Editing Ion Television (section)

===Ion Television (2007–present)===
[[File:ION Television 2016.svg|150px|thumb|Ion Television logo from 2016 to 2021. This logo is still used, just without "TELEVISION" underneath.]]
On January 29, 2007, the network changed its name again to '''Ion Television''' (as a result of its parent company's renaming to [[Ion Media Networks]]). Days after the rebrand, California-based entertainment group Positive Ions, Inc. filed a [[trademark infringement]] lawsuit against Ion Media Networks, claiming that the network stole the "Ion" branding.<ref>{{cite web|title=Positive Ions Continues Fight with Ion Media Networks over ION(R)|url=http://www.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=100984|website=BroadcastNewsroom|access-date=February 2, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070518233224/http://www.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=100984|archive-date=May 18, 2007|url-status=usurped}}</ref> Positive Ions had registered trademarks on the word "Ion" and had used the mark commercially since 1999. On May 14, 2007, Positive Ions filed for an injunction that, if granted, would have required Ion Media Networks to change its name once again.<ref>{{cite news |title=Federal Judge to Decide Whether Ion Television Can Continue as Ion |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20070516005435/en/Federal-Judge-Decide-Ion-Television-Continue-Ion |access-date=July 24, 2018 |language=en}}</ref> On May 4, 2007, Ion, [[Citadel Investment Group]], and NBC Universal announced a deal to transfer NBC Universal's rights to purchase a controlling stake in Ion to Citadel, in exchange for Citadel investing $100&nbsp;million into Ion's growth and digital plans.<ref name=":0" />

Ion Television's programming, for the most part, remained unchanged upon the rebrand; the network continued to feature programming from the content deals it signed while under the ''i'' brand (such as ''[[Who's the Boss?]]'', ''[[Mama's Family]]'', ''[[Growing Pains]]'', and ''[[The Wonder Years]]''). The network also aired a late afternoon sitcom block called "Laugh Attack", which featured reruns of comedy series targeted at African American audiences (originally consisting of ''[[Hangin' with Mr. Cooper]]'' and ''[[The Wayans Bros.]]'', the latter of which was later replaced by ''[[The Steve Harvey Show]]'').{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

In January 2008, Ion Media and [[Comcast]] reached a carriage agreement to continue carrying Ion Television, while also adding [[Qubo]] and [[Ion Life]] to the cable provider's channel lineups.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ion Media Plugs In New Comcast Accord|url=http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6522639.html|periodical=[[Multichannel News]]|date=January 14, 2008}}</ref>

Eventually, Ion Television would come to be known as the seventh national TV network, behind UPN, The WB, Fox, ABC, CBS, & NBC, though it still wouldn't achieve major network status.

====2008 relaunch====
On May 1, 2008, Ion Television held an upfront presentation announcing its programming for the 2008–09 season at the [[New York Public Library]] in [[Manhattan]]. In addition to the announcement of its programming acquisitions, the network unveiled a new logo (a [[wordmark]] that incorporated a positive ion symbol as a pseudo-period next to the "ion" typeface) and slogan for the network, "Positively Entertaining" (a form of wordplay, as [[ion]]s are atoms or molecules that have a positive or negative electrical charge).<ref>{{cite news|title=ION Television Presents 'Positively Entertaining' Program Lineup at 2008 Sales Presentation|url=http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080501006048&newsLang=en|agency=[[Business Wire]]|publisher=[[Ion Media Networks]]|date=May 1, 2008}}</ref>

With the September 8, 2008, rebrand, the network also retooled its focus, emphasizing the key demographic of adults between ages of 18 and 49, and airing more recent acquired programming aimed at young adults (such as ''[[Boston Legal]]'', ''[[NCIS (TV series)|NCIS]]'', and ''[[Criminal Minds]]'').{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

By this point, the network shifted its programming to feature extended blocks of its acquired series (which consist mostly of drama series, with sitcoms becoming an increasingly less integral part of the schedule); it also began a gradual expansion of the number of hours devoted to entertainment shows, starting with the addition of a two-hour block of programming in the late afternoon (from 3:00&nbsp;p.m. to 5:00&nbsp;pm. Central) in January 2008, and expanding further into the [[dayparting|daytime and late fringe/early graveyard]] periods over a five-year span (however, this resulted in the network increasing its reliance on regularly scheduled [[marathon (media)|marathon]]-style blocks of a relatively small inventory of programs in lieu of acquiring a much larger lineup of series to fill out the schedule). More recent theatrically released feature films were also added to the lineup, alongside older movie releases from the 1980s and 1990s.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

