National MeTV: DOA?

[carolinaradio]

I was really excited for this network to launch, but it seems like outside of the three Weigel stations, nobody else is carrying it. I wonder what the hold-up is? Is it DOA nationally?

I think a station in the midwest carried it for a little while, but dropped it. I think the FOX affiliate in Charlotte and the ABC affiliate in Columbia, SC were going to carry it, but not yet. It took THIS about 18 months to be pretty much national.

Then again, outside of the Tribune stations, has Antenna TV added any affiliates?

 

[JeeperOne]

Yeah. KDVR 31 (FOX) here in Denver. Owned by Local TV (Paired with Tribune's KWGN 2 but still)

Cheers

 

[wncc]

Just checked, WCCB (Fox Charlotte) is still showing weather radar.

 

[nathannah]

It might be more some of the likely stations that would take MeTV waiting out the string with their RTV contracts and not willing to pay a penalty to dump them. Also it took quite a while for This TV to get on the roll it did after the transition with adding affiliates, which was at least nine months after the Halloween 2008 launch there. You want to make sure you're getting the next good subchannel network, not the next .2 Network that will never launch.

 

[FightingIrish]

Be patient. It will happen.

Another thing to consider is that it took many other subchannel networks, like RTV, Cool, TCN, etc. a long time to add significant numbers of affiliates. And I'm sure they're holding out for some decent affiliates, rather than get dumped on a low-power outlet that nobody can receive.

 

[mgsports]

Or ones that already have This TV like KCWE. KC only has Antenna TV/This TV/More TV and Action Weather Plus so far.

 

[tripinva]

WCCB launches MeTV at 7:30AM tomorrow morning.

- Trip

 

[wncc]

Yes, I actually turned to 18.3 and they said Me-Tv coming soon. It was weird seeing the radar loop interrupted.

 

[Iowan]

Here's an idea: MeTV on KLJB 18.3 in the Quad Cities. I mean seriously, This TV already airs on KGCW 26.2. We really don't need 'This' on 2 subchannels. We don't really even need The CW simulcast on KLJB 18.2!

 

[KyDXIn]

WMYO Channel 58.2 in Louisville has been airing Color Test pattern and station ID for over a month. I was told by someone at the station that MeTV was to air there, but there's been some holdup. It's sister station, WDRB 41.2 as been airing Antenna TV for over a month. Retro TV is seen on a weaker signal WBNA 21.4 that I rarely can receive. This TV airs on WAVE 3.2 in this market and has been airing over a year.

 

[FightingIrish]

Apparently, they're adding affiliates very slowly.

The newest one is WFXS in Wausau, WI, on 55.2. RTV airs on 55.3.

 

[Al Timiter]

So far, I'm liking what I see on ME-TV. Very professional presentation. Good prints. Good line-up. Excellent promos, bordering on the tongue-in-cheek promos from TV Land's hey-day. I think they will make it if their pockets are deep enough to withstand a year or so of losing money. They are head and shoulders above THIS and RTV. Of course, it wouldn't take much to be head and shoulders above RTV.

 

[ohcrud]

http://www.deadline.com/2011/04/mgms-classic-tv-digital-net-takes-flight/

MGM's Classic TV Digital Net Takes Flight
Push in television has been a big priority of the new MGM. In one of its first moves as it emerged from bankruptcy, the company in January made a play in digital TV, teaming with digital station operator Weigel Broadcasting for Me-TV, a television network offering classic television sitcoms, dramas and classic commercials to digital broadcast stations. Me-TV, which stands for Memorable Entertainment Television, has now been cleared in more than 45% of the country on such station groups as Hearst Television, Raycom Media, Cox Television, Newport Television, Media General, Capitol Broadcasting, Bahakel Communications and Gray Television. Me-TV’s library includes 70 titles from Twentieth Century Fox TV Distribution, CBS TV Distribution and independent producers, including M*A*S*H, Perry Mason, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Bob Newhart Show, the original Star Trek and Hawaii Five-O series. Me-TV follows MGM and Weigel's collaboration on the 2008 launch of Thistv, a free movie service.