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Ion Gets A Makeover

When is Ion going to give it up? Name changes,
promotional changes, can't even beat the CW
or Univision...why don't they just throw in the
towel and let their stations be independent again?
 
And isn't Ion's current most-watched show, if I'm not mistaken, a third-string WWE production entitled Main Event on Wednesdays 8/7 Central, which barely draws a million viewers?
 
I really have nothing bad to say about Ion these days. The 'infomercial' reputation is quickly being pushed to what are the normal cable hours for infomercial festivals (the usual 3-11am), they may air plenty of proceduals, but at least it's current content people these days would watch, and they really aren't competing with the CW. At this point they're competing more with Hallmark Channel and Lifetime than they ever are with the CW and the Big Four as most of their carriage these days is cable rather than their affiliate stations

Compared to 2006 when a One Tree Hill ripoff, the usual terrible CanCon dramas, and eighteen hours of infomercials were polluting that channel, the Ion of 2013 is a well-run and dependable network you're not worrying about going into bankruptcy anytime soon, and I think the reason WWE went into business with Ion is because they have actual stations rather than subchannels for most of their stations, unlike MyNet, which meant their HD investment was being wasted in sub-100 markets.
 
WWE Main Event is the only show I watch on ION, although my mother has them on quite a bit (except during WWE). Our affiliate is WHPX-TV channel 26 in New London, CT, roughly 50 miles from downtown Hartford. Except for the ID on the hour, I've yet to see a single "local" thing about this station.
 
KML-224 said:
Our affiliate is WHPX-TV channel 26 in New London, CT, roughly 50 miles from downtown Hartford. Except for the ID on the hour, I've yet to see a single "local" thing about this station.
Click to expand...

most Ion stations are O&O and other than ID's is the same across the board
 
Mark said:
BBMF

Bring Back Mama's Family
Click to expand...

By the time Comcast Cablevision of Mobile (Alabama) started providing programming from Ion, "Mama's Family" was long gone from Ion's programming schedule (the Mobile, Alabama-Pensacola, Florida TV market never had an affiliate of Ion). I wish one of the local TV stations would purchase the broadcasting rights to the program again, since it was very popular locally based on its history in local broadcasting (WALA-TV was affiliated with NBC when "Mama's Family" was provided by NBC. WKRG-TV started broadcasting the program on a regular basis when it became available through syndication and continued to broadcast it after its final new episode became available in 1990. WALA-TV got the local broadcasting rights to the program afterwards).
 
Reruns of "Mama's Family" were beating MyNetwork TV and were nearly beating the CW network.

I remember reading the head of Ion (or was it "I" at the time?) said, "He didn't want to be known as the Mama's Family Network."
 
Mark said:
Reruns of "Mama's Family" were beating MyNetwork TV and were nearly beating the CW network.

I remember reading the head of Ion (or was it "I" at the time?) said, "He didn't want to be known as the Mama's Family Network."
Click to expand...

But he was okay with the network being known as the Mostly Infomercials Network?
 
I still sort of miss the days of Supermarket Sweep and Shop Till You Drop (Pat Finn) reruns on PAX back in the early 2000s, but back then that channel was an infomercial fest from 11PM-5PM! Much better channel now with the lesser amount of paid programs.

-crainbebo
 
bpatrick said:
When is Ion going to give it up? Name changes,
promotional changes, can't even beat the CW
or Univision...why don't they just throw in the
towel and let their stations be independent again?
Click to expand...
Weren't most Ion stations home shopping channels or nonexistent before Pax launched, with very few being actual independent stations? The real issue you have is that they won't let their stations cover for missing or subchannel CW or MyNet affiliations in relevant markets, meaning they waste a channel position. I'd bet that MyNet issue WWE had wouldn't be an issue if that were the case.

There was a suggestion in another thread that Sinclair might ultimately launch a new "network" in off-network hours on its CW and MyNet affiliates and sign on other owners like Tribune. If that happened, Ion would really look ahead of the curve. But I think that if Ion did throw in the towel, its stations could be really valuable to someone who wanted to really punch up the offerings out there OTA. More on this in another thread.

Keep in mind Bud Paxson's other background was in religious television, and Ion has always sought to be "family-friendly", which I suspect explains a lot about it.
 
Ion will sell their stations to the wireless companies LOL

I wonder how many of Ion stations have actual channels above 36?
 
bpatrick said:
When is Ion going to give it up? Name changes,
promotional changes, can't even beat the CW
or Univision...why don't they just throw in the
towel and let their stations be independent again?
Click to expand...

First post after someone mentions the network getting a fresher marketing campaign and logo: "When is ION going to give it up?" :D
 
Pab Sungenis said:
Just rebrand it to ITV: Infomercial Television already.
Click to expand...

You need fresher wisecracks. Everytime I've turned to Ion during the daytime, its either a drama rerun or a movie--which only puts it in the company of about 299 other channels.

Of course, when you were posting that same schtick to Deadline.com (4:08 am), an informercial was probably on. :D
 
ION Needs to develop new and original programming again! How about a reboot of "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea" or "Your Hit Parade?" And maybe, we can bring back "Kraft Music Hall" and "Hollywood Palace!" What do you say?
 
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