What Is ROAR, the New Network Replacing TBD?

“The launch of ROAR marks the completion of a plan we set in motion in 2023 — to position the network as a clear alternative to the traditional sitcom-based multicast networks by broadcasting live, audience-based comedy franchises,” Adam Ware, SVP of Sinclair’s Growth Networks Group, said in a statement. “The new identity truly reflects the network’s energy and ambition for audiences and advertisers alike.”

The rebranding comes as Sinclair has also secured “distribution upgrades in the largest [designated market areas] to big 4 network row channel positions.”

That’s a bunch of inside-baseball lingo, but it means viewers in major markets will likely see ROAR close to the Big Four broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC — in their channel lineup. In both New York City and Atlanta, for example, TBD is currently channel 5.4, a subchannel of each market’s Fox 5. In Washington, D.C., you’ll find TBD on 7.4, a subchannel of the capital’s ABC 7.

Sinclair also says TBD had its highest-rated month ever — in every key demographic and daypart — this February, with 42 percent growth year over year. When the network aired 50 episodes of Saturday Night Live that month to celebrate the show’s 50th anniversary, 3.2 million viewers tuned in.

So what can you expect when ROAR roars onto your screen? The schedule for the week starting Monday shows installments of SNL, Whose Line, and Key & Peele alongside episodes of the clip shows World’s Dumbest… and The Laugh List and the informational series America’s Heartland, Animal Rescue, and Dog Tales.

You can use the ROAR website to find the channel in your area — more than 246 million Americans can tune in across 413 affiliates nationwide, according to RabbitEars. And if it’s not available where you live, check the website anyway for information on online streaming and digital partners, and you, too, might soon be ROAR-ing with laughter.