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

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

network in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

(not to be confused with the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

broadcast system

Omni Television Omni Television (stylized as OMNI Television) is a Canadian television system and specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media, a subsidiary of Rogers Communications. It currently consists of all six of Canada's conventional multicultur ...

). 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 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 the f ...

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

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''.

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

. The network primarily ran classic films, 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 (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

and

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apo ...

s in

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

, 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 quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Founded as the F ...

. 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. Referred to as the "Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

Paul Rodgers Paul Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of numerous bands, including Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law. He has also performed as a solo artist, and coll ...

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, on Motown Records. Edwards joined the Temptations in 1968, replacing David Ruffin and sang ...

(of

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

), and Mary Wilson (of

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

), 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 ABC, MyNetworkTV, and The CW. Owned by Gray Television, the station has studios on Second Avenue Southeast in d ...

, Cedar Rapids, IA, channel 9 *

KTVF KTVF, virtual channel 11 (UHF digital channel 26), is an NBC-affiliated television station licensed to Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. Owned by Atlanta-based Gray Television, it is sister to two low-power stations: primary MeTV and secondary M ...

, Fairbanks, AK, channel 11 *

WCTI-TV WCTI-TV (channel 12) is a television station licensed to New Bern, North Carolina, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for Eastern North Carolina. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to Greenvill ...

, 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 studi ...

, Harrisburg, PA, channel 21 *

WIVT WIVT (channel 34) is a television station in Binghamton, New York, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside low-power, Class A NBC affiliate WBGH-CD (channel 20). Both stations share studios on Ingraham ...

, Binghamton, NY, channel 34 *

WKOW-TV WKOW (channel 27) is a television station in Madison, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Allen Media Broadcasting. The station's studios are located on Tokay Boulevard on Madison's west side, and its transmitter is loca ...

, 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