Weigel Broadcasting and DirecTV have inked a multiyear carriage deal for Weigel’s Start TV Network. Start TV, showcasing female protagonists in procedural dramas, launched September 17 on channel 84 for customers who receive DirecTV via satellite or stream it satellite-free.  

“Start TV joins Weigel’s flagship MeTV and our action-adventure channel H&I as the third national network to be carried on DirecTV, building on a successful partnership that has truly been a win-win,” said Neal Sabin, vice chairman of Weigel Broadcasting Co. “We are excited to extend Start TV’s reach, and we know that the network’s lineup of dramas featuring intelligent and powerful female leading characters will bring a unique and compelling entertainment destination to DirecTV subscribers who are always hungry for diverse content.”

Shows on Start TV include Rizzoli & Isles, Major Crimes, The Closer, Elementary, Medium, Cold Case, In Plain Sight, Covert Affairs and Murder, She Wrote. 

Weigel networks, in addition to Start TV, MeTV and H&I, include Movies!, Catchy Comedy and Dabl. 

As Halloween approaches, MeTV Toons will feature frightful Sunday programming. On October 13, it’s a scary Flintstones block 1-3 p.m., then Scooby-Doo! 3-5 p.m., and an Addams Family mini-marathon at 5-8. On October 20, it’s Flintstones 1-3 p.m. and Scooby-Doo! 3-5, before Funky Phantom Marathon is on 5-8 p.m. 

October 27 has The Flintstones and Scooby, before House of Svengoolie’s Cartoon BOO-Nanza happens at 5 p.m., with The Sven Squad from House of Svengoolie turning up, including Gwengoolie, IMP (Ignatius Malvolio Prankerstein) and Nostalgiaferatoo.

Played by Rich Koz, Svengoolie is a top hat-wearing host who sleeps in a coffin and reviews horror movies that can be classic, but are more typically campy. 

Bunnicula Vampire Rabbit is on at 6 p.m. October 27, Casper’s Halloween Special at 6:30 and Casper & Friends 7-8 p.m., rounding out the scary Sunday block. 

Scooby-Doo! is on MeTV Toons weekdays at 6 p.m. ET/PT, and Sundays at 3 p.m., 

Part of Weigel Broadcasting, MeTV Toons, as the network name indicates, features animated programming such as The Woody Woodpecker Show, Tom and Jerry and The Jetsons. It launched in June. 

MeTV Toons has landed Super Friends, which includes DC superheroes Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Batman and Robin, and will kick it off with a sneak peek Sunday, October 6, across primetime. 

MeTV Toons, the latest digital broadcast network from Weigel Broadcasting, will debut June 25, Weigel vice chairman Neal Sabin said at a virtual press conference on Wednesday. The new network is a collaboration between Warner Bros. Discovery and Weigel that will deliver classic animation to viewers across free over-the-air broadcast channels and on traditional and virtual MVPD platforms as a free advertising-supported streaming television (FAST) channel.

“We are honored to work with the amazing team at Warner Bros. Discovery and others on this network to bring together a truly incredible collection of the world’s best-known and most-loved classic cartoons, creating a new destination for everyone to discover or rediscover the sheer joy of watching cartoons on TV,” Sabin said in a statement. 

“Neal and the team at Weigel have been long-standing and innovative licensing partners of Warner Bros. content for decades,” David Decker, president of content sales for Warner Bros. Discovery, said also in a statement. “Having some of the Studio’s most iconic animated characters all available in one place is not only great for fans of classic animation, but also just super fun!”

Also Read: Nexstar Will Move The CW Affiliation to WGN Chicago

Besides Warner Bros. Discovery, Weigel also is aggregating classic animation content from such producers as MGM, Paramount Pictures, Fleischer Studios, Walter Lantz Productions, Terrytoons, Jay Ward Productions, Hanna-Barbera Studios, Universal Studios, Columbia Pictures and others. MeTV Toons will feature classic cartoons like Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo, Tom & Jerry, The Jetsons and many more. 

