.2 Network
Encyclopedia
.2 Network was the name of a planned television network
designed for digital television
subchannels (hence the ".2") owned by Guardian Enterprise Group that will replace the GTN
network on a date never announced.
The channel was originally scheduled for launch on December 8, 2008 however, citing the planned 2009 conclusion of US digital TV transition
, the launch of .2 Network was delayed until sometime in Spring 2009.2 Network executives had announced an intention to delay the launch until the channel could reach at least 30% of US households, a milestone which at that time was predicted not to be reached until October 2009, almost a full year behind the original schedule. Ultimately, this milestone was never reached. The network's website, which from 2008 to 2010 had previews and info of the network, has since been reduced to a logo and telephone number as of mid-2010.
, NBC Universal
, Disney, Hallmark Channel
and Screen Media.2 Network's proposed programming included Gidget
, The Flying Nun
, and hundreds of blockbuster movies. The .2 network was also to be a source for multiple broadcast premieres, with the prime-time line-up following a movie channel like format. Other programs were to include lifestyle-related, special-interest, and how-to shows, including Animal Rescue
and Missing
, and FCC
-mandated "E/I
" children's programming for its affiliated stations.
Since the announcement of .2 Network's plans, similar subchannel networks have launched, using the same programming libraries -- Antenna TV
, a digital network from Tribune Broadcasting
, has been receiving some of its programming from Sony Pictures since that channel launched on New Year's Day 2011. NBC Universal would also later sell rights of its programming to another similar network, Retro Television Network
(RTV), but under their new Comcast ownership, removed their programming from RTV in June 2011, then signed a new agreement with Me-TV after that to provide them most of the same programming. The status of .2 Network's contracts with Sony Pictures and NBC Universal are currently unknown.
HDTV feed to its affiliates for either the subchannel or as a cable
offering, despite some engineers' skepticism at the time of carrying two HDTV channels on one DTV frequency.
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
designed for digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
subchannels (hence the ".2") owned by Guardian Enterprise Group that will replace the GTN
W23BZ
W23BZ is a low-power independent commercial television station in Columbus, Ohio. It broadcasts locally on channel 23, as well as nationally via Sky Angel. The station presents a variety of syndicated general entertainment programming, plus infomercials and shopping on overnights. It previously...
network on a date never announced.
The channel was originally scheduled for launch on December 8, 2008 however, citing the planned 2009 conclusion of US digital TV transition
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
, the launch of .2 Network was delayed until sometime in Spring 2009.2 Network executives had announced an intention to delay the launch until the channel could reach at least 30% of US households, a milestone which at that time was predicted not to be reached until October 2009, almost a full year behind the original schedule. Ultimately, this milestone was never reached. The network's website, which from 2008 to 2010 had previews and info of the network, has since been reduced to a logo and telephone number as of mid-2010.
Programming
.2 Network had licensing agreements with Sony Pictures EntertainmentSony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
, NBC Universal
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
, Disney, Hallmark Channel
Hallmark Channel
The Hallmark Channel is a cable television network that broadcasts across the United States. Their programming includes a mix of television movies/miniseries, syndicated series, and lifestyle shows that are appropriate for the whole family...
and Screen Media.2 Network's proposed programming included Gidget
Gidget
Gidget is a fictional character created by author Frederick Kohner in his 1957 novel, Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas. The novel follows the adventures of a teenage girl and her surfing friends on the beach at Malibu. The name Gidget is a portmanteau of "girl and midget"...
, The Flying Nun
The Flying Nun
The Flying Nun is an American sitcom produced by Screen Gems for ABC based on the 1965 book The Fifteenth Pelican, by Tere Rios, which starred Sally Field as Sister Bertrille...
, and hundreds of blockbuster movies. The .2 network was also to be a source for multiple broadcast premieres, with the prime-time line-up following a movie channel like format. Other programs were to include lifestyle-related, special-interest, and how-to shows, including Animal Rescue
Animal Rescue
Animal Rescue is a TV show hosted and produced by Alex Paen. The show is about people trying to save animals from danger. Animal control officers try to assist animals in unsafe environments and respond other animal related emergencies. It is an eight-time Daytime Emmy nominated show.-External...
and Missing
Missing (TV series)
Missing, hosted by Alex Paen, is a weekly syndicated TV series in the United States profiling real cases of missing persons. The series debuted in 2003....
, and FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
-mandated "E/I
E/I
E/I, which stands for "educational and informative," refers to a type of children's television programming shown in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission requires that every full-service Terrestrial television station in the U.S. show at least three hours of these television...
" children's programming for its affiliated stations.
Since the announcement of .2 Network's plans, similar subchannel networks have launched, using the same programming libraries -- Antenna TV
Antenna TV
Antenna TV is an American digital broadcast television network, primarily featuring classic television series from the 1950s to the 1990s, along with some feature films. It is owned by Tribune Broadcasting, a division of the Chicago-based Tribune Company...
, a digital network from Tribune Broadcasting
Tribune Broadcasting
The Tribune Broadcasting Company is a group of radio and television stations located throughout the United States which are owned and operated by the Tribune Company, a media conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois and named for the flagship Chicago Tribune newspaper.- History :Tribune Broadcasting...
, has been receiving some of its programming from Sony Pictures since that channel launched on New Year's Day 2011. NBC Universal would also later sell rights of its programming to another similar network, Retro Television Network
Retro Television Network
The Retro Television Network is a system of television stations that airs classic television shows as well as more recently produced programs...
(RTV), but under their new Comcast ownership, removed their programming from RTV in June 2011, then signed a new agreement with Me-TV after that to provide them most of the same programming. The status of .2 Network's contracts with Sony Pictures and NBC Universal are currently unknown.
