# Heroes & Icons

Heroes & Icons (H&I) is an American digital multicast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Usually carried on the digital subchannels of its affiliated television station in most markets, the network airs classic television series from the 1950s through the 2000s, with a focus on action/adventure, westerns, crime dramas, sci-fi, and superhero programming.
H&I operates from Weigel Broadcasting's headquarters on North Halsted Street in Chicago, Illinois, and is essentially an offshoot of MeTV – the general classic TV digital networks also owned by Weigel.

## History

Heroes & Icons was soft-launched with limited advanced promotion on September 28, 2014, as a diginet of Weigel-owned stations WWME-CD (channel 23.2) and WCIU-TV (channel 26.4) in Chicago, and WMLW-TV (channel 49.3) in Milwaukee. Heroes & Icons was created at the request of the affiliates of Weigel's existing networks, to increase their programming options.
The network also launched in the South Bend, Indiana market, along with the major cable providers in the Chicago and Milwaukee markets (including Comcast Xfinity, RCN and Time Warner Cable) using existing carriage. Weigel opted to soft launch H&I in order to fine-tune its schedule, along with adding additional programming to the fledgling network. With the network having settled on a more stabilized schedule, Weigel moved the Heroes & Icons affiliation in Milwaukee to the third subchannel of CBS affiliate WDJT-TV (channel 58) on March 5, 2015, with This TV – which previously occupied the 58.3 space – moving to WMLW-DT3 in its place. Fox Television Stations expanded its relationship with Weigel beyond Movies!, adding it to eleven of their stations in the fourth quarter of 2015. A list of 2019 Nielsen ratings published by Variety indicated that Heroes & Icons averaged 196,000 viewers in prime time, up 18% from the 2018 average.

## Programming

H&I's program schedule features a mix of police procedurals, westerns, science fiction, superhero and action/adventure-themed programs. The network also carries a three-hour block of children's programming on Sunday mornings to fulfill FCC mandated E/I obligations.
Since 2016, a prominent staple in H&I's lineup is the airing of five live action classic Star Trek series (The Original Series, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise) Sunday through Friday evenings.
Weekdays feature a western block in the morning, followed by the "Day Shift" binge block of various crime dramas and action/adventure shows through the afternoon (a different show every day), a three-hour block of Walker, Texas Ranger early evenings, and the Star Trek block primetime through late evenings.
Weekends feature a morning DC Comics-based superhero block, featuring The Adventures of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
A military block airs Saturday nights, with war themed programs such as Black Sheep Squadron, Combat!, Rat Patrol, and Tour of Duty.

## Affiliates

As of July 2016, Heroes & Icons has current affiliation agreements with television stations in 63 media markets encompassing 33 states, covering 69.21% of the United States. The network is carried on the digital subchannels of television stations in most of its markets (with current exceptions including St. George, Utah O&O KCSG, which has widespread cable and satellite coverage in the Salt Lake City market and throughout Utah. The network is also carried on cable television providers through their digital tiers at the discretion of the affiliate's parent station in certain markets, and in 2020, Heroes & Icons is available nationwide on DISH Network channel 293.
In South Bend, Indiana, where Weigel Broadcasting owns three television stations (ABC affiliate WBND-LD, CW affiliate WCWW-LD and MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYS-LD), the network is instead carried by former Fox affiliate WSJV through an agreement with that station's owner Gray Television (it took over the main signal on October 1, 2016, as that station was under consideration to sell its spectrum in that year's spectrum auction, though it ultimately remained on the air). The network added additional stations by early December 2014, which in addition to WSJV, included KCSG in the Salt Lake City market (a station Weigel eventually purchased in 2017) and a digital subchannel of Des Moines CBS affiliate KCCI.
On September 18, 2015, Weigel signed an affiliation agreement with Fox Television Stations to carry the network on subchannels of the group's Fox and MyNetworkTV owned-and-operated stations in eleven markets, including New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., beginning in the fourth quarter of 2015. Once all of the stations involved in the agreement affiliated with the network, H&I will expand its coverage to 52% of all U.S. households and availability in eight of the 10 largest Nielsen markets. Weigel also maintains a secondary agreement with Spectrum to carry the network nationwide on that cable service, slotting the network's national feed on systems where a terrestrial affiliate does not exist or is not under contract to be carried.
In October 2020, Heroes & Icons was made available on Sling TV. On April 19, 2022, Heroes & Icons began airing on the Frndly TV live streaming service. On August 9, 2022, Heroes & Icons became available on Philo.
On December 28, 2023, Heroes & Icons was made available nationwide also on DirecTV.

