Not on the Radar
In case you haven't heard the news, MeTV has launched MeTV Toons, a new broadcast channel dedicated to classic television shows.
Much like other similar broadcast networks such as Antenna TV, ACE TV, H&I, Catchy Comedy, Rewind TV, GET, Retro TV, LAFF, COZI TV, Grit, The365, DABL, Outlaw, Start TV, Family Channel, BUZZR, Comet, Charge, ION, ION Mystery, and, of course, MeTV, this channel shows classic television programming all day long, 24 hours a day. Seven days a week.
The difference between this channel and the others I mentioned is that MeTV Toons' focus is animation.
MeTV Toons is something a lot of older television viewers have been asking for, an over-the-air all-classic cartoon channel. At the time of this writing (June 2024), it's available to nearly 70% of the country as a broadcast network, including the top 10 TV markets.
That said, there are major markets still without the channel, including the following:
- Detroit, MI (Graham owns the MeTV affiliate in that market)
- Denver, CO (CBS)
- San Diego, CA (there is no MeTV affiliate in that market at all)
- Raleigh, NC (Capital)
- Columbus, OH (Tegna)
- Cincinatti, OH (Hearst-Argyle)
- Norfolk/Hampton Roads, VA (Tegna)
- Birmingham, AL (Hearst-Argyle)
- Harrisburg, PA (Hearst-Argyle)
- Austin, TX (FOX)
- Winston-Salem, NC (Hearst-Argyle)
- Buffalo, NY (ITV of Buffalo)
- Scranton, PA (Sinclair)
- Ft. Myers, FL (Hearst-Argyle)
- Albuquerque, NM (Hubbard)
Yes, I know the option of subscribing to Frndly and Philo to get the channel is available, but I'm not spending money for a service just to receive one channel, especially a channel comprised of classic TV shows that should be freely accessible over-the-air.
Everybody knew getting MeTV Toons over the air wasn't going to be easy, including Weigel, the owners of the channel. Nothing like this has ever been done on this scale (for the record, I do know about PBJ, but that wasn't an all-cartoon channel, but rather an OTA children's network [MeTV Toons is a general entertainment channel, NOT A KIDS' NETWORK] with a VERY limited lineup padded out by programming from an auto-themed sibling channel and infomercials throughout the day and only had 19 affiliates, about a tenth of MeTV Toons' affiliate count at launch), so it was always going to be a risk.
That said, every new channel launch in the age of streaming is a risk. But if people are actually interested in something like MeTV Toons, perhaps broadcasters shouldn't be so dismissive of it.
One affiliate president and general manager, WLWT-TV's Branden Frantz, has made his views crystal clear about whether or not his Cincinatti-based affiliate, which also is the home of MeTV, will carry MeTV Toons:
“We are not picking this channel up. While we do have the capacity to add another channel on 5.3, MeTV Toons is not on the radar at this time.”
It's true. WLWT does have an open slot on its subchannel roster for expansion, 5.3. That said, I am curious what is in Frantz's radar for outlets to fill it. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the slot will be filled by DARE, an upcoming reality-based OTA channel from Free TV Networks, which will have programming from A&E Networks dominating the lineup, launching in July.
I should also note that WLWT and A&E share an owner, Hearst Television (which owns an equity stake in A&E with Disney), but I'm sure that's just a coincidence. But if all of those Hearst-Argyle affiliates I mentioned earlier add DARE to their lineups but not MeTV Toons, you know why.
(FOLLOW UP July 11, 2024: DARE launched officially on July 1, 2024, but under a different name, DEFY, which was previously a network brand from Scripps that originally aired the same programming, so it maintains DEFY TV's legacy under a new network and ownership. Also, my home market of Hampton Roads, VA picked up the new DEFY on the local NBC affiliate, WAVY, which carries it on 10.4 replacing Shop LC while the similar network The Nest is on 10.2)
Regardless, Frantz is clearly aware that folks in Cincinatti are interested in getting MeTV Toons to the point that he had to make an official public statement about it in the first place. He may claim it's not in his radar know, but he definitely knows about the channel and the folks who want it. And I'm sure that's the case in a lot of these big markets that still don't have an over-the-air affiliate.
I'm just curious why some of those same groups would hesitate in adding MeTV Toons to their lineups but more than willing to add untested channels so quickly. The Nest, The360, and Outlaw launched recently (the latter two in January), and they have greater coverage than MeTV Toons. The Nest has a national coverage of 76.5% of the country, The365 has 80.5%, and Outlaw has 78.2% compared to MeTV Toons' 69% national coverage, which is pretty nice.
The Nest, The365, and Outlaw offer nothing really new considering other channels do exactly what they do. TBD, Quest, and DEFY are reality-based outlets like The Nest, Bounce TV and DABL are Black-centric outlets like The365, and Grit is a direct competitor to Outlaw. Over-the-air, MeTV Toons stands out as an alternative to other classic TV channels. You'd think being unique would make the channel more of a draw to affiliate groups, but to some, the opposite is happening.
Perhaps it's because of the misplaced belief that animation is just a children's medium. With SO much evidence proving that is a fallacy in 2024, especially considering animation has been a draw to older audiences across all of television attracting boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials, you'd think more affiliates would want to add programming choices that would bring them in. These are the groups the channel is targeting, and for affiliate groups to be dismissive of the younger half of that audience is a dangerous decision to make, especially when streaming is on the cusp of completely making the traditional television model irrelevant. Diginets are saving the television industry, and you'd think affiliate groups would want to experiment more with what could be done with the model as opposed to just jumping onto the same old boring formats that are everywhere.
I feel in time more affiliate groups will pick up MeTV Toons and make it as prominent as the other classic television channels. Trust me, a lot of them may not want to admit it, but there are several loud pings on their radars now.
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