Yesterday I visited popular TV listings site Zap2It only to have it redirect to the Newsnation TV schedule. According to Distractify, this has been occurring to users since Tuesday, March 25. One can only assume that Zap2It's parent company, Nexstar Media Group, decided to discontinue the popular television listings site without telling anybody. As it turns out that is not entirely the case.
A Google search for "Zap2It" reveals that the Zap2It listings are now available on Gracenote. As to what Gracenote is, according to its About Page, it is the "content data business unit of Nielsen that powers innovative entertainment experiences for the world’s leading media companies." If "Neilsen" sounds familiar, it's because they are the ones responsible for the well-known Nielsen television ratings. The Zap2It listings appear to be functional for the most part. One can still use their Zap2It login and credentials. The listings themselves are intact. The only problem I have found so far is the search. While I had no problem searching for various television shows, it appears to be missing some of the results for movies Zap2It has had. Neither Stand and Deliver (1988) nor Twenty Bucks (1992) came up in search. I am hoping this is just a glitch, and I have notified Gracenote about it.
As to Nexstar, they really don't want to know my opinion of them, but suffice it to say that I think they are jerks (and that's putting it mildly). They did not email Zap2It users and let them know that the site was closing down and listings would now be available on Gracenote. They did not even issue a press release letting people know it was being shut down. They didn't even set up a page at Zap2It.com letting people know the site was closed and the listings were now on Gracenote. It simply redirects to the NewsNation schedule without explanation. This shows a lack of respect for Zap2It users. I know I won't be watching NewsNation ever again because of this. If Nexstar disrespects Zap2It users, then they'll disrespect NewsNation viewers too.
As it is, I think Nexstar might regret their mistake. I am not sure, but I think Zap2It may be the most popular online television listings out there. If not, it is definitely one of the most popular. Zap2It is also fairly old. It was launched nearly 25 years ago, on April 3 2000 by Tribune Media Services. Zap2It would change over the years, but the listings were a constant. It was bought, along with the rest of Tribune Media, by Nexstar in 2019. It is with good reason that many users missed Zap2It when the site was redirecting to NewsNation's schedule. What is more, they complained about it, on Bluesky, on Reddit, on X, and yet other places. I don't think any of these users are happy with NexStar and I have to think they will be loath to use Nexstar's products in the future. Zap2It is the best TV listings online and it has a loyal following. Its users are faithful to it.
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