Affiliates
.2 Network had confirmed carriage in the following markets:| Market | Station | Primary Affiliation | Ownership |
| New York City | TBD 2 | TBD | TBD |
| Los Angeles | TBD 2 | TBD | TBD |
| Chicago | TBD 2 | TBD | TBD |
| Philadelphia | TBD 2 | TBD | TBD |
| San Francisco - Oakland - San Jose | TBD 2 | TBD | TBD |
| Houston | KHOU | CBS | Belo Corporation |
| Detroit | WDIV-TV WDIV-TV WDIV-TV, virtual channel 4, is an NBC-affiliated television station based in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is owned by Post-Newsweek Stations and is the flagship station and home base of the group with the offices of the group located alongside WDIV's studios; the "Local" branding now... |
NBC | Post-Newsweek Stations Post-Newsweek Stations Post-Newsweek Stations is the official name of the broadcasting division of the Washington Post Company and is a self-contained corporation within that company... |
| Tampa | WTVT WTVT WTVT, channel 13, is a television station in Tampa, Florida. It is an owned and operated station of the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the News Corporation... |
Fox | Fox Television Stations |
| Miami - Fort Lauderdale | TBD 2 | TBD | TBD |
| Orlando - Daytona Beach | WKMG-TV WKMG-TV WKMG-TV channel 6 is the CBS network affiliate for Central Florida . WKMG is licensed to Orlando and is owned and operated by Post-Newsweek Stations, Inc., a subsidiary of the Washington Post Company. The station refers to itself as "Local6". WKMG's transmitter is located in Bithlo, Florida... |
CBS | Post-Newsweek Stations Post-Newsweek Stations Post-Newsweek Stations is the official name of the broadcasting division of the Washington Post Company and is a self-contained corporation within that company... |
| Portland, Oregon | KPTV KPTV KPTV is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the Portland, Oregon market, which includes most of the state of Oregon and portions of Southwest Washington. KPTV is owned by the Meredith Corporation in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate KPDX , with its studios located in Beaverton and... or KPDX KPDX KPDX is the MyNetworkTV-affiliate serving the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 30. In addition, it is seen on channel 13 on most local cable TV systems.... 1 |
Fox or MyNetworkTV | Meredith Corporation Meredith Corporation The Meredith Corporation is a media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The company has two divisions, National Media and Local Media.-History:... |
| Kansas City, Missouri | KCTV KCTV KCTV channel 5 is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Kansas City Metropolitan Area that is licensed to the Missouri side. Owned by the Meredith Corporation, the station is sister to MyNetworkTV affiliate KSMO-TV and the two share facilities on Shawnee Mission Parkway KCTV channel 5 is... 4 |
CBS | Meredith Corporation Meredith Corporation The Meredith Corporation is a media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The company has two divisions, National Media and Local Media.-History:... |
| Columbus, Ohio | W23BZ-D (flagship), 5 | Independent/Bounce TV Bounce TV Bounce TV is a United States television network airing on digital terrestrial television stations. Promoted as "the first 24/7 digital multicast broadcast network created exclusively for African Americans," Bounce TV launched on September 26, 2011 and features programming geared toward blacks in... ; Azteca América Azteca América Azteca América is a broadcast television network marketed toward Spanish-speaking families residing in the United States. As a rapidly-growing Spanish language network, Azteca América now reaches 89% of the Hispanic households in the U.S., operating in sixty-two markets nationwide. Wholly owned by... |
Guardian Enterprise Group |
| San Antonio | KSAT-TV KSAT-TV KSAT-TV channel 12 is the local ABC affiliate television station in the greater San Antonio area. Its transmitter is located in Elmendorf, Texas. The station calls itself KSAT 12, pronounced as "K-Sat".... |
ABC | Post-Newsweek Stations Post-Newsweek Stations Post-Newsweek Stations is the official name of the broadcasting division of the Washington Post Company and is a self-contained corporation within that company... |
| Roanoke - Lynchburg, VA | WDRL-TV WDRL-TV WDRL-TV, is an independent television station licensed to Danville, Virginia and serving the Roanoke/Lynchburg, Virginia market.WDRL-TV broadcasts its digital signal on channel 24 from a tower on Smith Mountain, giving predicted city grade coverage of Lynchburg and Roanoke, New River Valley and all... |
Independent | MNE Broadcasting |
| Lafayette, Louisiana | TBD 2 | TBD | TBD |
| Marquette, Michigan | TBD 2 | TBD | TBD |
| Alexandria, Louisiana | TBD 2 | TBD | TBD |
| Alpena, Michigan | WBKB-TV WBKB-TV WBKB-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Alpena area of Michigan's Northern Lower Peninsula. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter south of Hubbard Lake near M-72 in Alcona County. The station can also be seen on Charter channel 10 and... 3 |
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... |
Stephan Marks Stephan Marks Stephan Marks, a Maryland native, is owner and operator of radio and television stations in three small United States markets.-Television:* KXGN-TV channel 5 , Glendive, Montana... |
| Glendive, Montana | KXGN-TV KXGN-TV KXGN-TV channel 5 is a television station in Glendive, Montana, a primarily agricultural region in eastern Montana, which is the smallest of the 210 US Nielsen-designated broadcast television market areas in the United States; the market serves a total potential home-market audience of a mere five... 3 |
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... |
Stephan Marks Stephan Marks Stephan Marks, a Maryland native, is owner and operator of radio and television stations in three small United States markets.-Television:* KXGN-TV channel 5 , Glendive, Montana... |
HDTV
.2 Network plans on offering a 720p720p
720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan...
HDTV feed to its affiliates for either the subchannel or as a cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
offering, despite some engineers' skepticism at the time of carrying two HDTV channels on one DTV frequency.