Light TV, a 24/7 multicast network that will air faith and family-focused entertainment, will debut on Fox-owned stations and Fox affiliates’ digital channels next month, said Roma Downey, president of LightWorkers Media, a division of MGM, and her husband, Mark Burnett, president of MGM Television and Digital, on Wednesday.
“This is the beginning of our new, multi-platform faith and family network, where the demand is greater than ever for family friendly entertainment. This is the last unclaimed vertical. As we have already seen from the success of The Bible series and our 20 million social followers this audience is looking for inspiring and uplifting programming that they can watch in a trusted and safe environment on any platform,” said Downey in a statement.
Light TV will debut in top markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Orlando, Phoenix, Minneapolis and Charlotte, N.C.
The network will tap MGM’s film and television library for such titles as game show Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader, which aired on Fox in primetime, and movies such as Rocky, Hoosiers, Little Man Tate,Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Black Stallion, Fame and many more. The diginet also will air acquired programming, including Highway to Heaven, which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1989 and starred Michael Landon, and Canadian drama Heartland.
Light TV joins MGM’s existing portfolio of multicast networks, which include MGM HD, This TV and Comet.
“MGM continues to build on our strategy as a multicast network leader by adding Light TV to our group of networks,” said John Bryan, president, domestic television distribution, MGM. “We’re excited to partner with Fox and deliver positive, uplifting and free entertainment to families everywhere.”
