Heroes & Icons

Heroes & Icons
Type Digital broadcast television network
Country United States
Availability Nationwide, via OTA digital television in select markets (covering 9.59% of the U.S.)[1]
Slogan All Eyes on H&I
Headquarters Chicago, Illinois
Owner Weigel Broadcasting
Key people
 Neal Sabin
(Vice Chairman, Weigel Broadcasting)
Launch date
 September 28, 2014 (2014-09-28)
Picture format
 480i widescreen (SDTV)
Affiliates List of affiliates
Official website
 www.heroesandiconstv.com

Heroes & Icons (H&I) is an American digital broadcast television network that is owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Primarily carried on the digital subchannels of its affiliated television station in most markets, it primarily airs classic television series from the 1950s through the 1990s, with a focus on westerns, crime dramas, and action-oriented programming geared toward male audiences.

The network is operated out of Weigel Broadcasting's headquarters on North Halsted Street in Chicago, Illinois, and is essentially an offshoot of MeTV - a general classic TV digital network also owned by Weigel.[2]

History

The network was soft launched with limited advanced promotion on September 28, 2014, on the digital subchannels of Weigel-owned stations WWME-CD (channel 23.2) and WCIU-TV (channel 26.4) in Chicago, and WMLW-TV (channel 49.3) in Milwaukee. Heroes & Icons was created at the request of the affiliates of Weigel's existing networks, in order to increase their programming options, as well as to fill vacancies expected to open up within Weigel's subchannel lineups due to the gradual expiration of the group's existing affiliation agreements with This TV (which Weigel co-founded in 2009 with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, before transferring its interest to Tribune Broadcasting in November 2013); an additional factor was the migration of sister network Movies! in the Milwaukee market from WMLW to the second digital subchannel of Hearst Television-owned ABC affiliate WISN-TV (channel 12).

The network also launched in the South Bend, Indiana market, along with the major cable providers in the Chicago and Milwaukee markets (including Comcast Xfinity, RCN and Time Warner Cable) using existing carriage.[2] Weigel opted to soft launch H&I in order to fine-tune its schedule, along with adding additional programming to the fledgling network.[3] With the network having settled on a more stabilized schedule, Weigel moved the Heroes & Icons affiliation in Milwaukee to the third subchannel of CBS affiliate WDJT-TV (channel 58) on March 5, 2015, with This TV – which previously occupied the 58.3 space – moving to WMLW-DT3 in its place.[4]

Programming

Much like its sister network, MeTV, Heroes & Icons' program schedule relies primarily on television series from the programming libraries of CBS Television Distribution and 20th Television, and also includes some feature film content. H&I targets a more niche audience than MeTV, carrying programming aimed at a generally male audience – featuring a mix of action series, police procedurals, westerns, science fiction, fantasy and military-themed programs (including several series that have previously aired on MeTV).[2] The network features series from a wider timeline than that from which MeTV sources its programming, incorporating programs from the 1980s and 1990s, in addition to those originally broadcast from the 1950s to the 1970s. H&I's most direct competitor is Grit, a network owned by Katz Broadcasting which maintains a schedule mainly made up of westerns, action shows and films.

In addition to carrying acquired programming, Heroes & Icons also carried an early morning simulcast of TouchVision (a multi-platform news service based out of Weigel's Chicago headquarters) from September 29, 2014 to January 14, 2016.[5][6] The network also carries a three-hour block of children's programming on Saturday mornings in order to fulfill educational programming requirements mandated by the Federal Communications Commission.[2][7]

Affiliates

As of October 2015, Heroes & Icons has current affiliation agreements with television stations in 36 media markets encompassing 25 states (including stations in six of the 20 largest Nielsen markets), covering 9.59% of the United States.[1] The network is carried on the digital subchannels of television stations in most of its markets (with current exceptions including St. George, Utah affiliate KCSG, which has widespread cable and satellite coverage in the Salt Lake City market and throughout Utah, and Evansville, Indiana affiliate WTSN-CD, which both carry the network on their primary digital channels). The network is also carried on cable television providers through their digital tiers at the discretion of the affiliate's parent station in certain markets.

