Omni Broadcasting Network
 | |
| Type | Broadcast television network |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | OBN Holdings |
| History | |
| Launched | 2003 |
| Closed | 2013 |
| Links | |
| Website | www.obn-tv.com (Website is no longer online) |
The Omni Broadcasting Network was a small over-the-air broadcast television network in the United States. The company's motto was "Less Edge and More Entertaining". Omni's flagship station was low-power station KSSY-LP.[1] The network's reach was reported as 50 million households, according to a quote in Variety.[2]
History
[edit]The Omni Broadcasting Network was incorporated in 2001.[3] Its parent company, OBN Holdings,[4] produced films as well as television.[5] OBN's target demographic was adults age 25 and older during prime time, and ages 8 to 13 on weekend mornings.[1]
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.[1]
According to an Omni executive, the network struggled to get the funding necessary for new projects.[6] OBN Holdings' stock was delisted in 2013.[7]
Programming
[edit]Omni broadcast 60 hours of programming per week, 21 hours during prime time.[8] 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 and horror films in public domain, shown at 1 AM. The network also showed older children's programming such as Birdz,[9] (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.[1]
The network also broadcast the 50th Anniversary concert of the Four Tops.[6] This was the network's first original production, taped July 28, 2004,[2] Titled From the Heart: The Four Tops 50th Anniversary and Celebration, the special aired in 2005,[10] and starred musicians Aretha Franklin, Paul Rodgers, Dennis Edwards (of The Temptations), and Mary Wilson (of The Supremes), in addition to the Four Tops themselves.[11] The special won the network a Telly Award.[12]
Other original programs included The Vegas Variety Hour and The Adventures of Unit 28.[13]
Former affiliates
[edit]The following were signed or pending OBN affiliates in December 2003:[1]
Additionally, the following major network stations aired OBN's From the Heart: The Four Tops 50th Anniversary and Celebration special:
- KCRG-TV, Cedar Rapids, IA, channel 9[14]
- KTVF, Fairbanks, AK, channel 11[15]
- WCTI-TV, Greenville, NC, channel 12[16]
- WHP-TV, Harrisburg, PA, channel 21[17]
- WIVT, Binghamton, NY, channel 34[18]
- WKOW-TV, Madison, WI, channel 27[19]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "Registration Statement - OBN Holdings". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 2003.
- ^ a b Chaney, Lindsay (2004-07-18). "Four Tops concert an Omni 1st". Variety. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ "OMNI Broadcasting Network, Inc.:: Delaware (US) :: OpenCorporates". opencorporates.com. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ "OBN Homepage". Archived from the original on 2004-03-21. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ "Bloomberg - OBN Holdings Inc". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ a b Ghaffari, Elizabeth (2012-01-15). Women Leaders at Work: Untold Tales of Women Achieving Their Ambitions. Apress. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-4302-3730-3.
- ^ "In the Matter of Largo Vista Group, Ltd., Montavo, Inc., OBN Holdings, Inc., PrepaYd, Inc., Ready Welder Corp., and Snowdon Resources Corp.; Order of Suspension of Trading". Federal Register. 2013-01-29. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ "Omni Broadcast Schedule". Archived from the original on 2007-08-11. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ "Kids TV". 2007-08-28. Archived from the original on 2007-08-28. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ "Fairbanks Daily News Miner Archives, Jul 24, 2005, p. 86". 2005-07-24. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ "From the Heart: The Four Tops 50th Anniversary & Celebration (TV Special 2005)". IMDb. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
- ^ "The Telly Awards - 2005". Telly Awards. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ Inc, OBN Holdings (2004-05-25). "OBN Holdings, Inc. Begins Trading with symbol OBNH". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). Retrieved 2021-07-01.
{{cite press release}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "Untitled". Cedar Rapids Gazette. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Jun 4, 2005. p. 70.
- ^ "Sunday". Fairbanks Daily News Miner. Fairbanks, Alaska. Jun 12, 2005. p. 66.
- ^ "Sunday Daytime". Kinston Free Press. Kinston, North Carolina. May 8, 2005. p. 46.
- ^ "Daytime". Gettysburg Times. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. May 7, 2005. p. 7.
- ^ "TV Week". Towanda Daily Review. Towanda, Pennsylvania. May 15, 2005. p. 81.
- ^ "Afternoon". Janesville Gazette. Janesville, Wisconsin. May 21, 2005. p. 31.
External links
[edit]- Omni Website (Website archived)
- Information on Omni Holdings