Heroes & Icons
 | |
| Type | Digital broadcast television network |
|---|---|
| Country | |
| Availability | Nationwide, via OTA digital TV (U.S. coverage: 60%)[1] |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
| Owner | Weigel Broadcasting |
Key people |
|
Launch date | September 28, 2014 |
Picture format | 480i Widescreen (SDTV) |
| Callsigns | H&I |
| Affiliates | List of affiliates |
Official website | Official website  |
Heroes & Icons (H&I) is an American digital broadcast television network 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 2000s, with a focus on westerns, crime dramas, sci-fi, and action-oriented programming geared toward male audiences.
The network operates from 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.[2]
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]
Fox Television Stations in expanding its relationship with Weigel beyond Movies! by adding the network to 11 major market stations in the fourth quarter 2015.[5]
The All Trek programming block was launched on July 24, 2016 with all five live action Star Trek shows in sequence from the beginning on Sunday plus on Monday through Friday.[6]
Programming
Much like its sister network, MeTV, Heroes & Icons' program schedule relies primarily on television series from the programming libraries of CBS Television Distribution, NBCUniversal 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 2000s, in addition to those originally broadcast from the 1950s to the 1990s. H&I's most direct competitor is Charge!, a network owned by Sinclair TV Group which maintains a schedule mainly made up of 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.[7][8] The network also carries a three-hour block of children's programming on Sunday mornings in order to fulfill educational programming requirements mandated by the Federal Communications Commission.[2][9]
On Monday, February 8, 2016, first run syndicated shows, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess, debuted on the network.[10]
Affiliates
As of July 2016[update], Heroes & Icons has current affiliation agreements with television stations in 63 media markets encompassing 33 states, covering 69.21% of the United States.[11] 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 by former Fox affiliate WSJV through an agreement with that station's owner Quincy Media (it took over the main signal on October 1, 2016 as that station winds down operations due to other factors, including the upcoming spectrum auction). 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.[9]
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.[5]
Current affiliates
| City of license/market | Station[11] | Virtual channel |
Primary affiliation | Owner | Date of affiliation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | ||||||
| Anniston (Birmingham) | WGWW | 40.1 | - | 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 | - | Howard Stirk Holdings | October 1, 2015 | |
Arizona | ||||||
| Phoenix | KSAZ-TV | 10.3 | Fox | Fox Television Stations | November 1, 2015 | |
| Tucson | KTTU | 18.3 | MyNetworkTV | Tegna | ||
California | ||||||
| Los Angeles | KCOP | 13.4 | MyNetworkTV | Fox Television Stations | October 1, 2015 | |
| Fresno | KAIL | 7.3 | Aperio Communications, LLC | |||
| Monterey | KMBY-LD | 19.1 | - | Cocola Television | ||
| 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 | |
Colorado | ||||||
| Denver | KZDN-LD | 26.2 | Movies! | Syncom Media Group, Inc. | ||
| Colorado Springs–Pueblo | KRDO-TV | 13.3 | ABC | News-Press & Gazette Company | May 1, 2017 | |
| Glenwood Springs | KREG-TV | 3.1 | Marquee Broadcasting | July 2017 | ||
District of Columbia | ||||||
| Washington, D.C. | WDCA | 20.3 | MyNetworkTV | Fox Television Stations | October 3, 2015 | |
Florida | ||||||
| Fort Myers | WBBH-TV | 20.2 | NBC | Waterman Broadcasting | ||
| Jacksonville | WFOX-TV | 30.3 | Fox | Cox Media Group | June 3, 2015 | |
| Miami | WBFS-TV | 33.2 | MyNetworkTV | CBS Television Stations | January 2017 | |
| Orlando (Daytona Beach) | WRBW | 65.3 | Fox Television Stations | October 1, 2015 | ||
| Panama City | WECP-LD | 18.3 | CBS | Gray Television | January 2017 | |
| Tampa Bay | WTVT | 13.4 | Fox | Fox Television Stations | November 1, 2015 | |
Georgia | ||||||
| Toccoa/Atlanta (Athens) | WGTA | 32.1 | - | Marquee Broadcasting | July 1, 2015 | |
