One of the country’s first digital broadcast television networks will relaunch on over-the-air and streaming platforms in September, The Desk can confirm.
Tuff TV (stylized as TUFF TV) billed itself as the first digital broadcast network catering to men’s interests when it launched in June 2009. The channel had a long-standing distribution agreement with Luken Communications, but the partnership experienced some turbulence in 2013 when Luken filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. When a subsequent distribution deal fell through, Tuff TV was voluntarily closed down in September 2018.
A lot has changed over the years, and Tuff TV’s owner, Seals Media Company, is ready to give it another shot.
On September 1, the channel will relaunch with distribution on broadcast and streaming TV platforms, Seals Media CEO Lou Seals told The Desk on Friday. The network will include a mixture of scripted and unscripted programming, including a new show called “Tuff TV Live!,” which Seals said will resemble the format of “Gutfeld!” on the Fox News Channel.
Some of the other shows that will be available on the network include “Atlanta Bodyguards,” “Peach Street Blues,” “The Air Marshall” and “Tuff Reports.” Many of the shows in production for Tuff TV are filmed in Atlanta, where Seals Media maintains its headquarters.
“Original content is a driving force behind Tuff TV, and we have developed over 40 new projects and series comprised of movies, drama, reality and sports,” Seals confirmed by e-mail. “Our mission out the door is to distribute Tuff TV and its original content to every possible digital and streaming platform on the planet; our goal is to program up to 80 percent original and first-run programming by year two. We are ‘TUFF ENUFF,’ and will buck all current trends!”
When it comes to distribution, Seals confirmed Tuff TV has forged agreements that will allow it to reach 80 percent of the U.S. television audience over broadcast, as well as contracts that give Tuff TV a place on “ten of the top 20” free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platforms. No specific affiliate partners or streaming platforms were named.
The relaunch of the channel comes at a time when interest in broadcast and free, ad-supported streaming TV is growing among consumers who are frustrated with the rising cost of cable TV and premium streaming services.
A report released earlier this week by Nielsen’s data service Gracenote revealed Americans increased their time spent with certain FAST platforms between 2022 and 2024, and two FAST platforms experienced an increase in growth that surpassed some well-known subscription-based streamers. Monthly reports released by Nielsen that gauge time spent with TV across different platforms consistently show traditional linear services — broadcast and cable — beating streaming platforms, with broadcast TV accounting for nearly half of time spent with traditional TV platforms, or around a quarter of all time spent with TV in a given month.
Antennas are becoming a common sight within and on top of American homes, and the incorporation of broadcast into a viewer’s TV mix has resulted in higher ratings across some digital-only networks. TBD and Comet, two multicast networks owned by Sinclair, have experienced ratings growth over the past few months as the broadcaster programs the channels to take advantage of tentpole events like the Super Bowl and special programming aired by some of its distribution partners. During the Summer Olympic Games last year, more viewers watched NBC’s prime-time coverage on traditional TV platforms compared to those who streamed live events on Peacock, an analysis of ratings and viewership data by The Desk revealed.
Seals Media intends to lean into those trends, but not rest squarely on its broadcast laurels. Instead, it will deliver programming across differentiated platforms, to ensure Tuff TV has the maximum reach possible and with the hope of courting broadcast and connected TV advertisers.
“We tend to prosper and pivot when others cut back,” Seals wrote. “Our secret sauce over the past 40 years is our long and enduring relationships with sponsors and advertisers that support and underwrite our content. Our clients enjoy the fact that we always overdeliver, never nickel-and-dime, and produce high-quality content with proven demographic appeal while offering premium product placement exposure for our sponsors.”