“There is going to be a tremendous amount of variety on this network and it will all be focused on original versions of classic cartoons,” Sabin said.

MeTV Toons will air in all markets where Weigel owns stations — including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and St. Louis — covering 40% of the country. It also will air on non-Weigel station lineups in other markets, Sabin said.

Animation author, history and executive Jerry Beck and voice actor Bob Bergen are joining the new network at launch. Beck will help produce original content intended to expand and enhance the viewing experience. Bergen — who has voiced such classic animated characters as Porky Pig, Tweety Bird and Marvin the Martian – will serve as the network’s signature voice. 

After the launch on June 25, Weigel will do another promotional push for the new network on Bugs Bunny’s July 27 birthday, Weigel Network Marketing senior VP Will Givens said. Weigel and its partners also plan to present a panel at San Diego Comic-Con later this summer.

MeTV Toons network joins Weigel’s other digital broadcast networks MeTV, Heroes & Icons, Start TV, Catchy Comedy, Movies!, Story Television, Dabl and MeTV Plus. 

NBA basketball is coming to broadcast in the Quad Cities, where WQAD will be airing 10 Milwaukee Bucks games this season.

Tegna, which owns the station, said the games were made available for local over-the-air distribution as part of the NBA’s agreement with Diamond Sports Group, the bankrupt owner Bally Sports Wisconsin, which televises most of the team’s games.

Tegna is working with Weigel Broadcasting, whose WMLW airs a package of Bucks games in Milwaukee.

With cord-cutting eroding viewership at regional sports networks, broadcast stations are making deals to air more local sports. 

In some cases, stations air packages of 10 games or so. In other cases, like in Phoenix and Utah, broadcasters have taken over the local television rights to pro teams.

Broadcasters are attractive to teams and sports leagues because they can potentially reach many more viewers than cable channels alone. 

“We’re thrilled to reach Bucks fans on broadcast television stations,” said Peter Feigin, president of the Bucks and Fiserv Forum. “Over-the-air is an easy and affordable way for Bucks fans to watch our games, and we’re excited to work with Weigel and broadcasters like Tegna to make them widely available.”

WQAD said the Bucks games will air on digital channel 8.3 and reach nearly 240,000 homes in the Quad Cities area over the air and through the channels distribution through pay TV services.

“We’re thrilled to make these Bucks games available to every fan, and every household, in the Quad Cities,” said Jim Kizer, president and general manager,  at WQAD.

The first game to air on WQAD will match the Bucks against the Minnesota Timberwolves on February 23.

The Bucks’ TV broadcast team of Lisa Byington, Marques Johnson, Steve Novak and Melanie Ricks will be the announcers.

“Weigel is elated to help bring Bucks basketball games to viewers on broadcast television, an accessible and affordable option for all sports fans,” said Evan Fieldman, executive VP of Weigel.

 The Quad Cities market includes Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois.

DirecTV said it added Weigel Broadcasting’s Heroes & Icons digital broadcast network to its satellite pay TV platform.

Heroes & Icons has been available on DirecTV’s U-verse TV platform since 2015 and DirecTV Stream since 2021.

DirecTV also started carrying Weigel’s MeTV network earlier this year.

“This agreement provides Weigel a strong opportunity to grow its national network viewership and sponsors, while ensuring our customers continue to possess consistent, reliable access to Weigel’s local stations,” said Linda Burakoff, senior VP of content and programming at DirecTV. “We continue to work creatively with programmers like Weigel with broadcast properties to fulfill our mutual business interests in ways that consumers gain greater choice, value, and reliability they deserve.”

Heroes & Icons airs all of the original live-action Star Trek series with a Sunday through Friday night block dubbed "All Star Trek."  It also programs shows including The A-Team, Walker, Texas Ranger, The Twilight Zone, Batman, Adventures of Superman and Wonder Woman. 

“We appreciate the growing partnership we have with DirecTV that allows for our national networks, MeTV and H&I, which are established viewer favorites, to be carried on their satellite and streaming platforms for their customers’ enjoyment,” said Neal Sabin, vice chairman of Weigel Broadcasting Co.

