Jonathan Katz’s new company, Free TV Networks, said it is teaming up with A+E Networks to launch Dare, a national ad-supported broadcast network.
Debuting on July 1, Dare will feature unscripted series from the A+E library including American Pickers, Storage Wars, Pawn Stars, Alone, Swamp People, Counting Cars and Ax Men.
Free TV Networks says Dare will be available in more than 80% of the U.S. at launch.
“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 Katz.
“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,” Katz said.
In January Free TV Networks launched The365 and Outlaw.
Katz, a long-time Turner exec, jumped into multicast business, launching networks including Bounce, Grit and Laff and re-launching Court TV.
In 2021, Katz launched Defy, a network that aired many of the same A+E series that will appear Dare.
He sold his company, Katz Networks to the E.W. Scripps Co. for $302 million in 2017.
Katz left Scripps and was president of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment before starting up Free TV Networks.