In South Bend, Indiana, where Weigel Broadcasting owns three television stations (ABC affiliate WBND-LD, CW affiliate WCWW-LD and MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYS-LD), the network is instead carried on the second digital subchannel of Fox affiliate WSJV through an agreement with that station's owner Quincy Newspapers. The network added additional stations by early December 2014, which in addition to WSJV, included KCSG in Salt Lake City and a digital subchannel of Des Moines CBS affiliate KCCI.[7]

On September 18, 2015, Weigel signed an affiliation agreement with Fox Television Stations to carry the network on subchannels of the group's Fox and MyNetworkTV owned-and-operated stations in eleven markets (including New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas, San Francisco and Washington D.C.), beginning in the fourth quarter of 2015. Once all of the stations involved in the agreement affiliated with the network, H&I will expand its coverage to 52% of all U.S. households and availability in eight of the 10 largest Nielsen markets.[8]

Current affiliates

City of license/market Station[1] Virtual
channel		 Primary affiliation Owner Date of affiliation Notes
Anniston (Birmingham) WGWW 40.1 Independent Howard Stirk Holdings October 1, 2015 Replaced Heartland as primary affiliate;
maintains secondary affiliation with ABC
Montgomery WALE-LD 17.6 Justice Network Woods Communications Company August 11, 2015
Tuscaloosa (Birmingham) WSES 33.1 Independent Howard Stirk Holdings October 1, 2015
Phoenix KSAZ-TV 10.3 Fox Fox Television Stations November 1, 2015
Los Angeles KCOP 13.4 MyNetworkTV Fox Television Stations October 1, 2015
Fresno KAIL 7.3 Tel-America North Corporation
San Francisco–Oakland–San Jose KICU-TV 36.4 Independent Fox Television Stations November 1, 2015
Sacramento KXTV 10.3 ABC Tegna May 1, 2016
Denver KZDN-LD 26.2 Movies! Syncom Media Group, Inc.
Bridgeport (Hartford–New Haven/New York City) WZME 43.1 Independent NRJ TV, LLC October 11. 2015 Replaced MeTV
Washington, D.C. WDCA 20.3 MyNetworkTV Fox Television Stations October 3, 2015
Jacksonville WFOX-TV 30.3 Fox Cox Media Group June 3, 2015
Orlando (Daytona Beach) WRBW 65.3 MyNetworkTV Fox Television Stations October 1, 2015
Tampa Bay WTVT 13.4 Fox November 1, 2015
Toccoa/Atlanta (Athens) WGTA 32.1 Independent Marquee Broadcasting July 1, 2015
Boise KNIN-TV 9.2 Fox Raycom Media
(operated under shared services agreement by the E. W. Scripps Company) 		May 20, 2015
Chicago WWME-CD 23.2 MeTV Weigel Broadcasting September 28, 2014[2] Flagship station
WCIU-TV 26.4 Independent December 29, 2014 Full-power simulcast of WWME-CD2
Evansville WTSN-CD 20.1 Independent Evansville Low Power Partnership
Elkhart (South Bend)[2] WSJV 28.2 Fox Quincy Newspapers
Des Moines KCCI 8.3 CBS Hearst Television December 2014 Subchannel maintains secondary affiliation with MyNetworkTV, pre-empting H&I prime time programming on weeknights[7]
Louisville WBNA 21.6 Ion Television Evangel World Prayer Center July 2015
Alexandria KBCA 41.3 The CW Wilderness Communications July 1, 2015
Monroe, (El Dorado) KWMS-LP 18.1 Independent Sonrise Communications September 15, 2015
Opelousas KDCG-CD 22.1 This TV Delta Media Corporation July 1, 2015 Replaced Antenna TV as primary affiliation;
available on Cox Communications channel 9, Charter Communications channel 22, and LUS channel 11
Lafayette KLWB 50.2 July 1, 2015 Replaced Antenna TV; simulcast of KDCG-CD 22.2
New Orleans WUPL 54.3 MNTV Tegna soon
Poland Spring (Portland) WMTW 8.2 ABC Hearst Television March 2015
Detroit WJBK 2.4 Fox Fox Television Stations November 1, 2015
Minneapolis–St. Paul KSTP-TV 5.7 ABC Hubbard Broadcasting
Rochester KTTC 10.3 NBC Quincy Newspapers March 2015[9] Also carried on translator W50DR-D in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Las Vegas KHSV 21.1 H&I Howard Stirk Holdings
Nashua (Boston, Massachusetts) WYCN-CD 13.2 TheCoolTV OTA Broadcasting
Secaucus (New York City) WWOR-TV 9.4 MyNetworkTV Fox Television Stations October 3, 2015
Albany WNYT 13.3 NBC Hubbard Broadcasting December 29, 2015
Albuquerque KUPT-LD 16.1 Movies! Ramar Communications February 2015
Charlotte WJZY 46.3 Fox Fox Television Stations October 1, 2015
Greenville WTMH-LD 21.3 Heartland Tutt Media Group August 15, 2015 Replaced Tuff TV on DT3.
WTMQ-LD 29.3
Raleigh WRAL-TV 5.2 NBC Capitol Broadcasting Company July 2015
Wilmington WTMV-LD 39.3 Heartland Tutt Media Group August 15, 2015 Replaced Tuff TV on DT3.
Bismarck KNDB 24.1 Independent Legacy Broadcasting, LLC July 2015
Minot KNDM 26.1 July 2015 Satellite of KNDB
Valley City (Fargo) KRDK-TV 4.9 Cozi TV Major Market Broadcasting April 2015
Cincinnati WOTH-CD 20.4 Movies! Block Broadcasting June 23, 2015
Cleveland WBNX-TV 55.4 The CW Winston Broadcasting Network December 30, 2015
Columbus WMNO-CD 22.1 Independent Studio 51 Multimedia Productions
Tulsa KMYT-TV 41.4 MyNetworkTV Cox Media Group
Allentown (Philadelphia) WFMZ-TV 69.3 Independent Maranatha Broadcasting Company
Charleston WGWG 4.1 Independent Howard Stirk Holdings August 1, 2015 Replaced ZUUS Country
Nashville WJDE-LD 31.1 H&I Word Broadcasting
Abilene KIDZ-LD (K49GT) 49.1 MyNetworkTV Tegna Media
Dallas–Fort Worth KDFI 27.4 Fox Television Stations November 15, 2015
Houston KPRC-TV 2.3 NBC Graham Media Group December 1, 2015 Replaced LATV, vacant since 2012
Lubbock KLBB-LD 48.2 MeTV Ramar Communications
Cedar City (Salt Lake City) KCSG 14.1 Independent Southwest Media, LLC
Danville/Roanoke/Lynchburg, Virginia WFFP-TV 24.2 Cozi TV Liberty University Was to affiliate with Movies!, but never happened
Eau Claire WEAU 13.3 NBC Gray Television October 2015 Replaced Antenna TV, which moved to channel 13.2
Janesville (Madison) WBUW 57.3 The CW Byrne Acquisition Group, LLC.
Milwaukee WDJT-TV 58.3 CBS Weigel Broadcasting September 29, 2014[4]