H&I Network celebrates the new year with “A Toast to Twilight,” a marathon of The Twilight Zone that runs December 31 to January 2. The fun begins on New Year’s Eve at 8 p.m. ET/PT and continues through Tuesday, January 2 at 6 a.m., with 68 back to back episodes. 

Episodes will include “Monsters Are Due on Maple Street,” “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” and “The Eye of the Beholder.”

The Twilight Zone ran on CBS from 1959-1964. Rod Serling created the show and hosts. H&I said The Twilight Zone “forever changed the television landscape with its trademark blend of science fiction, horror and fantasy narratives.”

Weigel Broadcasting owns H&I, short for Heroes and Icons. The Twilight Zone marathon spent five years on Weigel’s Decades Network, which rebranded as Catchy Comedy in March. 

H&I features shows with heroic characters, including Star Trek, Walker, Texas Ranger, Nash Bridges and The A-Team. 

Svengoolie’s Halloween BOOnanza happens on MeTV starting October 7 and wrapping up on Halloween. The event features a Saturday night Svengoolie Double Feature, back-to-back horror movies with horrific host Svengoolie tossing in a few quips; mini-marathons of frightful TV westerns on Saturdays, including Gunsmoke, Wagon Train and The Rifleman; and spooky vintage comedies on Sundays, including The Brady Bunch, Leave it to Beaver and Gilligan’s Island. 

“We put the BOO! in BOOnanza with our movie lineup of fearsome Svengoolie features on MeTV Saturday nights,” said Rich Koz, who plays top-hatted Svengoolie. “We have killer clowns, Abbott & Costello and the much-requested original Kolchak movies, plus this year we will treat fans with a double feature of a bonus movie every Saturday night. And be sure to catch Halloween-themed blocks of scary episodes from MeTV's classic TV portfolio all month and all across the schedule, including westerns, comedies and the one where Gilligan turns into a vampire!” 

Halloween BOOnanza takes place on weekends in October, then continues with horror-themed episodes of classic shows on Halloween. 

The fun starts Saturday, October 7, with Bugs Bunny Halloween Hour at 9 a.m. ET/PT, then scary westerns from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

That night, the Svengoolie Double Feature includes movies Killer Klowns From Outer Space from 1988 and The Crawling Eye from 1958. 

A Sventoonie marathon happens 12:30 a.m. to 6 a.m. on October 8. 

On Saturday, October 14, the Svengoolie Double Feature includes Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and Invaders From Mars, with the Svengoolie Uncrypted special airing 12:30-1:30 a.m. October 15. A Twilight Zone marathon follows. 

The stunt continues October 21-22, including movie Kolchak: Night Stalker then a marathon of Kolchak episodes, and October 28-29, and concludes on Halloween, with scary episodes of My Three Sons, The Waltons, Green Acres and Perry Mason, among other vintage shows. 

Weigel Broadcasting owns MeTV. 

Frndly TV, the low-priced streaming television service, said it will add Weigel Broadcasting Co.’s MeTV Plus to its channel lineup in October.

Weigel multicast channels including MeTv, Story TV, Decades, Heroes & Icons and Start TV are already available via Frndly TV. 

Frndly TV will be the first national distributor to carry MeTV Plus.

“We are excited to add MeTV Plus which has been highly requested by our customers,” said Michael McKenna, Frndly TV co-founder and chief programming officer. “While MeTV Plus is currently available in some local markets, with Frndly TV’s launch of MeTV Plus, classic TV lovers will be able to enjoy more great classic programming via this popular channel nationwide.”

Financial terms were not disclosed.

MeTV Plus is a companion network to MeTV, which features classic TV programs. MeTV Plus provides viewers with additional classic TV. 

Weigel Broadcasting and DirecTV said they made a deal that will make MeTV available nationally in high definition via the DirecTV satellite service and DirecTV Steam.

MeTV, a digital broadcast network offering classic TV shows, has been available on DirecTV’s Uverse TV platform since 2012.

