The following are lists of changes to American television networks, including changes of station affiliations, that occurred in 2018.
Networks and services
Network launches NetworkTypeLaunch dateNotesSourceQuestOver-the-air multicastJanuary 29A partnership of Tegna, Inc. and Cooper Media, Quest offers factual programming concerning science, nature, engineering, and history, mainly from programming formerly seen on Discovery Channel and History. The network initially launched primarily on subchannels of stations owned and/or operated by Tegna, Univision Communications and Entravision Communications."Tegna, Cooper Media To Launch Quest Diginet," from TVNewscheck, 11/7/2017ESPN+Over-the-top streaming serviceApril 12A subscription add-on service which includes sports-based original talk shows and documentaries, combat sports, college sports (including exclusive coverage of Ivy League events), cricket, rugby union, soccer (including out-of-market Major League Soccer matches), and tennis, with NHL and MLB games offered as add-ons.Start TVOver-the-air multicastSeptember 3Owned by Weigel Broadcasting and announced on July 18, Start TV will offer a mix of female-led police and legal procedural dramas (with an initial schedule that includes The Closer, The Good Wife, Medium, Crossing Jordan, Cold Case and Profiler). The network will initially launch primarily on subchannels of stations owned by CBS Television Stations serving as the launch group, displacing Weigel/CBS's three-year-old sister network Decades. Bahakel Communications and Weigel (the latter of which will assume the affiliation rights to Decades displaced by the Start TV launch on stations it owns in certain CBS/CW O&O markets, including Los Angeles and Chicago) will also contribute stations to serve as charter affiliates.DC UniverseOver-the-top streaming serviceSeptember 15Announced in April 2017, DC Universe features a broad array of original programming as well as older DC live-action and animated films and animated series, a rotating selection of comics, forum discussion space, a merchandise store, and a DC encyclopedia.CBN News ChannelOver-the-air multicast/OTT streamingOctober 1Owned by the Christian Broadcasting Network, the 24-hour news channel – which marks the return of CBN to broadcast television ownership since it sold its last independent station, KXTX-TV/Dallas–Fort Worth, in 2000, and its first network venture since it sold the cable-originated CBN Family Channel (now Freeform) to International Family Entertainment in 1990 – debuted as a subchannel service available on full-power and low-power television stations in 15 U.S. cities (on stations owned by Nexstar Media Group and HC2 Holdings) as well as through a live stream on a dedicated website and the CBN News app. CBN News Channel's programming will consist of original produced news, lifestyle and entertainment content and commentary.Spectrum News 1 networksRegional cableOctober 28 ; November 7 ; November 16 ; November 28 In an August 18 article in the Los Angeles Times, Charter Communications disclosed it is launching a 24-hour regional news channel serving the Los Angeles area in November. The El Segundo-based channel's format will rely less on crime and police pursuits commonly found on broadcast stations in the Los Angeles area, and include a focus on long-form stories (including documentaries or investigative reports) and community issues and events typically not focused upon on other local television news outlets in the market, along with national and business news stories contributed by the flagship of Spectrum News, NY1, and a Washington bureau. Charter has hired about 125 employees for the planned channel. Additional new regional news networks for Spectrum's clusters in Wisconsin, Ohio, and an upgrade of Spectrum News Kentucky (the former cn|2; that network relaunched October 28) have also launched under the same model.
