Litton Launches FAST Channel Xplore

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To be offered on Samsung TV Plus, Vizio SmartCast, The Roku Channel, Plex and Xumo over next few months

'Jack Hanna's Wild Countdown' is produced by Litton Entertainment.
'Jack Hanna's Wild Countdown' is produced by Litton Entertainment and will air on new FAST channel Xplore. (Image credit: Jack Hanna: Spectrum Productions)

Litton Entertainment is debuting free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel Xplore, which will offer a lineup of travel, lifestyle, nature, technology and sports programming.

Xplore is launching domestically with more than 2,500 hours of content to a potential reach of more than 50 million viewers. Xplore will be available to watch online as well as through such platforms as Samsung TV Plus, Vizio SmartCast, The Roku Channel and Plex, all of which are expected to launch the channel by the end of this month, and on Xumo, which will add it in the first quarter of next year.

“The launch of our first FAST channel is the next step in expanding Litton’s global distribution. The [ad-supported video on demand] market is quickly evolving, and with these incredible partners we see a strong opportunity not only for impactful distribution but for original co-productions and first-run programming as well. This is truly just the beginning,” said Andrew Tew, vice president of licensing and distribution and general manager of global channels, Litton Entertainment, in a statement. Tew will lead Xplore’s strategic direction and operations, including distribution, programming, marketing and communications.

Programs airing on the channel will include Jack Hanna’s Wild Countdown, The Henry Ford Innovation Nation with Mo Rocca, and Journey with Dylan Dreyer and others produced by Litton.

Litton has built a business taking over the programming of broadcast networks’ Saturday mornings, with blocks of educational and informational programming targeting teens and families airing on ABC, CBS, NBC and The CW.

Xplore is the latest step in Litton’s expansion to additional platforms. In June 2020, Litton and CuriosityStream announced an international distribution partnership for Mission Unstoppable, Litton’s popular series, produced in partnership with Lyda Hill Philanthropies’ IF/THEN Initiative, featuring women role models in science, technology, engineering & math (STEM). 

RELATED: Litton’s ‘Mission Impossible’ Joins CuriosityStream

In April 2020 Litton announced The Daily Splash, an online hub offering free access to hundreds of half-hours of Litton-produced programs. 

Paige Albiniak
Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.