Paramount has quietly pulled the plug on Fave TV, its multicast network that served as a barker channel for programming found on its streaming apps Paramount Plus and Pluto TV.
The network went off the air early Sunday morning, according to TV listings reviewed by The Desk. Paramount did not announce the closure of the network, and a website that featured programming-related information for Fave TV now redirects to the website of Paramount Plus.
Fave TV was primarily distributed by local TV stations owned Paramount’s flagship broadcast network CBS, with clearance in major markets like New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, Tampa, Atlanta, Seattle, San Francisco, Sacramento, Pittsburgh and Detroit.
In most of those areas, Paramount has replaced Fave TV with a multicast network operated by Free TV Networks, which was acquired by Versant last month. The Desk was the first to report that Paramount was discussing a distribution agreement with Versant for some of its multicast networks.
Through its Free TV Networks unit, Versant operates four multicast networks: 365BLK, Outlaw, Defy and Busted. Most of the CBS stations owned by Paramount are now offering 365BLK or Outlaw in place of Fave TV, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Paramount never officially announced the launch of Fave TV when it first went on the air in January 2021; The Desk was the first to report on its debut. The network hit the air with older content from the libraries of CBS and Viacom, including classic sitcoms from Comedy Central, VH1 and the Smithsonian Channel.
At one point, Fave TV offered marathons of premium shows like “The Office” and “Married with Children” before those programs moved to other networks. (Comedy Central currently shares cable syndication rights to The Office with Versant’s E! Network.)
Toward the end of its life, Fave TV offered re-runs of shows that streamed in heavy rotation on Pluto TV, including “Bar Rescue,” “Run’s House” and “Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.”
The winding down of Fave TV leaves Paramount with no multicast networks that it owns outright. Paramount and Weigel TV operate two other multicast networks through a joint venture: Start TV, which airs reruns of dramas, and Dabl, a network targeting Black audiences.
