Jewish Life Television (JLTV) is an American entertainment television network broadcasting Jewish–themed programming. The network was founded in 2007 by Phil Blazer, a longtime journalist and producer of programming for the Jewish community;[1][2] Blazer remained with the network until his death in August 2020.[3] The JLTV is funded by the Jewish Life Foundation,[4][5] and its remaining earnings come from advertising.[6][7]
In the United States, JLTV is available in almost 50 million households through Comcast, Spectrum and DirecTV as well as various regional cable systems, in addition to offering a live feed of its programming on the Internet.[8] JLTV's broadcast facilities are located in Los Angeles, California.[9]
Programming
JLTV's newest programming features shows, such as international favorites Fauda and Prisoners of War along with many other news, sports, lifestyle and entertainment programming. These include films, documentaries, music, reviews, interviews, reality shows such as InOverOurHeads and special events, such as programming from the Maccabiah Games.[10]
In 2019, the network launched the original series, Bubbies Know Best, featuring three Jewish grandmothers serving as matchmakers for a variety of people searching for romance.[11] In 2020, JLTV premiered an episode of their global travel series Air Land & Sea featuring Porto, Portugal,[12] which was awarded "Outstanding Religion Documentary" by the Religion News Association.[13] JLTV, the Museum of Jewish Heritage and JewishGen announced the co-production of a Jewish genealogy series called Generations, set to premiere in 2023.[14][15]
In 2021, JLTV announced that they would be the first cable television channel in North America to broadcast the two award-winning thriller series Fauda and Prisoners of War.[16]
Canadian distribution
In 2011, JLTV was officially added to the CRTC's approved list of foreign services, allowing the channel to expand into Canada. Ethnic Channels Group, who sponsored the application to get JLTV on the approved list, is the official Canadian distributor of the channel.[17] In July 2014, JLTV officially launched in Canada on Bell Fibe TV.