television network currently using freeform s former 1990 98 name see the family channel u.s. tv network . freeform launched january 21 1989 1989 01 21 owned by abc family worldwide disney abc television group the walt disney company picture format 720p hdtv hd feed downgraded to letterboxed 480i for sdtvs slogan become with us country united states language english spanish via sap audio track broadcast area nationwide headquarters burbank california replaced cbn satellite service 1977 81 cbn cable network 1981 88 the cbn family channel 1988 90 the family channel 1990 98 fox family channel 1998 2001 abc family 2001 16 sister channel s disney channel disney junior disney xd abc timeshift service freeform west website freeform.go.com availability satellite directv 311 hd sd 1311 vod dish network 180 hd sd cable available on most u.s. cable systems consult your local cable provider or program listings source for channel availability iptv at & t u verse 178 sd 1178 hd verizon fios 199 sd 699 hd southern fibernet 207 sd 1207 hd streaming media watch freeform freeform.go.com watch live u.s. cable internet subscribers only ; requires login from pay television provider to access content sling tv internet protocol television playstation vue internet protocol television freeform stylized as freeform formerly abc family is an american basic cable and satellite television channel that is owned by abc family worldwide a subsidiary of the disney abc television group division of the walt disney company . the channel primarily consists of tv series and films geared towards teenagers and young adults with some programming skewing towards young women in the 14 34 age range a target demographic designated by the channel as becomers while some programming featured on freeform primarily consisting of movies is secondarily geared towards a family audience . competing with the fox operated television network fx its programming includes contemporary off network syndicated reruns and original series feature films and made for tv original movies and some religious programming . since the network was launched in april 1977 freeform has undergone various changes to its on air identity having changed its name seven different times the most of any american television network and programming over the course of its history . the network was founded as the cbn satellite service an extension of televangelist pat robertson s christian television ministry ; it evolved into a family focused entertainment network in 1981 eventually becoming known as the family channel by 1990 . in 1997 it was sold to news corporation owned fox kids worldwide inc. and renamed the fox family channel in august 1998 . 1 2 on may 30 2001 fox family channel and fox family worldwide came under the ownership of the walt disney company in a sale that also included saban entertainment ; the channel altered its name to abc family one month later on november 10 . 3 4 on october 6 2015 disney abc television group announced that the network would rebrand as freeform officially adopting that name on january 12 2016 . 5 6 7 contents 1 history 1.1 early history 1977 98 1.2 fox family 1998 2001 1.3 sale to disney and rebranding as abc family 2001 06 1.4 a new kind of family 2006 16 1.5 freeform 2016 present 2 programming 2.1 movies 2.2 sports 3 programming blocks 3.1 current programming blocks 3.2 seasonal programming blocks 3.2.1 past programming blocks 4 related services 4.1 international versions 4.1.1 abc spark canada 4.1.2 the family channel challenge u.k. 5 criticism 6 references 7 external links history edit for a detailed history of the channel under its current and past identities see history of freeform tv channel . early history 1977 98 edit the channel traces its origins to the launch of the cbn satellite service an arm of pat robertson s christian broadcasting network cbn on april 29 1977 . focusing mainly on religious programming the channel was notable for being one of the first cable channels to distribute its signal nationally through satellite transmission the third overall as the method had been first pioneered by hbo in september 1975 as well as the first national basic cable originated network tbs which became the second cable channel in the u.s. to begin transmitting via satellite in december 1976 originated as a feed of broadcast television station wtcg now wpch tv in atlanta georgia . the channel changed its name to the cbn cable network on september 1 1981 and adopted a more secular programming format featuring a mix of recent and classic family oriented series and films while retaining some religious programs from various televangelists mirroring the format used by cbn s independent television stations of that time . by this point its carriage grew to 10.9 million homes with a cable television subscription . on august 1 1988 the word family was incorporated into the channel s name to better reflect its programming format rebranding as the cbn family channel . by 1990 the network had grown too profitable to remain under the christian broadcasting network umbrella without endangering the ministry s non profit status . on january 8 of that year cbn spun it off to a new company called international family entertainment ife . managed by pat robertson s eldest son timothy ife was co owned by the robertsons with a minority interest held by liberty media and tele communications inc. tci owner john c. malone . 8 9 following the spin off the channel s name was officially shortened to the family channel on september 15 1990 . as the family channel it attracted a slightly older and religious audience that is not sought by advertisers ; only about one third of homes with television viewers that watched the network included children or youths among its audience . the family channel started airing programs aired at preschool children pre teens and teenagers to target all members of the family . 