Court TV Sets May 8 Launch Date, Unveils Programming Plans

Live Coverage of America's Most Fascinating Trials All Day

Closing Arguments with Vinnie Politan Anchors Primetime

News provided by

Apr 15, 2019, 11:47 ET

ATLANTA, April 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Katz Networks (part of The E.W. Scripps Company -NASDAQ: SSP) today announced that the new Court TV will premiere across all platforms on Wednesday, May 8 at 9:00 a.m./EDT. The company also revealed the programming schedule for the iconic brand's unprecedented return and launched the new courtv.com today.

The Court TV weekday schedule will kick-off daily at 9:00 a.m. EDT with live, gavel-to-gavel coverage of the most important and compelling trials being conducted across America. Yodit Tewolde has the morning shift at the Court TV news desk, anchoring trial coverage from 9:00 a.m. – 12 Noon. Julie Grant hosts from Noon – 3:00 p.m. then Seema Iyer takes the chair from 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. (All times Eastern.) The team is comprised of seasoned journalists and lawyers who have successfully blended television and legal careers. The first trial the network will be covering will be announced shortly.

When the court recesses for the day, the pillar of the network's primetime will be Closing Arguments with Vinnie Politan, weeknights from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. ET. A lawyer and former prosecutor who became an EMMY® Award-winning legal journalist, Politan is Court TV's lead anchor. He'll host the nightly show, leading viewers through the key events and moments of the legal day, joined by Court TV's team of anchors, legal correspondents and veteran crime and justice journalists, along with the country's brightest attorneys, most experienced investigators and experts who will provide legal insights, opinion, discussion and debate.

"What SportsCenter is to sports, Closing Arguments will be to the legal world," commented Politan. "Viewers will get nightly highlights of the trial we're covering, plus we'll also tick through news from the other major true crime stories of the day. After our great, all-day trial coverage, it'll be must-see viewing for those who want to keep up with everything happening in our nation's legal system and courtrooms."

In addition to the network's all-star anchor team, Court TV's team of accomplished legal correspondents and reporters includes Chanley Painter, Ted Rowlands and Julia Jenaé. Overseeing Court TV programming are vice presidents and managing editors John Alleva and Scott Tufts, who have a combined 40 years of experience producing trials for Court TV and CNN and who wrote the book how to produce trials on television.

For nearly two decades, Court TV brought high-profile courtroom dramas into American living rooms. Continuing that legacy, the new Court TV will run 24 hours a day, seven days a week and will be carried on cable, satellite, over-the-air and over-the-top. Court TV already has agreements with local TV station group owners for Court TV to reach more than 50 percent of U.S. television households at launch through over-the-air broadcast, with concurrent cable carriage reaching 25 percent of U.S. cable homes. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Miami, Washington and Detroit are among the major markets in which Court TV will be seen; more distribution agreements will be announced before launch.

About Katz Networks
The Katz Networks are targeted, demo-specific brands leading a new generation of fast-growing broadcast networks created to serve cord-cutters, cord-nevers and subscription-video-on-demand (SVOD) subscribers. Bounce, seen in 91 percent of U.S. households and 97 percent of all target-market, African-American television homes, is the first and only African-American broadcast network and features a programming mix of original and off-network series, theatrical motion pictures, specials, live sports and more. Escape, currently in 93 percent of the U.S., reaches women 25-54 with a brand of programming anchored in stories of crime and mystery. Grit, available in 90 percent of U.S. households, targets men 25-54 with a lineup of western and action movies and series. Laff, covering 93 percent of the U.S., is the nation's first over-the-air network devoted to comedy around-the-clock, and presents contemporary off-network sitcoms and popular movies geared toward an audience of adults 18-49. Brown Sugar is the popular new streaming service featuring the biggest collection of iconic African-American movies available. And "The List" is the nationally syndicated daily news magazine program featuring everything that's trending in pop culture.

About Scripps
The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) serves audiences and businesses through a growing portfolio of local and national media brands. With 33 television stations, Scripps is one of the nation's largest independent TV station owners. Scripps runs a collection of national journalism and content businesses, including Newsy, the next-generation national news network; podcast industry leader Stitcher; the fast-growing national broadcast networks Bounce, Grit, Escape and Laff; and Triton, the global leader in digital audio technology and measurement services. Scripps produces original programming including "Pickler & Ben," runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and is the longtime steward of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, "Give light and the people will find their own way."