Grit (TV network)

Grit is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company.[4] The network features classic TV series and western feature films targeted at men between the ages of 25 and 55 years old.

Grit

Type	Digital broadcast television network (Movies)
Country	United States
Availability	Nationwide via digital terrestrial television (covering 86% of the U.S.)[1]
Founded	April 3, 2014 by Jonathan Katz
Slogan	Television with backbone
Headquarters	Atlanta, Georgia
Owner	Katz Broadcasting, LLC (E. W. Scripps Company)
Parent	Grit Media, LLC
Key people	Jonathan Katz (president CEO, Katz Broadcasting) Bill Cox (SVP of programming, Grit)[2]
Launch date	August 18, 2014[3]
Picture format	480i 16:9 widescreen or 4:3 letterbox
Affiliates	List of Grit affiliates
Official website	www.grittv.com

The network is available in many media markets via the digital subchannels of free-to-air television stations and on the digital tiers of select cable providers through a local affiliate of the network.

Originally, Katz sold the network to affiliated TV stations via ad split but by October 2015 had moved to paying carriage fees in exchange for distributing the network's ad inventory.[5]¹ Grit used direct response advertising as a meter of viewers before switching to Nielsen rating C-3.[5]³ It is available on Dish Network channel 217.

History

Grit was announced by Katz Broadcasting along with a sister network Escape on April 3, 2014, with a formal launch scheduled for that summer with initial affiliates announced at this time being Univision Communications owned stations.[4] On August 11, 2014, Katz announced that the two networks would launch simultaneously on August 18. Grit launched at Noon Eastern Time on that date,[6] with the 1952 film High Noon as the network's inaugural broadcast, leading off a week-long festival of John Wayne films.[3]

Katz estimated, based on direct response advertising business by September 2015, the network had over 250,000 prime time viewer and available in 91 million homes and 81% of the country. At that time, Grit along with its sister network, Escape, were signing up for national ratings from Nielsen. Previously handling the network's direct response advertising, Marathon Ventures would continue after the change over with advertising and sponsorship sales.[7]

Programming

Grit's program schedule is a mix of action/adventure television series and westerns such as Death Valley Days, Laramie, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, and Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, along with films encompassing the aforementioned genres.[8]

Katz Broadcasting president and CEO Jonathan Katz based the demographic-targeted concept of Escape and Grit after Bounce TV, a network Katz co-founded with Martin Luther King III and Andrew Young in 2011 that is targeted at African-American audiences. Katz stated Grit and Escape are "the country’s first ever male-centric and female-centric broadcast networks," featuring different programming from other classic television multicast networks that Katz referred to as "generic brands with generic names, created by studios to serve the studios."[9]

Movies

Grit's program schedule features an extensive library of films through multi-year program licensing agreements with several major film studios: Warner Bros. Pictures,[10] Universal Pictures,[11] Paramount Pictures [12] and Sony Pictures Entertainment.[13]

Affiliates

As of June 2016, Grit has current or pending affiliation agreements with television stations covering approximately 78% of the United States.[14]

When the network was first announced, Grit entered into an affiliation agreement with Univision Communications, which launched the network in 24 markets served by a station owned by the group or operated through local marketing agreements with Entravision Communications – giving Grit affiliates in 12 of the 20 largest U.S. television markets (including markets such as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Dallas-Fort Worth). The network immediately sought carriage on the digital subchannels of television stations owned by other broadcasting companies;[4] on June 17, 2014, Katz signed group deals to carry Grit on stations owned and/or operated by Raycom Media in 26 markets (Raycom was merged into Gray Television at the start of 2019).[15]

On July 17, 2014, Katz announced affiliation deals with the Cox Media Group to carry Grit on WFTV in Orlando and KMYT-TV in Tulsa; as well as KJWP in the Philadelphia market, and Citadel Communications-owned stations in Providence (WLNE-TV) and Lincoln (KLKN). It also expanded its affiliation deal with Univision Communications to add stations in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Phoenix to the network's originally announced Univision-owned charter affiliates.[16][17]

On October 9, 2014, the Sinclair Broadcast Group announced that it would carry the network on stations it owns and/or operates in 47 markets.[18] The deal lasted for three years, and Sinclair dropped the network on their stations from February 2017 until the start of 2018 in preference for their co-owned network with MGM (and Grit's most direct competitor), Charge!.

