by Ion Media, it consisted of a 24-hour free-to-air television network often mentioned as the "Qubo channel" (available as a digital ...
– A digital broadcast network which specialized in children's programming. Ceased operations on February 28, 2021.


Affiliate stations

*
List of Bounce TV affiliates The following is a list of affiliates of Bounce TV, a digital terrestrial television network catering to an African American audience. Bounce TV launched in September 2011 with an affiliate list buoyed by early carriage deals with stations owned ...
*
List of Ion Mystery affiliates This is a list of current Ion Mystery affiliates (formerly known as Escape until September 30, 2019, and Court TV Mystery until February 24, 2022), arranged by U.S. state. There are links to and articles on each of the stations, describing their lo ...
*
List of Laff affiliates , Laff has current or pending affiliation agreements with television stations in 168 media markets encompassing 46 states, including Washington, DC (including stations in the top 13 markets), covering 90% of the United States. Charter affiliates ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Katz Broadcasting Companies based in Atlanta Mass media companies established in 2014 American companies established in 2014 Television broadcasting companies of the United States Mass media companies of the United States 2014 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) E. W. Scripps Company 2017 mergers and acquisitions