Sinclair gets major ABC-owned stations to carry its Charge network

Sinclair Broadcast Group has signed a deal with ABC Owned Television Stations to add its Charge digital multicast network to major stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia.

Charge focuses on action and adventure programming licensed from MGM’s archives.

The network is part of The Stack, a family of other diginets SBG runs, each with a specific target audience.

Comet focuses on science fiction, The Nest is a lifestyle channel and TBD focuses on millennial audiences with viral video and reality programming.

As part of the deal with ABC, Charge, but not the other networks, will be added to digital subchannels at WABC (7.3), KABC (7.3), WLS (7.3) and WPVI (6.2). In all three markets, it joins ABC’s own digital network Localish. ABC also offers a home-shopping channel on its x.4 spot in every market except Chicago (either QVC, QVC2 or HSN).

Charge was previously available in Chicago on WBBM’s 2.5. 

Comet, meanwhile, is carried on CBS-owned stations’ signals in New York, San Fransisco and Philadelphia. 

There are numerous digital subnets available for full-power stations to add to their signals, including Start TV, Dabl, Antenna TV, MeTV, Cozi TV. 

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In some markets, select digital networks are available on local cable TV packages in addition to the traditional over-the-air signal. Many connected TVs will also pick up these networks and place them within their on-screen guide interface, allowing viewers to easily see what’s on each one and flip to that channel without having to worry about entering the subchannel number on a remote.

Some of these channels are also carried by other streaming and OTT providers, including Sinclair’s own Stirr, but diginets are not streamers themselves. Diginets are also distinct from OTT networks such as Allen Media’s JusticeCentral.tv, Local Now and Cars.tv in that these networks typically aren’t distributed by OTA signals, but rather streamed over data lines or wireless data connections.

Getting Charge and other nets available in markets, especially large ones, could go a significant way in getting consumers more familiar with these offerings.

In many ways, diginets are the legacy, OTA equipment of free, ad-supported streaming television, FAST. Most, with the exception of shopping channels carried on subchannels, sell advertising to make money. 

It’s not always clear how carriage fees work with diginets because such negotiations are often confidential, but they are also likely an appealing economical choice for broadcast stations looking for fill out their subchannel roster. Diginets often carry older programming or options that cheaper to license. Live programming is generally rare, so the networks are often designed to be run completely by a computer handling ad insertion and cueing up the next show to play.

With big demand for FAST and streaming ads, there could be similar opportunities for diginets, though one of the key challenges they face are ratings. So far, there’s little data available on viewership of these channels because their audiences are too small.