Torch Television

Torch Television (today written as just Torch TV or TTV for short) was the on-screen name of the 8NET affiliate station for the St. Gelta province.
Launched in 1959, Torch Television was St. Gelta's first local station, launching way before their main competitor, TV5, who launched in 1980. 4NET bought out the station in 1995, and, in 2002, rebranded it along with it's other affiliate stations under the 8NET moniker. The Torch TV name was used on-screen until 2023, when all 8NET stations were brought into one unified branding.
== History ==
The history of Torch TV traces back to the start of JBC One in 1936, and the legalization of commercial broadcasters in 1952. Torch TV began airing on channel 8 (known on analogue as 41) on November 6, 1959, with the Lyvenan-Geltan children's cartoon series Joe's Chronicles. Torch TV initially did well in the ratings, scoring some of the highest viewing counts in the area. However, with the launch of TV5 in 1980, Torch TV began to flail, losing many loyal viewers and even famed newscaster Thomas Embrey to TV5's growing fanbase and catalog.After a poor mid-year report in 1995, 4NET approached Torch TV with an offer to buy the company out for ₳36 million (₳70,775,926.56 in today's money), to which the latter accepted. Torch TV joined the 8NET family of regional networks in 1997. In 2002, 4NET forced the 8NET affiliate-wide rebrand on all it's stations, Torch TV included. It was forced to drop the torch logo it had since the 1980s, and forced to pick up the 8NET logo.In 2022, 4NET Enterprises announced their intentions to retire individual branding for all 8NET affiliates and creating a more unified branding.
In modern times, Torch TV, in the case of some programs, fails to keep up with modern Jonathian trends, and instead focuses not on local programming, but international imports. Users on Chatspace and DiarPin have often clogged the Torch TV social media pages with comments asking the channel to stop focusing on what 4NET wants, and start focusing on what the province wants. Much of Torch TV's catalog now consists of reality programming such as The Real Housewives of Bellfort, which is viewed by only 0.5% of St. Geltan households, way smaller than their average viewing counts of 68% prior to the 4NET takeover.
== See also ==
Category:Torch Television
Category:8NET
Category:4NET
Category:Television
Category:Television channels
Category:Television in Jonathia
Category:St. Gelta
Category:Jonathia