Tegna said it is launching Twist, a multicast network aimed at women and featuring lifestyle and reality programming.
Twist is scheduled to launch in the spring and has distribution lined up in 70% of U.S. television households, Tegna said.
The network will air on Tegna stations in 41 markets; on Univision-owned stations in 11 markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia and on HC2 stations in 31 markets.
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Additional distribution agreements are expected to be announced by summer.
“Twist will provide an exciting new viewing option for our female audience with content that has not been available through a multicast channel until now,” said Brian Weiss, president and general manager of Tegna multicast networks. “The launch of Twist will enhance Tegna’s leadership among non-fiction multicast networks, delivering the kinds of free content that over-the-air viewers crave.”
Tegna bought two other multicast networks from Cooper Media for $77 million in 2019. The networks are adventure-oriented Quest and Justice, which was relaunched as True Crime last year.
Twist programming will feature unscripted TV hits including Clean House, Top Chef Masters, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Dance Moms, Tabatha Takes Over, Tiny House Nation and Flipping Out. Many of these shows feature surprise, or twist, endings.
The network also plans to encourage viewers to submit videos of their own situations that featured a twist and how they persevered through them. The segments will be called Share Your Twist.
