ION Television

COUNTRY: U.S. 

LAUNCH DATE: Formerly known as PAX TV, the channel rebranded and relaunched as ION Television in 2006.

OWNERSHIP: ION Media Networks 

DISTRIBUTION: 95 million homes

DESCRIPTION: A general-entertainment channel offering up a variety of original and off-net series across various genres, including dramas, sitcoms and movies.

SENIOR MANAGEMENT:

Chairman & CEO, ION Media Networks: Brandon Burgess

President, Ad Sales & Marketing: Stephen Appel

Executive VP, Programming: Leslie Chesloff

President, Television Stations Group: Joseph Koker

Executive VP, Programming, ION Media Networks: John Lawson

PROGRAMMING STRATEGY: The channel’s tagline maps out its overall programming strategy with two words: Positively Entertaining.

"Our network relaunched last fall with some of the most critically acclaimed and popular off-net series on television," says Leslie Chesloff, the executive VP of programming for ION Media Networks. "We’ve found that series like NCIS, Boston Legal, Reba, as well as many theatrical films, have a great and loyal fan base and have done extremely well on ION."

With a heavy focus on the 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. time period, ION slates in dramas and comedies that are 100-percent acquired product. "We buy general-entertainment programs from both major and independent film studios as well as small independent production companies," says Chesloff. 

ION recently scored a deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution that includes exclusive windows for The Departed and Ocean’s Thirteen. The package also includes Heat, The Matrix Reloaded, The Perfect Storm, Passenger 57 and Assassins, among others. The new deal builds on ION’s existing pact with Warner Bros., with the network now having the rights to almost 70 titles from the studio. 

"We have several newly acquired original productions that will make their U.S. premiere on ION Television," explains Chesloff. "They include the new original series Durham County, which launches this fall, and The Guard and The Border, which will roll out in 2010. We also have plans to produce a dozen of our own original movies, with the first slated for this Holiday season."

The channel also extends its programming beyond just the linear broadcast. ION is heavily involved in testing the availability of programming content on mobile. Brandon Burgess, ION’s chairman and CEO, launched and is head of the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), a consortium of networks dedicated to bringing programming to mobile devices. 

WHAT’S NEW: In the next few months, a host of new acquired series will join the channel lineup. These include Criminal Minds and Ghost Whisperer, alongside new original series Durham County, The Guard and The Border. 

At the end of the year, ION will launch the first of 12 new originally produced movies. Its first release will be a holiday-themed film. 

WEBSITE: www.iontelevision.com