Editing Ion Television (section)

==Programming==
{{Main|List of programs broadcast by Ion Television}}
As of April 2024, Ion provides general entertainment programming to owned-and-operated and affiliated stations every day from 6:00&nbsp;a.m. to 2:00&nbsp;a.m. Eastern Time (except Fridays outside of the Holiday season which start at 7:00&nbsp;a.m. ET; awhile the entertainment programming schedule starts at 8:00&nbsp;a.m. and ends at 1:00&nbsp;a.m. from Christmas to New Year's Day), with paid programming filling the remaining vacated hours. A children's programming block of ''[[Science Max]]'' (one past Qubo series), and [[Xploration Station]] from [[Steve Rotfeld]] [[Steve Rotfeld Productions|Productions]] – which features programs compliant with FCC [[E/I|educational programming]] requirements – airs for three hours each Friday at 7:00&nbsp;a.m. Eastern Time. Four hours overnight are programmed with [[infomercial|compensated religious or commercial paid programming]], a comparably small fraction of the paid programming schedule it aired in the past.

Ion owned-and-operated stations and affiliates formerly also provide limited [[local programming]] on weekday mornings to fulfill [[Public affairs (broadcasting)|public affairs]] guidelines, which ranged from entirely local productions to Ion Life-sourced programs within which commercial slots are instead devoted to local physicians or experts giving locality-specific health advice or advertising their services. This programming has ended as the Main Studio Rule repeal by the FCC in 2019 freed Ion stations from this requirement. Ion also served as the over-the-air broadcast distribution point for [[TiVo]]'s ''Teleworld Paid Program'', a weekly 30-minute compilation program – usually carried during the overnight on Wednesdays or Thursdays within the network's designated paid programming time – it was specifically coded to distribute [[promo (media)|program previews]] and device tutorials for TiVo's [[digital video recorder]]s; in 2011, the time was used in early September to preview the pilot of [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]'s new sitcom ''[[New Girl]]'', before its actual Fox premiere on September 20.<ref name=adweek_charm>{{cite web |url=http://www.adweek.com/news/television/fox-wins-tuesday-zooey-charm-offensive-135018 |title=Fox Wins Tuesday With Zooey Charm Offensive – Deschanel comedy 'New Girl' opens to big numbers |work=Adweek |last=Crupi |first=Anthony |date=September 21, 2011 |access-date=November 3, 2013}}</ref> TiVo discontinued the program in 2016 as broadband had become commonplace enough to end it.

Most programs broadcast by Ion Television are distributed by either [[NBCUniversal Syndication Studios]], [[Disney–ABC Domestic Television]], [[CBS Media Ventures]], or [[Warner Bros. Television Studios|Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution]]. Ion Television also maintains film distribution deals with [[Universal Pictures]], [[Paramount Pictures]], [[20th Century Studios]] and [[Warner Bros. Pictures]].<ref name=deals>{{cite web|title=Ion Adds "M*A*S*H" to Weekdays, Ion Announces New Deals with Studios|url=http://www.sitcomsonline.com/blog/2010/02/ion-adds-mash-to-weekdays-ion-announces.html|website=Sitcoms Online|date=February 16, 2010}}</ref> Series broadcast by Ion Television ({{as of|October 2015|lc=y}}) are mostly dramas such as ''[[Criminal Minds]]'', ''[[Law & Order]]'', ''[[Law & Order: Special Victims Unit]]'', ''[[Law & Order: Criminal Intent]]'', ''[[Numb3rs]]'', ''[[Bones (TV series)|Bones]]'', ''[[Blue Bloods (TV series)|Blue Bloods]]'', and ''[[The Listener (TV series)|The Listener]]''. As of 2014, the network's format is predominantly devoted to marathon blocks of hour-long drama series, with consecutive episodes of a given series airing between two and 16 hours a day (depending on the day's schedule, with fewer hours in the morning and late fringe).

The network broadcasts feature films released between the 1980s and the 2000s under the banner "Ion Television at the Movies", which fill the majority of the network's Sunday afternoon and evening schedule ([[Christmas and holiday season|holiday]]-themed made-for-TV films are also broadcast under the banner throughout the entertainment programming day on weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day regardless of where either holiday falls during the calendar week). Ion Television occasionally airs short, hosted segments during its prime-time lineup – particularly during film presentations – known as the "Ion Lounge", a lifestyle segment used mainly to advertise a company's product within the featured program's commercial breaks.