“MeTV is ‘Memorable Entertainment Television,’ making it a uniquely valuable addition to the DirecTV channel lineup nationwide,” Weigel vice chairman Neal Sabin said. “We couldn’t be happier to seal this deal which allows us to add MeTV beyond the existing markets and deliver some of the most cherished and timeless television ever made to DirecTV subscribers coast-to-coast.”

Also Read: Frndly TV Adds Weigel Diginets — Including MeTV — To Streaming Service Lineup

DirecTV has been looking to aggregate more sources of TV programming, including streaming services as well as digital broadcast channels.

“This agreement provides Weigel additional reach to grow its viewership and sponsors, while furthering DirecTV national and local programming interests,” Linda Burakoff, senior VP of content and programming at DirecTV, said. “We continue to work creatively, and respectfully, with Weigel and other broadcasters to identify our mutual priorities, and then develop them together to expand our customers, sponsors and future prospects.”

Representing its first original special, Story Television will premiere Somewhere: Highland Park, IL, about the mass shooting in that town on Independence Day last year, Sunday, July 2. The 30-minute special airs on Story at 3:30 ET that day, and on WCIU Chicago at 6 p.m. CT. 

The special features Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering, survivors Abby and Tony Brosio, Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg, Highland Park Hospital president Gabrielle Cummings and former trauma surgeon Andrew Agos.  

“As a Chicago-based broadcaster, we felt compelled to tell the story of Highland Park one year later, exploring how the community is moving forward in the fallout of one of the worst mass shootings in Illinois history,” says Neal Sabin, vice chairman of Story parent Weigel Broadcasting Co.

Robert Eugene Crimo killed seven people at an Independence Day parade that day and wounded dozens more. Highland Park is a Chicago suburb. 

“In our country, we hear about a mass shooting, and we say that is really horrible for that community,” Rotering said. “We just think, we’re so glad that didn’t happen here. But, it happened somewhere.”

Digital network Story Television presents historical and nonfiction programming. It launched last year.

Besides Story, Weigel owns MeTV, Catchy Comedy and Start TV, among other networks, as well as WCIU Chicago and other stations. 

Weigel Broadcasting digital network Decades becomes Catchy Comedy March 27, featuring classic sitcoms such as I Love Lucy, Good Times and Night Court. Catchy Comedy features the tagline “Catch All the Laughs” and is set to be Nielsen-rated.

“It’s a celebration of some of the best situation comedies ever made through the decades,” Neal Sabin, Weigel vice chairman, told B+C. “What Decades did was comedy-centric, but we decided we should rebrand it and fully focus on comedy.”

Daytime during weekdays, Catchy Comedy features female-driven comedies, featuring the likes of I Love Lucy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Carol Burnett Show. “On the screen, behind the scenes or both, they really changed our business,” said Sabin of Lucille Ball, Moore and Burnett. 

In weekday primetime it’s “Norman Lear’s Catchy Classics,” including Good Times, Sanford and Son and All In the Family. Late night, it’s “Smart and Catchy Sitcoms”, including Night Court, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Cheers, Taxi and The Bob Newhart Show. 

Each weekend offers “The Catchy Binge,” a different comedy marathon. Those will start Saturdays at noon ET, and wrap early morning Mondays. Sabin called the binge-worthy programs “gems that don’t get seen on broadcast or cable,” mentioning The Flying Nun, Brooklyn Bridge and Square Pegs, among others. 

Decades also featured binges. When the network launched in 2015, a joint venture between Weigel and CBS Television Stations, it offered vintage news–what happened on that day in history, including archival CBS News footage. As it transitioned to classic TV, showing the likes of Happy Days, Cheers and I Love Lucy, it presented the shows of a certain decade, be it the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s or ‘80s. 

Shows acquired for the Catchy rebrand include Good Times, Sanford and Son, All in the Family and Night Court. The latter was remade at NBC, and premiered in January. Weigel had acquired the original Night Court, with Harry Anderson playing the judge, before it returned on NBC, which Sabin called “very advantageous.”

