 | |
| Formerly |
|
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| NYSE: FAM (1992–1996) | |
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Predecessor |
|
| Founded | 1990; 35 years ago (1990) |
| Founder | Timothy Robertson |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Teenage dramas Family broadcasting |
| Parent |
|
| Subsidiaries | BVS Entertainment[1] Freeform |
| Footnotes / references [2] | |
ABC Family Worldwide is a in name only unit subsidiary of theDisney Entertainment business segment ofthe Walt Disney Company that operates Americanbasic cablechannelFreeform (previously known asABC Family) and manages the programming libraries ofBVS Entertainment.
The company was originally formed asInternational Family Entertainment in 1990, a spin-off of theChristian Broadcasting Network's cable networkThe Family Channel.
In 1993, IFE acquired the assets of defunct BritishITV broadcasterTelevision South, whose holdings included the library of U.S. studioMTM Enterprises. In 1996, IFE was acquired byNews Corporation; the MTM library was melded into20th Century Fox Television's library, while the remainder was melded into Fox Kids Worldwide (a merger of itsFox Kids unit with Saban Entertainment), to formFox Family Worldwide. Fox and Saban planned to leverage the popular Fox Kids lineup to turn The Family Channel (which was rebranded as the Fox Family Channel following the purchase) into a competitor to other children's and family-oriented cable channels such asNickelodeon,Disney Channel andCartoon Network. The subsidiary also established international Fox Kids networks in Europe and Latin America.
After facing struggling ratings and a failed attempt by Saban to buy out News Corporation's stake in the venture, Fox Family Worldwide was later sold to its current owner,The Walt Disney Company, in 2001 for $5.3 billion, after which the company was rebranded asABC Family Worldwide until 2016. The purchase gave Disney ownership of the Fox Family channel (which was subsequently rebranded as ABC Family), the international Fox Kids channels (which were later re-branded asJetix, and thenDisney Channel orDisney XD) and rights to the Saban Entertainment (nowBVS Entertainment) andFox Kids/Jetix libraries.Saban Brands would acquire the rights to some of the properties held by BVS Entertainment (the prominent ones beingPower Rangers andDigimon); most of these assets have since been sold toHasbro and absorbed into its current production studioHasbro Entertainment.
The company has its origins inPat Robertson'sChristian Broadcasting Network (CBN); the religious broadcaster had re-positioned its CBN Satellite Service, which primarily carriedtelevangelism, as the CBN Cable Network, which carried a mixture of secular programming and religious programs. Owing to its new scope, the service was later renamed theCBN Family Channel.[3]
By the 1990s, the network had become too profitable to remain under the ownership of the non-profit CBN without legal repercussions. In January 1990, a decision was made tospin off the CBN Family Channel into a new, for-profit company known as International Family Entertainment, via a sale at a price of $250 million in convertible notes.[4][5] The majority of IFE was owned by the network's management, with a 15% minority interest held by TCI Development Corporation, a subsidiary of cable providerTele-Communications Inc. Special voting shares were issued to Pat Robertson and Timothy Robertson that gave them control of the company.[5] IFE continued to use CBN's facilities under a rental agreement.[4][6] As a stipulation of the spin-off, The Family Channel was required to maintain daily airings of CBN's flagship television programThe 700 Club, a condition that has remained in effect to this day.[3]
CBN sold $23 million in notes to another cable company. An additional $127 million of convertible notes were converted into stock prior to anIPO in April 1992, in which CBN would sell them for $93 million to $106 million worth. More shares would be sold directly by IFE in the amount of $47 million to $53 million in a total of about $150 million.[5] IFE's proceeds would be used for programming, marketing and possible acquisitions or investments.[7] Plans were in the works for a home video distribution deal withPacific Arts by the end of 1992, a South Korea cable network with Hyundai Electronics Industries Co. (nowSK Hynix), and a joint venture to bid for a Czechoslovakian TV station. Additional plans called for Family Channels in Britain and the rest of Europe, and additional cable channels. In consideration by IFE for the cable channel's genres were game shows, westerns, country music and sports as well as Spanish-language simulcasting.[5] On April 28, 1992, IFE began public trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker FAM.[8]
In May 1992, IFE announced plans to launch Game Channel, a joint venture with Game Technologies, which is a channel that would air original and classicgame shows. The co-owners planned to allow viewers tointeract with its programming over a1-900 line; revenue was to be shared with providers that carried the channel, who could also integrate their own interactive content into the service. Upon its announcement, Game Channel already faced competition fromSony Pictures Television's upcomingGame Show Network, as well as other new cable networks launching around the same period.[9][10][11] On June 7, 1993, The Family Channel launched agame show block with interactive segments built around its new original productionTrivial Pursuit, in preparation for the planned launch of Game Channel.[12]
In February 1993, IFE acquired the assets ofTelevision South, a formerITV franchisee inSouthern England, for $68.5 million. The deal gave IFE ownership of the library ofMary Tyler Moore's studioMTM Enterprises; IFE planned to leverage the MTM programs as part of a newsyndication division, and the sale would also bolster an impendingBritish version of The Family Channel. In June 1993, prior to its launch, IFE sold a 39% stake in The Family Channel UK to local companyFlextech. The channel officially launched on September 1.[13][14] Flextech would later buy out IFE's share in The Family Channel UK,[15] which then became the game show-oriented channelChallenge.