In the recent past, Ion Television has aired a limited number of comedy or comedy-drama series that were cycled on-and-off the schedule such as ''[[Monk (TV series)|Monk]]'', ''[[Psych]]'' and ''[[Married... with Children]]'', with half-hour sitcoms used on certain occasions to [[Filler (media)|fill scheduling gaps]] prior to the telecast of its late-morning film presentations (usually in the 10:00&nbsp;am. Central Time half-hour, if the succeeding film ran for at least 2{{frac|1|2}} hours) because of their erratic scheduling; the network shifted to a more exclusive focus on dramas as part of its series content in January 2015, although the network continued to carry comedic programming in the form of select feature films aired within the "Ion Television at the Movies" block.

Ion's method of running predominantly [[broadcast syndication|syndicated]] programming is very similar to the international model of broadcasting used in Europe, Canada, Latin America, Asia and Australia, which mixes imported and syndicated shows with original programming – a model used only in [[Television in the United States|United States broadcast television]] by digital multicast services (particularly those that specialize in acquired programs such as [[MeTV]] and [[Antenna TV]]), smaller English language entertainment-based networks (such as [[America One]]), [[PBS]] member stations, and networks broadcasting in languages other than English (such as [[Univision]], [[UniMás]], and [[Telemundo]]). The major commercial broadcast networks in the U.S. – ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox – carry first-run programs produced for the network, while leaving the responsibility of acquiring shows from the syndication market to their owned-and-operated stations and affiliates to fill time not allotted to network and, where applicable, locally produced programs ([[The CW]] and [[MyNetworkTV]], which are somewhat similar to Ion Television in their formats, mixes elements of both models as acquired programs are supplied both during prime time by the services and by their stations at all other times). A limited number of non-Ion-owned stations that are merely affiliated with the network (such as former Louisville outlet [[WBNA]]) do carry additional local or syndicated programming that, in some instances, pre-empts certain programs within the Ion master schedule.

===Recent programming deals===
In 2006, Ion Media Networks reached several programming deals, two with major programming suppliers that were announced within a week of each other, and another that among other things would bring original programming to Ion Television's lineup. On June 27, 2006, Ion Media announced a comprehensive programming deal with [[Warner Bros. Television Distribution]], which gave it the broadcast rights to movies and television series owned by the company.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Press|url=http://www.ionmedia.tv/press/press.cfm?id=11|website=Ion Media Networks|date=June 27, 2006|access-date=July 7, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060708073144/http://www.ionmedia.tv/press/press.cfm?id=11|archive-date=July 8, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> One week later on July 5, 2006, Ion announced a similar deal that resulted in the acquisition of broadcast rights to films and series distributed by [[Sony Pictures Television]] (now [[Sony Pictures Television Studios]]).<ref>{{cite press release|title=Press|url=http://www.ionmedia.tv/press/press.cfm?id=12|website=Ion Media Networks|date=July 5, 2006|access-date=July 7, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310202512/http://www.ionmedia.tv/press/press.cfm?id=12|archive-date=March 10, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> Starting in September of that year, series and feature films from both libraries were incorporated onto the network's prime time schedule (including ''Who's the Boss?'', ''[[Designing Women]]'', ''Mama's Family'', ''Growing Pains'', ''Green Acres'', and ''The Wonder Years''). However, these older series were later dropped when the network shifted towards more recent series. Ion also struck a library content deal with [[NBCUniversal]], which gave it access to shows such as ''[[Law & Order]]''.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Press|url=http://www.ionmedia.tv/press/press.cfm?id=19|website=Ion Media Networks|access-date=December 23, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928101254/http://www.ionmedia.tv/press/press.cfm?id=19|archive-date=September 28, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In September 2008, Ion Television reached a multi-year film rights agreement with Warner Bros. Television Distribution to broadcast more recent movies from Warner Bros. and its related studios. Meanwhile, three series from CBS Television Distribution (now [[CBS Media Ventures]]) were added to the schedule: ''[[NCIS (TV series)|NCIS]]'' joined the lineup in September 2008, while ''Criminal Minds'' and ''[[Ghost Whisperer]]'' were added to the Ion Television lineup in 2009. In January 2009, the network announced that it had acquired the broadcast rights to the [[Canadian television]] drama series ''[[Durham County (TV series)|Durham County]]'';<ref>{{cite press release|title=ION Television Acquires the Award-Winning Original TV Series ''Durham County''|url=http://www.ionmedia.tv/press/press.cfm?id=137|website=Ion Media Networks|date=January 6, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228142922/http://www.ionmedia.tv/press/press.cfm?id=137|archive-date=February 28, 2009}}</ref> that show aired on the network for less than a year.

