Ion Television began life as PAX TV, airing a mixture of original series and series that founder Lowell Paxon felt were family-friendly. The name PAX was chosen both because of his name and because of the Latin word for Peace. Series not created by PAX were often heavily edited for broadcast, including Touched By an Angel and Diagnosis Murder. PAX TV's original programming largely consisted of both fictional dramas such as Twice in a Lifetime and Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye and reality dramas such as It's a Miracle and Miracle Pets. They also produced their own versions of popular cable game shows such as Supermarket Sweep and Shop 'til You Drop, and occasionally made their own television movies. Paid programming filled in other hours.
Eventually PAX TV was rebranded as i: Independent Television. They still broadcast a couple of series from their time as PAX, such as Diagnosis Murder and PAX original series Doc, but expanded their reruns to include many television classics from the 1960s through the 1990s.
Initially after the current rebrand to Ion, programming remained much the same. Shortly afterward, however, the programming strategy was changed to acquire more recent and fairly popular series in an attempt to attract a younger audience. This formula has remained, with series such as Criminal Minds, Cold Case and Law and Order: Criminal Intent now populating their lineup in marathon proportions. They have also returned to airing television movies, as well as popular Hollywood films from semi-recent years. Paid programming also continues.
