 Network logo since 2015 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide(available in most areas) |
| Headquarters | New York City |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Paramount Media Networks (Paramount Skydance Corporation) |
| Parent | MTV Entertainment Group |
| History | |
| Launched | 1981; 44 years ago (1981) |
| Former names |
|
| Links | |
| Website | www |
Pop, commonly referred to asPop TV (formerly known asElectronic Program Guide,Prevue Guide,Prevue Channel,TV Guide Channel, andTV Guide Network), is an Americanpay television channel owned byParamount Skydance Corporation under itsnetworks division through MTV Entertainment Group. It is a general entertainment channel, focusing primarily on programs pertaining topopular culture.
The network was originally launched in 1981 as abarker channel service providing a display of localizedchannel and program listings forcable television providers. Later on, the service, brandedPrevue Channel orPrevue Guide and later as Prevue, began to broadcastinterstitial segments alongside the on-screen guide, which included entertainment, news, and promotions for upcoming programs. After Prevue's parent company,United Video Satellite Group, acquired the entertainment magazineTV Guide in 1998 (UVSG would in turn, be acquired byGemstar the following year), the service was relaunched asTV Guide Channel (laterTV Guide Network), which now featured full-length programs dealing with the entertainment industry, including news magazines andreality shows, along withred carpet coverage from major award shows.
Following the acquisition of TV Guide Network byLionsgate in 2009, its programming began to shift towards a general entertainment format with reruns ofdramas andsitcoms. In 2013,CBS Corporation acquired of a 50% stake in the network, and the network was renamedTVGN. At the same time, as its original purpose grew obsolete because of the integrated program guides offered by digital television platforms, the network began to downplay and phase out its program listings service; as of June 2014, none of the network's carriage contracts require the display of the listings, and they were excluded entirely from itshigh-definition simulcast. In 2015, TVGN was rebranded as Pop. In 2019, CBS acquired Lionsgate's 50% stake in Pop andmerged withViacom.
As of November 2023[update], Pop is available to approximately 60 million pay television households in the United States-down from its 2007 peak of 84 million households.[1]
On September 18, 2014, CBS and Lionsgate announced thatTVGN (previouslyTV Guide Network) would be relaunched asPop in early 2015, with the rebranding later announced to occur on January 14 of that year.[2] The newly branded channel would shift toward programming about pop culture fandom and would carry 400 hours of original programming following the rebrand, including a reality show starringNew Kids on the Block and theCanadian sitcomSchitt's Creek,[3][4] the first program from Pop TV to receivePrimetime Emmy Award nominations, includingOutstanding Comedy Series.[5] Pop was made available onAT&T U-verse on March 1, 2016.[6]
On March 12, 2019, CBS acquired Lionsgate's 50% stake in Pop, making Pop a part of CBS Cable Networks.[7] It then became part ofViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks on December 4, 2019, when CBSmerged withViacom. Now under the latter's management, it was merged into Viacom's existing cable unit with corresponding job losses due to redundancies. As Viacom traditionally has their programming produced internally for their cable networks rather than from outside producers, second-season renewals forFlack andFlorida Girls, along with a series order forBest Intentions were revoked, with Viacom freeing all three series to be shopped to other venues without penalty.[8]
Current programming seen on Pop includes a mix ofprocedural dramas, includingER,Scorpion, and series from theNCIS andLaw & Order franchises, along with films. As mentioned above, original programming for the channel was cut after 2020 as the newly merged ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global) focused on their more high-profile brands. Previously, the network also airedprofessional wrestling fromTotal Nonstop Action / Impact Wrestling and the now-defunctLas Vegas-based Paragon Pro Wrestling promotion.[9][10]