 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | Comcast Building,New York City,New York |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 1080iHDTV (downscaled toletterboxed480i for theSDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | NBCUniversal |
| Parent | NBCUniversal Media Group |
| Sister channels | |
| History | |
| Launched | December 8, 1980; 44 years ago (1980-12-08) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Affiliated Streaming Service(s) | Peacock |
| Services | Sling TV,Hulu with Live TV,YouTube TV,DirecTV Stream,FuboTV |
Bravo is an Americanbasic cabletelevision network, launched on December 8, 1980. It is owned by theNBCUniversal Media Group division ofComcast'sNBCUniversal. The channel originally focused on programming related tofine arts andfilm. Since the 2000s, its has focused heavily onreality series targeted at 25-to-54-year-old women and theLGBTQ community at large. Its former sister channels areNickelodeon andIFC, which are currently owned byParamount Global andAMC Networks, respectively. As of November 2023[update], Bravo is available to approximately 70,000,000 pay television households in the United States, down from its 2013 peak of 95,000,000 households.[1]
Bravo originally launched as a commercial-freepremium channel on December 8, 1980.[2][3] It was originally co-owned byCablevision'sRainbow Media division andWarner-Amex Satellite Entertainment; the channel claimed to be "the first television service dedicated to film and the performing arts".[4][5][6] The channel originally broadcast its programming two days a week and—like Bravo's former sister networkNickelodeon, which shared its channel space withAlpha Repertory Television Service—shared its channel space with the adult-oriented pay channel Escapade (nowPlayboy TV), which featured R-ratedB movies (of theaction,grindhouse andhorror genres) andsoftcore pornographic films.[7] In 1981, Bravo was available to 48,000 subscribers throughout the United States; this total increased four years later to around 350,000 subscribers.[8] A 1985 profile of Bravo inThe New York Times observed that most of its programming consisted of international, classic, andindependent film. Celebrities such asE. G. Marshall andRoberta Peters provided opening and closing commentary to the films broadcast on the channel.[8]
Performing arts programs seen on Bravo included the showJazz Counterpoint.[8] During the mid-1980s, Bravo converted from a premium service into a basic cable channel, although it remained a commercial-free service.[9] Bravo signed anunderwriting deal withTexaco in 1992 and within a month broadcast the first Texaco Showcase production, a stage adaptation ofRomeo and Juliet.[10] By the mid-1990s, Bravo began to incorporate morePBS-style underwriting sponsorships, and then began accepting traditional commercial advertising by 1998.[7]
In theEncyclopedia of Television, Megan Mullen perceived certain Bravo programs as "considered too risky or eclectic for mainstream channels". Those programs wereKaraoke andCold Lazarus, the final serials by British playwrightDennis Potter shown by Bravo in June 1997, andMichael Moore's documentary seriesThe Awful Truth from 1999.[10]
In 1999,Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquired a 20% stake in the channel, which it subsequently sold back to Rainbow Media in 2001. National Broadcasting Company, Inc. bought the network in 2002 for $1.25 billion; it had owned a stake in the channel and its sister networks for several years up to that point.[11] NBC's then-parent company,General Electric, merged the network and its other broadcast and cable properties withVivendi Universal Entertainment in May 2004 to formNBC Universal.
In 2003, Bravo began airing reruns ofThe West Wing for several years, including running marathons on certain holidays.[12][13][14][15][16][17]
Bravo saw a massive success in 2003 with thereality seriesQueer Eye for the Straight Guy, which garnered 3.5 million viewers.[5] The network began to add more reality shows to its lineup, some of them also very successful, includingProject Runway in 2004, andMillion Dollar Listing,The Real Housewives of Orange County andTop Chef, all in 2006. All spawned numerous spin-off shows, and some even turned into international franchises. The success of all these shows led Bravo to change its format from focusing on performing arts, drama, and independent film to being focused on reality series, pop culture, fashion and celebrities. In 2009,Entertainment Weekly put "Bravo reality shows" on its end-of-the-decade "best-of" list, saying, "From Queer Eye for the Straight Guy's Fab Five to Project Runway's fierce fashionistas to the kvetching, perma-tanned Real Housewives franchise, Bravo's quirky reality programming mixes high culture and low scruples to create deliciously addictive television."[18]
A study released in May 2008 ranked Bravo as the brand most identified as gay-friendly among gay consumers.[19] Bravo's agedemographic is people 18–54, according to the Cable Television Advertising Bureau's cable television profiles.[4]
Other successful reality series followed, includingShahs of Sunset (2012),Vanderpump Rules (2013),Married to Medicine (2013),Below Deck (2013),Southern Charm (2014), andSummer House (2017). Bravo's first ever scripted series,Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, premiered in 2014 and ran until 2018.[citation needed]
On February 7, 2017, coinciding with the premiere of another scripted series,Imposters, Bravo updated its imaging with a refresh to itsspeech bubble-inspired logo, with the letters now all rendered in lowercase (replacing the wordmark text based on the logos used by the channel between 1994 and 2005), and a neutralized imaging to attract more male viewers. The "...by Bravo" marketing tag was also phased out from general use.[20]