On January 21, 2011, Ion Television acquired the U.S. television rights to the Canadian drama series ''[[Flashpoint (TV series)|Flashpoint]]'', which gave it first-run rights to the fourth season's final 11 episodes, after CBS aired that season's first eight episodes, as well as rights to air reruns of all episodes produced to date and thereafter;<ref>{{cite web|title=Canadian 'Flashpoint' In U.S. Syndie Deal, Will Air Originals On CBS And ION|url=https://deadline.com/2011/01/canadian-drama-flashpoint-in-u-s-syndi-deal-will-air-originals-on-cbs-and-ion-98828/|first=Nellie|last=Andreeva|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|date=January 21, 2011|access-date=November 14, 2012}}</ref> Ion (along with the show's originating Canadian broadcaster, CTV) also renewed the series for a fifth and final season that aired during the fall of 2012.

In July 2011, Ion Television acquired the broadcast television rights to six films produced by [[Starz Media]] (now [[Lionsgate]]) as part of its weekend film block (then branded as the "Big Movie Weekend"); the films started airing on the network in November of that year.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ion Television Inks Starz Media Deal for Six Theatricals|url=http://www.multichannel.com/article/470986-Ion_Television_Inks_Starz_Media_Deal_For_Six_Theatricals.php|periodical=Multichannel News|publisher=[[NewBay Media]]|date=July 2011|access-date=October 28, 2013}}</ref> Ion also acquired the syndication rights to the [[USA Network]] series ''Psych'' and ''Monk'' from NBCUniversal; the two series respectively began airing in late 2011 and early 2012. ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'', also from NBCUniversal, joined the network in September 2012. In September 2011, Ion Television acquired the syndication rights to ''[[George Lopez (TV series)|George Lopez]]''<ref>{{cite web|title=Ion Acquires Comedy 'George Lopez'|url=https://www.deadline.com/2011/09/ion-acquires-comedy-george-lopez/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226134503/http://www.deadline.com/2011/09/ion-acquires-comedy-george-lopez/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 26, 2011|first=Nellie|last=Andreeva|website=Deadline Hollywood|publisher=Penske Media Corporation|date=September 2011|access-date=November 14, 2012}}</ref> and ''[[Leverage (American TV series)|Leverage]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=TNT Series Gets Syndication Deal|url=http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/tvbizwire/2011/09/tnt-series-gets-syndication-de.php|website=TVWeek|publisher=Dexter Canfield Media, Inc.|date=September 2011|access-date=November 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929222033/http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/tvbizwire/2011/09/tnt-series-gets-syndication-de.php|archive-date=September 29, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''George Lopez'' began airing on September 29, while ''Leverage'' debuted in July 2012, the former has since been dropped from the network, while the latter has been cycled on-and-off the schedule.

On October 4, 2011, Ion Television acquired the rights to the first two seasons of the Canadian drama ''[[The Listener (TV series)|The Listener]]'' for broadcast in 2012, with an option for future seasons through an agreement with [[Shaw Media]] (parent of the show's originating broadcaster, [[Global Television Network|Global]]); the series would not join Ion's schedule until March 2014, by which time Ion Television had entered into a co-production arrangement for the program.<ref>{{cite web|title=ION Television Acquires 'The Listener'|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ion-television-acquires-nbc-drama-243616|first=Etan|last=Vlessing|periodical=The Hollywood Reporter|date=December 4, 2011|access-date=October 31, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title='The Listener' To Become ION Original Series As Network Joins As Co-Producer|url=https://deadline.com/2014/02/the-listener-to-become-ion-original-series-as-network-joins-as-co-producer-688108/|first=Nellie|last=Andreeva|website=Deadline Hollywood|publisher=Penske Media Corporation|date=February 24, 2014|access-date=October 31, 2015}}</ref> A similar deal reached in September 2014 with [[Entertainment One]] gave Ion the American rights to the medical drama ''[[Saving Hope]]'' (which made its American debut on NBC in the summer of 2012); Ion began airing first-run episodes and repeats of the series in October 2015.<ref>{{cite press release|title=ION Television Picks Up 'Saving Hope' Season Three|url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/09/03/ion-television-picks-up-saving-hope-season-three/299035/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904090907/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/09/03/ion-television-picks-up-saving-hope-season-three/299035/|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 4, 2014|first=Sara|last=Bibel|website=[[TV by the Numbers]]|publisher=[[Zap2it]] ([[Tribune Digital Ventures]])|via=Ion Media Networks|date=September 3, 2014|access-date=October 31, 2015}}</ref>

In December 2011, Ion Television acquired the syndication rights to ''[[Cold Case]]'', which debuted in 2012. On June 25, 2012, Ion Television entered into a deal with [[WWE]] to air a new hour-long series titled ''[[WWE Main Event]]'' on Wednesday nights; the series debuted on October 3, 2012<ref name=WWEMainEvent>{{cite press release|title=ION Television Debuts WWE Main Event|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ion-television-debuts-wwe-main-170000184.html|publisher=[[Yahoo! Finance]]|via=Ion Media Networks|date=June 25, 2012|access-date=January 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630044807/http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ion-television-debuts-wwe-main-170000184.html|archive-date=June 30, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> and ran until April 2, 2014.

