Although MeTV and Antenna TV are currently the dominant national classic TV programming services, another company actually paved the way.

Retro Television Network launched back in 2005 under the RTN branding. The service was originally carried by a handful of stations owned by Equity Broadcasting, later expanding across the country as stations converted to digital and sought programming for their new subchannels.

RTN once aired a large number of programs from the NBC Universal library (including Dragnet, Leave It To Beaver and The Rockford Files), many of which are now carried by MeTV.

Due to a series of financial problems, RTN wound up changing hands and brands. They switched to the RTV name in 2009 and to Retro TV in 2013.

Although they have lost many of their early affiliates to competing services, Retro TV survives to this day. They offer an interesting mix of classic and more recent shows, along with a heavy schedule of overnight infomercials to help pay the bills.

Here’s a list of the classic TV shows on Retro tv as of January 2014:

Adventure & Drama Series
The Adventures of Robin Hood, Highway to Heaven, I Spy, Movin’ On, Naked City, Route 66, The Saint

Comedies
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Colgate Comedy Hour (comedy-variety show), The Joey Bishop Show, The Real McCoys, The New Soupy Sales Show

Cartoons and Kids Shows
The Archies, BraveStarr, Harveytoons, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Lassie, Mr. Magoo, She-Ra: Princess of Power

Westerns
The Adventures of Jim Bowie, The Cisco Kid, Hopalong Cassidy

For more information and to find out if there’s an affiliate in your area, please visit the Retro tv website.