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TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows. The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that focused on crime-themed programs such as true crime documentary series, legal dramas, and coverage of prominent criminal cases. The channel was initially a joint venture between Time Warner, American Lawyer Media, Cablevision, and NBC, with Liberty Media later joining the venture as well. By 2005, Liberty Media and Time Warner had purchased ALM, Cablevision and NBC's stakes in Court TV. Time Warner subsequently bought out Liberty's share in 2006 for $735 million, and brought the channel under its Turner Broadcasting subsidiary. In 2008, the channel relaunched as TruTV, changing its focus to action-oriented docusoaps and "caught on camera" programs, which it marketed as "actuality" television. The channel continued to carry legal coverage during the daytime hours under the title ''In Session'', but this was phased out by September 2013. In 2011, the channel began to add occasional sports broadcasts from Turner Sports, primarily the NCAA men's basketball tournament. In October 2014, TruTV pivoted its format to focus more on comedy-based reality series, such as '' Impractical Jokers''. As of January 2016, TruTV is available to approximately 91 million households (78.1%) in the United States.


History


Court TV

The Courtroom Television Network, or Court TV for short, was launched on July 1, 1991, at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and was available to three million subscribers. Its original anchors were Jack Ford, Fred Graham,
Cynthia McFadden Cynthia McFadden (born May 27, 1956) is an American television journalist who is currently the senior legal and investigative correspondent for NBC News. She was an anchor and correspondent for ABC News who co-anchored ''Nightline'', and occasion ...
, and
Gregg Jarrett Gregory Walter Jarrett (born April 7, 1955) is an American conservative news commentator, author and attorney. He joined Fox News in November 2002, after working at local NBC and ABC TV stations for over ten years, as well as national networks ...
. The network was born out of two competing projects to launch cable channels with live courtroom proceedings, the American Trial Network from Time Warner and American Lawyer Media (ALM), and In Court from Cablevision and NBC. Both projects were present at the National Cable Television Association in June 1990. Rather than trying to establish two competing networks, the projects were combined on December 14, 1990. Liberty Media would join the venture in 1991. The channel originally consisted of live courtroom trials that are interspersed with anchors and reporters. It was led by law writer Steven Brill, who later left the network in 1997. The network came into its own during the
Menendez brothers Joseph Lyle Menendez (born January 10, 1968) and Erik Galen Menendez (born November 27, 1970) are American brothers who were convicted in 1996 for the murders of their parents, José and Mary Louise ("Kitty") Menéndez. During the trial, the Me ...
' first trial in 1994, and the O.J. Simpson murder trial in 1995. In 1997, Time Warner acquired ALM to gain ownership of its stake in Court TV; it subsequently sold its publications to a private equity fund in 1998. In 1998, NBC sold its share of the network to Time Warner. That same year, Court TV began running several original and acquired programs in prime time, such as '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', '' Cops'', and '' Forensic Files''. In 2001, Court TV purchased
The Smoking Gun The Smoking Gun is a website that posts legal documents, arrest records, and police mugshots on a daily basis. The intent is to bring to the public light information that is somewhat obscure or unreported by more mainstream media sources. Mos ...
, a website that focuses on legal items such as mug shots and other public documents pertaining to famous individuals and cases. The site remained a property of the company through the rebranding to TruTV, but was sold back to its founder in 2014. In the same year, Court TV also purchased the website
Crime Library Crime Library was a website documenting major crimes, criminals, trials, forensics, and criminal profiling from books. It was founded in 1998 and was most recently owned by truTV, a cable TV network that is part of Time Warner's Turner Broa ...
, which provided detailed information about infamous crimes and how they were solved. The website remained an actively updated TruTV property until 2014 and was taken offline in 2015. On February 3, 2003, "Court TV Plus" debuted on Sirius Satellite Radio, featuring audio from Court TV programs. Launched on Channel 134, it was moved in September 2005 and aired on Channel 110 until the channel ceased operations on January 1, 2008. Recognizing the growth of its primetime programming, Court TV announced in 2005 that it would split its programming into two brands. Daytime trial coverage was branded as ''Court TV News'', while other dayparts—promoted under the tagline "Seriously Entertaining"—focused on reality shows dealing with crime-related topics. In January 2006, the network launched a male-targeted programming block known as "RED" ("Real. Exciting. Dramatic."). In May 2006, Time Warner acquired Liberty Media's stake in Court TV for $735 million, valuing the channel at $1.5 billion. The channel was integrated into Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting unit; executives indicated that Court TV planned to maintain its existing format, and did not rule out creating synergies with CNN for their legal coverage. In 2007, the channel premiered its first original scripted series, '' 'Til Death Do Us Part''—an anthology of crime re-enactments hosted by filmmaker John Waters.