Idaho | ||||||
| Boise | KRID-LD | 22.3 | NewsMax TV | March 2, 2017 | Began formally broadcasting on March 20, 2017 | |
Illinois | ||||||
| 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 | ||
| Rockford | WFBN-LD | 35.1 | Telemundo (on DT2) | mid-2016 | Replaced TouchVision | |
Indiana | ||||||
| Evansville | WTSN-CD | 20.1 | - | Evansville Low Power Partnership | ||
| Elkhart (South Bend)[2] | WSJV | 28.1 | Quincy Media | Formerly a Fox affiliate | ||
| Indianapolis | WUDZ-LD | 28.2 | Buzzr | DTV America | December 8, 2015 | |
Iowa | ||||||
| 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[9] |
Kansas | ||||||
| Hutchinson | KWCH-DT | 12.3 | CBS | Gray Television | June 2017 | |
Kentucky | ||||||
| Hazard | WYMT-TV | 57.2 | CBS | Gray Television | January 2017 | |
| Louisville | WBNA | 21.6 | Independent | Evangel World Prayer Center | July 2015 | |
Louisiana | ||||||
| Alexandria | KBCA | 41.1 | - | Wilderness Communications | July 1, 2015 | Switched to 41.1 from 41.3 in September 2016 when the CW moved to a subchannel of NBC's KALB-TV due to an agreement between CW and Gray Television |
| Monroe, (El Dorado) | KWMS-LP | 18.1 | Sonrise Communications | September 15, 2015 | ||
| Lafayette/New Iberia | KDCG-CD & KLWB | 22.1 & 50.2 | MeTV | Delta Media Corporation | July 1, 2015 | replaced Antenna TV |
| New Orleans | WUPL | 54.3 | MyNetworkTV | Tegna | ||
Maine | ||||||
| Poland Spring (Portland) | WMTW | 8.2 | ABC | Hearst Television | March 2015 | |
Maryland | ||||||
| Hagerstown (Washington, D.C.) | WDVM-TV | 25.1 | - | Nexstar Media Group | July 1, 2016 | Replaced NBC as primary affiliation. |
| Salisbury, Maryland | WGDV-LD | 32.3 | - | Marquee Broadcasting | ||
Massachusetts | ||||||
| Boston | WSBK-TV | 38.2 | MyNetworkTV | CBS Television Stations | October 6, 2016 | |
Michigan | ||||||
| Detroit | WJBK | 2.4 | Fox | Fox Television Stations | November 1, 2015 | |
| Lansing | WILX-TV | 10.2 | NBC | Gray Television | October 1, 2016 | Replaced WeatherNation TV |
| Roscommon | WURO-LD | 18.1 | - | M33 Media LLC | March 2017 | |
Minnesota | ||||||
| Chisholm, Minnesota | KRII-TV | 11.3¹ | NBC | Quincy Media | March 2017 | Subchannel maintains secondary affiliation with MyNetworkTV, pre-empting H&I prime time programming on weeknights[12][13] |
| Duluth, MN-Superior, WI | KBJR-TV | 6.3¹ | ||||
| Minneapolis–St. Paul | KSTP-TV | 5.7 | ABC | Hubbard Broadcasting | ||
| Rochester | KTTC | 10.3 | NBC | Quincy Media | March 2015[14] | Also carried on translator W50DR-D in La Crosse, Wisconsin. |
Missouri | ||||||
| St. Louis, Missouri | WODK-LD | 45 | 45.2 | DTV America | ||
Nevada | ||||||
| Las Vegas | KHSV | 21.1 | - | Howard Stirk Holdings | ||
New Hampshire | ||||||
| Nashua (Boston, Massachusetts) | WYCN-CD | 13.1 | - | OTA Broadcasting | ||
New Jersey | ||||||
| Secaucus (New York City) | WWOR-TV | 9.4 | MyNetworkTV | Fox Television Stations | October 3, 2015 | |
New Mexico | ||||||
| Hobbs (Albuquerque) | KUPT | 29.1 | - | Ramar Communications | February 2015 | |
| Albuquerque | KUPT-LD | 16.3 | Movies! | |||
| Santa Fe (Albuquerque) | KASA-TV | 29.1 | Telemundo | January 2017 | ||
New York | ||||||
| Albany | WNYT | 13.3 | NBC | Hubbard Broadcasting | December 29, 2015 | |
| Buffalo | WBBZ-TV | 67.2 | MeTV | Phil Arno | March 2017 | |
| Saranac Lake | WYCI | 40.1 | - | Channel 61 Associates | 2017 | |
North Carolina | ||||||
| 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. |
North Dakota | ||||||
| Bismarck | KNDB | 24.1 | - | Legacy Broadcasting, LLC | July 2015 | |
| Minot | KNDM | 26.1 | Satellite of KNDB | |||
| Fargo | KVLY-TV | 11.4 | NBC | Gray Television | September 12, 2016 | |
| KXJB-LD | 30.3/28.3 | CBS | ||||
Ohio | ||||||
| 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 | WBNS-TV | 10.2 | Studio 51 Multimedia Productions | |||
Oklahoma | ||||||
| Tulsa | KMYT-TV | 41.4 | MyNetworkTV | Cox Media Group | ||
Pennsylvania | ||||||
| Allentown (Philadelphia) | WFMZ-TV | 69.3 | Independent | Maranatha Broadcasting Company | ||
| Jeannette (Pittsburgh) | WPCW | 19.2 | The CW | CBS Television Stations | ||
Puerto Rico | ||||||
| Añasco | W33CY-D | 33.1 | Independent | TV Red de Puerto Rico, Inc. | ||
South Carolina | ||||||
| Charleston | WGWG | 4.1 | - | Howard Stirk Holdings | August 1, 2015 | Replaced ZUUS Country |
Tennessee | ||||||
