is an
American Cable Television Network currently owned by
Disney-ABC Television Group , a division of
The Walt Disney Company . ABC Family offers contemporary and inclusive programming, including series, movies, events, and enhanced
ABC encore presentations.
See Also: Television networks preceding ABC Family
ABC Family launched in
July 2001 after FOX Family was sold to ABC for
$ 3.2 billion. The sale to ABC included the
Fox Kids Network (a joint venture of Fox and
Haim Saban ) which provided the new ABC Family with hours of children's programming.
The sale to ABC, owned by Disney, was considered one of the largest mistakes or problems occurring during the tenure of
Michael Eisner . The failure was primarily due to the acquisition being done by the strategic planning department of Disney, without consulting anyone at ABC. The original plan was to use the channel to essentially show re-runs of ABC programming, but this plan was completely impossible since ABC had no syndication rights to the majority of their own programs. During this time, the network did air same-season repeats of ''
Alias '', ''
Less Than Perfect '', ''
Life With Bonnie '', and ''
The Bachelor ''. But in trying to change the focus of the channel, Disney also cancelled several Fox Family series, like ''
State Of Grace '', and cut back on the network's
TV Movie s, which were among the few programs Fox Family was doing well with. The ratings tumbled further as the network became dependent on syndicated reruns and no original programs (save for original wrap-around segments around ''Bachelor'' repeats, and children's programming).
The next major plan was to reposition the channel to market it to college students, young women, or to a more hip audience under the name , a reverse reference to ABC. Disney soon found that the channel could never be renamed as such. The sale from CBN contained a stipulation from Robertson that the channel contain the word "Family" in the name forever, no matter who owns the network. To create XYZ, the Family Channel would have had to cease to exist - terminating all existing cable TV contracts - and XYZ would have to be created as a new network. Cable companies would not be obligated to put XYZ in the spot vacated by the Family Channel. ABC scrapped the idea after discovering this clause.
Mickey News .
The name was revisited at one point in 2003, serving as a program block entitled "The XYZ.", showing programs and movies aimed at the above groups. The network was also used as a buffer to burn off failed ABC series, such as ''
All American Girl '', which featured
Spice Girl Geri Haliwell .
Following controversial remarks made by ''700 Club'' host
Pat Robertson about
Venezuelan president
Hugo Chávez , as well as other equally controversial comments regarding
Gays ,
Feminists ,
Muslims ,
Abortion , and many other social issues, ABC Family moved to distance itself from the program, changing the disclaimers before, during, and after the broadcasts from ''"The following/preceding program is brought to you by CBN"'' to ''"The following/preceding CBN telecast does not reflect the views of ABC Family."''
Since 2003, ABC Family has been producing more successful ABC Family Original Movies and series.
In August 2006, an all new slogan and visual style premiered on ABC Family: ''A New Kind of Family.''
Note that the name implies family programming, which is misleading as there is an abundance of material not suitable for children under 13.
On '', ''
Daigunder '', ''
Get Ed '', and many others. Of its long list of programs, the ''
Power Rangers '' series was its most successful (and still is). Sitcom repeats currently air in Jetix's former timeslot from 7 a.m.-9 a.m. ET, with the morning airing of the ''700 Club''/''Living the Life'' block pushed back an hour further to 9 a.m. ET.
ABC Family is also becoming known for giving previews to upcoming movies, as it has done for ''
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix '', ''
Hairspray '' and
Stardust .
ABC Family is also known for buying rights to movies that did not do well initially or those released in other countries primarily, and re-branding them to establish a larger fan base, among these films are
The popular show ''
Kyle XY '' has given the channel the most viewers in the network's TV Series history.
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ABC Family has also recently been generating high levels of viewers with their weekend movie events. The "Harry Potter Weekend" Block generated some of the highest levels of viewers for the year so far
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The Sound Of Music weekend events.
In early 2008, the network is expected to launch a companion on the current channel), and episodes of ''Greek'' and ''Kyle XY'' have been broadcast in
720p on ABC HD during summer Friday broadcasts.
See Also: List of programs broadcast by ABC Family
All times are
Eastern and
Pacific (subtract one hour for
Central and
Mountain time).
- Family (similar Canadian service)
