Bravo (American TV network)
Bravo is an American basic cable television network, launched on December 8, 1980. It is owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The channel originally focused on programming related to fine arts and film. Since the 2000s, its brand has focused heavily on reality series targeted at 25-to-54-year-old women and the LGBTQIA+ community at large.
This article is about the American pay television channel. For the Australian version, see 7Bravo. For the New Zealand version, see Bravo (New Zealand TV channel). For other uses, see Bravo (disambiguation).Country
Nationwide
1080i HDTV
(downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed)
December 8, 1980
(requires subscription to access content)
- ch.215
As of January 2016, approximately 89,824,000 American households (77% of households with TV) receive Bravo.[1]
1912
Universal Pictures is founded
NBC is founded
Universal Cartoon Studios (later known as Universal Animation Studios) is founded
MCA Inc. establishes Revue Studios (later Universal Television)
NBC begins first compatible color broadcasts, preceding other networks by nine years
NBC's first peacock logo debuts
American Cable Systems is founded
NBC broadcasts the first Super Bowl
American Cable Systems rebrands to Comcast
Comcast began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
Universal releases Jaws
PolyGram renames Casablanca Record & Filmworks to PolyGram Pictures
Universal releases E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
Walter Lantz Productions is sold to Universal
Universal releases Back to the Future
General Electric buys RCA for $6.4 billion, including NBC and a stake in A&E
NBC relaunches Tempo Television as CNBC
Universal Studios Florida opens
Law & Order premieres on NBC
Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting merge to form British Sky Broadcasting
Universal Cartoon Studios (later Universal Animation Studios) is established
Universal releases Jurassic Park
DreamWorks Animation is founded
Barry Diller purchases Universal's domestic television assets
Seagram acquires PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Universal Television is renamed Studios USA Television
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment is folded into Universal Pictures
Universal Studios Florida expands to become Universal Orlando Resort
Grand opening of Universal Studios Japan
Universal releases The Fast and the Furious
Vivendi purchases Studios USA
NBC acquires Telemundo and Bravo
Studios USA assets are folded into Universal
Focus Features is formed
Comcast acquires AT&T Broadband for $44.5 billion
Universal becomes the first studio with five summer releases breaking the $100 million mark
GE and Vivendi merge NBC and Universal into NBCUniversal
The Office premieres on NBC
Comcast sets up a joint-venture with PBS, Sesame Workshop & HIT Entertainment to form PBS Kids Sprout
Comcast & Time Warner Cable jointly acquire Adelphia Cable assets for $17.6 billion
USA Network begins 13-year streak as #1 cable network in total viewers
Illumination is founded
Universal releases Illumination's first film Despicable Me
Vivendi divested in NBCU; Comcast buys 51% of NBCU from GE, turning it into a limited liability company
NBCUniversal Archives is founded
Universal celebrates its 100th anniversary
NBCUniversal divests its A&E Networks minority stake
Comcast buys GE's remaining 49% of NBCU
Comcast/NBCU assumes full ownership of Sprout
Comcast attempts to acquire Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion
NBCUniversal reaches a new long-term deal with WWE
NBCU acquires DreamWorks Animation
Sprout relaunches as Universal Kids
Comcast acquires Sky after a heated bidding war with 21st Century Fox
NBCU acquires Cineo Lighting
NBCU launches Peacock
Grand opening of Universal Beijing Resort
The Super Mario Bros. Movie becomes Illumination's highest-grossing film
Controversies[edit]
In August 2023, several of the network's reality stars, including Bethenny Frankel, Raquel Leviss, Lisa Rinna, and many others, accused Bravo and its parent company, NBCUniversal, for mistreating and causing a hostile working environment against them. Frankel has also filed a lawsuit against the network and NBC as a result of the allegations.[15]
In January 2024, Caroline Manzo filed a lawsuit against Bravo which alleged that the network and its affiliated companies—Forest Productions, Warner Bros. Entertainment, NBCUniversal Media, Shed Media and Peacock TV— would "regularly ply the Real Housewives cast with alcohol, cause them to become severely intoxicated, and then direct, encourage and/or allow them to sexually harass other cast members because that is good for ratings."[16][17][18] The lawsuit was filed a year after it was reported Brandi Glanville gave Manzo "unwanted kisses" while they participated in season 5 of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip.[19][17] The lawsuit also accused Bravo of knowing that Glanville had a history of sexual misconduct, but hired her anyway for good ratings.[17][18]
International versions[edit]
An Australian channel called Arena rebranded its on-air presentation in 2008 to align with Bravo as a result of an agreement with Bravo Media.[23] Arena uses the now-former Bravo slogan "Watch What Happens" and has access to Bravo-produced programming.[24] As of July 2020, the channel has rebranded with a new logo as Fox Arena and has added content from other providers such as WarnerMedia. In October 2022, it was announced that Australia's Seven Network would launch a local version of the network, titled 7Bravo on 15 January 2023, as part of a joint venture with NBCU.[25]
A Canadian version of Bravo was launched in 1995 by CHUM Limited. The channel originally aired much of the same genres of programming aired by its American counterpart, though it has diverged to carry more dramatic programming rather than the American network's reality focus due to its compliance with its original remit from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to air programming related to arts. Current owners Bell Media relaunched the channel in 2012, complete with the adoption of a new logo; there is now essentially no connection between the two channels other than a shared name. The channel carried the few arts-related series aired by the American version (such as Inside the Actors Studio and Work of Art), while Bravo's reality programs have been picked up by Corus Entertainment's Slice, Food Network Canada, HGTV Canada.
MediaWorks New Zealand announced that it would close the youth-oriented free to air channel Four in July 2016 and replace it with Bravo as part of a deal with NBC Universal.[26] As of December 2020, the New Zealand channel is co-owned by Discovery, Inc.
A Brazilian version of Bravo was launched in 1996 by a partnership between TVA - then Grupo Abril's television arm -, TV Cultura and the original American network.[27] The channel produced original programming like the Brazilian version of Inside Actors Studio called Studio Brasil. In August 1999, Bravo was rebranded as Film&Arts after Bravo Networks took the fully control of channel's administration.[28] In 2000, Bravo Networks sold Film&Arts to Chellomedia's Pramer. AMC Networks acquired Chellomedia in 2014 putting Film&Arts in AMC International Networks' portfolio. As of 2016 the channel was no longer available in Brazil after being dropped out by several cable and satellite providers.