On November 16, 2015, Katz announced an affiliation deal with Media General adding the network to five more markets.[19]

On June 15, 2016, Katz announced a more affiliation deal with Nexstar Broadcasting Group and Cordillera Communications's KATC-TV.[20]

List of affiliates

Starting December 8, 2018

City of license/market	Station[21]	Virtual channel	Owner	Launch date	Notes †
Alabama
Birmingham	WBRC	6.3	Gray Television	August 18, 2014
Huntsville	WAFF	48.3
Montgomery	WSFA	12.3
Mobile-Pensacola- Fort Walton Beach	WJTC	44.2	Deerfield Media	January 1, 2015
Ozark (Dothan)	WDFX-TV	34.3	Lockwood Broadcast Group	August 18, 2014
Arizona
Phoenix	KASW	61.3	Nexstar Media Group	August 2016
	KTVW-DT	33.3	Univision Communications	August 18, 2014
Tucson	KOLD-TV	13.3	Gray Television
Arkansas
Fayetteville	KNWA-TV	51.3	Nexstar Media Group	September 2016
California
Hanford (Fresno)	KFTV-DT	21.4	Univision Communications	August 18, 2014
Ontario (Los Angeles)	KFTR-DT	46.4
Vallejo (San Francisco– Oakland–San Jose)	KFSF-DT	66.4
Monterey–Salinas	KMMD-CD	39.3	Caballero Television	January 22, 2018
San Diego (San Diego)	KFMB-TV	8.3	Tegna	July 2016
Santa Maria (Santa Barbara)	KCOY-TV	12.3	News-Press & Gazette Company	March 30, 2018
Stockton (Sacramento)	KTFK-DT	64.4	Univision Communications
Colorado
Sterling (Denver)	KCDO-TV	3.1	E.W. Scripps Company
Connecticut
New Haven	WCTX	59.2	Nexstar Media Group
Delaware
Wilmington (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)	WDPN-TV	2.3	Maranatha Broadcasting Company, Inc.	August 18, 2014
Florida
Fort Myers	WFTX	36.4	E.W. Scripps Company
Jacksonville	WRCZ-LD	35.1	DTV America Corporation	October 2, 2017
Hollywood (Miami)	WAMI-DT	69.4	Univision Communications	August 18, 2014
Orlando	WRDQ	27.4	Cox Media Group	April 15, 2015
Panama City	WPGX	28.3	Lockwood Broadcast Group	August 18, 2014
Tampa–St. Petersburg	WFTS-TV	28.3	E. W. Scripps Company	April 15, 2015
West Palm Beach	WFLX	29.3	Gray Television (operated by the E. W. Scripps Company)	August 18, 2014
Georgia
Atlanta	WGCL-TV	46.3	Meredith Corporation	[14]
Augusta	WFXG	54.3	Lockwood Broadcast Group	August 18, 2014
Columbus	WTVM	9.3	Gray Television
Savannah	WTOC-TV	11.3		March 18, 2015
Hawaii
Honolulu	KHNL	13.3	Gray Television	August 18, 2014
Idaho
Boise	KNIN	9.3	Gray Television	March 2, 2017
Idaho Falls/Pocatello	KPIF	15.3	Pocatello Channel 15, LLC	October 2, 2017
Illinois
Champaign	WCIA	3.4	Nexstar Media Group	August 23, 2016
Joliet (Chicago)	WGBO-DT	66.3	Univision Communications	August 18, 2014
Rockford	WTVO	17.4	Nexstar Media Group	September 1, 2016
Indiana
Evansville	WFIE	14.3	Gray Television	October 28, 2014
Fort Wayne	WISE-TV	33.3	Quincy Media	May 1, 2019
Indianapolis	WRTV	6.2	E. W. Scripps Company	October 1, 2016
Terre Haute	WAWV-TV	38.2	Nexstar Media Group	August 23, 2016
Iowa
Ottumwa–Keokuk, IA–Kirksville, MO	KYOU-TV	15.3	American Spirit Media (operated by Gray Television)	August 18, 2014	Moved from 15.2, which joined NBC January 24, 2018
Kansas
Derby (Wichita)	KDCU-DT	31.2	Entravision Communications	Launched July 2, 2018
Lawrence–Kansas City, MO	KMCI-TV	38.4	E. W. Scripps Company	Launched April 15, 2015
Wichita	KGPT-CD	26.3	Great Plains Television Network
Kentucky
Bowling Green	WCZU-LD	39.5	DTV America Corporation	September 23, 2016
Louisville	WAVE	3.2	Gray Television	August 18, 2014
Newport (Cincinnati, Ohio)	WXIX-TV	19.3		July 2015
Louisiana
Baton Rouge	WBXH-CD	39.3	Gray Television	August 1, 2015
Lafayette	KATC-TV	3.3	E. W. Scripps Company	June 28, 2016
Lake Charles	KPLC	7.4	Gray Television	December 31, 2015	Moved to KPLC-TV DT4 when the CW was added in its old DT2 slot on August 31, 2017
Monroe/El Dorado	KARD	14.3	Nexstar Media Group	September 12, 2016
New Orleans	WVUE-DT	8.3	Gray Television	August 18, 2014
Shreveport	KSLA	12.2		December 31, 2015
Maine
Bangor	WVII	7.3	Rockfleet Broadcasting
Maryland
Salisbury	WGDV-LD	32.6	Marquee Broadcasting	October 2016
Massachusetts
Marlborough (Boston)	WUNI	66.4	Univision Communications (operated by Entravision Communications)	April 1, 2017
New Bedford (Providence, Rhode Island)	WLNE-TV	6.2	Standard Media	August 18, 2014
Michigan
Battle Creek–Kalamazoo–Grand Rapids	WOTV	41.3	Nexstar Media Group	January 2016
Lake City–Cadillac–Traverse City	WMNN-LD	26.5	Freelancer Television Broadcasting	early 2016	Replaced original Grit affiliate WPBN-DT3
Mount Clemens–Detroit	WADL	38.2	Adell Broadcasting Corporation	July 15, 2015
Marquette	WLUC-TV	6.3	Gray Television Group	January 2014
