Oxygen (TV network)

Infobox TV channel
name = Oxygen
logofile = Oxygen 2008 Logo.png logosize = 150px
slogan = "Live Out Loud"
launch = February 2, 2000
owner = NBC Universal
headquarters = New York City, New York, U.S.
web = [http://www.oxygen.com Official Site]
sat serv 1 = DirecTV
sat chan 1 = Channel 251
sat serv 2 = Dish Network
sat chan 2 = Channel 127
cable serv 1 = Available on most cable systems
cable chan 1 = Check local listings for channels

History

The privately held company Oxygen Media was founded in 1998 by Geraldine Laybourne, talk show host Oprah Winfrey and producers Marcy Carsey, Tom Werner and Caryn Mandabach (of Carsey-Werner fame). The company's cable network Oxygen, (formerly featuring Oh! above the main channel title), launched on February 2, 2000.

The network originally began as an interactive network focusing on original programming with some reruns (such as Kate & Allie), and featured a black bar at the bottom of the screen (referred to as "the stripe" it occupied the bottom 12% of the screen) which would show various information (the interactive part involved the channel's website); the technique was cloned by Spike's precursor The New TNN. Today, the stripe has long been dropped, and the network focuses chiefly on reality shows, reruns, and movies, and airs week-after repeats of "The Tyra Banks Show". The yoga/meditation/exercise program "Inhale" remains the only inaugural Oxygen program to continue to air into the network's NBC Universal era, albeit in repeats.

"Campus Ladies", "Bliss", "Oprah After the Show", "Talk Sex with Sue Johanson", "The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency", "Snapped" , "Girls Behaving Badly" and "The Bad Girls Club", a reality series, are some of the signature shows on the channel. Geraldine Laybourne is the channel's founder, chairman, and CEO. Competitors to the channel include Lifetime and WE tv. Oxygen has been available on DirecTV for many years, and arrived on Dish Network in early 2006 during that provider's carriage conflict with Lifetime.

On October 9, 2007, NBC Universal announced it would be purchasing Oxygen for $925 million. [cite news |author=Michael Learmonth |title=NBC U Sucks in Oxygen|publisher="Daily Variety" |page=1|date=October 10, 2007] The sale was completed on November 20, 2007. [ [http://www.nbcumv.com/oxygen/release_detail.nbc/corporate-20071120000000-nbcuniversalcomple.html NBC UNIVERSAL COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF OXYGEN MEDIA] ] NBC Universal's cable division announced at an industry upfront presentation on April 23, 2008, that the network would see a rebranding and new logo on June 17, 2008 [ [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2008/04/thats-so-oxygen.html That's so Oxygen : Show Tracker : Los Angeles Times ] ] [ [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i50885cdcb3e92d8871d759bc541e0de7 Oxygen rebrand caters to 'Generation O' ] ] , and in the months since the sale the "Oh!" heading was dropped from the channel's visual branding. The logo was premiered a week early on June 8, 2008.

For the 2008 Summer Olympics, Oxygen aired events and programming weeknights relating to gymnastics, equestrian, and synchronized swimming. This was not the first time Oxygen had carried sports, as before 2005, the network carried a limited schedule of regular season WNBA games produced by NBA TV.

Programming

Original programming

*"The Bad Girls Club"
*"Bad Girls Road Trip"
*"Bliss"
*"Campus Ladies"
*"Fight Girls"
*"Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency"
*"Mo'Nique's Fat Chance"
*"Oprah After the Show"
*"Snapped"
*"Suburban Shootout"
*"Tease"
*""
*""

Syndicated programming

*"A Different World"
*"America's Next Top Model" (upcoming [ [http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/09/oxygen_lands_offnet_model.php Oxygen Lands Off-Net 'Model'] ] )
*"Ellen"
*"Ghost Hunters"
*"Grace Under Fire"
*"Living Single"
*"Mad About You"*
*"Roseanne"
*"The Tyra Banks Show"
*""

See also

* List of DirecTV channels
* List of Dish Network channels

References

External links

* [http://www.oxygen.com Official Site]