Jump to content

Oxygen (TV network)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Oxygen (television network))
This article is about the American network. For the Canadian version, see Oxygen (Canadian TV channel).
Oxygen
CountryUnited States
HeadquartersComcast Building, New York City, New York
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format1080i HDTV
(downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
OwnerNBCUniversal (Comcast)
ParentNBCUniversal Media Group
Sister channels
List
History
Founded1998; 27 years ago (1998)
LaunchedFebruary 1, 2000; 25 years ago (2000-02-01)
Founder
Links
Websitewww.oxygen.com
Availability
Terrestrial
Digital terrestrial televisionSee § Over-the-air affiliates
Streaming media
Sling, YouTube TV, fuboTV, DirecTV Stream, Hulu + Live TV
ClaroTV+
(requires subscription to access content)
  • ch.185

Oxygen (branded on air as Oxygen True Crime) is an American cable and digital multicast television network owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group unit of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast. The network primarily airs true crime television series and police procedural dramas.

The channel launched on February 1, 2000, under the ownership of Oxygen Media, a consortium including Geraldine Laybourne and Oprah Winfrey among other stakeholders. It originally carried a format of lifestyle and entertainment programming oriented towards women. Oxygen Media was acquired by NBC Universal in 2007 for nearly $1 billion, after which the channel began to place a stronger focus on targeting young adult women. After the network experienced ratings successes with a programming block dedicated to such programming, Oxygen was relaunched in mid-2017 to focus primarily on true crime programs and crime dramas.

The channel initially operated as a cable network; in 2022, Oxygen began to also operate as a digital multicast television network on subchannels of NBC Owned Television Stations. As of November 2023, Oxygen is available to approximately 59,000,000 pay television households in the United States, down from its 2012 peak of 80,000,000 households.[1]

History

[edit]
Until 2004, the entire word was in smaller case letters.

The privately held company Oxygen Media was founded in 1998 by former Nickelodeon executive Geraldine Laybourne, talk-show host Oprah Winfrey, media executive Lisa Gersh, and producers Marcy Carsey, Tom Werner and Caryn Mandabach (of Carsey-Werner fame).[2] Laybourne was the service's founder, chairwoman, and CEO, staying with the channel until the NBCUniversal sale. The company's subscription network Oxygen launched on February 1, 2000.

Oxygen's first headquarters were at Battery Park City in New York City, near the World Trade Center. It was knocked off the air on September 11, 2001; a simulcast of Time Warner Cable-owned regional news channel NY1 was carried by Oxygen's channel space until the studio reopened within a week after the attack.[3] Oxygen's operations were later consolidated at Chelsea Market, a former Nabisco factory at 15th Street and Ninth Avenue in New York City.[4]

Prior to 2005, the channel carried a limited schedule of regular season WNBA games produced by NBA TV. The channel later began to focus chiefly on reality shows, reruns, and movies. For a time during the talk show's syndication run, Oxygen aired week-delayed repeats of The Tyra Banks Show. The yoga/meditation/exercise program Inhale was the last inaugural Oxygen program on air into the channel's NBC Universal era, albeit in repeats; it was cancelled in 2010.

Campus Ladies, Bliss, Oprah After the Show, Talk Sex with Sue Johanson, The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, Snapped, Girls Behaving Badly and Bad Girls Club, a reality series, were the highlight shows of the network at this time. Oxygen launched with immediate DirecTV carriage, and arrived on Dish Network in early 2006 during that provider's carriage conflict with Lifetime.

