Matthew Davidge is largely known in the broadcast television industry for his co-ownership of SagamoreHill, and for his role as CEO of Julie Huang-owned Roseland Broadcasting Inc.
Come June 27, Davidge will also become known for a novel new over-the-air television brand that seeks to bridge the divide between Republicans and Democrats with “bite-sized videos and informational text” to what his new endeavor calls the “purple majority.”
Roseland-owned WWMW-LD, which uses digital VHF channel 9 and has a PSIP of Channel 16 to serve Milwaukee, will serve as the flagship station for PurpleTV.
WWMW until May 20 is the former WPVS, which changed its PSIP from Channel 22.
Along with WMWI-16 in the Verona area of the Madison, Wisc., DMA, the stations will air the fledgling political channel that seeks to provide a balance not found on cable television networks ranging from Newsmax, One America Network (OAN) and FOX News to MSNBC and CNN.
“We wanted both of our Wisconsin stations to be broadcasting on the same channel number before the Republican Convention in July,” Davidge says.
Who owns PurpleTV? Davidge does, and is effectively leasing airtime from the company he leads as CEO via a programming services agreement. “PurpleTV is completely separate,” Davidge tells RBR+TVBR, and is officially leasing the space.
Davidge, who does not hold U.S. citizenship and holds a UK passport, has no ownership in Roseland; it is wholly owned by his spouse, Ms. Huang.
In Great Britain, he supports the Conservative party; in the U.S. Davidge supports the Democratic party. This doesn’t mean PurpleTV will have a subliminal lean toward the policies of the current White House administration. PurpleTV is poised to be a quite different offering from the aforementioned cable TV channels for how it will present its programming to viewers. “Not a conventional TV watching experience, PurpleTV will more closely resemble an internet feed or social media stream, and will be a place to perch briefly during commercial breaks on other channels,” the channel shares. “Viewing is designed to be measured in seconds, not minutes.”
PurpleTV will broadcast from 7pm to 11pm, Monday through Friday. PurpleTV will also test the interactivity of QR codes to connect viewers to the channel. In addition to offering bite-sized political information, the channel will cover “the nuts and bolts of politics, such as voter registration, down-ballot races, voter turnout, and more.”
While PurpleTV is designed to be ideologically balanced with its political fare, Roseland airs the far-right OAN on both KXBK-15.1 in Bismarck, N.D., and on KXXW-LD 13 in Tyler TX.
Who will be able to view WWMW? PurpleTV points out that Milwaukee, at 27%, has one of the highest percentages of over-the-air TV consumption in the U.S. by percentage of TV households. “Channel 16.1 reaches 2.25 million people, so approximately 600,000 people will be able to view the channel,” PurpleTV says. “The political temperature will run high there over the summer.”
For now, PurpleTV appears to be focusing its efforts on Wisconsin ahead of the 2024 Republican National Convention, scheduled from July 15-18 in Milwaukee. Wisconsin also happens to be split between Republican and Democratic voters.
“We are realistic about the channel’s impact but if we can reach even a few thousand voters in Milwaukee it could make the difference,” said Ken Switzer, Director of Marketing and Communications for PurpleTV. “The stakes are so high in the 2024 Presidential Election. Every vote will matter, especially in the purple states.”
What’s the No. 1 reason? “I am very worried that basic democratic tenets are not being followed,” Davidge tells RBR+TVBR. “In the past, Democrats and Republicans disagreed about policy but agreed on a framework of rules. Now they do not agree about the rules and that is terribly worrying.”
Roseland did not mention if PurpleTV will end up on its other over-the-air broadcast properties, which can be found in New York; Columbus, Ohio; West Palm Beach; Boise, Idaho; Corpus Christi, Tex.; Topeka, Kan.; and will soon include Santa Fe, N. Mex.; and Aspen, Colo. That said, Davidge believes the West Palm Beach station, which has a full signal over Mar-a-Lago, will be airing PurpleTV in the near future.
The channel will be streamed on PurpleTV.com.
