Charge!

About Charge!

Charge! is an American digital broadcast television network owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group that airs action and adventure programming. Launched on February 28, 2017 as a joint venture with MGM, the network was built around one of the deepest libraries of premium action-themed content in the world, pairing classic action films with adventure television series. After MGM sold its operating stake in 2020, Charge! became fully owned and operated by Sinclair, which has since steered the channel toward police procedural dramas while keeping its high-adrenaline identity. The network reaches the vast majority of American television households free over the air through digital subchannels, and also streams through its website and apps.

History and Launch

Charge! traces its origins to the 2017 NATPE conference in Miami, where Sinclair Broadcast Group and MGM announced on January 17, 2017 that they would launch a second television network together, following the earlier success of their science-fiction network Comet, which had debuted in October 2015. The new venture was designed to tap into MGM's extensive library of action-adventure titles, and it was scheduled to begin broadcasting in the first quarter of 2017. True to that plan, Charge! went on the air on February 28, 2017, replacing the short-lived multicast network The Works on participating stations. Sinclair positioned the launch as part of a broader strategy to expand its business with new digital multicast networks that could make productive use of the company's broadcast spectrum and household reach. At the time of the launch, Sinclair's chief executive Christopher Ripley framed the effort as a way to grow the company's portfolio of national networks alongside its local station business.

The MGM Partnership and the Sinclair Takeover

For its first three years, Charge! operated as a joint venture in which MGM supplied the programming engine and Sinclair supplied the distribution platform. MGM's involvement gave the young network immediate credibility, because the studio's catalog included the James Bond and Rocky film franchises, the television series In the Heat of the Night and The Magnificent Seven, and motion pictures such as Platoon and Dances with Wolves. In 2020, the arrangement changed: MGM sold its operating stake in both Charge! and Comet to Sinclair, making Sinclair the sole owner of both networks. The transition did not disrupt the on-air product, and Sinclair's networks division continued to run the channels as part of its national portfolio. Over time, the programming strategy evolved away from the original MGM-centered film lineup toward licensed crime and procedural dramas sourced from a wider range of studios, a shift that accelerated under Sinclair's full ownership.

Programming and Flagship Shows

Charge! currently programs up to 19 hours of entertainment each weekday, running from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and on weekends from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time, with paid programming filling the remaining hours. The modern schedule is anchored by some of the biggest police procedural franchises in television history. Its current lineup includes Criminal Minds, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, The District, Homicide: Life on the Street, and Law and Order: Criminal Intent, alongside National Wrestling Alliance programming. Earlier generations of the schedule featured action-oriented series such as CHiPs, The Commish, Hunter, Knight Rider, The Magnificent Seven, Magnum, P.I., and Walker, Texas Ranger, plus the long-running mystery drama In the Heat of the Night and the missing-persons series Without a Trace. The lineup gives the network a demographic profile comparable to genre peers such as Heroes and Icons and Start TV.

From Action Films to Police Procedurals

The evolution of the Charge! schedule reflects a deliberate editorial pivot. While the launch-era lineup leaned on MGM's action film catalog, Sinclair's later programming decisions repositioned the channel as a destination for contemporary crime drama. CSI: Miami joined the schedule in June 2021, followed by CSI: NY in late 2022. In 2023 the network added Without a Trace and Law and Order: Criminal Intent, and in 2025 it picked up Criminal Minds and Homicide: Life on the Street, with the latter marking the series' return to broadcast television. The District was added in 2026. The strategy has been to acquire anchor series with long runs and loyal audiences, giving the network recognizable tentpoles across dayparts. Fan-focused programming events have supplemented the regular schedule, including ChargeCon, a marathon-style event built around action and adventure favorites that has become a recurring promotional fixture for the brand.

Ownership and the Sinclair Portfolio

Charge! is owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group and operated through its Sinclair Television Group subsidiary. The company's leadership includes executive chairman David Amy and president and chief executive officer Christopher Ripley. Within Sinclair's national networks portfolio, Charge! sits alongside its sibling channels Comet, the science-fiction network; Roar, the comedy network formerly known as TBD; The Nest, the reality and true-crime network; and the Tennis Channel. The multicast channels are frequently described as the fastest-growing networks in the digital broadcast space, and Sinclair has invested steadily in their lineups, distribution, and promotional events. Adam Ware, who serves as senior vice president of Sinclair's Growth Networks Group, has overseen affiliate expansion and carriage deals for the portfolio.

Distribution and Availability

Charge! is distributed primarily as a digital subchannel of local broadcast television stations, a model that lets viewers watch free with an antenna. The network reports broadcast coverage of roughly 83 percent of American television households. Its affiliate roster spans stations owned by Sinclair as well as partner groups; in October 2022, for example, the network launched on a Nexstar-owned NBC affiliate's subchannel serving the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Sarasota market, the country's 13th-largest designated market area, with market-wide cable carriage included. Additional carriage agreements have been signed with CBS Stations, Cox Media Group, Nexstar Media Group, and Optimum, and the network has added nationwide distribution on Dish Network and Sling TV. Charge! is also available through the free streaming platforms Stirr and Stremium, as well as through the network's own website and apps.

Target Audience

Charge! is aimed squarely at fans of action and adventure entertainment, with a particular emphasis on viewers who enjoy crime-solving and law-enforcement dramas. The network's demographic skews toward adults who watch broadcast television's procedural franchises, a group that overlaps heavily with the audiences of fellow multicast networks Heroes and Icons and Start TV. Sinclair has positioned its free over-the-air model as an advantage with value-conscious viewers who prefer not to pay for subscription streaming services but still want big-name, high-production-value programming. The channel's event programming, such as ChargeCon, is designed to reward the most engaged fans with marathon blocks of signature shows, reinforcing loyalty among viewers who plan their watching around the schedule.

Growth and Ratings

Sinclair has reported sustained growth for Charge! alongside its sibling multicast networks. In late 2022, the company announced that Comet, Charge!, and TBD were the fastest-growing digital broadcast television networks, citing Nielsen data that showed audience gains across key dayparts. The networks added nearly 15 million television households of new coverage that year through affiliate partnerships. In mid-2025, Sinclair announced record-breaking season-to-date growth across its four multicast networks, with Charge! up 21 percent year over year among total viewers in the top 10 designated market areas. The company credited the gains to anchor-series acquisitions, expanded distribution in top markets, the rebranding of TBD to Roar, and fan-focused multi-platform events. Sinclair has described its multicast channels as posting the highest year-over-year coverage growth among all Nielsen-rated broadcast networks.

Picture Format and Technical Details

Charge! is mastered in 1080p high definition, though most subchannel affiliates carry it in 480i standard-definition widescreen, consistent with the bandwidth constraints of multicast distribution. The network broadcasts in English and is available nationwide through its affiliate footprint. Because each local affiliate generates its own subchannel feed from the national master, channel numbers vary by market, and viewers are advised to rescan their television tuners periodically to keep subchannel lineups current. The network's website offers a live stream of its programming, excluding advertising and interstitial segments, for viewers who prefer to watch online or through connected devices.

How to Watch

Viewers can watch Charge! free over the air with an antenna on the digital subchannel of a participating local station; the network's website provides a channel finder to locate the right channel number in each market. The channel is also carried on Dish Network and Sling TV, and streams on the free platforms Stirr and Stremium. A live webcast is available at the network's official website, watchcharge.com, which also publishes the full programming schedule, show descriptions, and affiliate information. Mobile and connected-TV apps extend the service to smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs, making the network's action and procedural lineup accessible well beyond traditional broadcast reception.