Owned by AMC Networks Language English Founded 1997 | Country United States Broadcast area Nationwide Sister network AMC | |
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Launched September 1, 1997 (1997-09-01) Picture format 1080i (HDTV)
480i (SDTV) Headquarters New York City, New York, United States Parent organizations AMC, AMC Networks, Altice USA TV shows Braxton Family Values, Growing Up Hip Hop, Tamar & Vince, Kendra on Top, Mary Mary Profiles | ||
WE tv is an American digital cable and satellite television channel that is owned by AMC Networks. Similar to VH1 and Bravo, the channel's programming focus is bent mainly towards women, though since the fall of 2014, the network has also attempted to accommodate additional male viewership.
Contents
- As Romance Classics 19972001
- Format change as WE tv 20012014
- Rebranding 2014present
- Re enactment
- Scripted
- Acquired
- Unscripted
- References
As of February 2015, approximately 85.2 million American households (73.2% of households with television) received WE tv. In March 2015, Dish TV's Sling TV announced it would soon begin making AMC Networks channels available to cord cutters, including AMC, BBC America, IFC, SundanceTV, and WE tv.
As Romance Classics (1997–2001)
WE tv was originally known as Romance Classics when it launched on September 1, 1997 under the ownership of what was then the Cablevision Systems Corporation-controlled Rainbow Media. It was originally a movie channel focusing mostly on romantic dramas and comedies, and television miniseries; similar to the original format of sister network, AMC (as American Movie Classics), the channel initially broadcast its films commercial-free.
Format change as WE tv (2001–2014)
This format was abandoned in 2001, when the channel was relaunched as WE: Women's Entertainment, taking on an ad-supported general entertainment format. In 2006, the channel was renamed WE tv. The channel aired the first three seasons of the popular Logie Award-winning Australian television series McLeod's Daughters, but dropped the show in April 2006. The channel's format then shifted towards reality shows, with several having topics related to weddings (such as Bridezillas, Big Easy Brides and My Fair Wedding with David Tutera). Other popular shows on the network included Secret Lives of Women, The Locator and Amazing Cakes.
In January 2011, WE tv confirmed that it had signed Toni Braxton for a reality series, entitled Braxton Family Values, which is marketed as one of the network's flagship shows. To prepare for the network's new show lineup, WE tv also gave the network a new logo and marketing tagline: "Life As WE Know It." In March 2012, WE tv confirmed that the network had ordered 14 episodes of Kendra on Top, a reality show following the lives of Kendra Wilkinson and Hank Baskett, who previously appeared in the E! reality series Kendra. Kendra said the show focuses on "motherhood, parenthood, and wife hood". Kendra On Top premiered on June 5, 2012.
Rebranding (2014–present)
In June 2014, the network unveiled a new logo, dropping the "Women's Entertainment" tagline in an attempt to make the network appeal equally to both the female and male genders. Of the re-branding, network president Marc Juris explained that "the idea of 'WE' as all of us—sharing common interests and experiences—is a powerful and universal theme which drives connection, conversation, collaboration and community." The network also premiered its first original scripted series, The Divide.