EXCLUSIVE: Me-TV Signs With Stations in New Markets
New affiliates bring coverage to 60% of U.S.
By Jon Lafayette -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/6/2011 8:00:00 AM
Classic TV channel Me-TV has added new affiliates, raising its coverage to about 60% of the U.S. from 45% earlier this year.While Me-TV is mostly carried on broadcasters' digital sub-channels, the net has some stations where it is the primary affiliation.
"They look at our schedule and see that for the fall we have over 50 different shows a week. It's the strongest classic TV lineup out there," says Neal Sabin, president of content and networks of Weigel Broadcasting, who helped create Me-TV.
The new digital Me-TV affiliates include Hubbard Broadcasting's KSTP-TV, the ABC affiliate in Minneapolis; two Journal Communications stations, WSYM-TV, the Fox affiliate in Lansing, Mich., and WGBA-TV, the NBC outlet in Green Bay, Wis.; Midwest Broadcasting's KFMB-TV, the CBS affiliate in San Diego; and Landmark Television's KLAS-TV, the CBS affiliate in Las Vegas. KLAS is replacing another digital service, LATV, with Me-TV. Me-TV is also being carried on Roberts Broadcasting's WRBU-TV, St. Louis, a MyNetwork affiliate.
Me-TV also has become the primary affiliation of Southwest Media's KCSG-TV in Salt Lake City.
"A lot of the groups have added stations," Sabin says. "They started with one or two and they've added more because it's working for a lot of people. And because MGM and Weigel have been out pounding on the doors and telling our story."
In Milwaukee, where Weigel's WBME-TV carries Me-TV as its primary affiliation, WBME already beats the local CW and MyNetwork affiliates in some dayparts.
Sabin says that in August, WBME had a 0.8 household rating sign-on to sign-off, compared to 0.6 for WVTV-TV and 0.6 for WCGV, winning from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, and from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
"We're proving to advertisers there really is a business here," Sabin says. "It's easy for stations to sell."
Talkback
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I live in Charlotte, NC have recently our cabl ecompany has added Antenna TV and ME TV. Both are EXCELLANT chooses. Both have family themed programming. I hope these channels do not change over time. Both are what TV Land started out to be. TV Land is an asolute WASTE of time. I stopped watching TV Land when the added RoseAnn to their lineup!
DB - 9/25/2011 7:58:30 PM EDT -
I've been watching ME-TV on KAME 21-2 (Reno, NV) since it started. Sadly, it is not much different that "RTN" (KRXI 11-2 (Reno), nor "THIS-TV" KRNV 4-2 (Reno), in that you see the same shows 5-6-7 nights a week, and often 2x a day in the daytime as well --- Rawhide, Marshall Dillon, I Love Lucy, etc., (for ME-TV), example. Streets of SF, Police Story, etc., on RTN, and pretty much 80% of the movies on THIS are the same grouping in a 3-6 (or more) month period. And now, I was reading that there is going to be even ANOTHER 'retro' [type] TV station that for what I can remember, the "Partridge Family" will be airing 6 nights a week on it. (It was on my "ISP.NETSCAPE.COM" news feed.)
(Heck, even the PRIMARY stations such as KRXI 11-1, air "Two and a Half Men essentially 7 nights a week, with 6 of the days 2x each evening.)
Seems to me that there are DOZENS AND DOZENS MORE shows from the past decades of TV that could be aired, in that we could have a different show most nights instead of burning us out with 3-4x of the same show each evening. (Mash on ME is 3x, 5x a week, 2x Saturdays and 4x Sundays and I'm already seeing quintriplicate showings of certains episodes, it seems, sigh.)
For the 'junk' --- especially right now during the summer re-runs --- that the primary stations (from of course the networks) are only airing the most popular episodes of shows ... I'm really not in to the 'reality' series even if they are new ... I am finding that at least in the evening, ME-TV even with the 8th running of MASH, I'm still watching it, but it is nearing where if the new season [of junk] wasn't about to begin, the TV would be off.
We need one of these new networks with a different program at 8pm ... MTM is OK but only once a week, hokay?
(And to note......................................that I read that "Thompson" was selected as the 'automation' for ME-TV due to the TIMING ACCURACY, it must be that we get ME as a satellite from Oakland who gets their feed from ???, that it is SOOOOOOOOO nice that with all of the 'junk' thrown in including ads --- MASH (USED AS AN EXAMPLE) is listed as being a 25 minute show yet I clock over 9 minutes of commercials --- we often get 'cut in' to the second segment of the show with a loss of 'intellegence', and at times during the final advertising group, the final 'segment' as well as the credits are not even shown ... ... ... sometimes the commercials are cutting in to the NEXT SHOW (such as MTM) by 10-45 seconds ... ... ... what a heck of a 'wunnerfu' etwork.)
Gregg E Zuelke - 9/8/2011 5:16:24 AM EDT -
How can Me-TV or Sabin claim 60%. It is not carried in major markets or on major channels. This sounds more like a sale pitch. I can tell you there is nothing to back this up.
Leonard Lieberman - 9/7/2011 8:11:51 PM EDT -
Looks like a bit of posturing and prefabrication of the numbers. Neil Sabin seems to be trying to make a name for himself. It is an ambitious undertaking; however, I am with you. I don’t know how this is being rated, what is the reporting source? I read a few months ago that Sabin might be a good candidate to help “OWN”. I don’t see that happening. In this day and age in media you seldom see someone’s name mentioned that much in an article unless they write it themselves. The reality is there is a lot of alternative programming available, and that is a win -win for the consumer. WBME is another option, there are others with a better programs, but then again it depends on your personal taste
M Stanislowski - 9/7/2011 4:53:45 PM EDT -
I am unclear as to where their statistical information is coming from. This network has only been in operation less than 3 years. Though viewers are looking for alternatives to the pricey premium channels, it is unimaginable that this is an accurate posting of their percentage of viewers. In addition there are several established franchises that are ahead of the pack in this arena. I can agree that METV may me a great alternative and a flattering imitation of its predecessors; it is clearly unimaginable that the numbers stated here are correct. Our organization always looks at hard data and we have found that when it comes to the dot channels, and alternate tiers, there is no accurate way of reporting particularly this early in the game. I would be interested to know who the representative for METV that gave the interview was.
Mark Hillsborough - 9/7/2011 4:25:34 PM EDT
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