Defy (also known by its original name Defy TV) is an American digital multicast television network owned by Free TV Networks in partnership with

A&E Networks A&E Television Networks, LLC, doing business as A+E Global Media (formerly A+E Networks) is an American multinational broadcasting company owned and operated as a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company th ...

, airing primarily reality shows from the latter company, having launched on July 1, 2021, with broadcast coverage of 64% of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

History

On March 2, 2021, Scripps announced that it would launch two new multicast networks—Defy and TrueReal—in the wake of its acquisition of

Ion Media Ion Media, LLC (formerly known as Paxson Communications Corporation and Ion Media Networks) is a subsidiary of the E.W. Scripps Company that operates the linear broadcast networks Ion Television, Ion Mystery, and Ion Plus. Prior to its acquis ...

and television transmitters shutting

Qubo Qubo ( ; stylized as qubo) was an American television network for children between the ages of 5 and 14. Owned by Ion Media, it consisted of a 24-hour free-to-air television network often mentioned as the "Qubo channel" (available as a digital ...

and Ion Plus down across the United States. The channels are part of Scripps's strategy to increase perception among cord cutters that do not have traditional pay TV packages. The services launched on July 1, 2021 with 92% national coverage, mostly on Ion transmitters but also on subchannels of some Scripps local TV stations and by agreement with other station groups. On March 10, 2023, Scripps announced that TrueReal would shut down on March 27, 2023, merging its programming into Defy TV. On June 17, 2024, Scripps quietly announced on Defy's social media platforms that a refreshed version of Ion Plus would return on Defy TV's channel space on July 1, 2024. The A&E programming library would move to a new over-the-air digital network, Dare, owned by the Free TV Networks joint venture. Shortly before the network's launch on July 1, 2024, Free TV Networks acquired the rights to the Defy branding from Scripps Networks and launched a new version of the network at 6:00 a.m. ET the same day, nixing its plan to launch under the originally announced Dare name. The "TV" portion of the original Defy name was removed prior to its immediate relaunch.

Programming

The network's schedule is mainly made up of repeats of unscripted shows from the library of

(mainly A&E and History channels), including reality programs: '' Swamp People'', '' American Pickers'', '' Ax Men'', '' Counting Cars'', '' UFO Hunters'', '' Forged in Fire'' and '' Pawn Stars''.

References

External links

* {{American broadcast television (English) A&E Networks Television networks in the United States Men's interest channels Women's interest channels Television channels and stations established in 2021 Defy TV E. W. Scripps Company