Key Points
- Court TV is a television network dedicated to coverage of real-life legal drama, providing live coverage of trials and legal analysis.
- The channel saw a surge in popularity during the O.J. Simpson trial and has since expanded its coverage to include various types of legal cases.
- Court TV was rebranded as TruTV in 2008 but made a comeback in 2019 under new ownership.
- Court TV programming includes a mix of syndicated and original shows, with live court coverage during weekdays and syndicated shows on weekends.
- Court TV Mystery, which was rebranded as Ion Mystery, focuses on true-crime docuseries and scripted procedurals.
Are you a true crime enthusiast who loves to watch live court cases as they happen? Then you need to check out Court TV. A once-iconic network that went off the air in the 2000s and transitioned to TruTV, this true crime haven has now made its triumphant return to the airwaves. However, if you’re a Spectrum subscriber, you’ll first need to know where to look for the channel. Finding Court TV on Spectrum will depend entirely on your city and state. Take a look at the guide below to find the closest station to you.
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Pick your choice of ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney Plus. Plans start as low as $4.99/month for ESPN+ only.
Free trial available. Watch 75+ channels, including local channels and special premium channel offers.
Take a 7-day free trial and stream more than 70 channels live. Record your favorites with unlimited DVR.
Court TV Channel Guide
| City and State | Court TV Channel on Spectrum |
|---|---|
| Boston, MA | 184 |
| Charleston, WV | 306 |
| Charlotte, NC | 1250 |
| Chicago, IL | 189 |
| Cincinnati, OH | 995 |
| Denver, CO | 4 |
| Detroit, MI | 199 |
| Madison, WI | 193 |
| Minneapolis, MN | 202 |
| Norfolk, VA | 118 |
| Orlando, FL | 465 |
History of Court TV
©Stock-Asso/Shutterstock.com
Court TV is a television network dedicated entirely to coverage of real-life legal drama. It launched in 1991, with its purpose being to bring actual court cases straight from the halls of justice and into people’s living rooms. It provided an unprecedented window into the world of trials, judges, and lawyers. By and large, it kept its focus on trials happening in the United States. While it saw moderate success for a few years, it wasn’t until the high-profile trial of the Menéndez brothers in 1994 that the channel could truly boom.
Then came the O.J. Simpson trial. Throughout late 1994 and into 1995, people remained glued to their screens. Court TV proved to be the best way to see the drama with O.J. unfold in real-time. From that point forward, it was clear to the network’s higher-ups that they had something truly special on their hands. Over the years that followed, the station expanded its coverage to include various types of legal cases ranging from criminal trials to civil lawsuits. The channel also took on some syndicated shows, including Homicide: Life on the Street and Cops.
Time Warner Cable bought the network in 2006. With this, it was only a matter of time until the channel was taken off the air. Time Warner decided that the channel deserved a rebranding. It transitioned to TruTV in 2008. Court TV and its live coverage of the legal system disappeared with the old name. Many viewers simply assumed it was gone for good. But, in 2019, it made a comeback. Under new owners Katz Broadcasting and the E. W. Scripps Company, the station returned to its roots of providing live coverage of trials and legal analysis to audiences across the United States.
Court TV Sister Stations
| Bounce TV |
| Ion Television |
| Ion Mystery |
| Grit |
| Laff |
| Scripps News |
| Defy TV |
Court TV Programming
©Katz Broadcasting, LLC – License
Much like Court TV programming in the early to mid-2000s, the station sticks to a mix of syndicated and original broadcasts today. It seems new owners Katz Broadcasting and the E. W. Scripps Company know what viewers want to see. Naturally, the number of syndicated shows vs. original shows will vary depending on the time of day as well as the day of the week. Weekdays put more focus on live court coverage, while weekends fill the void left by closed courtrooms with syndicated broadcasts. Let’s take a look at the types of shows you might find on the channel on any given day.
Originals
Every morning, the network kicks off its original programming with Opening Statements with Julie Grant. The show is not unlike your usual morning news show, with host Julie Grant running through the day’s biggest and most pressing news bulletins. However, instead of focusing on general news, Opening Statements keeps the focus on the American legal system.
For the next ten hours it’s Court TV Live, featuring wall-to-wall coverage of the nation’s biggest trials of the day. Like any other broadcast news network, the live coverage airs in blocks ranging from one hour to three hours, with a different host for each new block. Then, it’s time for evening coverage. Someone They Knew With Tamron Hall and Closing Arguments with Vinnie Politan close out the day.
Syndicated
During the week, there’s not much room for daytime syndicated programming. You’ll find some syndicated shows like Forensic Files playing very early in the morning before Opening Statements or shows like I Survived playing very late at night after Closing Arguments. Overnight, the station will re-run famous trials from its archive.
Then, it’s time for more syndicated shows like Escaping Polygamy during the early morning hours. Weekends swap out Court TV Live coverage for even more syndicated shows. Popular offerings include Devoured, which covers food-based true crime cases, and Small Town Secrets, which covers the investigation of a decades-old cold case.
What About Court TV Mystery?
©E. W. Scripps Company – License
Now that you know the channel number for Court TV, you might be wondering about Court TV Mystery. Launched in September 2019 as a rebranding for the Escape network, Court TV Mystery was a worthy extension of the Court TV brand that existed to air more true-crime docuseries and documentaries than its sister station.
However, Court TV Mystery was only on the air for a few years before it was rebranded once again. Owners Katz Broadcasting and the E. W. Scripps Company changed the name yet again in 2022, dropping the Court TV branding and swapping in Ion instead. (Ion is another sister station of Court TV, serving as a recognizable brand name for scripted procedural legal dramas.)
Ion Mystery launched in February 2022. Despite the new name, programming remains more or less the same as when it was Court TV Mystery. It still focuses on mysteries, true crime dramas, and scripted procedurals. Current programming includes reruns of Forensic Files, Bones, CSI, Leverage, Cheaters, and Crime 360.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Katz Broadcasting, LLC.
