Audience Network, also simply Audience, is an American general entertainment television channel that is owned by AT&T Inc. It features a mix of original and acquired series, specials, and feature films. The network operates as a commercial-free service and broadcasts its programming without editing for content. It was originally exclusive to DirecTV. However, after AT&T's acquisition of DirecTV it became available on AT&T U-verse. It is also available on subscription streaming service DirecTV Now, and the upcoming lower budget AT&T Watch TV service. As of 2018, the channel has a subscription base of 26 million.
Video Audience (TV network)
History
The network launched on November 25, 1999 as Freeview, a service on DirecTV channel 103 carrying a continuous loop of concerts and other events. Freeview was part of all of the satellite provider's subscription packages, starting with the Total Choice tier. In 2005, it was moved to channel 101 and was rebranded as The 101 Network (as a suffix, "101" is college jargon for basic classes or, in more general terms, a way to describe any basic concept). Following the rebrand, the channel's schedule began to expand to include original programs. The channel was rebranded as Audience Network on June 1, 2011. It dropped Network from its name in 2016.
Maps Audience (TV network)
Programming
Original series
Former acquired series
Starting in January 2009, the channel aired Wonderland, a controversial drama series that had briefly aired on ABC in the spring of 2000. The run included all eight episodes of the series, six of which were not originally aired during the program's ABC run.
DirecTV and NBC Studios announced on April 25, 2007, that new episodes of the soap opera Passions would begin airing exclusively on the channel on September 17, 2007, retaining its 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time timeslot that it held during its NBC run, with reruns airing on weekends. The series, which had aired on NBC since 1999, was picked up by The 101 after NBC decided to cancel Passions after eight seasons in January 2007 to expand Today to four hours on September 10, 2007 (three days after its final episode on the network). In December 2007, DirecTV announced that it would not pick up Passions from NBC for a tenth season, the series finale aired on August 7, 2008.
DirecTV, NBC, and Universal Media Studios announced a deal on April 2, 2008, in which The 101 would carry the 13-episode third season of Friday Night Lights beginning on October 1. Through the deal, after the season ended on The 101, the drama series' third season aired in second-run form on NBC (with some scenes edited) starting on January 16, 2009. On March 31, 2009, NBC and DirecTV announced that they had renewed Friday Night Lights for two additional seasons, again to be broadcast first on DirecTV and then on NBC.
On July 19, 2010, DirecTV announced it had acquired the rights to the former FX drama Damages, and renewed the series for two additional seasons. The 101 began airing reruns of its first three seasons on January 5, 2011. Season 4 premiered on the rebranded Audience Network on July 13, 2011, and the fifth and final season premiered on July 11, 2012.
Former off-network reruns
The channel aired repeat episodes of SoapNet's original soap opera limited series, General Hospital: Night Shift throughout the series' run from July to October 2008.
The channel broadcast the Nat Geo Adventure's documentary travel/adventure series Odyssey: Driving Around the World starting in June 2008.
The short-lived ABC drama The Nine began airing on the channel on May 27, 2009.
The channel also aired reruns of the 2005-06 Showtime drama series Sleeper Cell. On April 21, 2009, it was announced that DirecTV picked up the syndication rights to HBO's Oz and Deadwood.
The channel began airing the CBS drama Smith on April 8, 2009.
DirecTV aired repeats of the HBO drama series The Wire starting on July 18, 2010.
Former international programming
In recent years, DirecTV began acquiring exclusive U.S. broadcast rights to series from fellow English-speaking countries England, Canada and Australia.
The 101 began airing the Canadian comedy series Trailer Park Boys on February 5, 2009.
On September 17, 2009, DirecTV announced that The 101 had picked up rights to the Australian miniseries Underbelly, which began airing on February 3, 2010.
On September 28, 2010, DirecTV acquired rights to the British shows No Heroics, How Not to Live Your Life and Mutual Friends, which premiered on The 101 in November 2010.
On February 10, 2011, DirecTV acquired rights to the Canadian series Call Me Fitz, which premiered on the network on April 21, 2011.
In the spring of 2011, DirecTV acquired the rights to the Australian series Rake.
In the fall of 2011, DirecTV acquired rights to the Canadian sitcom Less Than Kind and the British drama Hit & Miss, the latter of which premiered on June 27, 2012, with a sneak preview, with the first full episode airing on July 11, 2012.
DirecTV picked up the rights to the Australian series The Slap and the British series The Shadow Line, which started airing on Audience Network in February 2012.
Specials
Celebrity Beach Bowl - Since 2007, during Super Bowl week, DirecTV has held an annual celebrity flag football game, which promotes DirecTV's exclusive sports package NFL Sunday Ticket. A concert follows the game, which is simulcast on Chicago television station WGN-TV, its sister network WGN America, and in 2013, NBC Sports Network.
Bracket Breakdown was an exclusive NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship pre-game show with several college basketball analysts and insiders, including the University of Louisville's Rick Pitino, the University of Kentucky's John Calipari, the University of Oklahoma's Jeff Capel, the University of Tennessee's Bruce Pearl and the University of Washington's Lorenzo Romar and former UCLA player and current sports talk radio show host Sean Farnham. It served as supplemental coverage to DirecTV's exclusive (now defunct) Mega March Madness package.
SXSW - the channel exclusively carried the 2009 South by Southwest Festival concert live.
Farm Aid 25: Growing Hope for America aired exclusively on DirecTV.
On February 13, 2012, Audience Network premiered the original documentary More Than a Dream, about the Civil Rights Movement, narrated by Martin Sheen.
Movies and previews
In October 2006, to mark Halloween, Audience Network aired several horror-themed movies, including The Toxic Avenger.
On February 23 and 24, 2007, Audience Network aired a preview of Chiller, a then-recently launched cable channel owned by NBC Universal dedicated to horror programming that launched on DirecTV channel 257 on March 1, 2007. Programming featured during this preview included the two-hour pilot episode of Twin Peaks, the pilot episode of American Gothic, episodes of Monsters, Tales from the Crypt, Night Gallery, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Friday the 13th: The Series, and various horror movies.
Audience Network has aired a number of dramatic series a few days before their scheduled premieres on Showtime including The Tudors in March 2007 and Nurse Jackie in June 2009, as well as the Starz series Party Down on April 22, 2010.
On August 24, 2007, Audience Network aired an exclusive high-definition broadcast of High School Musical 2, one week after its premiere on the Disney Channel (Disney Channel did not launch a high definition simulcast feed until April 2, 2008).
On November 11, 2007 Audience Network premiered the first part of the two-part documentary The Volunteers. This is a documentary about volunteers taking up arms against ISIS in Syria. Ricky Schroder is the executive producer.
References
External links
- Official website
- Project My World
- Championship Gaming Invitational and Championship Gaming Series
- Odyssey Driving Around the World
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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