PurpleTV Adds Video-Taped Radio Talk Shows from Civic Media

MILWAUKEE —The recently launched PurpleTV , political broadcast TV channel has ramped up its content with a deal with Civic Media.

Civic Media owns a network of 20 radio stations across Wisconsin in 12 distinct news/talk media markets, that will allow PurpleTV to offer video-taped versions of some of the shows on those radio stations.

The shows went live in the runnup to Republican National Convention (RNC) that's taking place in Milwaukee from July 15 – 18.

PurpleTV airs over-the-air on channel 16.1 on WWMW in Milwaukee and is streamed live on its website.

"Programs like The Maggie Daun Show, Matenaer on Air, The Todd Allbaugh Show, and so many others in the Civic Media family do a great job of covering politics, and their coverage of the RNC is sure to be exceptional, too," said Ken Switzer, director of marketing and communications for PurpleTV. "We want to help expand their coverage to broadcast television and reach a wider, potentially different audience than the one they already have."

As previously reported, PurpleTV was launched as an over-the-air service to tap into heightened interest in politics during the 2024 election cycle. It does not offer a conventional TV watching experience and was designed to more closely resemble an internet feed or social media stream. It provides bite-sized videos and informational text to the "purple majority"—those who aren't, politically speaking, all red or all blue.

PurpleTV said it will soon announce an expansion to other broadcast TV stations both in Wisconsin and other swing states. Matthew Davidge, CEO of PurpleTV said, "We'll be taking PurpleTV to West Palm Beach and other TV markets where people could use a purple perspective."

Milwaukee has, at 27%%, one of the highest percentages of over-the-air (OTA) audiences in America as measured by the percentage of TV households, the service reported. Channel 16 reaches 2.25 million people, so approximately 600,000 people can view PurpleTV.