Minnesota
Mankato-St. James	K16CG-D	16.6	Cooperative Television
Minneapolis-St. Paul	[KWJM]	15.3	HC2 Holdings
Redwood Falls	K46FY-D	46.1	Redwood TV Improvement Corporation
Mississippi
Jackson	WDBD	40.3	Gray Television	October 2014
Missouri
Cape Girardeau–Paducah, KY	KFVS-TV	12.3	Gray Television	October 6, 2014
Columbia–Jefferson City	KQFX-LD	22.3	News-Press & Gazette Company	April 6, 2018
Joplin	KODE-TV	12.2	Nexstar Media Group	August 25, 2016
Springfield	KOLR	10.3		August 20, 2016
St. Joseph	KNPG-LD	21.5	News-Press & Gazette Company	April 6, 2018
Montana
Billings–Hardin	KHMT	4.3	Nexstar Media Group	September 2, 2016
Nebraska
Lincoln	KLKN	8.2	Citadel Communications	August 18, 2014
New Jersey
Paterson (New York City)	WXTV-DT	41.4	Univision Communications	August 18, 2014
New Mexico
Albuquerque	KWBQ	19.2	Tamer Media	January 11, 2016
Roswell	KRWB-TV	21.2
New York
Binghamton	WBNG-TV	12.5	Quincy Media	2019
Buffalo	WKBW-TV	7.4	E. W. Scripps Company	June 2017
Utica	WUTR	20.3	Mission Broadcasting (operated by Nexstar Media Group)	September 3, 2016
North Carolina
Charlotte	WBTV	3.4	Gray Television	October 8, 2014
Greenville	W35DW-D	45.1	DTV America Corporation	Unknown Future
Wilmington	WSFX-TV	26.3	American Spirit Media (operated by Gray Television)	August 18, 2014
North Dakota
Bismarck/Minot	KNDB	26.3	BEK Sports Network, Inc	August 2018
	KNDM	24.3
Fargo/Valley City/Grand Forks	KRDK-TV	4.6 (38)	Major Market Broadcasting	January 2015
Ohio
Cincinnati	WXIX-TV	19.4	Gray Television	July 2015
Cleveland	WEWS-TV	5.2	E. W. Scripps Company	April 14, 2017	Replaced Cozi TV[22][23]
Toledo	WTOL	11.3	Tegna	November 18, 2014
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City	KSBI	52.4	Griffin Communications	Launched October 1, 2018[24][25]
Tulsa	KMYT-TV	41.3	Cox Media Group	August 18, 2014
Pennsylvania
Erie	WFXP	66.3	Nexstar Media Group	August 28, 2016
Johnstown/Altoona/State College	WTAJ-TV	10.4		October 2017
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton	WBRE-TV	28.3		August 27, 2016
Pittsburgh	WPCW	19.3	CBS Corporation	July 1, 2017
Puerto Rico
Culebra	W46EO-D	45.1	TV Red de Puerto Rico, Inc.
South Carolina
Charleston	WCSC-TV	5.3	Gray Television	December 31, 2015
Columbia	WIS	10.2
Greenville	WDKT-LD	31.3	Carolina Christian Broadcasting	July 30, 2018
Myrtle Beach	WMBF-TV	32.5	Gray Television	August 18, 2014
Tennessee
Chattanooga	WDEF-TV	12.4	Morris Multimedia	January 8, 2018
Knoxville	WTNZ	43.3	Lockwood Broadcast Group	August 18, 2014
Memphis	WMC	5.3	Gray Television	December 31, 2015
Nashville	WKRN-TV	2.4	Nexstar Media Group	2017
Texas
Abilene	KRBC-TV	9.2	Nexstar Media Group	August 25, 2016
Alvin (Houston)	KFTH-DT	67.3	Univision Communications	August 18, 2014
Amarillo	KCIT	14.2	Nexstar Media Group	August 25, 2016	Replaced This TV
Austin	KNVA	54.2		January 29, 2016[26]
Brownsville/Harlingen, Texas	KGBT-TV	4.5	Sinclair Broadcast Group	January 28, 2020[27]
Del Rio (San Antonio)	KYVV-TV	28.1	Stryker Media LLC	July 1, 2018
El Paso	KINT-TV	26.2	Entravision Communications	June 2018
Irving (Dallas–Fort Worth)	KSTR-DT	49.3	Univision Communications	August 18, 2014
Jacksonville (Tyler–Longview)	KETK-TV	56.2	Nexstar Media Group
Laredo	KXOF-CD	31.4	Entravision Communications	July 23, 2018
Lubbock	KCBD	11.3	Gray Television	August 18, 2014
Midland-Odessa	KMID	2.4	Nexstar Media Group	September 2016
San Angelo	KLST	8.3		August 25, 2016
San Antonio	KWEX-DT	41.3	Univision Communications	August 18, 2014
Wichita Falls	KJTL	18.3	Nexstar Media Group	September 1, 2016
Utah
Provo (Salt Lake City)	KUCW	30.3	Nexstar Media Group	September 2, 2016
Vermont
Burlington	WVNY	22.3	Nexstar Media Group	August 23, 2016
Virginia
Arlington (Washington, D.C.)	WFDC-DT	14.3	Univision Communications (operated by Entravision Communications	August 18, 2014
Ashland (Richmond)	WUPV	65.3	Gray Television
Crozet (Charlottesville)	WUDJ-LD	31.3	HC2 Holdings	January 6, 2020
Washington
Tacoma-Seattle	KSTW	11.3	CBS Corporation	2017
Vancouver (Portland, Oregon)	KPDX	49.4	Meredith Corporation	February 2017
West Virginia
Huntington-Charleston	WOWK-TV	13.4	Nexstar Media Group	October 2017
Wisconsin
Green Bay	WACY-TV	32.2	E. W. Scripps Company	August 11, 2015
La Crosse	WLAX	25.4	Nexstar Media Group	August 30, 2016
Madison	WIFS	57.8	Byrne Acquisition Group, LLC	April 30, 2018
Milwaukee	WTMJ-TV	4.4	E. W. Scripps Company	March 2018	moved to WTMJ from WCGV-DT3 (24.3), which left the air January 8, 2018[28]
Wausau	WJFW-TV	12.3	Rockfleet Broadcasting