### Current affiliates

| City of license/market | Station | Virtual channel | Primary affiliation | Owner | Date of affiliation | Notes |
| Alabama |||||||
| Anniston (Birmingham) | WGWW | 40.1 | – | Howard Stirk Holdings | October 1, 2015 | Replaced Heartland as primary affiliate; maintains secondary affiliation with ABC |
| Montgomery | WALE-LD | 17.6 | Montgomery Weather Channel (local weather) | Allen Media Broadcasting | August 11, 2015 | |
| Tuscaloosa (Birmingham) | WSES | 33.1 | – | Howard Stirk Holdings | October 1, 2015 | |
| Alaska |||||||
| Anchorage | KTUU-TV | 2.2 | NBC | Gray Media | September 1, 2019 | Previously carried on co-owned KYES-TV 5.3 since October 1, 2018 (with a soft launch on September 21, 2018). |
| Arizona |||||||
| Phoenix | KSAZ-TV | 10.3 | Fox | Fox Television Stations | November 1, 2015 | |
| Tucson | KTTU | 18.3 | MyNetworkTV | Tegna | | |
| California |||||||
| Bakersfield | KNXT-LD | 53.4 | MyNetworkTV | My Central Valley, LLC | 2022 | |
| Los Angeles | KCOP | 13.4 | MyNetworkTV | Fox Television Stations | October 1, 2015 | |
| Los Angeles | KSFV-CD | 27.2 | Jewelry Television | Weigel Broadcasting | February 28, 2022 | |
| Fresno | KAIL | 7.3 | MyNetworkTV | Aperio Communications, LLC | | |
| Monterey | KBNY-LD | 19.1 | – | Cocola Television | | |
| San Francisco–Oakland–San Jose | KTLN-TV | 68.1 | – | Weigel Broadcasting | April 17, 2019 | |
| Stockton–Sacramento | KQCA | 58.2 | The CW | Hearst Television | October 1, 2018 | |
| Colorado |||||||
| Denver | KTVD | 20.2 | MyNetworkTV | Tegna | February 1, 2020 | Replaced MeTV |
| Colorado Springs–Pueblo | KRDO-TV | 13.7 | ABC | News-Press & Gazette Company | May 1, 2017 | Switched to 13.7 from 13.3 in May 1, 2024 because KRDO 13 News started airing on 13.3. |
| Glenwood Springs | KREG-TV | 3.1 | MeTV | Weigel Broadcasting | July 2017 | |
| Connecticut |||||||
| Hartford–New Haven | WHCT-LD | 35.2 | MeTV | Weigel Broadcasting | September 30, 2020 | |
| District of Columbia |||||||
| Washington, D.C. | WDCA | 20.3 | MyNetworkTV | Fox Television Stations | October 3, 2015 | |
| Florida |||||||
| Fort Myers | WBBH-TV | 20.2 | NBC | Hearst Television | | |
| Jacksonville | WFOX-TV | 30.3 | Fox | Cox Media Group | June 3, 2015 | |
| Miami | WPLG | 10.3 | ABC | BH Media | January 2018 | |
| Orlando (Daytona Beach) | WRBW | 65.3 | MyNetworkTV | Fox Television Stations | October 1, 2015 | |
| Panama City | WECP-LD | 18.3 | CBS | Gray Television | January 2017 | |
| Tampa (Saint Petersburg–Clearwater) | WTVT | 13.4 | Fox | Fox Television Stations | November 1, 2015 | |
| Georgia |||||||
| Bainbridge (Tallahassee) | WTLH | 49.1 | – | New Age Media | April 30, 2018 | |
| Columbus | WXTX | 54.5 | Fox | American Spirit Media | September 1, 2022 | |
| Perry–Macon | WPGA-TV | 58.2 | MeTV | Gray Media | 2017 | |
| Toccoa–Atlanta (Athens) | WGTA | 32.2 | MeTV | Marquee Broadcasting | 2017 | |
| Hawaii |||||||
| Honolulu, Hawaii | KITV | 4.5 | ABC | Allen Media Group | March 11, 2019 | |
| Idaho |||||||
| Boise | KRID-LD | 22.3 | NewsMax TV | Karlo Maalouf | March 2, 2017 | Began formally broadcasting on March 20, 2017 |
| Pocatello–Idaho Falls | KPIF | 15.2 | MeTV | Pocatello Channel 15, LLC | October 2, 2017 | |