On August 20, 1993, IFE soft-launched the Cable Health Club (later known asFitTV),[16] a service devoted to fitness.[17] In December 1993, IFE opened a bidding war to acquire theNostalgia Network, competing with a partnership of Florida-based MOR Music TV Inc. and Arizona-based Gen-She Inc., and part-owner Concept Communications (owned by theUnification Church).[18]
In December 1993, IFE purchased three Myrtle Beach, South Carolina theaters and Calvin Gilmore Productions for $20 million. The Great American Entertainment Co. was formed as a subsidiary of IFE to control the companies.[19]
In 1994, IFE acquiredDorothy Hamill International, which had bought the ice show franchiseIce Capades out of bankruptcy. However, the company went out of business afterward due to the decreasing popularity of its shows in favor of traditional figure skating competitions and exhibitions.[20] The tour had a lackluster season, which led Hamill to leave the company. IFE then searched for a management company to handle the touring company for an equity stake. Instead, they sold Ice Capades in late 1995 while retaining the option of reacquiring a majority stake in Del Wilber & Associates for 10 years.[21][22]
By March 1995, IFE formed the Family Channel Pictures banner to produce four $8 to $12 million theatrical films per year.Amblin Television president Tony Thomopoulos was hired as MTM Entertainment's chief executive officer and would also oversee programing on The Family Channel, Family Channel Pictures, and creative aspects of Ice Capades and Great American Entertainment Company.[23]
In 1997, Fox Kids Worldwide, a company formed in 1996 via the merger ofFox Children's Network andHaim Saban'sSaban Entertainment, made a bid to acquire IFE.[24][25][26][27] With the growing shift in children's television from over-the-airprogramming blocks to cable channels such asCartoon Network andNickelodeon, Fox and Saban sought to launch a competitor that would carry programming from the popularFox Kids lineup.[26]
Viacom and Disney made competing offers for IFE; Viacom dropped out of bidding, and News Corporation offered $1.8 billion.[28] News Corporation won with a bid of $1.9 billion. The acquisition closed on June 11, 1997; IFE was folded into Fox Kids Worldwide, which itself was renamedFox Family Worldwide.[29][30][31][32] Of the sale, Robertson stated that he "felt it was time for the Family Channel to join the consolidation that was going on in the industry."[16] On August 15, 1998, The Family Channel was renamed Fox Family Channel;[33] Fox continued to be subject to the mandate thatThe 700 Club be broadcast by the network.[26] Rights to the MTM Enterprises library were folded into20th Century Fox Television.
