Start TV is an American free-to-air television network owned as a joint venture between Weigel Broadcasting and the CBS News and Stations subsidiary of Skydance Corporation. Predominantly carried on the digital subchannels of its affiliated television station in most markets, it primarily airs classic television drama series from the 1980s through the 2010s, with a focus on women-led dramas, police and legal procedurals. The network originates from Weigel Broadcasting's headquarters on North Halsted Street in Chicago, Illinois.

History On July 18, 2018, CBS Television Stations and Weigel Broadcasting announced the formation of Start TV, with plans to launch the network on Labor Day of that year (September 3). The network initially debuted on the subchannels of five of Weigel's TV stations, three stations owned by Bahakel Communications, 17 CBS TV stations, and three CW owned-and-operated stations.

Weigel indicated that CBS suggested the idea for the network to allow more modern programming not being carried by cable networks or streaming services to find a place to air. Start TV officially launched on September 3, 2018, at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time, with the pilot episode of Touched by an Angel ("The Southbound Bus") as its inaugural broadcast. Varietys 2019 Nielsen ratings list showed that Start TV averaged 114,000 viewers in prime time, up 65% from the 2018 average.

Programming Similar to its male-targeted sister network Heroes & Icons (H&I), Start TV airs legal/police procedurals and various other dramas (with Gilmore Girls added in May 2025) - but instead targeting a female audience, featuring shows led by/centered around women. The network features series from the 1980s to the 2010s, and runs a uniform programming schedule with shows airing mainly at the same time seven days a week. Start TV also has a one-hour block of E/I children's programming on Sunday mornings between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. Eastern Time in order to fulfill FCC obligations.

Due to its partial ownership by CBS (Paramount), Start TV also airs late night replays of CBS produced syndicated shows The Drew Barrymore Show, Entertainment Tonight and Inside Edition.

Affiliates

, Start TV had affiliation agreements with television stations in 27 media markets encompassing 20 states, covering 45.52% of the United States. The network is carried on the digital subchannels of television stations in most of its markets (with potential exceptions in certain areas where a future affiliate may opt to carry the network on its main feed), and is also carried on cable television providers through their digital tiers at the discretion of the affiliate's parent station in certain markets. The network initially launched primarily on subchannels of stations owned by Weigel Broadcasting and CBS Television Stations. (In many of the CBS markets, Start TV displaced Weigel and CBS's classic television network venture Decades, with Weigel assuming the local Decades affiliation rights on stations it owns in certain markets where CBS Television Stations owns a CBS and/or CW owned-and-operated station, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco.) Bahakel Communications also contributed stations to serve as charter affiliates.

In South Bend, Indiana (where Weigel Broadcasting owns ABC affiliate WBND-LD, CW affiliate WCWW-LD and MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYS-LD) and Milwaukee, Wisconsin (where Weigel owns CBS affiliate WDJT-TV, independent station WMLW, MeTV owned-and-operated station WBME-CD and Telemundo affiliate WYTU-LD), the network displaced This TV on WCWW-LD2 and WYTU-LD3, effectively leaving that network without an affiliate in either market. (Weigel – which was part-owner of that network from its founding in October 2008 – had continued to hold the This TV affiliation rights for the Milwaukee market after Tribune Broadcasting assumed Weigel's interest and operational responsibilities in the network in November 2013; Tribune's former Milwaukee station, WITI, never claimed the This TV affiliation in the market despite Weigel moving the This affiliation to lower-tier channel slots several times.)

In October 2020, Start TV was made available on Sling TV. On April 19, 2022, Start TV began airing on the Frndly TV live streaming service.