| Illinois |||||||
| Chicago | WWME-CD | 23.2 | MeTV | Weigel Broadcasting | September 28, 2014 | Flagship station |
| Chicago | WCIU-TV | 26.4 | – | Weigel Broadcasting | December 29, 2014 | Full-power simulcast of WWME-CD2 |
| Harrisburg | WSIL-TV | 3.2 | ABC | Allen Media Broadcasting | January 3, 2018 | |
| Rockford | WFBN-LD | 35.1 | Telemundo (on DT2) | Weigel Broadcasting | mid–2016 | Replaced TouchVision |
| Springfield, Illinois (St. Louis, Missouri) | WODK-LD | 45.2 | Cozi TV | Innovate Corp. | Dec 2016 or Jan 2017 | Station is licensed to Springfield but transmits from suburban St. Louis; it does not transmit any signal to Springfield. |
| Indiana |||||||
| Evansville | WZDS-LD | 5.1 | – | Weigel Broadcasting | | |
| Elkhart (South Bend) | WSJV | 28.1 | – | Gray Media | 2016 | Formerly a Fox affiliate |
| Indianapolis | WALV-CD | 46.6 | MeTV | Tegna | June 1, 2022 | Carriage on WUDZ-LD ended on April 29, 2022, begins on WTHR 46.6 June 1, 2022 |
| Iowa |||||||
| Cedar Rapids | KWWL | 7.2 | NBC | Allen Media Broadcasting | August 2, 2021 | Replaced The CW, which moved to KCRG-TV 9.3 |
| Des Moines | KCCI | 8.3 | CBS | Hearst Television | December 2014 | Subchannel maintains secondary affiliation with MyNetworkTV, pre-empting H&I prime time programming on weeknights |
| Kansas |||||||
| Hutchinson–Wichita | KWCH-DT | 12.3 | CBS | Gray Media | June 2017 | |
| Topeka | WIBW-TV | 13.3 | CBS | Gray Media | February 28, 2019 | |
| Topeka | KCMN-LD | 42.2 | Catchy Comedy | Innovate Corp. | | |
| Kentucky |||||||
| Bowling Green | WBGS-LD | 34.3 | Telemundo | Gray Media | January 31, 2023 |
| Hazard (Lexington) | WYMT-TV | 57.2 | CBS | Gray Media | January 2017 | |
| Louisville | WBNA | 21.6 | Independent | Evangel World Prayer Center | July 2015 | |
| Louisiana |||||||
| Alexandria | KBCA | 41.1 | – | Wilderness Communications | July 1, 2015 | Switched to 41.1 from 41.3 in September 2016 when the CW moved to a subchannel of NBC's KALB-TV due to an agreement between CW and Gray Television |
| Columbia–Monroe–El Dorado, AR | KMLU | 11.2 | MeTV | Legacy Broadcasting | January 2018 | |
| Lafayette–New Iberia–Baton Rouge | KDCG-CD & KLWB | 22.1 & 50.2 | MeTV | Delta Media Corporation | July 1, 2015 | replaced Antenna TV |
| New Orleans | WUPL | 54.3 | MyNetworkTV | Tegna | | |
| Maine |||||||
| Poland Spring (Portland) | WPXT | 51.2 | The CW | Hearst Television | | |
| Dedham (Bangor) | WBGR-LD | 33.2 | MeTV | James McLeod (Maine Family Broadcasting, Inc.) | September 2019 | |
| Maryland |||||||
| Baltimore | WMJF-CD | 39.6 | Ion Television | HME Equity Fund II, LLC | | |
| Salisbury | WGDV-LD | 32.3 | Azteca America | Marquee Broadcasting | | |
| Massachusetts |||||||
| Boston | WSBK-TV | 38.2 | Independent | CBS News and Stations | October 6, 2016 | |
| Michigan |||||||
| Detroit | WJBK | 2.4 | Fox | Fox Television Stations | November 1, 2015 | |
| Flint | WJRT | 12.5 | ABC | Allen Media Group | August 30, 2019 | |
| Kalamazoo | WLLA | 64.3 | MeTV | Christian Broadcasting Ministries | June 1, 2020 | Replaced Retro TV (now on 64.5) |
| Lansing | WILX-TV | 10.2 | NBC | Gray Media | October 1, 2016 | Replaced WeatherNation TV |
