TouchVision

TouchVision
Type Digital broadcast television network
(news)
Country United States
Availability Nationwide (available on OTA digital television in select markets and online)
Headquarters Chicago, Illinois
Owner Think Televisual
Key people
 Lee Abrams (co-founder/chief content officer)
Brandon Davis (co-founder/chief executive officer)[1]
Launch date
 September 16, 2013
Picture format
 480i (SDTV; widescreen)
Official website
 touchvision.com

TouchVision is an American digital broadcast and internet television network that is owned by Think Televisual. The service provides rolling news coverage that is distributed to television, mobile and tablet platforms. TouchVision's operations are based out of the headquarters of Weigel Broadcasting on North Halsted Street in Chicago, Illinois.

History

TouchVision was co-founded by former radio consultant and XM Satellite Radio executive Lee Abrams (who serves as its chief content officer) and Brandon Davis (who serves as its chief executive officer).[1]

The service launched in beta form on July 1, 2013 on CBS affiliate WDJT-TV in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (owned by Weigel Broadcasting) over its fourth digital subchannel,[2] replacing a time-purchased real estate listings service that was programmed by local realtor Shorewest Realtors.[3] The service officially launched on September 16, 2013.[4] In early November of that year, WDJT sister station WMEU-CD in Chicago began carrying TouchVision on its second digital subchannel.

TouchVision gained its first syndicated client outside of the Weigel properties on December 19, 2014, when WISH-TV in Indianapolis, Indiana announced that it would begin carrying a half-hour broadcast of the service on weekday mornings (serving as both a lead-in for WISH's local morning newscast and, as a result of the then-pending loss of its CBS affiliation to WTTV, a replacement for the CBS Morning News); the TouchVision simulcast began airing on WISH when it became a CW affiliate on January 1, 2015.[5]

WDJT dropped TouchVision from its 58.4 subchannel on January 12, 2015, in advance of the soft launch of the classic television network Decades (a joint venture between Weigel and CBS Television Stations) that occurred three days later; however, it remains available in the Milwaukee market via sister independent station WMLW-TV, which carries an hour-long simulcast of the service on weekday mornings.[6]

Format and distribution

TouchVision is aimed at a demographic of young adults dubbed by the service as the "Millennials Plus" generation (those between the ages of 18 and 35), who grew up using digital technology and have long adapted to social media.[7] TouchVision currently claims a collective audience approaching about 1 million viewers each month.[8]

Broadcasting 24 hours a day in a widescreen format, TouchVision presents national and international news in a format similar to a newsreel, using pictures and video footage – mainly adapted from wire services – presented without any on-air anchors;[9] it also provides other news content such as local weather and sports score cut-ins and original feature segments. A window is provided for a few minutes before the top of the hour, allowing the local station to insert a locally produced news capsule or weather update. The network also airs a half-hour "week in review" program intended to summarize the network's best segments of the week and introduce the network on the affiliate's main station.

The service is available as a linear television channel, apps for smartphones and tablet computer, and a dedicated website (touchvision.com). TouchVision's programming began to televised on a semi-national basis on September 29, 2014, when Weigel's newly launched network Heroes & Icons began carrying an hour-long daily morning simulcast of the service. Through a location setting based on zip code or browser location sharing, the network's feed is also available real-time and with limited DVR-style controls through the network's website and apps for the iOS App Store and Google Play, depending on local availability of an affiliate.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Theilman, Sam (July 8, 2013). "Lee Abrams' Next Project: A News Network on All Platforms". AdWeek. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  2. ↑ Theilman, Sam (July 8, 2013). "Abrams, Saslow Prepare to Launch News Network This Month". AdWeek. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  3. ↑ Hagey, Paul (June 4, 2013). "Shorewest launches Internet TV channel". Inman News. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
  4. ↑ Kabelowsky, Steve (September 16, 2013). "TouchVision, WDJT-TV CBS 58, take aim at young audience". OnMilwaukee.com. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  5. ↑ David Lindquist (December 19, 2014). "WISH-8 lining up celebrity talk, syndicated sitcoms". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  6. ↑ Foran "TV flashback: Weigel to add new nostalgia channel in Milwaukee". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. January 13, 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  7. ↑ Merli, John (January 24, 2014). "News and Information For Millenials Plus". TVTechnology. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  8. ↑ Merli, John (January 24, 2014). "News and Information For Millenials Plus". TVTechnology. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Newscast has no anchors, but plenty of jobs". Chicago Sun-Times.

External links