Weigel networks include MeTV, Start TV, Heroes & Icons and Movies! Its stations include WCIU Chicago and WDJT Milwaukee. Catchy reaches around 70% of U.S. markets. 

Sabin called Lucille Ball “a guiding force” for Catchy Comedy. “She invented women in comedy,” he added, “and took it to heights that no one else has.” ■

Start TV celebrates Women’s History Month with the original special The Power of Perseverance: Strength Through Struggle, which shares the true stories of an inspirational group of women who have persevered through tragedy and challenges, March 11 at 11 p.m. ET/PT. 

The special goes for an hour. Featured are Kelly Cervantes, an epilepsy advocate and activist in New York; Namrata Yadav of Charlotte, North Carolina, who heads up diversity and inclusion at Bank of America; and Zeita Merchant, a commander in the Coast Guard who is based in New York. 

“Meet the three exceptional and motivational women who have never gave up, real women who openly share their stories of loss, struggle, determination, inspiration and, ultimately, perseverance,” said Start TV. 

March is Women’s History Month. 

Part of Weigel Broadcasting, Start TV showcases strong and resourceful female characters. Its shows include Rizzoli & Isles, Major Crimes, The Closer, The Good Wife and Ghost Whisperer. ■

The Weigel Broadcasting digital network Decades is rebranding to Catchy Comedy March 27. With a tagline of “Catch All the Laughs,” the network will feature classic sitcoms. 

Daytime during weekdays, it features female-driven comedies, featuring the likes of I Love Lucy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Carol Burnett Show. On weekday primetime it’s “Norman Lear’s Catchy Classics,” including Good Times, Sanford and Son and All In the Family. Late night, it’s “Smart and Catchy Sitcoms”, including Night Court, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Cheers, Taxi and The Bob Newhart Show. 

Each weekend offers “The Catchy Binge,” a different comedy marathon. 

“Catchy Comedy is a celebration of the very best in classic television comedy and will showcase and celebrate a who’s who of funny women and TV legends,” Weigel vice chairman Neal Sabin said. “We are excited to bring an all-comedy approach with this exciting rebrand of Decades evolving into Catchy Comedy. Weekdays we will showcase hilarious series with a strong appeal to women, or with female characters that redefined and expanded the role of women in television. Then in primetime we will feature groundbreaking comedy and characters from the legendary Norman Lear, and in late nights we will present some of the smartest and best written comedy series on television. Viewers really will be able to ‘catch all the laughs’ on Catchy Comedy.”

Decades launched in 2015, dubbed “the ultimate TV time capsule,” with Weigel and CBS Television Stations as partners on the network at launch. 

Weigel networks include MeTV, Start TV, Heroes & Icons and Movies! ■

Streaming TV service Philo said it added Decades and Start TV, two of Weigel Broadcasting’s digital multicast networks, to its streaming channel lineup.

Weigel began making its channels available to streaming platforms earlier this year when it put MeTV  and Story TV on Frndly TV in March. Frndly TV added Decades, Heroes & Icons and Start TV in April. 

Philo has run Sony’s Get TV digital broadcast channel since 2020.

The new channels are being added to Philo at no extra cost to subscribers.

“Attention fans of nostalgia TV and female-led drama! Starting today on Philo, you can view some of the best classic sitcoms in TV history, as well as enjoy shows featuring the top female leading characters in popular scripted TV dramas,” said Philo’s Jane Marks in a blog post. “Philo has added two new channels: Decades and Start TV. We are always looking for new content to bring to our Philo community, and we hope you’ll love these channels as much as we already do.”

Decades, short for Television Across the Decades, features classic-TV comedies from the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, including I Love Lucy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Cheers and Taxi.

Start TV features scripted dramas featuring women in diverse and compelling roles. Titles including The Closer, The Good Wife, Major Crimes, Rizzoli and Isles, Medium and Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. ■

Decades offers The Twilight Zone stunt “Rod, White and Blue: A Twilight Zone Celebration” starting Saturday, July 2, at 12 p.m. ET and concluding Tuesday, July 5, at 6 a.m. Fans can binge 120 episodes of The Twilight Zone. 