On November 20, 2024, NBCUniversal announced that it would spin off most of its cable networks and selected digital properties into a new publicly-traded company ("SpinCo") owned by Comcast shareholders, with NBCUniversal Media Group chairman Mark Lazarus as CEO. Bravo was notably excluded from the spin-off, due to its position as a major content provider for NBCU's streaming servicePeacock.[21][22]
In August 2023, several of the network's reality stars, includingBethenny Frankel, Raquel Leviss,Lisa Rinna, and many others, accused Bravo and its parent company,NBCUniversal, of mistreating them and creating a hostile working environment for them. Frankel has also filed a lawsuit against the network and NBC as a result of the allegations.[23]
In January 2024,Caroline Manzo filed a lawsuit against Bravo which alleged that the network and its affiliated companies—Forest Productions, Warner Bros. Entertainment, NBCUniversal Media, Shed Media and Peacock TV— would "regularly ply theReal Housewives cast with alcohol, cause them to become severely intoxicated, and then direct, encourage and/or allow them to sexually harass other cast members because that is good for ratings."[24][25][26] The lawsuit was filed a year after it was reportedBrandi Glanville gave Manzo "unwanted kisses" while they participated in season 5 ofThe Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip.[27][25] The lawsuit also accused Bravo of knowing that Glanville had a history of sexual misconduct, but hired her anyway for good ratings.[25][26]
Bravo's programming schedule primarily includes originally produced programming, particularlyreality content. Most popularly, the channel is known for its TV franchisesThe Real Housewives andInside the Actors Studio, as well asTop Chef,Project Runway,Flipping Out,Below Deck, andMarried to Medicine. The channel also airs reruns of series from parent networkNBC and occasionally other NBCUniversal-owned networks, off-network series, including those fromNBCUniversal Television Distribution, and feature films, primarily from theUniversal Pictures catalog. Bravo utilizesblock programming for both new shows and existing ones such as its "Fashion By Bravo" block.[28]
Following its acquisition by NBC, Bravo began to supplementNBC Sports coverage of theOlympic Games, airing live events during the overnight and morning hours during the2004 Summer Olympics; this coverage continued with the2006 Winter Olympics. The channel carried no coverage during the2008 games, as NBC Universal had acquiredOxygen, allowing Bravo to continue to carry its regular programming schedule during NBC coverage of the Games. In2012, the network served as the near-exclusive home for the Games'tennis tournament atWimbledon, with up to 56 hours of coverage except for the men's and women's singles finals, which aired on NBC.[29] During the2016 Rio Olympics, Bravo served as the exclusive home of the entiretennis tournament.[citation needed]
An Australian channel calledArena rebranded its on-air presentation in 2008 to align with Bravo as a result of an agreement with Bravo Media.[30] Arena uses the now-former Bravo slogan "Watch What Happens" and has access to Bravo-produced programming.[31] As of July 2020, the channel had dropped the Bravo-inspired branding, and added content from other providers such asWarnerMedia. In October 2022, it was announced that Australia'sSeven Network would launch a local version of the network, titled7Bravo on 15 January 2023, as part of a joint venture with NBCU.[32]
ACanadian version of Bravo was launched in 1995 byCHUM Limited. The channel originally aired much of the same arts-focused genres of programming then aired by its American counterpart. Around the same period of its U.S. counterpart'schannel drift, though particularly after its acquisition byBell Media, Bravo Canada would pivot its focus toward televisiondramas, and was later rebranded asCTV Drama Channel in 2019.[33]
Most of Bravo's original programming would be acquired by other Canadian speciality channels and domestic platforms.Corus Entertainment'sSlice andFood Network Canada would acquire such shows asThe Real Housewives franchise andTop Chef, respectively, and would also commission domestic adaptations (The Real Housewives of Vancouver andToronto;Top Chef Canada) of these franchises. In 2018, NBCUniversal'sstreaming serviceHayu, would launch in Canada; and feature several shows and franchises from Bravo and its siblings.[34]
On June 10, 2024,Rogers Sports & Media announced that it had acquired Canadian rights to the Bravo brand and original programming, and that it planned to relaunch the network in September 2024,[35] with Rogers later announcing that Bravo would replaceOLN (a channel originally established as the Canadian version of a differentnow-defunct Comcast network).[36][37]
MediaWorks New Zealand announced that it would close the youth-oriented free to air channelFour in July 2016 and replace it withBravo as part of a deal with NBCUniversal.[38] The New Zealand channel is currently co-owned byWarner Bros. Discovery.
A Brazilian version of Bravo was launched in 1996 by a partnership betweenTVA - thenGrupo Abril's television arm -,TV Cultura and the original American network.[39] The channel produced original programming like the Brazilian version of Inside Actors Studio called Studio Brasil. In August 1999, Bravo was rebranded asFilm&Arts after Bravo Networks took the fully control of channel's administration.[40]
In 2008, Bravo's A-List Awards were created to honor celebrities "who have made an unforgettable mark" in various fields of pop culture such as beauty, design, fashion, and cooking.[41][42]