TruTV

On July 11, 2007, Time Warner announced that Court TV would be relaunched as TruTV on January 1, 2008. The new brand was intended to accompany a larger shift towards action-oriented reality series which did not necessarily involve crime or law enforcement, such as '' Black Gold'', '' Hardcore Pawn'', '' Lizard Lick Towing'', '' Ocean Force'', and the caught-on-camera series '' World's Dumbest''. TruTV promoted its new positioning under the slogan "Not Reality. Actuality."; network staff argued that the term "reality" had become associated with "unrealistic" programming, and that it wanted to emphasize that its new programs would feature "real" people. As part of the re-branding as TruTV, daytime trial coverage was cut back to 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET and branded as ''In Session.'' In 2009, production of the program was shifted to the facilities of HLN in Atlanta. On March 4, 2013, ''In Session'' was cut to a two-hour, taped format. On September 30, 2013, ''In Session'' was cancelled, and replaced by a block of library programming under the title ''In Session Presents''. In 2011, as part of a new partnership between CBS Sports and Turner Sports, TruTV began to broadcast
coverage Coverage may refer to: Filmmaking * Coverage (lens), the size of the image a lens can produce * Camera coverage, the amount of footage shot and different camera setups used in filming a scene * Script coverage, a short summary of a script, writ ...
of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. Reruns of Court TV series have since aired on HLN (primarily '' Forensic Files''), and have also been syndicated to the over-the-air digital network Justice Network. With changes to HLN's programming strategy and the growing popularity of the genre, the network began to produce and premiere more original true crime programs in 2017. In December 2018, Turner sold the rights to the Court TV brand and programming library to Scripps Media subsidiary Katz Broadcasting, which relaunched it as an over-the-air digital network in May 2019, reviving the dormant brand after 11 years.


