Freeform (TV channel) - Wikipedia. For the U. S. broadcast television network which uses Freeform's 1.

Fox Kids. Freeform (stylized as FREEFORM) is an American basic cable and satellitetelevision channel that is owned by the Disney–ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. Freeform primarily broadcasts programming aimed towards teenagers and young adults – with some programming skewing towards young women – in the 1.

Its programming includes contemporary off- network syndicated reruns and original series, feature films, and made- for- TV original movies. Since the network was launched in April 1. American television network – and programming over the course of its history.

The network was founded as the CBN Satellite Service, an extension of televangelist Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network; it evolved into a family- focused entertainment network in 1. The Family Channel by 1.

CBN into the for- profit International Family Entertainment. As a condition of this spin- off, the network has historically and contractually been required to broadcast certain religious programs produced by CBN, including The 7.

Club and an annual telethon. In 1. 99. 7 IFE and The Family Channel were acquired by a joint venture between News Corporation and Saban Entertainment, resulting in its re- branding as the Fox Family Channel. The new owners sought to re- position the network towards younger viewers as a companion for their popular Fox Kids programming block.

After the network began to struggle as a result of their changes, the venture was sold to Disney in May 2. Saban Entertainment; the channel altered its name to ABC Family six months later on November 1. On October 6, 2. 01. Disney–ABC Television Group announced that the network would rebrand as Freeform, officially adopting that name on January 1. As of January 2. 01. Freeform is available to 9. United States (when it was still called ABC Family).[6]History[edit]Early history (1.

The channel traces its origins to the launch of the CBN Satellite Service, an arm of Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), on April 2. Focusing mainly on religious programming, the channel was notable for being one of the first cable channels to distribute its signal nationally through satellite transmission (the third overall, as the method had been first pioneered by HBO in September 1. Watch Sleight Putlocker#. TBS – which became the second cable channel in the U. S. to begin transmitting via satellite in December 1. WTCG (now WPCH- TV) in Atlanta, Georgia). The channel changed its name to the CBN Cable Network on September 1, 1. CBN's independent television stations of that time).

Find listings of daytime and primetime ABC TV shows, movies and specials. Get links to your favorite show pages. The Texarkana Gazette is the premier source for local news and sports in Texarkana and the surrounding Arklatex areas. Magnetic bracelets, magnetic necklaces, copper bracelets, tifosi sunglasses, and sterling silver jewelry are on sale, ship free worldwide, and come with a. If you’re currently relying on your smartphone, laptop, or some kind of monitor setup for your TV time, you can still get your red carpet fix by streaming the 69th. Watch Killer Mountain Online Hitfix here.

By this point, its carriage grew to 1. On August 1, 1. 98. Family" was incorporated into the channel's name to better reflect its programming format, rebranding as The CBN Family Channel. By 1. 99. 0, the network had grown too profitable to remain under the Christian Broadcasting Network umbrella without endangering the ministry's non- profit status. On January 8 of that year, CBN spun out the network into a new, for- profit corporation known as International Family Entertainment (IFE). Managed by Pat Robertson's eldest son Timothy, IFE was co- owned by the Robertsons, with a minority interest held by Liberty Media and Tele- Communications Inc. TCI) owner John C.

Malone.[7][8] Following the spin- off, the channel's name was officially shortened to The Family Channel on September 1. As The Family Channel, it attracted a slightly older (and religious) audience that is not sought by advertisers; only about one- third of homes with television viewers that watched the network included children or youths among its audience. The Family Channel started airing programs aimed at preschool children, pre- teens, and teenagers to target all members of the family.[9] As a stipulation included as part of the spin- out from CBN to International Family Entertainment, The Family Channel was required to continue its daily airings of CBN's flagship program, The 7. Club.[1. 0] During this time, from 1. The Family Channel sponsored NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver Ted Musgrave in the #1. Ford Thunderbird for Roush Racing.[1. Fox Family (1. 99.

In 1. 99. 7, after International Family Entertainment put The Family Channel up for sale, News Corporation made an offer to acquire the channel. The company wanted to use The Family Channel to serve as a cable outlet for the library of children's programs it owned and broadcast as part of the Fox Broadcasting Company's Fox Kids lineup, then owned by a joint venture of News Corporation and television production company Saban Entertainment, so it could compete against established children's cable channels, such as Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. News Corporation then entered into discussions to purchase a stake in the channel with IFE as a partner.[1. After competing bids were submitted by Nickelodeon parent Viacom and The Walt Disney Company (parent of fellow competitor Disney Channel) to acquire IFE as a whole, News Corporation placed its own bid to buy the company for $1.

On June 1. 1, 1. 99. International Family Entertainment was acquired by the Fox/Saban consortium, Fox Kids Worldwide, for $1. The Family Channel was officially renamed Fox Family Channel on August 1. Second and final logo as FOX Family, used from September 1, 2.

November 9, 2. 00. When Fox Family Worldwide bought the channel, the management team assigned to the network (headed by newly appointed president and chief executive officer. Rich Cronin) sought to re- program it towards a new dual audience – kids in daytime, families at night.[2. Notable programs aired during this era included S Club 7 in Miami—a sitcom serving as a starring vehicle for the eponymous British pop group, and Big Wolf on Campus. The New York Times classified both series as being among a larger wave of television programming catered towards the demographic of children aged 9 through 1.

Airings of The 7. Club were scaled back to two per day.[2.

However, Fox Family's youth- oriented programming strategy alienated the network's core demographic of older viewers. The channel experienced a decline in viewership,[2.

Nielsen ratings from 1. In 1. 99. 9, Fox spun off two digital cable channels from Fox Family, the Boyz Channel and the Girlz Channel, which both contained programming content targeted at the respective genders. Both networks shut down after one year of operation due to a lack of demand by cable providers (each only had 1. News Corporation's desire to invest more heavily in the parent channel.[2.

In the wake of Fox Family's struggles, Saban offered to acquire the stake in the network held by News Corp. Direc. TV) but was unable to agree to a proper valuation. A decision was made to sell the venture to a third- party.[2. Sale to Disney and rebranding as ABC Family (2. On May 3. 1, 2. 00.

News Corp. and Saban had agreed to sell Fox Family Worldwide to Disney Enterprises for $2. Watch Flick 4Shared. The sale gave Disney control of the Fox Family Channel, the Saban Entertainment library and the international Fox Kids cable networks controlled by Fox Family Worldwide, among other assets.[2.

On November 1. 2, 2. ABC Family, co- branding it with the company's flagship television property, ABC.[1][2][2. Analysts felt that Disney's purchase of Fox Family Worldwide was influenced by the ongoing consolidation occurring in the media industry, such as the then- recently completed merger of AOL and Time Warner, and a desire to acquire a new television outlet that had heavy viewer penetration – at the time of the purchase, the network was seen in 8.

Disney originally planned to use the channel to show reruns of ABC programming, although this strategy was hindered by the fact that ABC did not hold syndication rights to all of its programming at the time.[3.