Network conversions and rebrandings Old network nameNew network nameTypeConversion dateNotesSourceSpikeParamount NetworkCable and satelliteJanuary 18Spike relaunched as the Paramount Network on January 18, with the new identity being formally introduced with a special live episode of Lip Sync Battle that evening. Announced by Viacom in February 2017 as part of a corporate restructuring plan initiated by Viacom CEO Bob Bakish to refocus most of its media assets around six flagship brands (with MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, the Nick Jr. Channel and BET as the other associated brands), the change realigns the general entertainment cable channel to be more closely associated with sister film studio Paramount Pictures. Paramount Network will maintain some of the former Spike's existing programming including original series (such as Lip Sync Battle, Ink Master and Bar Rescue) and feature films, along with newer original programs (including the family drama Yellowstone; a television version of the dark comedy Heathers was shelved for several months after low critical acclaim for pre-screened episodes, the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, and the company's concern for its dark mature content, before being re-edited and trimmed for a week-long unspooling in late October).NewsChannel 8WJLA 24/7 NewsRegional cable (D.C.-Maryland-Virginia)July 24Occurring on the fourth anniversary of the FCC's approval of its purchase of founding parent Allbritton Communications, Sinclair Broadcast Group rebrands its Washington, D.C.-based regional cable news channel to highlight its shared resources with ABC affiliate WJLA-TV (which founded the channel under Allbritton ownership in October 1991). As part of the rebrand, the channel moves towards a Bloomberg Television/CP24-esque presentation of a smaller video picture augmented by continuous graphical weather, news and traffic information below it and to the right.VelocityMotor TrendCable and satelliteNovember 23Discovery, Inc. re-brands their automotive interest network Velocity (which launched in 2002 as Discovery HD Theater, an early high definition demonstration network and re-branded as Velocity in 2011 as most cable networks had associated HD simulcasts) as Motor Trend, using the title and goodwill of Motor Trend magazine, with little change in on-air programming outside of more Motor Trend-branded programming. Discovery and Motor Trend owner Source Interlink launched a joint venture called Motor Trend Group in 2017, allowing the rebranding.
Network closures NetworkTypeEnd dateNotesSourceSpectrum DeportesRegional cable (Southern California) and DirecTV (National)August 15Charter Communications closes the Spanish-language version of Spectrum SportsNet in the Los Angeles market after almost six years of service, due to low ratings and revenue. Spanish-language play-by-play audio will remain available on the main Spectrum SportsNet channel via the second audio program option.DramaFeverOTT streaming/digital contentOctober 16Founded in 2009, the multi–platform service, which provided a lineup of over 13,000 episodes from 60 content partners across 12 countries consisting of K-dramas, Asian TV shows and movies, and Latin American telenovelas, immediately shut down operations (and about 20% of the unit's 110 employees pink-slipped), which comes just two years after it was acquired by Warner Bros. from Japan's SoftBank Group and has operated as a unit of Warner Bros. Digital Networks, which has touted the streaming infrastructure and expertise it obtained through the acquisition. The shutdown also comes in the wake of AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner and the formation of WarnerMedia. CEO John Stankey said the company would launch a broad subscription-streaming entertainment service anchored by HBO that would pull in content from other parts of Time Warner. Another factor was licensing costs for U.S. distribution commanded by top