Created and hosted by Rod Serling, The Twilight Zone aired on CBS from 1959-1964, and blended science fiction, horror and fantasy narratives. Each episode featured a moral or unexpected plot twist, and social issues of the ’60s often came up too. 

It is the fifth year of Decades offering The Twilight Zone marathon around the July 4 holiday. 

Decades, which is part of Weigel Broadcasting, is available across the country, including on the Fox-owned station subchannels in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Detroit, Atlanta, Tampa, Phoenix, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Austin, Texas, and Gainesville, Florida. The network is also available in Comcast homes in New York/New Jersey, San Francisco, Houston, Detroit, Atlanta and Minneapolis-St. Paul and streams on Frndly TV. ■

Syncbak is adding 18 stations to its VUit out of market local news streaming service after reaching agreement with six broadcast groups.

The stations give VUit news and special events from five additional markets: Chicago, Raleigh, North Carolina; Fort Myers, Florida; Norfolk, Virginia; and Salisbury, Maryland.

The stations are owned by Weigel Broadcasting (WCIU, WBND, WDJT and WYTU); Capitol Broadcasting (WRAL, WRAZ and WILM); Lockwood Broadcast Group (WSKY, WCAV, WDFX, WPGX and WTNZ); Marquee Broadcasting (WMDT, WNKY and WSWG); Fort Myers Broadcasting (WINK) and Sunbeam Television (WDHD and WSVN).

VUit lets viewers nationwide stream news from stations in out of town market. They can catch up new from their hometowns, watch high school sporting event or check out the weather where their friends or family live.

VUit now streams content from about 250 stations with coverage in nearly 80% of the top markets.

“These new deals are the latest example underscoring VUit’s position as the leading streaming destination for local news and cultural content that has appeal on a national scale,” Syncbak CEO Jack Perry said. “The value we offer to stations in scaling their streaming audience and digital revenue is unparalleled. As we continue to expand, we remain laser-focused on our bigger mission and vision: helping every station and station group thrive in the streaming landscape.”

VUit has stations from Gray Television (an early investor in the service), Cox Media Group, Hearst Television, Heritage Broadcasting, Morgan Murphy Media, News-Press and Gazette Co. and independent stations WFMZ Philadelphia and KTSF San Francisco. ■

Frndly TV, the family-friendly low-priced streaming TV service, said three more of Weigel Broadcasting’s digital networks will be available to subscribers, starting Tuesday.

The three networks are Decades, Heroes & Icons and Start TV.

Frndly TV and Weigel announced a deal last month that would that make the Weigel networks available via streaming for the first time.

The initial networks launched were the popular MeTV and the brand new Story TV.

Launched in October 2019 with 12 networks, Frndly TV is now up to 36 networks and has raised its base price once by $1 since starting out.

Decades is a “pop-culture time capsule” with original programming, sitcoms, talk and variety series categorized by decade. H&I features action and adventure with familiar leading characters. Start TV features women leading characters in procedural dramas. ■

Frndly TV, the low-priced, family-friendly streaming service, made a deal with Weigel Broadcasting to stream MeTV and Weigel’s other digital broadcast networks to Frndly’s subscribers.

Frndly TV is the first live streaming service to carry all five of the Weigel channels. 

Under the terms of the deal Frndly subscribers will get added programming, including MeTV, one of the oldest and most popular of the digital broadcast networks, without seeing a price increase from the current basic rate of $6.99 a month.

The addition will give Frndly subscribers a lineup of more than 35 channels. 

Weigel’s channels get additional distribution to Frndly’s subscribers, many of whom live in rural areas where broadcast signals are weak.