| Marquette | WZMQ | 19.5 | MeTV | Lilly Broadcasting | | |
| Minnesota |||||||
| Chisholm | KRII-TV | 11.3 | NBC | Gray Media | March 2017 | Subchannel maintains secondary affiliation with MyNetworkTV, pre-empting H&I prime time programming on weeknights |
| Duluth–Superior, Wisconsin | KBJR-TV | 6.3 | NBC | Gray Media | March 2017 | Subchannel maintains secondary affiliation with MyNetworkTV, pre-empting H&I prime time programming on weeknights |
| Minneapolis–St. Paul | KSTP-TV | 5.7 | ABC | Hubbard Broadcasting | | |
| Rochester | KTTC | 10.3 | NBC | Gray Media | March 2015 | Also carried on translator W50DR-D in La Crosse, Wisconsin. |
| Missouri |||||||
| Poplar Bluff | KPOB-TV | 15.2 | ABC | Allen Media Broadcasting | January 3, 2018 | Full-power satellite of WSIL-TV |
| St. Louis | KNLC | 24.3 | MeTV | Weigel Broadcasting | December 12, 2017 | |
| Nebraska |||||||
| Omaha | WOWT | 6.3 | NBC | Gray Television | January 2019 | |
| Nevada |||||||
| Las Vegas | KHSV | 21.2 | MeTV | Howard Stirk Holdings | June 1, 2022 | Displaced from channel 21.1 by MeTV |
| New Jersey |||||||
| Secaucus (New York City) | WWOR-TV | 9.4 | MyNetworkTV | Fox Television Stations | October 3, 2015 | |
| New Mexico |||||||
| Albuquerque | KOB | 4.2 | NBC | Hubbard Broadcasting | October 2021 |
| Farmington | KOBF | 12.2 | NBC | Hubbard Broadcasting | October 2021 | Satellites of KOB |
| Roswell | KOBR | 8.2 | NBC | Hubbard Broadcasting | October 2021 | Satellites of KOB |
| New York |||||||
| Albany | WNYA | 51.2 | MyNetworkTV | Hubbard Broadcasting | September 1, 2024 | |
| Buffalo | WBBZ-TV | 67.2 | MeTV | Phil Arno | March 2017 | |
| Rochester | WHEC-TV | 10.5 | NBC | Hubbard Broadcasting | May 2019 | |
| Syracuse | WTVU-CD | 22.3 | Cornerstone TV | Renard Communications | 2021 | |
| North Carolina |||||||
| Charlotte | WCCB | 18.5 | The CW | Bahakel Communications | October 2, 2023 | |
| Greenville | WTMQ-LD | 29.3 | Heartland | Tutt Media Group | August 15, 2015 | Replaced Tuff TV on DT3. |
| Raleigh | WIRP-LD | 27.4 | Estrella TV | Innovate Corp. | 2017 | |
| Raleigh | WRAZ | 50.4 | Fox | Capitol Broadcasting Company | 2022 | |
| Smithfield | WARZ-LD | 21.3 | Heartland | Tutt Media Group | August 15, 2015 | Replaced Tuff TV on DT3. |
| Washington (Greenville) | WITN-TV | 7.5 | NBC | Gray Media | | |
| Wilmington | WTMV-LD | 39.3 | Heartland | Tutt Media Group | August 15, 2015 | Replaced Tuff TV on DT3. |
| North Dakota |||||||
| Bismarck | KNDB | 24.1 | – | BEK Communications Cooperative | July 2015 | |
| Minot | KNDM | 26.1 | – | BEK Communications Cooperative | July 2015 | Satellite of KNDB |
| Fargo | KVLY-TV | 11.4 | NBC | Gray Media | September 12, 2016 | |
| Fargo | KXJB-LD | 30.3/28.3 | CBS | Gray Media | | |
| Ohio |||||||
| Cincinnati | WXIX-TV | 19.2 | Fox | Gray Media | January 1, 2020 | |
| Cleveland | WBNX-TV | 55.4 | Independent | Nexstar Media Group | December 30, 2015 | |
| Portsmouth (Charleston–Huntington, WV) | WQCW | 30.2 | The CW | Gray Media | | |
| Oklahoma |||||||
| Oklahoma City | KUOK | 36.5 | Univision | Tyler Media Group | | |
| Tulsa | KMYT-TV | 41.4 | MyNetworkTV | Imagicomm Communications | | |
| Oregon |||||||
