After a two-year attempt, TEGNA is throwing in the towel on its Twist digital network.
On December 31, TEGNA will pull Twist from the digital sub-channels of its local broadcast stations across the country, the media company confirmed this week.
In some markets, TEGNA stations have already pulled Twist from their digital sub-channels, replacing the network with Quest. In other areas, stations are airing a 60-second spot announcement informing viewers that Twist will cease operating at the end of the year.
“Goodbyes are never easy, but at the end of December Twist is going off the air in all of our markets,” a statement on the Twist website reads. “We are truly grateful to all of our viewers for making Twist a wonderful network. Thank you for all of your support.”
TEGNA is throwing in the towel on its digital broadcast network Twist, which was launched in April 2021 and targeted female viewers with off-cable reruns of lifestyle shows. https://t.co/VgO2TKHFYm pic.twitter.com/A7XufvH1pf
— TheDesk.net (@TheDeskDotNet) December 28, 2023
Twist launched in April 2021 as a lifestyle network aimed at female viewers. Shows aired on the network included off-cable re-runs of “Top Chef Masters,” “Tiny House Nation,” “Flipping Out,” “Clean House,” “Decked Out” and “Candice Tells All.”
“Twist will provide an exciting new viewing option for our female audience with content that has not been available through a multicast channel until now,” Brian Weiss, a top executive at TEGNA, said in a statement upon the channel’s debut two years ago. “The launch of Twist will enhance TEGNA’s leadership among non-fiction multicast networks, delivering the kinds of free content that over-the-air viewers crave.”
In addition to TEGNA’s carriage of Twist on more than 40 of its broadcast stations, the company also reached distribution deals to extend Twist’s reach on several stations owned by Univision and HC2 Broadcasting. The network was available in the two largest TV markets — New York and Los Angeles — through TEGNA’s distribution agreement with Univision.
TEGNA operates two other digital broadcast networks called True Crime Network and Quest. Those networks will continue to operate following Twist’s closure.
