Broadcast network ION Television, which began airing M*A*S*H in September of 2008, no longer airs the series on a regular basis, using it instead as weekend filler. One episode aired this afternoon from 1-1:30PM and, according to TV Guide listings, it will air again later month on Saturday, June 18th and Saturday, June 25th at 2:30AM.

However, ION Life — a specialty digital network “dedicated to promoting active lifestyles and wellness” available on ION Television affiliates as a digital subchannel — does appear to be regularly airing the series, at least this month. Again, based on TV Guide listings, it appears the series is being shown in blocks from 6-11PM on Saturdays and Sundays (although on Sunday, June 19th it only airs from 6-8:30PM).

ION Life can also be found on certain cable systems. Check your local listings to see if you receive ION Life. I know I don’t. Why exactly M*A*S*H is being shown on a network focused on health and wellness is a good question.

According to the Sitcoms Online News Blog, Ion Television will be expanded its weekend programming in early October by adding the 2PM and 3PM hours on Saturdays and Sundays. Previously, the network had aired paid programming from 2-4PM on weekends followed by movies. Beginning in October, movies will begin at 2PM with the occasional episodes of M*A*S*H and another sitcom, My Name is Earl, as filler when needed. Thus, M*A*S*H will no longer have a regular spot on the Ion Television schedule. In fact, based on the October schedule available here, M*A*S*H will air just once in October, on Sunday, October 24th from 1-1:30PM.

With M*A*S*H “resting” at The Hallmark Channel and more or less removed from Ion Television, that means only TV Land is still airing the series on a regular basis. Beginning later this month, it will be aired from 4-6AM Tuesday through Saturday morning and from 8-10PM on Saturday. The series also airs locally in some parts of the country.

M*A*S*H has not been seen on Hallmark Channel since mid-July and will not be part of the cable channel’s official fall schedule. A variety of Martha Stewart programming will be the cornerstone of the channel’s afternoon/early evening schedule starting in September, with sitcoms The Golden Girls, Who’s the Boss? and Cheers airing multiple times in the early morning, evening and late night. According to Sitcoms Online, the schedule may change as Hallmark learns how the Martha Stewart programming performs. M*A*S*H, along with Little House on the Prairie and The Partridge Family, are said to be “resting” and could conceivably return at any time.

M*A*S*H continues to air on broadcast network Ion Television and cable channel TV Land, although as of September Ion Television will only air M*A*S*H on Saturday afternoons when it is not airing a movie. As for TV Land, starting in September it will air M*A*S*H from 4-6AM on weekday mornings and 8-10PM on Sunday evenings.

The confusing saga of M*A*S*H on television continues today with the news that ION will be returning M*A*S*H to its schedule beginning this Saturday (February 20th). Recall that ION dropped the series in October of 2009:

There has been a schedule change and the program “M*A*S*H” is no longer part of our lineup. This program’s run on the network has ended. Thank you for contacting ION Media Networks.

On January 13th of this year, however, Sitcoms Online reported that the very first episode of M*A*S*H would air on Saturday, March 6th at 3PM. Then, on February 9th, Sitcoms Online revealed that M*A*S*H would run from 3-4PM on Saturdays. Today from Sitcoms Online comes the news that M*A*S*H will also air Monday through Friday from 4-5PM, replacing Texas Justice, starting February 22nd.

According to television listings at TVGuide.com, M*A*S*H will actually return on Saturday, February 20th at 3PM with the pilot, followed by the second episode at 3:30PM. It will also be seen on Sunday, February 21st from 3-5PM with the next four episodes from the first season, followed by the next two episodes on Monday, February 22nd from 4-5PM. Here’s what the regular weekly schedule looks like at the moment:

Saturdays: 3-4PM (Beginning February 20th)
Sundays: 3-5PM (Beginning February 21st)
Mon-Fri: 4-5PM (Beginning February 22nd)

TVGuide.com’s listings only run through Monday, March 1st; for the next two weeks, at least, this schedule holds true. I don’t receive ION so I won’t be able to confirm that the series is airing, however.

Edit: As I was writing this post, Gavin e-mailed me the following:

This past Saturday, my PVR recorded M*A*S*H from ION. Yay! I googled a bit, and it turns out, M*A*S*H is now back on Ion twice a day Monday through Saturday, starting 22 February.

So Gavin’s PVR adds more confirmation to the return of M*A*S*H on ION. But will the return be Saturday, February 20th or Monday, February 22nd?

Due to the fact that I no longer receive Hallmark Channel or ION, I wasn’t aware of this until a few days ago when Shawn contacted me, but both cable channel Hallmark Channel and broadcast network ION have stopped airing repeats of M*A*S*H. Sitcoms Online reported on September 17th that ION would replace the 4-5PM airings of M*A*S*H with extra airings of Reba beginning Monday, October 5th.

I e-mailed ION and received the following reply:

There has been a schedule change and the program “M*A*S*H” is no longer part of our lineup. This program’s run on the network has ended. Thank you for contacting ION Media Networks.

As for Hallmark Channel, Sitcoms Online reported on September 21st that the weekday block of M*A*S*H (from 5-8PM) would be replaced by I Love Lucy, also beginning Monday, October 5th. Well, today is October 5th and M*A*S*H is gone from both Hallmark Channel and ION. It still airs on TV Land from 5-6AM on Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri, 9PM to 12AM on Wednesdays and 8-11PM on Saturdays (at least that’s the schedule for the next two weeks).

I sent Hallmark Channel an e-mail as well but have not received a reply. It is possible M*A*S*H will return in the future. And there’s always the complete series on DVD.