Retirement Living TV
| RLTV | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Launched | September 5, 2006 |
| Closed | December 31, 2017 (cable distribution) |
| Owned by | Retirement Living TV, LLC |
| Picture format | |
| Slogan | Experience matters. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | American English |
| Headquarters | Baltimore, Maryland, United States |
| Replaced by | Newsy |
| Website |
www |
RLTV (previously known as Retirement Living TV) was an American cable television network which transitioned its programming to an OTT channel over the Internet as of August 2018.
The channel targets a demographic aged 50 years and older. Its topics and programs include health and wellness, finance, travel, lifestyle, reinvention, as well as scripted comedy and drama in its cable era. The network is owned by Retirement Living TV, LLC and is based in Baltimore.[1]
RLTV was launched on September 5, 2006. Its program hosts include Jean Chatzky, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Lea Thompson and Dr. Kevin Soden. At its peak RLTV was available in 29 million homes in the US.[2] John Palmer was a host until he died in 2013. Florence Henderson was also a host until she died in 2016.
RLTV documented the last on-air footage of Walter Cronkite in the form of a series of editorials known as the "Cronkite Chronicles".
Retirement Living TV, LLC announced the network would wind down operations as a traditional network, a process that ended around December 31, 2017.[3][4] However, RLTV has stated that it will continue to produce content, and will launch a streaming channel for Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV within the new year of 2018. The E. W. Scripps Company purchased RLTV's transponder space and began using the channel space for Newsy, its theretofore online-only news channel.[5]
History
John C. Erickson, CEO and Chairman of Erickson Retirement Communities, a privately held company based in Baltimore, Maryland, and founded in 1983, created RLTV. Comcast was an early investor in the network. RLTV hires Gerontologist Alexis Abramson, PhD. and her team of researchers including Dr. Marsha Riggio to hone and support Marketing and Programming strategy. In October 2017, The E.W. Scripps Company purchased RLTV's carriage contracts and replaced RLTV with Newsy.[3]
RLTV Sponsored the Daytona 500 car of NASCAR veteran, 64-year-old James Hylton, and produced the documentary Yellow Mountain Road: The James Hylton Story.[6]
On April 16, 2007, RLTV signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Canadian media company S-VOX. Under the terms of the deal, content from RLTV airs on One and VisionTV. In addition, the two broadcasters co-produced original programming that aired on S-VOX networks.[7]
Programming
2007
Daily Café launches as a 2 hour, live daily show airing at Noon on weekdays – a current affairs and lifestyle news show hosted by Felicia Taylor, Bobby Batista, Mary Alice Williams and Sandra Pinckney with live news inserts produced by NBC News. Produced live out of Reuters Studios in Washington DC.[8]
References
- ↑ "Company Overview of Retirement Living TV, LLC". Bloomberg Businessweek. New York City: Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
- ↑ "Cable network RLTV goes after the over-50 crowd". Los Angeles Times. January 23, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- 1 2 Marszalek, Diana (September 6, 2017). "Scripps-Owned Newsy Becoming a Cable Channel After RLTV Purchase". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
- ↑ "Facebook post about channel's fate". RLTV. October 12, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
- ↑ Spangler, Todd (2017-09-06). "Newsy to Launch as Cable TV Channel After E.W. Scripps Buys RLTV Contracts". Variety. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
- ↑ "Daytona 500: James Hylton race report". Motorsport.com. February 22, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
- ↑ Guider, Elizabeth. "RLTV inks foreign distribution deal". Variety.
- ↑ Brian (June 12, 2007). "Two Former CNN Anchors Become Retirement Living TV Hosts". TVNewser. Retrieved November 26, 2017.