Editing Ion Television (section)

====Subchannels====

=====Qubo=====
{{Main|Qubo}}
[[Qubo]] was a children's television network that launched on January 8, 2007, and is carried on the second digital subchannel of Ion Television's stations. Its launch was announced on May 8, 2006, when Ion Media Networks, NBCUniversal, Nelvana, Scholastic Media, Classic Media (now [[DreamWorks Classics]] which would later be owned by NBCUniversal) and its [[Big Idea Productions]] unit announced plans to create Qubo as a multi-platform children's entertainment endeavor that would extend to a weekly programming block on Ion Television as well as NBC and Telemundo, and a [[video-on-demand]] service for [[digital cable]] providers.<ref name="ionmedia4">{{cite press release|title=Press|url=http://www.ionmedia.tv/press/press.cfm?id=4|website=Ion Media Networks|date=May 8, 2006|access-date=July 7, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060929195959/http://www.ionmedia.tv/press/press.cfm?id=4|archive-date=September 29, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> Qubo features content from the programming libraries of each of the partners, though there was an early promise of each company producing a new series for the network each year; most of its programs are targeted at children ages 2 to 11, though its late night programming block "Qubo Night Owl" (which originally featured animated series from Qubo's partners and the [[Filmation]] library, but after August 2013 features a mix of animated and live-action series sourced solely from the distribution partners) is aimed at older teenagers and adults.

The network debuted on January 8, 2007.<ref>{{cite web|title=How To Get Qubo Channel|url=http://www.qubo.com/qubo247.asp|website=[[Qubo]]|access-date=December 17, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070112055327/http://qubo.com/qubo247.asp|archive-date=January 12, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> Its initial format was composed of a four-hour block of shows that repeated six times a day, all featuring programming exclusive to the new channel; by 2010, the channel adopted a more traditional schedule featuring a larger array of programs. As a consequence to the pending launch of Qubo, the ''i'' secondary feed was replaced on ''i'' O&Os with a repeating promo loop in late September 2006. NBCUniversal dropped out of the venture in 2012, with NBC and sister network Telemundo replacing their Qubo blocks with their own E/I-compliant [[NBC Kids|children's lineups]] programmed by [[PBS Kids Sprout]] (now [[Universal Kids]], which is part-owned by NBCUniversal's corporate parent [[Comcast]]) that July, relegating Qubo's companion programming block exclusively to Ion Television and Ion Plus; Ion Media Networks acquired the stakes of the remaining partners in the channel, which all retained distribution partnerships with Qubo, in 2013.

Programming on Qubo Channel and its companion block on Ion Television and Ion Plus accounted for all educational programming content on Ion's owned-and-operated stations, thus relieving the network from the responsibility of carrying programs compliant with [[Children's Television Act]] guidelines on its other subchannel services.

Qubo ceased broadcasting after Ion Media's acquisition by the [[E. W. Scripps Company]] and merger with [[Katz Broadcasting]].<ref name="scripps.com">{{cite press release|url=https://scripps.com/press-releases/scripps-takes-first-steps-to-realize-ion-synergies-with-multicast-networks-move/|title=Scripps takes first steps to realize ION synergies with multicast networks move|date=January 14, 2021|access-date=January 14, 2021|first=Carolyn|last=Micheli}}</ref>

===== Ion Plus =====
{{Main|Ion Plus}}
[[Ion Plus]] (originally named "iHealth" prior to its launch and "Ion Life" until July 1, 2019) launched on February 19, 2007, and was carried on the third digital subchannel of Ion Television's stations. Under its former format, the network mainly featured health and lifestyle programs, as well as feature films on Sunday mornings and select weeknights (which consist mainly of those its parent network is scheduled to air during the given month as part of the "Ion Television at the Movies" block); some [[extreme sports]] programming previously aired on weekend evenings until July 2014. Much of Ion Life's programming consists of Canadian-imported programs, with some limited U.S.-produced programming. The network originally maintained a 24-hour entertainment schedule until 2013, when Ion Life added a limited number of infomercials in mid-morning and midday timeslots. As of July 1, 2019, it was rebranded to Ion Plus, acting as a ''de facto'' extension of the main Ion service, featuring all-day marathon scheduling of one series, along with the same scheduling of paid programming.

Ion Plus ceased broadcasting over-the-air after Ion Media's acquisition by the [[E. W. Scripps Company]] and merger with [[Katz Broadcasting]] on February 28, 2021,<ref name="scripps.com"/> but continues to air as an [[Video on demand#Advertising video on demand|advertising-supported video-on-demand]] network through several AVOD streaming services, including Samsung TV Plus, and Vizio WatchFree.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://streamingwiz.com/xumolive/|title=The Latest Xumo TV Free Channels and Info|first=C. J.|last=Dean|date=March 20, 2024}}</ref>

On June 17, 2024, Scripps quietly posted a promotional video to the social media presences of Ion Plus and [[Defy TV]] that the latter would be wound down at the end of June (its programming moving to another unrelated network provisionally known as Dare, launching that day, but which was sold the Defy branding shortly before its debut and returned to the air with the same brand and imaging), with Ion Plus returning to over-the-air availability on July 1; ''[[MacGyver (2016 TV series)|MacGyver]]'' and ''[[Scorpion (TV series)|Scorpion]]'' will be added to Ion Plus to augment its schedule as the mainline Ion network adds further sports programming to its schedule.