Acquisition by NBC Universal

[edit]
Oxygen logo (2008-2014)

In August 2007, rumors emerged that NBC Universal had made offers to acquire Oxygen, with the network reportedly recommending that Bravo Media head Lauren Zalaznick lead the network post-acquisition. It was reported that the network had been pursuing offers of at least $1 billion (referred to internally as "BET money", in reference to Viacom's earlier acquisition of the channel).[5] On October 9, 2007, NBC Universal announced it would be acquiring Oxygen for $925 million.[6]

The sale was completed on November 20, 2007, with Zalaznick appointed head of Oxygen. NBCU cable head Jeff Gaspin stated that Oxygen would be marketed to advertisers alongside sister properties targeting an "upscale" female audience, such as Bravo, iVillage, and Today. Some of Oxygen's executives departed during the integration, with Laybourne and president of programming Debby Beece both stepping down, and Gersh transitioning to roles at other NBCU divisions (including The Weather Channel, and later NBC News).[7][8]

In April 2008, during its first upfronts under NBCU ownership, Oxygen announced a planned rebranding to take effect that June. This would include a new logo and slogan ("Live Out Loud"), establishing women 18-49 (with a particular emphasis on a "young, trend-obsessed" women 18–34) as the network's target demographic, and relaunching its website with a larger focus on video content from its shows. It also announced upcoming series in development, such as Coolio's Rules and Dance Your Ass Off.[9][10] During the 2008 Summer Olympics, Oxygen aired a two-hour block of coverage on weekday evenings as part of NBC Sports' overall coverage. Oxygen focused primarily on coverage of the gymnastics competitions.[11][12]

The June 29, 2009 premiere of Dance Your Ass Off was Oxygen's highest-rated series premiere to-date, with an average of 1.3 million viewers.[13] A high definition simulcast feed launched in March 2011.[14] On May 21, 2013, the premiere of the Bad Girls Club spin-off Bad Girls All-Star Battle became Oxygen's highest-rated series premiere to-date, with 1.73 million viewers. With a Bad Girls Club: Atlanta reunion special as a lead-in (which drew a series high of nearly 2 million viewers), Nielsen estimated that Oxygen had achieved its highest-rated night of key demographic viewership to-date, and the top two programs on cable that evening.[15]

Following the acquisition of NBC Universal by Comcast and the last-minute replacement of its sister channel Style Network with Esquire Network (which was originally intended to replace G4) on September 23, 2013, some of its acquired programs were dispersed to Oxygen.[16]

Oxygen logo (2014–2017)

In April 2014, as part of a gradual re-focusing of NBCU's women's cable networks by new division head Bonnie Hammer, and the appointment of Frances Berwick as the head of Oxygen and Bravo, it was revealed that Oxygen would undergo a shift in its programming strategy to focus on a "modern", young female audience. Berwick explained that the new slate, which included upcoming series such as Fix My Choir, Funny Girls, Nail'd It, Sisterhood of Hip Hop, Street Art Throwdown, and planned spin-offs of Preachers of L.A., would "deliver on the freshness, authenticity, high emotional stakes and optimism that this demographic is looking for", and that many of the new programs would "appeal to things that are important in the lives of young, millennial women" and be "authentic".[17][18] As part of the re-focusing, the network also introduced a new slogan, "Very Real".[18]

Refocus on true crime

[edit]

In December 2016, it was reported that NBCUniversal was considering reformatting Oxygen as a true crime-oriented channel. Since 2015, the genre had seen growing interest, especially among young adult women. The network had introduced a primetime block known as Crime Time on Fridays through Mondays (anchored by series such as Snapped), which had helped Oxygen see a 42% increase in total viewership, and a 22% increase among women 25–54.[19] NBCUniversal had reportedly been in talks with Dick Wolf—producer of NBC's Law & Order and Chicago franchises—to take an equity stake in a re-branded channel that could be led by reruns of the programs.[20][21] In January 2017, the network also began a related foray into podcasting, with the true crime series Martinis & Murder.[22]

In February 2017, NBCUniversal confirmed that it planned to re-format Oxygen with a focus on true crime programming aimed towards women. The change was accompanied by a larger re-branding later in the year, with new police tape-inspired logo.[23][24] Oxygen's new lineup was built largely around its existing library of unscripted true-crime programming (such as Snapped), and reruns of police procedurals such as the CSI and NCIS franchises.[25][19][26] Berwick stated that the network had not determined the fate of the network's non-crime programming, such as Bad Girls Club, after the full re-branding takes effect.[19][26]