Also: Frndly TV Adds A+E Channels to Streaming Video Service

“The five Weigel national networks are a fantastic addition to our Frndly TV lineup,” said Michael McKenna, chief programming officer of Frndly TV. “Our customers will no doubt enjoy the variety these networks bring, including the country’s number-one rated classic TV network, MeTV. And importantly, we are honoring our promise to our subscribers by keeping our prices very friendly -- and the lowest in the industry -- while adding even more great programming.”

MeTV will premiere on the Frndly TV lineup starting Monday, March 28. Frndly TV subscribers will also be able to watch Story TV, a new channel being launched Monday.

On April 19, Weigel’s Heroes Icons and Decades channels will be added to Frndly and Start TV will be added shortly afterward.

“We welcome the subscribers of Frndly TV into the family friendly world of MeTV and our full array of entertaining and engaging networks,” said Neal Sabin, vice chairman of Weigel. “The warmth of Andy Griffith, the thrill of all five original Star Trek series, newer and classic crime and court dramas are just a part of what our networks are bringing to Frndly and we are thrilled to be with this well positioned service.”■

Weigel Broadcasting said it will launch a new digital over-the-air network, Story Television, on March 28.

Weigel already broadcasts five other diginets, including MeTV. Several major broadcasters have also expanded their presence by launching over-the-air networks, including E.W. Scripps, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Nexstar Media Group and Tegna.

Story Television will feature non-fiction shows from A+E Networks including Biography, The Men Who Built America and Modern Marvels.

Weigel said it has secured carriage for the network on the secondary broadcast signals of stations owned by Hearst Television, Marquee Broadcasting, Maranatha Broadcasting and its own stations. ■ 

Jessie Garcia has been named news director of WDJT-WMLW Milwaukee. Weigel Broadcasting owns the stations, a CBS affiliate and an independent, along with Telemundo Wisconsin. Garcia starts in early 2022. 

Garcia comes from WTMJ Milwaukee, where she was editorial director. She previously was broadcast director and anchor at the station. 

Before that, Garcia was sports anchor at WISC Madison. 

“Jessie is the right person at the right time,“ general manager Anne Brown said. ”Her demonstrated ability to lead a newsroom and her proven track record of innovation, coupled with her deep knowledge of Milwaukee, is a win for our team and our viewers.”

Garcia has taught journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Marquette, Carroll University and Mount Mary University.  

“I am passionate about Milwaukee, the people who live here and what happens in our community,” Garcia said. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the CBS 58 News team to further deepen and enrich its commitment to covering the news in Southeastern Wisconsin.” 

Milwaukee is DMA No. 37.

Walker, Texas Ranger joins the lineup of multicast network H&I Monday, Oct. 18. Starring Chuck Norris, Walker, Texas Ranger will air seven days a week. It will be on 6-9 p.m. ET/PT on weekdays, then 8-10 a.m. ET/PT Saturdays and 4-6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. 

The series is inspired by the 1983 western Lone Wolf, McQuade, which also starred Norris. Walker, Texas Ranger follows the crime-stopping adventures of Sgt. Cordell Walker (Norris) and his partner and best friend Jimmy Trivette (Clarence Gilyard). “Known for its high-octane action sequences featuring iconic explosions, fistfights and slow-motion stunts,” H&I said, “the series combined the thrill of action movies with the old wisdom of the Wild Wild West.” 

Walker, Texas Ranger debuted on CBS in 1993 and aired for eight seasons. There was a 2005 made-for-television film, Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire, a 1999 spinoff, Sons of Thunder, and three novels. A reboot of the original series premiered on The CW earlier this year, starring Jared Padalecki. Season two of Walker starts on The CW Oct. 28. 

Short for Heroes & Icons, H&I is part of Weigel Broadcasting. H&I shows include House, Monk, MacGyver and Nash Bridges.  

Weigel Broadcasting said it hired Donna D’Alessandro as executive VP, head of content. 

D’Alessandro, most recently senior VP of factual programming for Discovery’s Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Science Channel, will be involved in programming Weigel’s suite of digital broadcast networks, including MeTV, Heroes & Icons, Start TV, Decades and Movies! as well as future projects.

