Katz goes on Escape crime spree

Female-skewing US broadcast network Escape has stocked up on more than 500 episodes of true crime factual series ahead of its launch later this summer.

Escape has picked up 150 episodes of Snapped from NBCUniversal Television and New Media Distribution; 175 episodes of Unsolved Mysteries from Cosgrove/Meurer Productions; and 213 episodes of Forensic Files from Trifecta Entertainment & Media.

The network is part of Katz Broadcasting, a fledgling company established by current Bounce TV founder and former Turner Broadcasting executive Jonathan Katz, who serves as president and CEO.

The new channel will target women aged between 25-54 with a mixture of off-net series and movies, focusing on stories that feature “heroines and heroes that slip away from pursuit or peril.”

Its male-skewing sibling network Grit is also set to launch later this summer and Katz claims the two channels are the first over-the-air broadcast television networks that cater for specific genders. Both will be available in 50% of the country, with more distribution partnerships set to be revealed shortly.

The networks will be available in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Washington DC, Cleveland, Houston, Miami, San Francisco as well as other major US markets.