Current affiliates + Current affiliates for Start TV Media market State/District Station Channel Montgomery–Tuskegee Alabama WBMM 22.2 Tuscaloosa–Birmingham WSES 33.3 Anchorage Alaska KTUU-TV 2.3 Phoenix Arizona KUTP 45.5 Tucson KTTU-TV 18.4 Bakersfield California KNXT-LD 53.4 Los Angeles KCBS-TV 2.2 Merced–Fresno KGMC 43.10 Sacramento–Stockton–Modesto KOVR 13.2 San Francisco–Oakland–San Jose KPIX-TV 5.2 Denver Colorado KCNC-TV 4.2 Hartford–New Haven Connecticut WHCT-LD 35.3 Washington District of Columbia WTTG 5.3 Jacksonville Florida WJXT 4.3 Miami–Fort Lauderdale WFOR-TV 4.2 Orlando WKMG-TV 6.4 Tampa–St. Petersburg WTOG 44.2 West Palm Beach–Boca Raton–Fort Pierce WFLX 29.5 Atlanta Georgia WUPA 69.2 Columbus WXTX 54.6 Honolulu Hawaii KITV 4.3 Boise Idaho KRID-LD 22.6 Pocatello–Idaho Falls KVUI 31.8 Chicago Illinois WBBM-TV 2.2 WMEU-CD 48.2 Rockford WFBN-LD 35.3 Evansville Indiana WZDS-LD 5.2 Fort Wayne WISE-TV 33.5 Indianapolis WBXI-CD 47.1 Lafayette WLFI-TV 18.5 South Bend WCWW-LD 25.2 Davenport Iowa KWQC-TV 6.5 Des Moines KDIT-CD 45.3 Iowa City KWKB 20.4 Topeka Kansas WIBW-TV 13.4 Wichita KSCW-DT 33.4 Bowling Green Kentucky WNKY-LD 35.3 Louisville WBNA 21.2 Alexandria Louisiana KBCA 41.3 Lafayette KLWB 50.4 Monroe KMLU 11.4 New Orleans WVUE-DT 8.6 Shreveport KPXJ 21.3 Baltimore Maryland WJZ-TV 13.2 Boston Massachusetts WBZ-TV 4.2 Springfield WSHM-LD 33.3 Detroit Michigan WWJ-TV 62.2 Flint–Saginaw–Bay City–Midland WJRT-TV 12.4 Grand Rapids–Muskegon WZZM 13.9 Marquette WZMQ 19.4 Traverse City–Cadillac WMNN-LD 26.2 Duluth Minnesota KCWV 27.5 Minneapolis–St. Paul WCCO-TV 4.2 Walker–Bemidji KCCW-TV 12.2 Meridian Mississippi WOOK-LD 15.3 Kansas City Missouri KCTV 5.3 KGKC-LD 39.2 St. Louis KNLC 24.6 Lincoln Nebraska KOLN 10.2 Omaha WOWT 6.5 Las Vegas NevadaKHSV 21.3 Reno KOLO-TV 8.6 Albuquerque New Mexico KASA-TV 15.2 Albany New York WNYT 13.3 Buffalo WBBZ-TV 67.6 New York City WCBS-TV 2.2 Rochester WHEC-TV 10.3 Syracuse WTVU-CD 22.4 Charlotte North Carolina WCCB 18.5 Raleigh–Durham–Fayetteville WRAL-TV 5.3 Cincinnati Ohio WBQC-LD 25.4 Cleveland WBNX-TV 55.5 Columbus WCSN-LD 32.3 Oklahoma City Oklahoma KTUZ-TV 30.6 Tulsa KMYT-TV 41.3 Astoria Oregon KPWT-LD 3.2 Erie Pennsylvania WICU-TV 12.4 Johnstown WTOO-CD 50.2 Philadelphia KYW-TV 3.2 Pittsburgh KDKA-TV 2.2 Columbia South Carolina WOLO-TV 25.2 Greenville–Spartanburg–Anderson WGGS-TV 16.5 Myrtle Beach WFXB 43.3 Chattanooga Tennessee WYHB-CD 39.4 Kingsport WKPT-TV 19.5 Memphis WLMT 30.3 Nashville WJFB 44.3 Corpus Christi Texas KQSY-LD 30.2 Dallas–Fort Worth KTVT 11.2 Houston KPRC-TV 2.2 San Antonio KSAT-TV 12.5 Waco KNCT 46.3 Cedar City–St. George Utah KCSG 8.3 Ogden–Salt Lake City KCSG-LD Burlington Vermont WCAX-TV 3.4 Chesapeake–Norfolk–Virginia Beach Virginia WSKY-TV 4.2 Roanoke–Lynchburg WSLS-TV 10.4 Richmond WUPV 65.5 Bellingham Washington KVOS-TV 12.5 Tacoma–Seattle KSTW 11.2 Yakima KAPP 35.4 Bluefield West Virginia WVVA 6.5 Clarksburg WVFX 10.3 Eau Claire Wisconsin WEAU 13.5 Green Bay WBAY-TV 2.5 Madison WMTV 15.5 Milwaukee WDJT-TV 58.5 WYTU-LD 63.2

References

External links