The Omni Broadcasting Network was a small over-the-air broadcast

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

network in 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 ...

. The company's motto was "Less Edge and More Entertaining". Omni's

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

station was low-power station KSSY-LP. The network's reach was reported as 50 million households, according to a quote in '' Variety''.

History

The Omni Broadcasting Network was incorporated in 2001. Its parent company, OBN Holdings, produced films as well as television. OBN's target demographic was adults age 25 and older during prime time, and ages 8 to 13 on weekend mornings. Broadcast operations began in September 2003. In December 2003, Omni announced affiliation agreements with 119 stations and cable systems, as well as the All Sports Television Network. According to an Omni executive, the network struggled to get the funding necessary for new projects. OBN Holdings' stock was delisted in 2013.

Programming

Omni broadcast 60 hours of programming per week, 21 hours during

prime time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

. The network primarily ran classic

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

s, usually during late-night hours or on the weekends. Omni also offered a few original programs. One was "Thirteen O'Clock Theater", an umbrella title for old

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

s in

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

, shown at 1 AM. The network also showed older children's programming such as '' Birdz'', (to meet FCC requirements for educational and informative programming requirements), as well as ''The MovieTime Showcase'', ''The Flutemaster'', ''The Mini-Movie Hour'', and ''Wizards Tales''. The network also broadcast the 50th Anniversary concert of the

Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1953 as the Four Aims. They were one of the most commercially successful American pop music groups of the 1960s and helped propel Motown Records to international fame. The ...

. This was the network's first original production, taped July 28, 2004, Titled ''From the Heart: The Four Tops 50th Anniversary and Celebration'', the special aired in 2005, and starred musicians

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

Paul Rodgers Paul Bernard Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is an English-Canadian singer. He was the lead vocalist of numerous successful rock bands, including Free (band), Free, Bad Company, The Firm (rock band), the Firm and The Law (English band), the L ...

Dennis Edwards Dennis Edwards Jr. (February 3, 1943 – February 1, 2018) was an American soul and R&B singer who was best known as the frontman in The Temptations for Motown Records. Edwards joined the Temptations in 1968, replacing David Ruffin and sang w ...

(of

The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

), and Mary Wilson (of

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

), in addition to the Four Tops themselves. The special won the network a Telly Award. Other original programs included ''The Vegas Variety Hour'' and ''The Adventures of Unit 28''.

Former affiliates

The following were signed or pending OBN affiliates in December 2003: Additionally, the following major network stations aired OBN's ''From the Heart: The Four Tops 50th Anniversary and Celebration'' special: *

KCRG-TV KCRG-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States, serving Eastern Iowa as an affiliate of American Broadcasting Company, ABC, MyNetworkTV, and The CW. Owned by Gray Media, the station has studios on Seco ...

, Cedar Rapids, IA, channel 9 * KTVF, Fairbanks, AK, channel 11 * WCTI-TV, Greenville, NC, channel 12 *

WHP-TV WHP-TV (channel 21) is a television station licensed to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States, serving the Susquehanna Valley region as an affiliate of CBS, MyNetworkTV, and The CW. Owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station has studios ...

, Harrisburg, PA, channel 21 * WIVT, Binghamton, NY, channel 34 * WKOW-TV, Madison, WI, channel 27

References

External links

Omni Website
(Website archived)

{{Broadcast Television Television networks in the United States Defunct television networks in the United States Television channels and stations established in 2003 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2013