Shift to comedy

Although noting that it had experienced "tremendous success" with individual programs, TruTV's new president and head of programming Chris Linn explained that the network's overall growth as a brand had been hindered due to its lingering association with Court TV and its tone of programming, and its reliance on "conflict-reliant, heavy, dramatic and maybe overly produced" docuseries with derivative premises. In April 2014, the network announced that it would undergo a brand repositioning for the 2014–15 television season aimed towards "funseekers", with a focus on comedy-oriented docusoaps, semi- scripted series, sketch comedies and reality competitions. Building upon the success of '' Impractical Jokers'' (which Linn compared to a " canary in the coal mine" due to its contrasting premise to other truTV programs at the time) and ''
The Carbonaro Effect ''The Carbonaro Effect'' is an American hidden camera practical joke reality television series hosted by magician and prankster Michael Carbonaro, who performs tricks on people caught on hidden camera. It debuted on April 1, 2014, and is current ...
'', the network greenlit a number of new series as part of the re-launch, including ''Barmageddon'', the "reality musical" ''
Branson Famous ''Branson Famous'' is an American reality series that premiered on truTV on December 29, 2014 as part of the network's latest programming revamp. It was billed as the first ever "reality musical" show. Synopsis ''Branson Famous'' followed the M ...
'', '' Fake Off'', '' Hack My Life'', and ''Kart Life''. As part of the re-launch, a new branding campaign ("Way More Fun") and refreshed logo (temporarily branding the network as ''The New truTV'') were introduced on-air on October 27, 2014; the branding is meant to portray the network in a lighter manner. Since the repositioning, TruTV has also parodied its temporary prominence during the NCAA tournament with various advertising campaigns, seeking to promote the channel and its programming to the expanded audience. A common theme of these campaigns, which have included the 2015 social media campaign "#HaveUFoundtrutv", and a "truTV Awareness Month" campaign in 2018, involve commenting upon viewers who were unaware of the channel, or are trying to locate it on their local lineups. Of the former, Puja Vohra, Senior vice president of marketing and digital, explained that the campaign was intended to portray the network's brand as being "fun" and "self-aware". In December 2016, truTV unveiled a new marketing campaign and slogan, "Funny Because It's tru". The campaign reinforced the network's focus on comedy by parodying the "cliches" of network television promos. On March 4, 2019, AT&T announced a major reorganization of its broadcasting assets to effectively dissolve Turner Broadcasting. Its assets were dispersed across multiple units of WarnerMedia with TruTV along with TBS, TNT and HBO moving to newly formed WarnerMedia Entertainment.


High definition

The
1080i 1080i (also known as Full HD or BT.709) is a combination of frame resolution and scan type. 1080i is used in high-definition television (HDTV) and high-definition video. The number "1080" refers to the number of horizontal lines on the scree ...
high definition simulcast feed of TruTV is available on all major cable and satellite providers. In March 2011, the channel saw carriage of its HD feed increase, due to its coverage of the 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament (and subsequent tournaments), which was its first ever live sports telecast.


Programming

Presently, TruTV airs a mix of original comedy-genre reality and lifestyle series (such as '' Impractical Jokers'', ''
The Carbonaro Effect ''The Carbonaro Effect'' is an American hidden camera practical joke reality television series hosted by magician and prankster Michael Carbonaro, who performs tricks on people caught on hidden camera. It debuted on April 1, 2014, and is current ...
'', and '' Adam Ruins Everything''), as well as acquired sitcoms and films.


Sports programming

On February 8, 2010, TruTV premiered ''NFL Full Contact'', a show that gave a behind-the-scenes look at the television production for major football events such as the Super Bowl, the NFL Draft, the Pro Bowl, and the season opener; the show was not renewed for a second season. On March 15, 2011, TruTV began airing live sports programming for the first time with its telecasts of the 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The agreement is part of a contract between Turner Sports and CBS Sports resulting in shared coverage of the NCAA Tournament through 2032. TruTV features games up until the First round (truTV would only air 1 game in the second round in place of CBS due to its airing of 60 Minutes), and is the exclusive broadcaster of the tournament's " First Four" play-in games (except for 2020 which that was shared with TBS) (first introduced in tandem with the new contract). TruTV broadcasts the studio show ''Inside March Madness''. Until its discontinuation, TruTV also aired the pre-season
Coaches vs. Cancer Classic The Coaches vs. Cancer Classic was an annual college basketball tournament event benefiting cancer research held from 2012 to 2014. The event was held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and televised by truTV. The tournament replace ...
. In May 2016, TruTV broadcast the opening rounds of the inaugural NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship; Turner would also televise the event in 2017. In 2015, TruTV carried a series of HBO-produced Top Rank boxing telecasts under the title '' MetroPCS Friday Night Knockout'', as a companion to ''
HBO World Championship Boxing ''HBO World Championship Boxing'' (in later years stylized in its title card as ''HBO Boxing – World Championship'') was an American sports television series on premium television network HBO. It premiered on January 22, 1973 with a fight that s ...
''. In 2021, TruTV began to serve as an overflow outlet for the '' NHL on TNT'', in the event that a game in a TNT doubleheader runs long.


