LOS ANGELES: MGM’s diginet THIS TV secured a long-term affiliation agreement with Tribune Broadcasting, and a measurement deal with Nielsen, the content provider said today. MGM said that it had formed a strategic partnership with Tribune “to grow the digital network, which is now carried by stations reaching over 85 percent of the country.” The affiliation deal picks up Tribune stations in Miami, St. Louis, San Diego, Grand Rapids, Mich., and New York, where Trib owns WPIX-TV.
In addition, THIS renewed existing affiliation agreements with Tribune stations in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Denver, Indianapolis, Hartford, Conn., and New Orleans.
The network will also be Nielsen rated, said MGM, which launched THIS TV in late 2008 with Weigel Broadcasting of Chicago.
THIS TV currently is available via cable in around 40 million U.S. homes, and over the air. The diginet allows station preemptions for local news and events, and provides the FCC’s required three weekly hours of children’s programming. It’s overall lineup is comprised of MGM’s library of more than 4,100 films and 10,000 hours of TV shows. It shows a lot of older films, like Clint Eastwood’s 1968 spaghetti western, “Hang ‘em High,” which pulled in 597,000 viewers for THIS TV on March 20, MGM said, beating several cable networks in the ratings.
-- Deborah D. McAdams
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