Originally airing as Pax TV, then Independent Television for a short time later, Ion Television is an American television network that broadcasts on cable, satellite and digital TV. Founded by Lowell Paxson, who is also co-founder of the Home Shopping Network, and owned by Ion Media Networks, the original broadcast schedule as Pax TV consisted mainly of family-oriented programming, because Paxson felt other networks aired programs that were not family-friendly enough.
Under the Independent Television moniker, the network changed its programing to primarily include television reruns of select series from the 1960s -1990s, and also replaced the programing aired overnight that was provided by The Worship Network with infomercials. Due to the excessive amount of promotional and marketing programing that Independent Television was airing, DirecTV threatened to pull out of its agreement, citing that the network was not delivering the family-oriented line up it had promised. However, shortly thereafter, a new agreement between the satellite provider and Ion Media Networks was established.
The network became Ion Television on January 29, 2007, and as of 2013, Ion Television is available to nearly 101,370,000 viewers through cable and satellite distribution, as well as its more than 60 stations. In September 2008, the network rebranded itself and launched its new logo, which included a positive ion symbol next to its Ion lettering. The network currently focuses on the 18-49 demographic, providing general entertainment from 9:00 am to 3:00 am Eastern and Pacific Time, with paid programming content during the remaining six hours.