As Court TV

As Court TV, the channel's programming traditionally consisted of reality legal programming and legal dramas, such as legal-based news shows, legal-based talk shows, live homicide trial coverage, court shows, police force shows, and other criminal justice programming. The channel also carried a week-daily news block, ''In Session'' (the successor to ''Court TV News''), which provided live coverage of trials, legal news and details of highly publicized crimes Monday through Fridays from 9 to 11 a.m. ET (except during national holidays, with reruns of the channel's reality programming airing in place of the block on such days). Its coverage included analysis from anchors and guests to help viewers understand legal proceedings. ''In Session'' also ran a blog, ''Sidebar,'' where the ''In Session'' team posted updated legal news and analysis. ''In Session'' moved to a new studio in Atlanta at the CNN Center on November 16, 2009. Online coverage of current trials later moved to CNN.com's "Crime" section and production of the block was eventually taken over by sister network HLN. ''In Session'' anchors also appeared on CNN to provide legal analysis about current crime stories and trials. ''In Session'' ended its run on September 26, 2013.


International


Canada

Court TV Canada, owned by CHUM Limited (and later acquired by CTVglobemedia which then sold its assets to Bell Canada under the Bell Media subsidiary), launched on September 7, 2001. Unlike its U.S. counterpart, it did not relaunch under the TruTV name and continued its previous format until August 30, 2010, when, as part of a wider licensing agreement with Discovery Communications and
CTV CTV may refer to: Television * Connected TV, or Smart TV, a TV set with integrated internet North America and South America * CTV Television Network, a Canadian television network owned by Bell Media ** CTV 2, a secondary Canadian televisio ...
, Court TV Canada was rebranded as a Canadian version of Investigation Discovery. The U.S. version of Court TV had earlier been approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission as an eligible foreign channel in 1997, and indeed, had been carried by several Canadian service providers prior to the launch of the domestic service. Even after its rebrand, TruTV was never withdrawn as an eligible foreign service for carriage on cable and satellite, meaning that, particularly with the end of the licensing agreement with CHUM, there were few theoretical hurdles that prevented TruTV from re-emerging on Canadian service providers. Ultimately, the rights to TruTV's original programs have been dispersed across other Canadian cable channels, particularly CMT and Action, both owned by
Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Ont ...
, and OLN, owned by Rogers Media. Of the three networks, Action had been the predominant broadcaster of TruTV programming. On April 1, 2019, Action was converted to a new full-time
Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
network.


Latin America

The channel was launched on April 1, 2009, in Latin America replacing Retro, also owned by Turner Broadcasting System. The announcement was made on March 25, 2009, by Turner Broadcasting System Latin America. The channel has the same programming, idents, and bumpers from the U.S. version.


UK and Ireland

In May 2014, Turner Broadcasting System announced that it would launch a separate UK version of the U.S. channel. On February 16, 2017, Sony Pictures Television acquired the channel from Turner. On February 12, 2019, the UK channel was renamed True Crime.


Asia

The channel was launched on April 1, 2010, in several markets in Asia including
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...
, the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
, and Singapore. The channel is owned and operated by
Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific Warner Bros. Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery that operates several television channels in Asia and Australasia, along with the Discovery+ streaming service. In April 2022, WarnerMedia Entertainment Netwo ...
and has similar programming, idents, and bumpers to the U.S. version, but many are also created by the Turner regional office in Hong Kong.


See also

* TBS (sister network also with a focus on comedy programming) * Comedy Central (direct competitor owned by Paramount Global) * Freeform (owned by
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on Octobe ...
)


References


External links

* {{Sports television in the United States Television networks in the United States Warner Bros. Discovery networks Television channels and stations established in 2008 English-language television stations in the United States 2008 establishments in the United States Comedy television networks Former General Electric subsidiaries Former Liberty Media subsidiaries