K-dramas have rapidly increased in recent years, as well as competitive bids by Netflix and Amazon made it unsustainable, as licensing shows that used to cost $800,000 now goes for around $1 million. On its website, statement reads "Thank you for nine great years. As of October 16, 2018 DramaFever has been shut down... While this decision is difficult, there are a variety of business reasons that have led to this conclusion... We'll be issuing refunds as applicable, and subscribers will receive an email from us with details in the coming days.""Warner Bros.' DramaFever Korean-Drama Streaming Service Is Shutting Down" from Variety (October 16, 2018)
Television stations
Station launches
DateMarketStationChannelAffiliationSource January 1 Bowling Green, Kentucky WNKY-DT3 40.3 MeTV January 24 Ottumwa, Iowa KYOU-DT4 15.4 Escape January 29 Little Rock, Arkansas KTHV-DT4 11.4 Quest Mesa, Arizona KPNX-DT4 12.4 Bakersfield, California KUVI-DT2 45.2 Los Angeles, California KMEX-DT5 34.5 Sacramento, California KXTV-DT4 10.4 Denver, Colorado KUSA-DT5 9.5 Hollywood, Florida WAMI-DT5 69.5 Melbourne, Florida WVEN-DT5 43.5 Orange Park WJXX-DT3 25.3 Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida WTSP-DT4 10.4 Atlanta, Georgia WXIA-DT4 11.4 Boise, Idaho KTVB-DT4 7.4 Portland, Maine WCSH-DT4 6.4 Grand Rapids, Michigan WZZM-DT4 13.4 Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota KARE-DT4 11.4 St. Louis, Missouri KSDK-DT4 5.4 Albuquerque/Santa Fe, New Mexico KLUZ-DT2 14.2 Buffalo, New York WGRZ-DT4 2.4 Charlotte, North Carolina WCNC-DT4 36.4 Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, North Carolina WFMY-DT4 2.4 Cleveland, Ohio WKYC-DT4 3.4 Portland, Oregon KGW-DT4 8.4 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania WFPA-CD3 28.3 Columbia, South Carolina WLTX-DT4 19.4 Knoxville, Tennessee WBIR-DT4 10.4 Austin, Texas KVUE-DT4 24.4 Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas WFAA-DT4 8.4 Houston, Texas KHOU-DT4 11.4 San Antonio, Texas KENS-DT4 5.4 Wolfforth/Lubbock, Texas KLCW-DT4 22.4 Hampton/Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia WVEC-DT4 13.4 Seattle, Washington KING-DT3 5.3 Spokane, Washington KSKN-DT3 22.3 March 8 Milwaukee, Wisconsin WTMJ-DT4 4.4 Grit April 2 Portland, Maine WPXT 51.4 Escape 51.5 Laff May 28 Baytown, Texas KUBE-DT7 57.7 This TV July 11 Detroit, Michigan WKBD-DT2 50.2 Comet WKBD-DT3 50.3 Charge!August 1 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania WPSG-DT2 57.2 Charge! WPSG-DT3 57.3 Comet August 3 Pittsburg, Kansas KFJX-DT2 14.2 The CW August 6 Jackson, Tennessee WNBJ-LD2 39.2 September 1 Jonesboro, Arkansas KAIT-DT3 8.3 Reno, Nevada KOLO-DT3 8.3 Milwaukee, Wisconsin WYTU-LD3 63.3 Movies! September 3 Bellingham, Washington KVOS-DT5 12.5 Start TV Cedar City, Utah (Salt Lake City) KCSG-DT3 8.3 Charlotte, North Carolina WCCB-DT5 18.5 Chicago, Illinois WCIU-DT6 26.6 Columbia, South Carolina WOLO-DT5 25.5 Start TV Los Angeles, California KAZA-DT2 54.2 Decades Philadelphia, Pennsylvania KJWP-DT6 2.6 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania WOSC-CD5 61.5 Rockford, Illinois WFBN-LD3 35.3 Start TV St. Louis, Missouri KNLC-DT6 24.6 Seattle–Tacoma, Washington KFFV-DT4 44.4 Decades October 1 Lubbock, Texas KAMC-DT4 28.4 CBN News Channel Norfolk, Virginia WAVY-DT4 10.4 North Platte, Nebraska KIIT-CD2 11.2 The CW Oklahoma City, Oklahoma KSBI-DT2 52.2 Bounce TV KSBI-DT3 52.3 Laff KSBI-DT4 52.4 Grit KSBI-DT5 52.5 Escape Springfield, Missouri KOLR-DT4 10.4 CBN News Channel Texarkana, Texas KTAL-DT4 6.4October 22 Charleston, South Carolina WGWG-DT3 34.3 Antenna TV Dalton, Georgia WDGA-CD2 43.2 October 31 Des Moines, Iowa KRPG-LD 43.1 Azteca America November 12 Green Bay, Wisconsin WBAY-DT4 2.4 Start TV Wausau, Wisconsin WZAW-LD4 33.4 Laff WZAW-LD5 33.5 StadiumDecember 15 San Francisco, California KBCW-DT3 44.3 MeTV KBCW-DT4 44.4 TBD December 22 Detroit, Michigan WKBD-DT4 50.4 TBD Notes
Stations changing network affiliation
Major affiliation changes