She will report to Neal Sabin, vice chairman at Weigel.

“Donna joins Weigel with a wealth of programming experience on multiple platforms and levels,” said Sabin. “Her energy, attitude and ability to innovate and motivate will serve our networks, viewers, staff and advertisers well.” 

D’Alessandro was with Discovery as it launched its streaming service, Discovery Plus, leading content planning and strategies for the company’s factual networks. She worked on tentpole events including Shark Week and Puppy Bowl as well as series such as Expedition Unknown, Mysteries of the Abandoned, Naked & Afraid, Gold Rush and Crikey! It’s the Irwins.

Before Discovery, she was with BET and Bravo.

“I am beyond excited to join the amazing team at Weigel as we work on the forefront of content evolution,” said D’Alessandro.

Digital networks Heroes & Icons (H&I) and Start TV are now available on Dish TV, with H&I on channel 293 and Start TV on channel 291. Both are part of Weigel Broadcasting Co. 

H&I offers “heroic characters and iconic series,” said Weigel, including action, adventure and sci fi. Shows include various Star Trek series, Nash Bridges, House and J.A.G. 

Start TV showcases strong and resourceful female leading characters. Shows include The Closer, Major Crimes, Medium, Ghost Whisperer and The Good Wife. Start TV also features original short-form profiles in “My Start Story.”

“We are happy to bring Heroes & Icons and Start TV to subscribers of Dish TV”, said Neal Sabin, vice chairman of Weigel Broadcasting Co. “They join Weigel's MeTV , Memorable Entertainment Television, as three well-defined, entertaining brands that viewers rely on for action, adventure, drama and just plain fun on Dish TV’s channel lineup.”

Comscore said that Weigel Broadcasting renewed their agreement and that it will continue to provide local TV measurement for Weigel’s five stations in Milwaukee and three in South Bend, Ind.

In addition to using Comscore’s local television currency, Weigel will have long-term use of Comscore’s Advanced Automotive and Political Audience segments, which helps the stations gauge the size, value and relevance of its audiences to advertisers in those categories.

Financial terms were not disclosed. 

"We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Weigel," said Steve Walsh, executive VP, commercial, at Comscore. "We look forward to providing granular insights and powerful advanced audience segments to fuel a better understanding of Weigel's consumers and drive Weigel's revenue, share and profit."

Ratings measurement company Rentrak said it has expanded its agreement to provide local market TV ratings data to Weigel Broadcasting, adding stations in Chicago and Milwaukee. According to Rentrak, the company will provide local TV ratings for stations WCIU (IND), WWME (MeTV) and WMEU (IND) in Chicago, and WDJT (CBS), WMLW (IND), WBME (MeTV) and WYTU (TEL) in Milwaukee. Rentrak already provides ratings and Automotive Advanced Demographic information to Weigel’s stations in South Bend—WBND (ABC), WMYS (MyNet) and WCWW (CW)—and renews them as a part of this expansion agreement. “We started our partnership with Rentrak three years ago in South Bend and use them as our sales, programming and marketing currency every day,” said Weigel executive vice president of sales John Hendricks in a statement. “Their massive measurement footprint, with hundreds or even thousands of reporting homes in every ZIP code, provides us with the reliability and stability that we and our advertisers need to provide schedules that deliver the audience levels that we sell. Rentrak’s automotive demographics are exactly what clients want to see to better understand the value of our audiences and to reach actual auto customers.” The deal extends the Rentrak ratings relationship to all Weige owned stations. In addition, Weigel includes Memorable Entertainment Television (MeTV), a digital broadcaster that offers classic TV shows over the air and via cable and satellite, the Movies! Network in partnership with Fox Television stations, Heroes & Icons and the new DECADES Network in partnership with the CBS Television Station Group. “Weigel’s South Bend stations have really hit it out of the park using Rentrak as a selling currency over the last three years, and we are excited to now have the opportunity to bring similar success to their stations in Chicago and Milwaukee,” said Rentrak’s executive vice president of local market television Steve Walsh in a statement.