During its upfront presentations, Oxygen unveiled other new crime programs that were in development for the upcoming season, such the new Dick Wolf series Criminal Confessions, a docuseries on the murder of Jessica Chambers co-produced with NBCUniversal-funded BuzzFeed,[24] and a new season of Wolf's Cold Justice (which had been originally cancelled by TNT).[19][26] In September 2017, Oxygen and USA Network acquired off-network reruns of Chicago P.D., which were added to their schedules in October 2017.[27][28]

International

[edit]

On October 17, 2024, NBCUniversal announced an agreement with Bell Media to launch a Canadian version of Oxygen. The channel launched on January 1, 2025, replacing the similarly-formatted Oxygen competitor Investigation Discovery, following Bell's loss of rights to Warner Bros. Discovery factual channel brands to Rogers Media.[29]

Programming

[edit]

Current

[edit]
  • Kill or Be Killed
  • Buried in the Backyard
  • 911 Crisis Center
  • Cold Justice
  • Dateline: Secrets Uncovered
  • Dateline: Unforgettable
  • Homicide for the Holidays
  • Killer Siblings
  • Snapped
  • Mark of a Killer
  • Final Moments
  • Accident, Suicide or Murder
  • The Real Murders of Orange County
  • The Real Murders of Atlanta
  • The Real Murders of Los Angeles
  • Blood & Money
  • Living with a Serial Killer
  • Snapped: Killer Couples
  • Twisted Killers
  • Floribama Murders
  • Fatal Family Feuds
  • Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Siegler
  • Sin City Murders
  • Sins of the South
  • Deadly Waters With Captain Lee
  • A Plan To Kill
  • Philly Homicide

Past

[edit]

Syndicated

[edit]

Over-the-air affiliates

[edit]

On May 2, 2022, NBC Owned Television Stations began to carry Oxygen as a subchannel on digital terrestrial television, primarily on NBC and Telemundo owned and operated stations.[33]