10 as a stipulation included as part of the spin out from cbn to international family entertainment the family channel was required to continue its daily airings of cbn s flagship program the 700 club . 11 during this time from 1994 to 1997 the family channel sponsored nascar winston cup series driver ted musgrave in the 16 ford thunderbird for roush racing . 12 13 14 15 fox family 1998 2001 edit in 1997 after international family entertainment put the family channel up for sale news corporation made an offer to acquire the channel . the company wanted to use the family channel to serve as a cable outlet for the library of children s programs it owned and broadcast as part of the fox broadcasting company s fox kids lineup then owned by a joint venture of news corporation and television production company saban entertainment so it could compete against established children s cable channels such as nickelodeon and cartoon network . news corporation then entered into discussions to purchase a stake in the channel with ife as a partner . 16 17 after competing bids were submitted by nickelodeon parent viacom and the walt disney company parent of fellow competitor disney channel to acquire ife as a whole news corporation placed its own bid to buy the company for 1.8 billion . 18 on june 11 1997 international family entertainment was acquired by the fox saban consortium fox kids worldwide for 1.9 billion ; the company itself was in turn renamed fox family worldwide . 19 20 the family channel was officially renamed fox family channel on august 15 1998 . 1 2 with the change in ownership fox family s operations were also migrated from virginia beach virginia where the christian broadcasting network s headquarters are based and integrated with the operations of some of news corporation s other u.s. cable television properties in los angeles . citation needed when fox family worldwide bought the channel the management team assigned to the network headed by newly appointed president and chief executive officer rich cronin sought to re program it towards a new dual audience kids in daytime families at night . 21 notable programs aired during this era included s club 7 in miami a sitcom serving as a starring vehicle for the eponymous british pop group and big wolf on campus . the new york times classified both series as being among a larger wave of television programming catered towards the demographic of children aged 9 through 14 also referred to as tweens . 22 23 airings of the 700 club were scaled back to two per day . 24 however fox family s youth oriented programming strategy alienated the network s core demographic of older viewers . the channel experienced a decline in viewership 21 falling in the nielsen ratings from 10th to 17th place in overall cable network viewership and a 35 % drop in its prime time viewership . 21 25 in 1999 fox spun off two digital cable channels from fox family the boyz channel and the girlz channel which both contained programming content targeted at the respective genders . both networks shut down after one year of operation due to a lack of demand by cable providers each only had 100 000 subscribers and news corporation s desire to invest more heavily in the parent channel . 26 sale to disney and rebranding as abc family 2001 06 edit after news corporation and saban entertainment were unable to reach a deal for the former to sell its stake in the venture to saban 25 on may 31 2001 the joint venture sold fox family worldwide to the walt disney company for 2.9 billion in cash plus the assumption of 2.3 billion in debt giving disney control of the fox family channel the saban entertainment library and the international fox kids cable networks controlled by fox family worldwide among other assets . 27 on november 12 2001 the network was officially renamed abc family co branding it with the company s flagship television property abc . 3 4 25 analysts felt that disney s purchase of fox family worldwide was influenced by the ongoing consolidation occurring in the media industry such as the then recently completed merger of aol and time warner and a desire to acquire a new television outlet that had heavy viewer penetration at the time of the purchase the network was seen in 83 million homes . 21 25 disney originally planned to use the channel to show reruns of abc programming although this strategy was hindered by the fact that abc only held syndication rights to series that were produced by its sister divisions walt disney television and touchstone television whose distribution rights were held by buena vista television requiring it to reach agreements with other studios to allow the channel to carry programs seen on the broadcast network that were not produced by disney . 28 disney abc then developed a programming strategy to turn abc family into a broad appeal programming network with its own identity picking up same season encores of abc series such as alias less than perfect and life with bonnie ; adding a weeknight sitcom block ; and continuing to emphasize movies having already reached a ten year agreement for the cable rights to harry potter and the sorcerer s stone . the network also announced plans to develop new original series though several series that originated on the channel under the fox family identity were canceled such as the 1960s set period dramedy state of grace and the channel scaled back its made for cable movie output . 21 second and final logo as abc family used from september 1 2003 to january 12 2016 the next major plan was to re position the channel to market it toward college students young women or at a more hip audience under the name xyz a reverse reference to abc . disney abc chose not to move forward with the xyz rebranding allegedly