Former affiliates

Market Station Channel Owner Years of affiliation Status
Chicago, Illinois WWME-CA (Analog) 23 (Analog) Weigel Broadcasting March–September 2015 Analog signal was terminated due to FCC mandate on September 1, 2015
Racine, Wisconsin (Milwaukee) WMLW-TV 49.4 Weigel Broadcasting 2014–2015[2] Now a simulcast of co-owned Telemundo affiliate WYTU-LD
Wausau, Wisconsin WSAW-TV 7.3 Gray Television 2014–2015 Now a simulcast of Fox affiliate WZAW-LD

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Stations for Network - Heroes & Icons". RabbitEars. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Robert Channick (September 29, 2014). "Weigel Broadcasting launches cop show digital TV network". Chicago Tribune (Tribune Publishing). Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  3. ↑ "News & Notes: Felicia Middlebrooks; WOJO; WVIX/WVIV; WMVP/WSCR; James VanOsdol; Weigel Broadcasting; WGN-TV; More". Chicagoland Radio & Media. September 30, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Chris Foran (March 4, 2015). "Weigel flips channels for This TV, Heroes & Icons formats". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Journal Media Group). Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  5. ↑ Marek, Lynee (January 14, 2016). "Weigel backed TV outlet TouchVision shutters". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved January 28, 2016. (subscription required (help)).
  6. ↑ Feder, Robert (January 15, 2016). "TouchVision ends as noble failure". RobertFeder.com. Retrieved January 28, 2016. (subscription required (help)).
  7. 1 2 3 Michael Malone (December 2, 2014). "Weigel Launches Cop Show Net Heroes & Icons". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  8. ↑ Jon Lafayette (September 18, 2015). "Fox Stations Agree to Carry Heroes & Icons". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  9. ↑ "New local broadcast channel coming to KTTC 10.3". KTTC. Quincy Newspapers. February 12, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2015.

External links

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