===Other programming===

====Children's programming====
Prior to Ion Television's original launch as Pax TV in 1998, the network had reached an agreement with [[DIC Entertainment]] to produce a five-hour children's programming block called ''Freddy's Firehouse'', to air on Saturday and Sunday mornings.<ref name=awm/><ref>{{cite news|title=Paxson, DIC in kidstuff deal for Pax Net|url=https://variety.com/1998/biz/news/paxson-dic-in-kidstuff-deal-for-pax-net-1117469438/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130205134644/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117469438.html?categoryid=18&cs=1&query=|url-status=live|archive-date=February 5, 2013|first=Richard|last=Katz|periodical=Variety|date=April 3, 1998|access-date=August 15, 2009}}</ref> The block of animated series was instead launched on September 5, 1998, as "Cloud Nine", featuring a trio of winged teenage angels that hosted the wraparound segments that bridged breaks during the block's shows, which were mostly sourced from the DIC library.<ref name="Pax SFGate"/> "Cloud Nine" was discontinued in the spring of 1999, and was replaced by a new block under the title "Pax Kids."<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Three-Hour Rule Is It Living Up To Expectations?|url=http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/19990629_three_hour_expectations_report1.pdf|first=Kelly L.|last=Schmitt|journal=Report Series|publisher=The Annenberg Public Policy Center|issue=30|page=8|date=June 29, 1999|access-date=November 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104012133/http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/19990629_three_hour_expectations_report1.pdf|archive-date=November 4, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> The DIC programs were replaced in 2000 with reruns of ''[[Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures]]'', which was replaced by ''[[Just Deal]]'' and ''[[California Dreams]]'' the following year. Pax TV became the first major commercial broadcast network in the U.S. to not supply children's programming in January 2002, and later one of only two until it restored a children's block in 2006 ([[UPN]] eventually joined it in this distinction after it dropped its [[Disney's One Too]] block in August 2003, following the termination of a programming agreement with [[Buena Vista Television]]). Between 2002 and 2006, Pax and i used original reality series such as ''[[Animal Miracles|Miracle Pets]]'', ''[[Animal Tails]]'', and ''[[America's Most Talented Kids]]'' to fulfill its stations' E/I requirements.

On September 15, 2006, Ion Television debuted a weekly children's program block called "[[Qubo]] on Ion Television", through a partnership between [[Ion Media Networks]], [[NBC Universal]], the [[Nelvana]] unit of [[Corus Entertainment]], [[Scholastic Books|Scholastic Media]], [[Classic Media]], and its subsidiary [[Big Idea Productions]]. The Qubo block originally debuted on [[NBC]] and [[Telemundo]] on September 9, 2006, with NBC's Qubo block initially being rebroadcast on Ion Television on Friday afternoons (making it the last weekday afternoon children's block to be carried by a major commercial broadcast network until 2010).<ref>{{cite news|title=Qubo, for English- and Spanish-speaking youngsters|url=http://www.medialifemagazine.com/qubo-for-english-and-spanish-speaking-youngsters/|first=Ed|last=Robertson|periodical=Media Life Magazine|date=August 24, 2006|access-date=February 11, 2014}}</ref> On January 4, 2015, the Qubo block on Ion was relaunched as the "Qubo Kids Corner", concurrent with the block's move to Sunday mornings. As mentioned above, Scripps now purchases syndicated programming to meet Ion Television's E/I requirements with its wind-down of Qubo.

====Sports====
{{See also|Scripps Sports}}
The network has previously broadcast certain sporting events, including [[Conference USA]] [[college football]] games (produced by [[College Sports Television]]), soccer matches from the [[Women's United Soccer Association]], [[Real Pro Wrestling]] (which more resembles the amateur form than the theatrically-based ring sport), the [[Champions Tour]] of golf, the [[Paralympic Games]] and a weekly [[mixed martial arts]] program from ''[[BodogFight (TV series)|BodogFight]]''. In its home state of Florida, the network's stations had served as a statewide chain to carry play-by-play coverage of a number of games for [[Major League Baseball]]'s [[Tampa Bay Rays]] and [[Florida Marlins]] (demarcated by each team's territories) until the late 2000s, when cable's Fox Sports Florida and Sun (now [[Bally Sports Florida]] and [[Bally Sports Sun|Sun]]) acquired the exclusive rights to both teams.