In October 1996, a Fox Kids channel was launched in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and in November, it started broadcasting in Latin America and Brazil. In November 1999,Fox Kids Europe N.V. was formed, with 75.7% being held by Haim Saban for Fox Family Worldwide, and the remainder listed on theEuronext.[34]
In an attempt at U.S. expansion in October 1999, Fox Family spun off twodigital cable channels, BoyzChannel and GirlzChannel, which contained programming content targeted at the respective genders. Both networks shut down after one year of operation due to a lack of leverage and demand by cable providers (each only had 100,000 subscribers), and a desire to invest more heavily in the parent channel.[35]
The Fox Family channel struggled under their ownership; Saban attempted to force News Corporation to sell it its share in the joint venture, but were unable to agree in a proper valuation. The ensuing conflict resulted in the two companies deciding to sell Fox Family Worldwide to a third-party. At the time, Fox was also preparing to acquire Hughes Electronics, the parent company of television providerDirecTV.[36][37]
On October 24, 2001,The Walt Disney Company acquired Fox Family Worldwide for $2.9 billion cash plus $2.3 billion in debt assumption, due to Fox Family Channel's 35% audience decline, which gave Disney control of the Fox Family channel (which, owing to its new ownership, was renamedABC Family, and its parent company renamedABC Family Worldwide), Saban Entertainment, Saban's 49.6% stake inSaban International Paris, Fox Kids' international networks in Latin America and Europe,[37] a 76% stake inFox Kids Europe (which operated the European networks), as well as additional cable rights toMajor League Baseball (MLB) that were assigned to Fox Family via theFox Sports division, which included a slate of Thursday-night regular season games, andDivision Series games.[38]ESPN assumed the production responsibilities for these games as part of itsESPN Major League Baseball package, although they continued to air on ABC Family for the time being.[38][39][40][41]
The U.S. Fox Kids block broadcast by theFox network was not included in the sale, and its operations were shifted to theFox Television Entertainment division. As Fox no longer held the rights to the Saban programming that primarily aired during the block, and no longer had appropriate synergies due to the sale of Fox Family, the company chose tocontract the block to a third-party. Following a bidding war withDIC Entertainment, Fox subsequently announced in January 2002 that it would enter into an agreement with4Kids Entertainment to program anew children's block for the network.[42][43]
In March 2002, Angela Shapiro was named president of ABC Family Worldwide, after moving from president ofBuena Vista Productions. She originally reported to ABC Broadcast Group president Steve Bornstein, who resigned in 2002. The post then reported directly to Disney presidentBob Iger.[44] In October 2003, ABC Family Worldwide was amalgamated into theABC Cable Networks Group, run byAnne Sweeney. Shapiro also left the network that month.[44][45] Later, programming executive Linda Mancuso died in December 2003. In early 2004, ABC Family's original movie production unit was taken over by Disney Channel's vice president of original programming and productionGary Marsh and vice president oforiginal movies Michael Healy.[46]
In January 2004, Fox Kids Europe, Fox Kids Latin America and the ABC Cable Group launched a new joint brand for their children's television operations,Jetix, which would be used to brand programming blocks which aired on ABC Family and Toon Disney, its television channels in Europe and Latin America, along with its program library and merchandising.[47][48][49][50]
On December 8, 2008, Disney reached an agreement to increase its ownership in Jetix Europe to 96%, and announced an intent to purchase the remainder to give it full ownership.[51] Following its takeover of Jetix Europe, Disney began migrating the Jetix properties in the region to a new brand,Disney XD.[52] In 2009,Switchover Media—a company formed by the management of the Italian Jetix operation, acquired theK2 andGXT networks from Disney, and managed Jetix until its re-branding as Disney XD.[53][54] Switchover would later be purchased byDiscovery Communications.[55]
On May 12, 2010,Saban Capital Group's Saban Brands bought the rights to thePower Rangers franchise back from Disney for $43 million. Rights to the then-upcoming seasonPower Rangers Samurai, as well as previous seasons, were acquired byNickelodeon in 2011.[56] In September 2012, Saban Brands also re-acquired the international rights to theDigimon franchise, partnering withMarVista Entertainment as distributor.[57][58][59]Hasbro subsequently announced a deal to acquire Saban Brands' entertainment assets in May 2018.[60]
On March 23, 2012,Corus Entertainment launchedABC Spark, a channel targeted towards young adults which served as a Canadian version of ABC Family.On March 24, 2012, the ABC Family division took control ofSoapnet as part of the wind-down of the service in favor ofDisney Junior.[61][62]
On January 12, 2016, the Disney division's flagship channel, ABC Family, was renamed to Freeform.[63]
ABC Family Worldwide formed the main body of the parent company and holds all subsidiaries and their assets.
