Freeform (TV channel)
Freeform is an American basic cable channel owned and operated by ABC Family Worldwide, a sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment and division of the Walt Disney Company. Freeform primarily broadcasts programming geared toward teenagers and young adults – with some skewing toward young women – in the 14–34 age range, a target demographic designated by the channel as "becomers". Its programming includes contemporary off-network syndicated reruns and original series, feature films, and made-for-TV original movies.
For the U.S. terrestrial television network that uses Freeform's 1990–1998 name, see The Family Channel (American TV network, founded 2008) and Family Channel (Canadian TV channel).Country
United States
Nationwide
- 720p HDTV
(downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed)
- Christian Broadcasting Network (1977–1990)
- International Family Entertainment (1990–1997)
- News Corporation (1997–2001)
- The Walt Disney Company (2001–present)
April 29, 1977
- CBN Satellite Service/CBN Satellite Network (1977–1981)
- CBN Cable Network (1981–1988)
- The CBN Family Channel (1988–1990)
- The Family Channel (1990–1998)
- Fox Family Channel (1998–2001)
- ABC Family (2001–2016)
Since the network was launched on April 29, 1977, it has undergone various changes to its programming format and naming under 4 different owners. The network was originally founded as a religious channel, the CBN Satellite Service—an extension of televangelist Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network. It evolved into a family-focused entertainment network in 1981. It was spun off into a for-profit company known as International Family Entertainment (IFE) in 1990, eventually becoming known as The Family Channel. As a condition of the spin-off, the channel was contractually required to maintain airings of The 700 Club and an annual telethon the last Sunday in January; these conditions have applied to all future owners of the channel.
In 1997, IFE and the Family Channel were acquired by a joint venture between News Corporation and Haim Saban. This resulted in its rebranding as the Fox Family Channel a year later. The new owners wanted to reposition the network toward younger viewers as a companion for the unpopular Fox Kids Network. The venture was sold to Disney in October 2001 after the network began to struggle as a result of their changes. The channel altered its name to ABC Family one month later on November 10.[1][2] The network was later rebranded as Freeform on January 12, 2016.[3][4][5]
As of September 2023, Freeform was available to more than 55 million households in the United States, according to Nielsen estimates.[6] The network's president reports to the chairman of Disney Television Studios and ABC Entertainment.
Criticism[edit]
With the 2006 introduction of new shows to the network by Disney, some parents reacted negatively to ABC Family's programming, feeling that the network has gone from family-friendly to "too risqué," and that content in shows such as Greek, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, The Fosters, and Becoming Us was far too racy for family viewing. Some critics claimed that ABC Family executives were only after attracting viewers, without concern about showing young people in questionable scenarios in its series and films. The main focus of the criticism was on teenage pregnancy, underage drinking, and LGBT-related issues.[98] The channel's programming content standards had changed several years earlier after the sale of the channel by Pat Robertson and International Family Entertainment. The channel had even aired some acquired series and movies that contained profanity, violence, and sexual content or dialogue after the sale to News Corporation, only running this programming somewhat more so since being purchased by The Walt Disney Company as it chose to refocus the channel more towards a teen and young adult audience to reduce programming redundancy with its existing family-, children-, and teen-oriented cable network Disney Channel. Parental advisory tags had aired at the beginning of some TV-14 rated programs aired on the channel in recent years, such as That '70s Show and some episodes of The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Pretty Little Liars, Twisted, and The Fosters.
Audience testing conducted by the network revealed that some infrequent viewers thought the channel was still aimed specifically at families, resulting in Disney–ABC's decision to rebrand the channel as Freeform. Network president Ascheim refuted the longstanding claim regarding the inclusion of "Family" in the name, and acknowledged the network's shift away from a strictly family-oriented focus in the years leading up to the name change.[34][35][51]