Ion Television aired [[NFL Films]]' weekly highlight program, the ''[[NFL Films Game of the Week]]'' on Saturday evenings from September 16, 2007, to January 5, 2008, with its initial broadcast focusing on the [[2007 NFL season|September 9, 2007]] game between the [[New York Giants]] and the [[Dallas Cowboys]]. The series was not renewed for the fall 2008 season. Ion also obtained rights to televise games from the [[American Indoor Football Association]], which were slated to begin airing in March 2008.<ref>{{cite press release|title=This Week In The AIFA Previews Season Kickoff|url=http://www.aifaprofootball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=142&Itemid=1|website=[[American Indoor Football Association]]|date=March 4, 2008}}</ref> However, the game's producers did not provide a live broadcast and the agreement was terminated.

On December 28, 2010, Ion Television signed a deal with the [[Ultimate Fighting Championship]] to air the preliminary fights to the January 1 [[pay-per-view]] event [[UFC 125]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Ion Television lands UFC 125 prelims, Dana White promises three fights|url=http://mmajunkie.com/news/21864/ion-television-lands-ufc-125-prelims-dana-white-promises-three-fights.mma|first=John|last=Morgan|website=MMAJunkie.com|date=December 28, 2010|access-date=November 14, 2012|archive-date=October 23, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023082755/http://mmajunkie.com/news/21864/ion-television-lands-ufc-125-prelims-dana-white-promises-three-fights.mma|url-status=dead}}</ref> Ion also aired the preliminary fights for [[UFC 127]] and [[UFC 140]] later in 2011, before the organization signed an exclusive [[UFC on Fox|programming agreement with Fox]].

On April 20, 2023, Ion Television, through [[Scripps Sports]], signed a multi-year deal with the [[Women's National Basketball Association]] (WNBA) to air a 15-week slate of [[Doubleheader (television)|doubleheader]] games on Friday nights (branded as ''WNBA Friday Night Spotlight on ION''), beginning with that year's [[2023 WNBA season|regular season]]. It will be the first national sports broadcast carried by Ion since 2011, and marks the first ever television contract for Scripps Sports, which was founded by the E. W. Scripps Company in December 2022 to acquire sports events for Ion and the group's local television stations. The agreement also grants local rights to selected Ion [[owned-and-operated stations|O&Os]] for games involving regional WNBA teams, which stations may carry in early- or late-evening broadcast windows depending on tip-off time.<ref>{{cite press release|title=WNBA AND SCRIPPS PARTNER ON MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENT FOR FRIDAY NIGHT SPOTLIGHT GAMES ON ION|url=https://scripps.com/press-releases/wnba-and-scripps-partner-on-multi-year-agreement-for-friday-night-spotlight-games-on-ion/|website=The E.W. Scripps Company|date=April 20, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=WNBA partners with Scripps to show Friday night games on ION|url=https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/36246097/wnba-partners-scripps-show-friday-night-games-ion|agency=Associated Press|publisher=[[ESPN]]|date=April 20, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|title=Scripps launches Scripps Sports division to further its sports programming initiatives|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/scripps-launches-scripps-sports-division-to-further-its-sports-programming-initiatives-301704484.html|agency=[[PR Newswire]]|date=December 15, 2022|access-date=April 20, 2023}}</ref>

On November 9, 2023, the [[National Women's Soccer League]] announced Scripps Sports as a rightsholder beginning in the 2024 season, with Ion to air Saturday night doubleheaders. Ion will also air the [[2024 NWSL Draft]].<ref name=aa>{{Cite web |last=Lucia |first=Joe |date=November 9, 2023 |title=NWSL announces new media rights deals, reportedly paying $60 million annually |url=https://awfulannouncing.com/soccer/nwsl-new-media-rights-deals-espn-amazon-scripps-cbs.html |access-date=November 10, 2023 |website=Awful Announcing |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=in>{{Cite web |last=Tannenwald |first=Jonathan |date=November 9, 2023 |title=The NWSL signs new broadcast deals with CBS, ESPN, Amazon, and ION worth $60 million a year |url=https://www.inquirer.com/soccer/nwsl-tv-streaming-cbs-espn-amazon-prime-video-ion-20231109.html |access-date=November 10, 2023 |website=[[Inquirer.com]] |language=en}}</ref>