MGM Joins Weigel to Launch Me-TV Across U.S.

CHICAGO/LOS ANGELES: MGM and Weigel Broadcasting Co. have planned a national launch for Me-TV, a new TV network offering classic sitcoms, dramas and classic commercials and targeted for stations’ multicast channels.

Me-TV (Memorable Entertainment Television) has been airing with a local version on Weigel Broadcasting’s WWME in Chicago. MGM will handle national distribution for the service, which includes a lineup of classics such as Cheers, M*A*S*H, The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Bob Newhart Show. As the network goes national, highlights will also include Laverne & Shirley, Happy Days, Bosom Buddies and the original Star Trek series.

MGM and Weigel previously partnered to launch THIStv, the national broadcast movie service, which after just two years is in more than 65 percent of U.S. households.

"I believe Me-TV will be a perfect complement to THIStv," said Jim Packer, the co-president at MGM Worldwide Television. "With this network launch, we are proud to become the clear leader in the digital broadcast space."

"Me-TV is a terrific companion service to THIStv, or as an option for a station that did not have the opportunity to affiliate with THIStv," added Norman H. Shapiro, the president of Weigel Broadcasting. "In our markets, we have success airing and selling both Me-TV and THIStv as part of a cluster of viewer and advertiser options. And we are proud, particularly given the present difficult economic times, to be able to provide nationally, on a single channel, some of the best programming ever produced, free for everyone on over-the-air broadcast television."

John Bryan, the executive VP of MGM Domestic Television, commented: "Me-TV is a proven concept and has worked for years in Chicago as a ratings hit and an advertising success. We have seen THIStv become a great revenue stream for our affiliates, and we know that Me-TV will do the same.  For years, the only growth a station could show was on its existing inventory. In the new age, they can now add channels that local viewers and advertisers seek out."

Neal Sabin, the executive VP of Weigel Broadcasting, who is directly responsible for Me-TV, said: "Me-TV was created to present a wide variety of the iconic series, stars and genres that have defined pop culture and television for decades.  Our goal is to present these series with creativity, reverence, and respect for the programs, our viewers and advertisers. We’ll have a lot of fun doing so, as we reacquaint the TV generation with the shows they grew up with and introduce them to a new audience searching for comfortable, timeless and memorable entertainment."