List of Oxygen affiliates[34]
Media market State/District Station Channel
Birmingham Alabama WBRC-DT4 6.4
Mobile WALA-DT6 10.6
Montgomery WSFA-DT6 12.6
Phoenix Arizona KTAZ-DT5 39.5
Tucson KHRR-DT4 40.4
Little Rock Arkansas KWMO-LD6 34.6
Bakersfield California KTLD-CD4 8.4
Fresno KNSO-DT5 51.5
Los Angeles KNBC-DT3 4.3
Sacramento KCSO-LD6 33.6
San Diego KNSD-DT4 39.4
San Francisco KSTS-DT6 48.6
Denver Colorado KDEN-DT5 25.5
Hartford–New Haven Connecticut WVIT-DT4 30.4
Washington, D.C. District of Columbia WRC-DT4 4.4
Jacksonville Florida WODH-LD5 34.5
Miami–Fort Lauderdale WTVJ-DT4 6.4
Tampa WRMD-CD4 49.4
West Palm Beach WFLX-DT4 29.4
Atlanta Georgia WYGA-CD8 16.8
Columbus WTVM-DT7 9.7
Savannah WDID-LD7 26.7
Honolulu Hawaii KHNL-DT4 13.4
Boise Idaho KFLL-LD3 25.3
KNIN-DT3 9.3
Chicago Illinois WMAQ-DT3 5.3
Springfield WCQA-LD8 16.8
Evansville Indiana WEIN-LD3 40.3
Fort Wayne WCUH-LD5 16.5
Indianapolis WUDZ-LD6 28.6
South Bend WNDU-DT6 16.6
Des Moines Iowa KAJR-LD7 36.7
Topeka Kansas WIBW-DT7 13.7
Wichita KFVT-LD4 34.4
Bowling Green Kentucky WBKO-DT5 13.5
Alexandria Louisiana KALB-DT5 5.6
Baton Rouge WAFB-DT7 9.7
New Orleans WTNO-CD4 22.4
WVUE-DT5 8.5
Boston Massachusetts WNEU-DT4 15.4
Detroit Michigan WDWO-CD3 18.3
Marquette WLUC-DT5 6.5
Midland W35DQ-D6 24.6
Traverse City W36FH-D3 36.3
Mankato Minnesota KEYC-DT5 12.5
Cape Girardeau Missouri KFVS-DT6 15.6
Jefferson City K35OY-D3 35.3
Joplin KRLJ-LD6 45.6
Kansas City KAJF-LD6 21.6
Springfield KCNH-LD3 47.3
St. Louis K25NG-D6 25.6
Hastings Nebraska KNHL-DT5 5.5
Lincoln KSNB-DT5 4.5
Omaha KAJS-LD5 33.5
Las Vegas Nevada KBLR-DT5 39.5
Reno K07AAI-D2 12.2
Albuquerque New Mexico KUPT-LD4 2.4
Buffalo New York WVTT-CD7 34.7
New York City WNBC-DT4 4.4
Saranac Lake WYCI-DT5 40.5
Watertown WWNY-DT5 7.5
Charlotte North Carolina WBTV-DT5 3.5
Washington WITN-DT7 7.7
Wilmington WECT-DT7 6.7
Fargo North Dakota K15MR-D2 51.2
Cleveland Ohio WUAB-DT3 43.3
Columbus WDEM-CD2 17.2
Oklahoma City Oklahoma KTOU-LD5 22.5
Tulsa KZLL-LD6 39.6
Portland Oregon KPTV-DT4 12.4
KOXI-CD5 20.5
Philadelphia Pennsylvania WJMB-CD2 60.2
WMVH-CD3 26.3
WWKH-CD3 35.3
WWLM-CD3 20.3
Pittsburgh WCAU-DT4 10.4
Providence Rhode Island WRIW-CD3 51.3
Columbia South Carolina WIS-DT5 10.5
Florence W33DN-D3 16.3
Rapid City South Dakota KHME-DT5 23.5
Knoxville Tennessee WVLT-DT5 8.5
Memphis WMC-DT4 5.4
Nashville WSMV-DT4 4.4
Amarillo Texas KFDA-DT6 10.6
Austin KVAT-LD8 17.8
Corpus Christi K21OC-D5 54.5
K32OC-D7 29.7
Dallas–Fort Worth KXAS-DT4 5.4
El Paso KTDO-DT5 48.5
Houston KTMD-DT3 47.3
Lubbock KNKC-LD4 29.4
Harlingen–McAllen KTLM-DT5 40.5
San Antonio KVDA-DT5 60.5
Tyler KLTV-DT6 7.6
Waco KWTX-DT5 10.5
Salt Lake City Utah KTMW-DT3 20.5
Richmond Virginia WZTD-LD3 45.3
Pasco Washington K28QK-D2 22.2
Seattle–Tacoma KUSE-LD5 46.5
Charleston–Huntington West Virginia WOCW-LD7 21.7
Clarksburg WVFX-DT6 10.6
Green Bay–Milwaukee Wisconsin WIWN-DT5 68.5
Madison W23BW-D7 23.7
Casper Wyoming KCWY-DT6 13.6

