 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Worldwide |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Programming | |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) (downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Warner Bros. Discovery |
| Parent | Warner Bros. Discovery Networks |
| Sister channels | List
|
| History | |
| Founded | December 14, 1990 |
| Launched |
|
| Replaced | Court TV (cable television) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Watch Live (U.S. pay-TV subscribers only; 10 minute free trial) |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Affiliated Streaming Service | Max |
| Service(s) | Sling TV, YouTube TV, Hulu, DirecTV Stream |
TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The channel primarily broadcasts reruns of comedy, docusoaps and reality shows, with a recent strong primetime focus on live sports programming produced by TNT Sports.
The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that focused on crime-themed programs such as true crime documentary series, legal dramas, and coverage of prominent criminal cases. The channel was initially a joint venture between Time Warner, American Lawyer Media, Cablevision, and NBC, with Liberty Media later joining the venture as well.
By 2005, Liberty Media and Time Warner had purchased ALM, Cablevision and NBC's stakes in Court TV. Time Warner subsequently bought out Liberty's share in 2006 for $735 million, and brought the channel under its Turner Broadcasting subsidiary. In 2008, the channel relaunched as TruTV, changing its focus to action-oriented docusoaps and "caught on camera" programs, which it marketed as "actuality" television. The channel continued to carry legal coverage during the daytime hours under the title In Session, but this was phased out by September 2013.
In 2011, the channel began to add occasional sports broadcasts from Turner Sports (renamed TNT Sports in 2023), primarily the NCAA men's basketball tournament. In October 2014, TruTV pivoted its format to focus more on comedy-based reality series, such as Impractical Jokers. In March 2024, TruTV began to increase its focus on sports programming, introducing a weeknight block that will feature sports-related programming, as well as being incorporated into new and upcoming TNT Sports rights such as MotoGP and NASCAR.
As of January 2016,[update] TruTV was available to approximately 91 million households (78.1%) in the United States.[1] By June 2023, this number has dropped to 68.3 million households.[2]
- ^ "List of how many homes each cable network is in as of July 2015". tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. July 21, 2015. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (June 4, 2023). "How many homes the sports networks are available in". Internet Compost. Retrieved March 17, 2024.