In April 2009, it was announced that Ion Media Networks was once again facing [[balance sheet]] problems. The company disclosed that it was in discussions with lenders on "a comprehensive recapitalization" of its [[balance sheet]], translating to an effort to restructure its considerable debt, which, according to ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', stood at $2.7&nbsp;billion as of April 2009.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

The network launched [[High-definition television|high definition]] operations in the [[720p]] format, announcing they would do so on January 28, 2009,<ref>{{cite news|title=Ion To Launch HD Simulcast On February 16, 2009 - Initial Rollout Phase Will Reach 20 DMAs, 46 Million Households|url=http://www.multichannel.com/article/162874-Ion_To_Launch_HD_Simulcast_On_Feb_16.php|periodical=Multichannel News|date=January 28, 2009}}</ref> with an original launch date of February 16, 2009, but delayed to March 16, 2009, after the passage of the [[DTV Delay Act]],<ref>{{cite web|title=ION scared off by the DTV transition, postpones debut another month|url=http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/02/19/ion-scared-off-by-the-dtv-transition-postpones-debut-another-mo/|website=[[Engadget HD]]|publisher=[[AOL]]|date=February 19, 2009|access-date=February 22, 2009|archive-date=April 29, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429044809/http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/02/19/ion-scared-off-by-the-dtv-transition-postpones-debut-another-mo|url-status=dead}}</ref> which pushed the national [[Digital television transition in the United States|digital television transition]] to June 12, 2009. Most Ion stations began to switch their main signals from [[480i]] [[standard definition]] to 720p HD in late February; an early decision to [[pillarbox]] 4:3 programming with blue rather than black pillarboxing was eventually abandoned as black coloring became the industry norm. Some Ion-owned and affiliate stations which carry the network as a multicast offering continue to carry the network in 480i widescreen over-the-air.

On May 19, 2009, Ion Media Networks filed for [[Chapter 11]] [[bankruptcy protection]], putting the Ion network under bankruptcy for the second time in its history; it had reached an agreement with holders of 60% of its first lien secured debt that would extinguish the entirety of its $2.7&nbsp;billion legacy debt and preferred stock, and recapitalize the company with a $150&nbsp;million new funding commitment.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ion Files for Bankruptcy Protection|url=http://www.multichannel.com/article/233139-Ion_Files_For_Bankruptcy_Protection.php|periodical=Multichannel News|date=May 20, 2009}}</ref> On July 15, 2009, [[RHI Entertainment]] entered into a settlement agreement to resolve a dispute with Ion Media Networks, which resulted in the termination of a programming distribution agreement between RHI and Ion.<ref>{{cite press release|title=RHI Entertainment Announces Results for the Second Quarter Ended June 30, 2009|url=http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/media/rhi-entertainment-announces-results-second-quarter-ended-june|website=[[Fox Business Network|FoxBusiness.com]]|publisher=Fox News Network, LLC|via=[[RHI Entertainment]]|date=August 5, 2009}}{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Also, in 2009, Ion Television would come to be the sixth national TV network, this time, behind The CW, Fox, ABC, CBS, & NBC, with MyNetworkTV in 2009 transitioning to a broadcast syndication service. However, Ion Television would never come to achieve major network status.

In November 2010, Ion Television began airing its first made-for-TV movies, in the form of Christmas-themed films that air between the weekend after [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] (airing the weekend before that holiday in 2013) and Christmas Day, with up to five films premiering each year on the network, although they are advertised as "original movies" in on-air promotions (the 2012 film ''Anything But Christmas'' is the only movie aired to date in which Ion Television had actually held a production interest), most of the films are produced by independent film and television studios such as Reel One Entertainment, Hybrid, LLC, The Cartel, and [[Vancouver]]-based [[MarVista Entertainment]] without the network's financial involvement (Ion does not maintain exclusivity to most of the films, which are also distributed via syndicated film packages or carried by other networks); the network extended these themed made-for-TV movies to other holidays in 2015, with the premieres of the romance films ''Meet My Valentine'' (which aired as part of the network's [[Valentine's Day]] programming slate) and ''You Cast a Spell on Me'' (which aired as part of its "Wicked Week" [[Halloween]] block).{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}