Free TV Networks (FTN), the new company with a portfolio of national, ad-supported over-the-air networks and FAST channels, is launching another national broadcast network called Dare that will feature unscripted series from A+E Networks.
The new network will include series such as American Pickers, Storage Wars, Pawn Stars, Alone, Swamp People, Counting Cars, and Ax Men, among others. Dare, which will debut in more than 80% of the US on July 1, marks the third broadcast network for FTN following the launches of The365 and Outlaw in January.
“We are thrilled to partner with A+E Networks and offer value-conscious consumers a differentiated and world-class reality channel delivered for free, over-the-air,” said Jonathan Katz, President & CEO, Free TV Networks. “All of Dare’s unscripted and popular programming has been proven to deliver a growing audience of scale for advertisers. With our first two networks already exceeding initial viewership and revenue expectations, Dare moves us closer to becoming the country’s leading independent owner and operator of premium, digital broadcast networks.”
Before Dare, Free TV Networks partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery and Lionsgate and Gray Television to launch The365 and Outlaw, both of which are free to consumers. The365 is focused on African American programming while Outlaw airs westerns.
Free TV Networks is capitalizing on the resurgence of over-the-air viewing, the rise of diginets, and the rapid growth in ad-supported streaming channels. Nearly one in three U.S. households – about 35 million homes – have a digital antenna, with the market projected to surpass 50 million U.S. households by 2027.