Freeform Worldwide Inc.

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ABC Family Worldwide Inc.
ABC Family
Formerly called
 Fox Family Worldwide, Inc.
Subsidiary
Industry Cable TV
Predecessors International Family Entertainment, Inc.
Fox Kids Worldwide, Inc.
Founded 1996
Products Freeform
TV series
Brands ABC Spark
Parent Disney–ABC Television Group
(Disney Media Networks)
Subsidiaries ProdCo, Inc.
BVS Entertainment
Website www.freeform.com

ABC Family Worldwide Inc., dba Freeform, is a producer and distributor of entertainment and information programming worldwide aimed at teens and young adults. The company is owned by Disney–ABC Television Group, a subsidiary of Disney Media Network, a division of the Walt Disney Company. ABC Family Worldwide's principal business is Freeform, a cable television channel. The company is located in Burbank, California.

An unusual provision of ownership is that Freeform has to air Pat Robertson's 700 Club daily Christian program.[1]

History

CBN Family

In 1977, Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) created CBN Cable.

In 1988, CBN Cable was renamed The CBN Family Channel, later The Family Channel.

In 1990, as The Family Channel was topping the ratings, Robertson decided to spin-off the network into a separate corporation, out of antitrust concerns that CBN was making too much revenue as a non-profit organization. International Family Entertainment, Inc. (IFE) was formed, with cable magnate John Malone owning a small stake.[2]

IFE sold a 39% stake in its UK Family Channel to UK media group Flextech in June 1993 prior to its launch in the fall.[3] In March 1996, Flextech purchased out IFE's share of the UK channel.

In 1993, IFE acquired TVS Entertainment (a former ITV franchise holder for the South of England) archive for $68.5 million, which included the MTM Enterprises library.[4] In December 1993, IFE was bidding against a partnership of Florida-based MOR Music TV Inc. and Arizona-based Gen-She Inc., and 1/3 owner Concept Communications (owned by Unification Church) for the Nostalgia Network.[5]

Fox Kids/Family Worldwide

In 1996, News Corporation's Fox Children's Productions and Haim Saban's Saban Entertainment merged to form Fox Kids Worldwide, Inc.[6][7][8][9] Its 61% share in the UK channel was sold to Flextech giving them full control of the channel.[10] The deal also included Maidstone studios but Family channel held on to the TV archive which consisted of TVS Entertainment but more importantly MTM Enterprises' library.

With originally three bidders in the mix for International Family Entertainment, Viacom, News Corp./Fox and Disney, by June 2, 1997, Viacom had dropped out and News Corp. bidding $1.8 billion.[11] News Corp. won with a bid of $1.9 billion, IFE is then folded into Fox Kids Worldwide, then name Margaret Loesch vice chairman of the company in July 1997.[12] While at some point, the MTM library was transferred to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.[13]

The first Fox Kids channel in the UK was launched in October 1996 and the Fox Kids Europe (FKE) was incorporated in November 1999 with 75.7% being held by Fox Family Worldwide (FFW) with the balance of ownership listed on Euronext.[14] K2 started out as a syndicated block for several local stations in Italy.[15]

On June 11, 1997, Fox Kids Worldwide, Inc. (FKW) acquired IFE,[16] a publicly held company listed on the New York Stock Exchange for $1.9 billion. FKW was renamed Fox Family Worldwide, Inc.[6][7][17] On August 15, 1998, The Family Channel was renamed Fox Family Channel.[18] The MTM archives were later folded into 20th Century Fox Television.

ABC Family Worldwide

On October 24, 2001, The Walt Disney Company acquired Fox Family Worldwide for US$5.3 billion ($2.9 billion cash plus $2.3 billion in debt assumption). The company was renamed ABC Family Worldwide, Inc. and the channel was renamed ABC Family. The Fox Kids brand would remain in use for three more years.[6][7][19][20]

In October October 2003, ABC Family Worldwide was changed from a Disney COO directly reporting unit to being with in the ABC Cable Networks Group run by Anne Sweeney.[21] In January 2004, Fox Kids Europe, Fox Kids Latin America and ABC Cable Group agreed to rename its then current Kids operations under a single umbrella name Jetix,[22][23][24][25] which helped strengthen its then operations into a single force. Jetix name was applied to its programming blocks which aired on ABC Family and Toon Disney, its Television channels in Europe and Latin America, along with its programm library and merchandising.[24] Jetix Europe launched GXT as a male teen channel in May 2005 on Sky Italia in Italy.[26]

On December 8, 2008, Disney made an agreement to increase ownership in Jetix Europe to 96% and intends to purchase the remainder and have Jetix Europe delisted from the Euronext Amsterdam exchange.[27] With full Disney control over Jetix Europe, Disney indicated in February 2009 that Jetix blocks and channels would be switched over to Disney branding starting with the Jetix France channel with Disney XD on April 1, 2009.[28] Jetix Italy management, agreed to purchase the Jetix Italy company, renamed as Switchover Media, GXT and K2 from Jetix Europe in July 2009 while managing the Jetix Italy channel unit it re-brands as Disney XD in the fall.[29][30]

In October 2011, Disney–ABC Domestic Television negotiated a deal for Disney-ABC TV Group with Corus Entertainment for a Canadianized version of ABC Family channel called ABC Spark including additional platforms launched on March 26, 2012.[31] On March 24, 2012, ABCFW took operational control of Soapnet with the dissolution of the ABC Daytime division and the slow discontinuation of that network to launch Disney Junior.[32][33]

ABC Family channel was renamed Freeform on January 12, 2016.[34]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Interview with Pat Robertson. Archive of American Television (October 15, 2003).
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/buy-up-strategy-covers-all-exits/2037326.article
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/205805/licensing-fox-kids-readies-european-shake-up
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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