| Medford | KFBI-LD | 48.1 | MyNetworkTV | Imagicomm Communications | | Maintains the Primary Affiliation With MyNetworkTV pre-temping H&I prime time programming on weeknights |
| Pennsylvania |||||||
| Philadelphia | WDPN-TV | 2.4 | MeTV | Maranatha Broadcasting Company | | |
| Chambersburg(Harrisburg) | WCZS-LD | 35.5 | Bounce TV | Sonshine Family Television | December 2024 | |
| Erie, Pennsylvania | WSEE-TV | 35.4 | CBS | Lilly Broadcasting | March 4, 2019 | |
| Jeannette(Pittsburgh) | WPKD-TV | 19.2 | Independent | CBS News and Stations | | |
| Puerto Rico |||||||
| Añasco | W34FK-D | 33.1 | – | TV Red de Puerto Rico, Inc. | | |
| South Carolina |||||||
| Charleston | WGWG | 4.5 | MeTV | Howard Stirk Holdings | August 1, 2015 | Replaced ZUUS Country |
| Columbia | WOLO-TV | 25.5 | ABC | Bahakel Communications | January 1, 2019 | Replaced Start TV which moved to 25.2, replacing This TV |
| Greenville–Spartanburg | WDKT-LD | 31.5 | Telemundo | Gray Media | | |
| Tennessee |||||||
| Jackson | WYJJ-LD | 27.5 | 365BLK | Innovate Corp. | | |
| Kingsport | WAPK-CD | 36.4 | MeTV | Holston Valley Broadcasting Group | | |
| Knoxville | WBXX-TV | 20.3 | The CW | Gray Media | | |
| Memphis | WHBQ-TV | 13.2 | Fox | Imagicomm Communications | | |
| Nashville | WJFB | 44.2 | MeTV | Weigel Broadcasting | | |
| Texas |||||||
| Amarillo | KEYU | 31.2 | Telemundo | Gray Media | 2018 | |
| Austin | KBVO | 14.3 | MyNetworkTV | Nexstar Media Group | October 29, 2018 | |
| Corpus Christi | KQSY-LD | 30.2 | Heartland | Channel 7 of Corpus Christi, Inc. | Fall 2020 | |
| Dallas–Fort Worth | KDFW | 4.3 | Fox | Fox Television Stations | May 14, 2021 | |
| Houston | KPRC-TV | 2.3 | NBC | Graham Media Group | December 1, 2015 | Replaced LATV, vacant since 2012 |
| Lubbock | KLBB-LD | 48.2 | MeTV | Gray Media | | |
| Odessa | KTLE-LD | 7.7 | Telemundo | Gray Media | 2017 | |
| Snyder | KABI-LD | 42.1 | – | Gray Media | 2017 | |
| San Antonio | KSAT-TV | 12.4 | ABC | Graham Media Group | January 2019 | |
| Utah |||||||
| Cedar City–St. George | KCSG | 8.4 (14.6) | MeTV | Weigel Broadcasting | September 29, 2014 | Replaced MeTV as primary affiliation. |
| Virginia |||||||
| Norfolk–Virginia Beach | WVEC | 13.7 | ABC | Tegna | | |
| Roanoke–Lynchburg | WDBJ | 7.2 | CBS | Gray Media | September 1, 2018 | |
| Washington |||||||
| Bellingham | KVOS-TV | 12.1 | Univision | Weigel Broadcasting | | Also serving Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, and much of Canada via Cable and Satellite. |
| Seattle | KFFV | 44.3 | MeTV | Weigel Broadcasting | | |
| Spokane | KXLY-TV | 4.3 | ABC | Morgan Murphy Media | | |
| West Virginia |||||||
| Weston | WDTV | 5.3 | CBS | Gray Media | February 2019 | |
| Wisconsin |||||||
| Eau Claire | WEAU | 13.6 | NBC | Gray Media | October 2015 | Replaced Antenna TV, which moved to channel 13.2 |
| Green Bay | WBAY-TV | 2.4 | ABC | Gray Media | February 1, 2019 | |
| Janesville (Madison) | WIFS | 57.8 | Ion Television | Byrne Acquisition Group, LLC | | |
| Milwaukee | WMLW-TV | 49.3 | Independent | Weigel Broadcasting | September 29, 2014 (moved from WDJT-DT3 to WMLW-DT3 on January 8, 2018) | |
| Wausau | WZAW-LD | 33.4 | Fox | Gray Media | | |