Former affiliates

Market	Station	Channel	Current owner	Years of affiliation	Notes
Fort Smith (Arkansas)	KFLU-LD	20.2	HC2 Holdings	2015-2016	Replaced by Court TV
Lewiston (Idaho)	KLEW-TV	3.3	Sinclair Broadcasting Group	2015-2018	Replaced by Stadium
Baltimore (Maryland)	WUTB	24.2	Deerfield Media	2014-2017
Boston (Massachusetts)	WWJE-DT	50.4	Univision Communications
Bay City (Michigan)	WBSF	46.3	Cunningham Broadcasting	2015-2017	Replaced by Charge!
Midland (Michigan)	WFKB-LD	38.1	HC2 Holdings	2014-2020	Went off the air
Jefferson City (Missouri)	KRCG	13.3	Sinclair Broadcasting Group	2015-2017	Replaced by Charge!
Kansas City (Missouri)	KMCI	38.4	E.W. Scripps Company	2015-2020	Replaced by Court TV
Reno (Nevada)	KRXI-TV	11.3	Sinclair Broadcasting Group	2014-2018	Replaced by Antenna TV
Buffalo (New York City)	WUTV	29.3		2014-2017	Replaced by Charge!
Rochester New York City)	WHAM	13.3	Deerfield Media	2015-2017
Syracuse (New York City)	WTVH	5.2	Sinclair Broadcasting Group
Cleveland (Ohio)	WUAB	43.3	Gray Television	2014-2018
Columbus (Ohio)	WWHO	53.2	Sinclair Broadcasting Group	2015-2017	Replaced by Charge!
Dayton (Ohio)	WKEF	22.3/22.4			Replaced by TBD
Lancaster (Pennsylvania)	WXBU	15.1	Howard Stirk Holdings	2016-2017	Replaced by Comet and TBD
Nashville (Tennessee)	WNAB	58.3	Sinclair Broadcasting Group	2015-2017	Replaced by Charge!
Beaumont (Texas)	KDFM	6.3		2014-2018	Replaced by Charge! and Fox
Brownsville (Texas)	KVEO-TV	23.4	Nexstar Media Group	2014-2020
Norfolk (Virginia)	WTVZ-TV	33.3/33.4	Sinclair Broadcasting Group	2014-2017	Replaced by Comet and TBD
Yakima (Washington)	KIMA-TV	29.3		2015-2018	Replaced by Stadium
Tri-Cities (Washington)	KEPR-TV	19.3		2015-2018	Replaced by Stadium
Charleston (West Virginia)	WCHS-TV	8.3	2015-2017	Replaced by Charge!
Madison (Wisconsin)	WMSN-TV	47.3	2014-2017
Saginaw (Michigan)	WFKB-LD	38.1	HC2 Holdings	2019-2020	Station off the air