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "U.S. cable network households (universe), 1990 – 2023". wrestlenomics.com. May 14, 2024. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  2. ^ "Lisa Gersh Profile". Bloomberg L.P.
  3. ^ "Oxygen Media Transmits New York One Signal to Its National Subscribers – New York Business Wire – September 13, 2001".
  4. ^ Stelter, Brian (2008-06-16). "NBC Universal Brings Oxygen Into the Fold". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-27.
  5. ^ Nordyke, Andrew Wallenstein,Kimberly (2007-08-10). "Indie cabler Oxygen in air at NBC Universal". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2025-01-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Learmonth, Michael (October 10, 2007). "NBC U Sucks in Oxygen". Daily Variety. p. 1.
  7. ^ "NBC Takes Breath After Oxygen Buy". TV Week. Retrieved 2025-01-27.
  8. ^ Ariens, Chris (23 September 2009). "Lisa Gersh Heads to NBC News Front Office". AdWeek. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  9. ^ "Show Tracker". The Los Angeles Times. April 23, 2008.
  10. ^ Nordyke, Kimberly. "Oxygen rebrand caters to 'Generation O'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 24, 2008.
  11. ^ "NBC will use Oxygen for daily Beijing coverage". Sports Business Journal. 2008-02-11. Retrieved 2025-01-27.
  12. ^ Gough, Paul J. (2008-02-11). "Oxygen on for Olympics". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-01-27 – via The Hollywood Reporter.
  13. ^ ""Dance Your Ass Off" Sets Oxygen Record As Network's Best Series Premiere Ever". HuffPost. 2009-07-31. Retrieved 2024-12-17.
  14. ^ "TIME WARNER CABLE EXPANDS HIGH-DEFINITION CHANNEL LINE UP FOR NEW YORK CITY CUSTOMERS | Time Warner Cable | New York City". Time Warner Cable. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
  15. ^ Kissell, Rick (2013-05-22). "Oxygen Sets Network Ratings Records With 'Bad Girls Club'". Variety. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
  16. ^ Rose, Lacey (September 9, 2013). "NBCU Switch-Up: Esquire Network to Take Over Style, Not G4 (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g Goldberg, Lesley (April 8, 2014). "Oxygen Orders Seven New Series, Sets Network Rebranding". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  18. ^ a b Goldberg, Lesley (September 24, 2014). "Oxygen Adds Five Series Ahead of Rebrand, Including Kardashian Minister Docuseries (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  19. ^ a b c d Littleton, Cynthia (February 1, 2017). "Oxygen Surrenders to Crime Wave in Programming Strategy Revamp". Variety. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  20. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (December 12, 2016). "Oxygen Eyes Crime-Themed Makeover". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  21. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (December 12, 2016). "NBCUniversal, Dick Wolf in Talks to Transform Oxygen Into Crime-Centric Channel (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  22. ^ Peterson, Tim (March 11, 2019). "'On the precipice of being a real business': NBCU's Oxygen wants to make money from podcasts". Digiday. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  23. ^ Petski, Denise (May 11, 2017). "Oxygen Expands Crime Programming Slate With Projects From Ice-T, Nancy Grace & More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  24. ^ a b Stanhope, Kate (May 10, 2017). "Oxygen Teams With Dick Wolf, Nancy Grace, Ice-T for Crime-Centered Slate". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  25. ^ Umstead, Thomas (February 1, 2017). "Oxygen to Rebrand as A True Crime Channel". Multichannel News. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  26. ^ a b c Goldberg, Lesley (February 1, 2017). "Oxygen Officially Rebranding as Crime-Focused Network". The Hollywood Reporter. United States. Archived from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  27. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (September 23, 2017). "USA and Oxygen Acquire Rerun Rights to 'Chicago P.D.'". Variety. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  28. ^ Hurley, Laura (December 18, 2017). "NCIS: New Orleans And Chicago P.D. Just Landed Big Syndication Deals". Cinema Blend. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  29. ^ Thiessen, Connie (2024-10-17). "Bell to bring USA Network, Oxygen True Crime to Canada". Broadcast Dialogue. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  30. ^ Carlson, Adam (August 21, 2017). "The Mystery of Maura Murray, College Student Who Suddenly Vanished After 2004 Crash". People. United States. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  31. ^ Bibel, Sara (January 7, 2013). "Oxygen Picks Up 'Fat Girl Revenge,' 'Find Me My Man,' & 'Too Young To Marry?'". TV By the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 11, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  32. ^ Yohannes, Alamin (August 9, 2016). "Oxygen's Trans Reality Show 'Strut' to Debut in September". NBC News. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  33. ^ Oxygen Staff (May 2, 2022). "Think You Don't Have Access To Oxygen Hits Like 'Snapped' And 'Dateline'? Think Again". Oxygen Official Site. Archived from the original on 2022-05-02. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
  34. ^ "Stations for Network - Oxygen". RabbitEars. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oxygen_(TV_network)&oldid=1284285688"