### Former affiliates

| Market | Station | Channel | Owner | Years of affiliation | Status |
| San Francisco–Oakland–San Jose | KICU-TV | 36.4 | Fox Television Stations | November 2015–May 2019 | Now a Catchy Comedy affiliate |
| Bridgeport, Connecticut (New York) | WZME | 43.1 | NRJ TV, LLC | 2015–2016 | Now a Sonlife Broadcasting Network affiliate |
| Chicago, Illinois | WWME-CA (Analog) | 23 (Analog) | Weigel Broadcasting | March–September 2015 | Analog signal was terminated due to FCC mandate on September 1, 2015 |
| Danville (Roanoke/Lynchburg) | WFFP-TV | 24.2 | Liberty University | 2015–2018 | Affiliation moved to WDBJ following WFFP-TV's sale to Gray Television |
| Hagerstown (Washington, D.C.) | WDVM-TV | 25.1 | Nexstar Media Group | July 1, 2016–July 1, 2019 | Now an independent station. |
| Poland Springs (Portland, Maine) | WMTW | 8.2 | Hearst Television | 2015–2018 | Now a MeTV affiliate |
| Racine, Wisconsin (Milwaukee) | WMLW-TV | 49.3 | Weigel Broadcasting | 2014–2015 | This TV moved from WDJT-DT3 in channel map shuffle |
| Springfield, Illinois (St. Louis, Missouri) | WODK-LD | 45.2 | DTV America | Dec 2016–Jan 2018 | Contract terminated upon Weigel's assumption of ownership of KNLC and move to KNLC-DT3; station transmits from St. Louis antenna farm and has no signal radius into the Springfield market proper. |
| Wausau, Wisconsin | WSAW-TV | 7.3 | Gray Television | 2014–2015 | Now a simulcast of Fox affiliate WZAW-LD |
| Albany, New York | WNYT | 13.3 | Hubbard Broadcasting | December 29, 2015–June 1, 2019 | Now a Start TV affiliate |
| Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas | KDFI | 27.4 | Fox Television Stations | 2015-2021 | Moved to sister station KDFW 4.3 in May 2021 |
| Virginia Beach | WVBT | 43.3 | Nexstar Media Group | November 2, 2018–October 30, 2021 | Now a Rewind TV affiliate |
| Santa Fe (Albuquerque) | KASA-TV | 29.1 | Telemundo Station Group (NBCUniversal) | January 2017–October 2021 | Switched to Cozi TV after NBC purchased station from Ramar Communications |
| Hobbs (Albuquerque) | KUPT | 29.1 | Telemundo Station Group (NBCUniversal) | February 2015–October 2021 | Switched to Cozi TV after NBC purchased station from Ramar Communications |
| Cedar Rapids | KCRG-TV | 9.4 | Gray Television | March 2019–August 2021 | Moved to KWWL 7.2 in an affiliation swap with The CW |
| Salt Lake City | KTVX | 4.4 | Nexstar Media Group | November 2018–November 2022 | Switched to TheGrio |
| Charlotte, North Carolina | WJZY | 46.5 | Nexstar Media Group | October 1, 2015–October 2, 2023 | Switched to TheGrio |
| Roscommon, Michigan | WURO-LD | 18.1 | M33 Media LLC | March 2017–December 7, 2023 | Station is defunct |