Start TV
| Company type | Joint venture |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television broadcasting |
| Founded | September 3, 2018 |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois , United States |
Area served | United States |
| Products | Free-to-air television channel |
| Owner | Weigel Broadcasting and CBS News and Stations (Paramount) |
Start TV is a United States-based free-to-air television channel co-owned by Weigel Broadcasting and the CBS News and Stations division under Paramount Skydance Corporation. The channel predominantly airs on digital subchannels affiliated with partner stations and showcases classic drama series spanning from the 1980s through the 2010s. Its programming emphasizes dramas led by women, as well as police and legal procedurals. The network's operations are headquartered at Weigel Broadcasting's facilities located on North Halsted Street in Chicago, Illinois.
History
On July 18, 2018, CBS Television Stations partnered with Weigel Broadcasting to announce the creation of Start TV, which officially launched on September 3 of the same year. At its inception, the network was available on subchannels of five Weigel-owned stations, three stations owned by Bahakel Communications, seventeen CBS Television Stations, and three The CW owned-and-operated outlets.
The initiative aimed to offer a platform for contemporary programming that was not broadly accessible via cable or streaming platforms. Start TV began broadcasting at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time with the pilot episode of Touched by an Angel. According to Variety’s 2019 Nielsen data, Start TV attracted an average of 114,000 viewers during prime time, marking a 65% increase compared to the previous year.
Programming
In a manner similar to its male-focused counterpart Heroes & Icons (H&I), Start TV features legal and police procedural dramas alongside other series (including Gilmore Girls, added in May 2025), catering primarily to a female demographic with content centered around women protagonists. The network’s lineup includes shows from the 1980s through the 2010s and follows a consistent daily schedule with programs airing at fixed times. Additionally, it broadcasts a one-hour block of E/I children's programming every Sunday morning to comply with FCC regulations.
Affiliates
By August 2018, Start TV had secured affiliation agreements covering 27 media markets across 20 states, reaching approximately 45.52% of U.S. households. The channel is mainly distributed via digital subchannels of local broadcast stations, while cable availability depends on agreements made by parent affiliates. At launch, most carriage was through subchannels owned by Weigel Broadcasting and CBS Television Stations. In numerous CBS markets, Start TV replaced the classic television network Decades, with Weigel taking over Decades affiliations on its own stations in key areas such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. Charter affiliates also included stations operated by Bahakel Communications.
In markets like South Bend, Indiana and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Weigel holds multiple station ownerships, Start TV supplanted This TV on select subchannels, resulting in This TV losing local affiliate presence. Although Weigel was part-owner of This TV until 2013, it maintained certain affiliation rights in Milwaukee following operational restructuring.
Start TV expanded its digital footprint by becoming available on Sling TV in October 2020. Further distribution growth occurred on April 19, 2022, when it launched on the live streaming platform Frndly TV.
Current affiliates
| Media market | State/District | Station | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery–Tuskegee | Alabama | WBMM | 22.2 |
| Tuscaloosa–Birmingham | WSES | 33.3 | |
| Anchorage | Alaska | KTUU-TV | 2.3 |
| Phoenix | Arizona | KUTP | 45.5 |
| Tucson | KTTU-TV | 18.4 | |
| Bakersfield | California | KNXT-LD | 53.4 |
| Los Angeles | KCBS-TV | 2.2 | |
| Merced–Fresno | KGMC | 43.10 | |
| Sacramento–Stockton–Modesto | KOVR | 13.2 | |
| San Francisco–Oakland–San Jose | KPIX-TV | 5.2 | |
| Denver | Colorado | KCNC-TV | 4.2 |
| Hartford–New Haven | Connecticut | WHCT-LD | 35.3 |
| Washington, D.C. | District of Columbia | WTTG | 5.3 |
| Jacksonville | Florida | WJXT | 4.3 |
| Miami–Fort Lauderdale | WFOR-TV | 4.2 | |
| Orlando | WKMG-TV | 6.4 | |
| Tampa–St. Petersburg | WTOG | 44.2 | |
| West Palm Beach–Boca Raton–Fort Pierce | WFLX | 29.5 | |
| Atlanta | Georgia | WUPA | 69.2 |
| Columbus | WXTX | 54.6 |
External links
- Articles with short description
- 2018 establishments in the United States
- CBS News and Stations
- Digital multicast television networks in the United States
- Joint ventures
- Lists of American television network affiliates
- Television channels and stations established in 2018
- Weigel Broadcasting
- Women's interest channels