| Kingsport | WAPK-CD | 36.4 | MeTV | Holston Valley Broadcasting Group | ||
| Nashville | WJDE-LD | 31.1 | - | Word Broadcasting | ||
Texas | ||||||
| Dallas–Fort Worth | KDFI | 27.4 | MyNetworkTV | 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-LP | 48.2 | MeTV | Ramar Communications | ||
| Odessa | KOSA-TV | 7.3 | CBS | Gray Television | 2017 | |
| Snyder | KABI-LD | 42.1 | - | Ramar Communications | ||
Utah | ||||||
| Cedar City/St. George | KCSG | 14.1 | - | West American Finance Corporation | September 29, 2014 | Replaced MeTV as primary affiliation. |
Virginia | ||||||
| Danville/Roanoke/Lynchburg, Virginia | WFFP-TV | 24.2 | Cozi TV | Liberty University | Was to affiliate with Movies!, but never happened | |
Washington | ||||||
| Bellingham | KVOS | 12.3 | MeTV | OTA Broadcasting | Also serving Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia | |
| Spokane | KXLY | 4.3 | ABC | Morgan Murphy Media | ||
Wisconsin | ||||||
| Eau Claire | WEAU | 13.3 | NBC | Gray Television | October 2015 | Replaced Antenna TV, which moved to channel 13.2 |
| Janesville (Madison) | WIFS | 57.3 | Independent | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgeport, Connecticut (New York) | WZME | 43.1 | NRJ TV, LLC | 2015-2016 | Now a Sonlife Broadcasting Network affiliate |
| 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 | 49.3 | Weigel Broadcasting | 2014–2015[2] | This TV moved from WDJT-DT3 in channel map shuffle |
| Wausau, Wisconsin | WSAW-TV | 7.3 | Gray Television | 2014–2015 | Now a simulcast of Fox affiliate WZAW-LD |
See also
- MeTV – sister network owned by Weigel, specializing in classic television series from the 1950s to the 1980s.
- Decades – sister network owned by Weigel in conjunction with CBS Television Stations, specializing in classic television series from the 1950s to the 1980s as well as archival news programming.
- Grit – competing digital broadcast network owned by Katz Broadcasting, featuring television series and movies aimed at a male audience.
- Antenna TV – competing digital broadcast network owned by Tribune Broadcasting, specializing in classic television series from the 1950s to the 1990s.
- Cozi TV – competing digital broadcast network owned by NBCUniversal specializing in classic television series from the 1950s to the 1980s.
- This TV – competing digital broadcast network owned by Tribune Broadcasting and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, primarily featuring movies as well as a limited amount of classic television series.
References
- ^ Buckman, Adam (July 26, 2016). "Diginets Keep Growing, Despite Auction Cloud". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Robert Channick (September 29, 2014). "Weigel Broadcasting launches cop show digital TV network". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b Chris Foran (March 4, 2015). "Weigel flips channels for This TV, Heroes & Icons formats". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Journal Media Group. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
- ^ a b Lafayette, Jon (September 18, 2015). "Fox Stations Agree to Carry Heroes & Icons". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
- ^ Greeley, Paul (July 5, 2016). "Five Original 'Star Trek' Programs Airing Together". TV News Check. NewsCheckMedia. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
- ^ Marek, Lynee (January 14, 2016). "Weigel backed TV outlet TouchVision shutters". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|subscription=ignored (|url-access=suggested) (help) - ^ Feder, Robert (January 15, 2016). "TouchVision ends as noble failure". RobertFeder.com. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|subscription=ignored (|url-access=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c Michael Malone (December 2, 2014). "Weigel Launches Cop Show Net Heroes & Icons". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
- ^ "Heroes & Icons Diginet To Add 'Hercules' And 'Xena'". TVNewsCheck. January 27, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
- ^ a b "Stations for Network - Heroes & Icons". RabbitEars. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
- ^ RabbitEars TV Query for KBJR
- ^ RabbitEars TV Query for KRII
- ^ "New local broadcast channel coming to KTTC 10.3". KTTC. Quincy Media. February 12, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2015.