=====Ion Shop=====
In April 2012, Ion Media Networks launched a new service known as ''Ion Shop'' (originally "iShop" prior to November 2012, and "ShopTV" thereafter, both are names used only by the [[PSIP]] identifiers on digital television tuners and converter boxes; there was never explicit on-air branding used by the channel itself); some Ion owned-and-operated stations, however, did not begin carrying the network until as late as that November. Carried as a fourth digital subchannel on Ion Television's owned-and-operated stations, it primarily carried informercials; until June 2013, Ion Shop also aired blocks of programming from Ion Life in some morning and late night timeslots.

Ion Shop ceased operations on February 28, 2021.

=====Ion Mystery=====
{{Main|Ion Mystery}}
On February 24, 2022, the Court TV Mystery network was rebranded as '''[[Ion Mystery]]''', with the "Ion" brand now more established regarding [[procedural drama]]s in general, including Ion Mystery's overall programming, whereas [[Court TV]] is more associated with its news division.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lafayette |first1=Jon |title=Scripps' Court TV Mystery Rebranded as Ion Mystery |url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/scripps-court-tv-mystery-rebranded-as-ion-mystery |publisher=NextTV |access-date=February 24, 2022 |date=February 24, 2022}}</ref>

=====QVC Over the Air=====
{{Main|QVC}}
On August 5, 2013, as part of a partnership between [[QVC]] and Ion Media Networks to expand the channel's broadcast television coverage, Ion Television began carrying the cable and satellite [[home shopping]] network via a fifth digital subchannel on most of its owned-and-operated stations. Although the network maintains a high-definition simulcast feed, QVC is transmitted in standard definition to preserve channel bandwidth to allow the primary Ion network feed to transmit in HD, with the normally [[letterboxed]] SD feed squeezed to full-screen to fit [[4:3]] television sets (preventing [[windowboxing]] of the subchannel on 16:9 sets). QVC is also broadcast on digital subchannels of [[low-power broadcasting|low-powered television stations]] (mainly those not owned by Ion Media Networks) in selected areas, including in some areas where an Ion station also carries it. The channel's broadcast service is branded as "QVC Over the Air", with an accompanying [[digital on-screen graphic|on-screen bug]] appearing on the lower right corner of the screen during the network's programming; the service can be differentiated from the cable network due to the use of a different [[toll-free telephone number|toll-free number]] and [[QR code]] on-screen to account for any sales made from shoppers through the over the air version of the network. Some Ion-affiliated and owned stations have declined to carry QVC's programming because of other partnerships between QVC and other broadcasters, along with other spectrum agreements to carry other stations and networks; this is also the case with HSN in the next section. The partnership remains in effect in many markets under Scripps ownership and Inyo affiliations, though some stations ended distribution of the network after February 2021 in favor of the Katz networks.

=====Home Shopping Network=====
{{Main|Home Shopping Network}}
On November 18, 2013, Ion Television began carrying the Home Shopping Network via a sixth digital subchannel on most of its owned-and-operated stations, as part of a partnership with Ion Media Networks (both once controlled by Lowell "Bud" Paxson) to expand the channel's broadcast coverage. Although it has a high definition simulcast feed, HSN is transmitted by Ion stations in standard definition, due to the same digital multiplexing limitations that prevent QVC from being carried in 16:9 SD or HD. HSN has been widely available over-the-air throughout the United States since its inception – through stations that the network had owned prior to the 1998 reorganization of its Silver King Broadcasting group into [[USA Broadcasting]] (some of which were converted into general entertainment independent outlets, and were later sold to [[Univision Communications]] to form the charter stations of the present-day UniMás network), and had been mainly available on [[low-power broadcasting|low-power]] television stations immediately prior to its subchannel-leasing agreement with Ion; HSN is carried on low-power stations in some markets where an Ion station also carries the network, though HSN's programming is exclusive to an existing affiliate in a few areas where both networks are present (such as Atlanta, where [[WPXA-TV]] formerly simulcast [[Telemundo]] affiliate [[WKTB-CD]] on its DT6 subchannel under a time-leasing arrangement until the sale of that station to [[Gray Television]] and its move to [[WANF]]'s spectrum, and [[W13DQ-D]] carries HSN). Some Ion-affiliated stations decline to carry HSN's programming, and some Ion Media-owned stations are unable to carry that network due to affiliation agreements between HSN and other broadcasters that existed prior to the Ion deal. The partnership remains in effect in many markets under Scripps ownership and Inyo affiliations, though some stations ended distribution of the network after February 2021 in favor of the Katz networks.