References

1. Buckman, Adam (July 26, 2016). "Diginets Keep Growing, Despite Auction Cloud". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
2. "Cox, Naar named Grit, Escape Programmers". TVNewsCheck. July 22, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
3. "Grit, Escape Diginets To Launch Aug. 18". TVNewsCheck. August 11, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
4. Lafayette, Jon (April 3, 2014). "Exclusive: Bounce TV Exec Plans Two New Channels". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media, LLC. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
5. Jessell, Harry A. (October 13, 2015). "OTA The Bedrock of Katz's Growing Diginets". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
6. "New Grit and Escape Networks Set For August 18 Launch". August 11, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
7. Lafayette, Jon (September 15, 2015). "Diginets Grit and Escape Sign Up for National Ratings". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
8. Lafayette, Jon (June 3, 2015). "Grit Network Buys Rights to 'Walker'". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media, LLC. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
9. Guider, Elizabeth (June 18, 2014). "Classic TV Diginets Make The Old New Again". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
10. Downey, Kevin (June 10, 2014). "Grit, Escape Diginets In Warner Bros. Deal". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
11. "Grit & Escape Add 157 NBCU Movies To Library". TVNewsCheck. June 24, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
12. "Paramount Movies Added to Escape, Grit Networks". Broadcasting & Cable. July 22, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
13. "Grit, Escape Add Sony Pictures Films". TVNewsCheck. September 3, 2014.
14. Lafayette, Jon (March 20, 2015). "Meredith To Carry Grit, Escape, LAFF Networks". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media, LLC. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
15. "Raycom To Carry New Escape, Grit Diginets". TVNewsCheck. June 17, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
16. "Escape, Grit Diginets Expand Market Reach". TVNewsCheck. July 17, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
17. Kondolojy, Amanda (July 17, 2014). "Cox, Univision & Others to Launch New Networks Escape and Grit in Major Markets". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
18. Lafayette, Jon (October 9, 2014). "Sinclair to Carry New Grit Multicast Network". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media, LLC. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
19. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/katz-broadcasting-announces-major-distribution-agreements-with-media-general-and-tribune-media-300179251.html
20. http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/95521/katz-bounce-boost-diginet-distribution
21. "Stations for Network - Grit". RabbitEars.info. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
22. Dawidziak, Mark (April 14, 2017). "WEWS replaces Cozi TV programming with Grit on 5.2 channel". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
23. The network was originally carried on WUAB 43.3 from August 18, 2014 until January 5, 2018 when its subchannel was deactivated. WUAB 43.3 continued to carry Grit, even after WEWS 5.2 picked up the network.
24. "Over-The-Air Viewers Get 4 New Channels Starting Monday". KWTV-DT. Griffin Communications. October 1, 2018.
25. "New over-the-air TV channels coming to Oklahoma". Guthrie News-Leader. Ramsey Publishing Co. September 25, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
26. Gary Dinges (November 16, 2015). "Austin viewers get 2 new over-the-air TV networks". Austin American-Statesman.
27. CBS 4 changing over-the-air signal to 23.2 midnight tonight https://www.kveo.com/news/cbs-4-changing-over-the-air-signal-to-23-2-midnight-tonight/
28. Foran, Chris (8 March 2018). "Grit TV returns to Milwaukee's airwaves — on Channel 4.4". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 8 March 2018.

External links

• Official website