ABC Family Rebranding to Freeform; Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration on PBS

Wednesday, October 07, 2015

ABC Family Rebranding to Freeform; Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration on PBS

ABC Family President Tom Ascheim announced that ABC Family will be renamed and rebranded as Freeform in January 2016. This evolution builds on ABC Family's existing strategy of super serving "Becomers" - a life stage that spans people who are 14-34. The name, look, feel and attitude of the network will capture the nature of the Becomer audience and the modern way this audience generates and consumes media. The name Freeform speaks to the mindset and attitude of what the channel has defined as Becomers. Traditionally, Becomers are in high school, college and the decade that follows and are navigating the wonderful, fun, exciting, and scary time in life when you experience the most firsts - first car, first apartment, first job, first love, first heartbreak - all the firsts that exists between who they are and who they want to become. Becomers represent a life stage rather than a generation. Eleven years ago, ABC Family was ahead of the curve when it began super-serving Millennials to become their entertainment staple. Today, nearly 70% of 12-34 year olds are Millennials, but in five years, Millennials will be less than half of the target. Becomers are 69 million strong in the US, with an estimated spending power in the trillions. There are two billion Becomers worldwide.

The audience's identity and experience are fluid as they explore endless possibilities and their passions take shape. Freeform personifies this fluidity and will deliver ideas, forms of content and ways of interacting with the brand. Freeform is inspired by the interconnection between content and audience, media and technology, interactive and linear, life stage and life style and the way Becomers interact with them all. The network remains committed to the critically acclaimed original series and programming stunts that have become pop-culture phenomena and made it so successful with the Becomer audience. Pretty Little Liars, The Fosters, Young and Hungry and Baby Daddy will all return in early 2016 for their winter premieres alongside the world premieres of new original series Shadowhunters and Recovery Road. Freeform will also continue the programming trajectory announced this April and will double the networks original programing over the next four years. New series pick-ups and series returns will also be announced later this month.

During the 2014/15 season, ABC Family landmarked as cable TV's #1 network in Prime for the first time in the channel's 15-year history in Women 18-34 and was the #1 ad-supported cable TV network for the fourth-consecutive season in Females 12-34. In addition, ABC Family extended its streak as a Top 5 cable TV network to seven-straight seasons in Women 18-49 and placed among the Top 10 for the seventh season in a row in Adults 18-34 and Viewers 12-34.

Mary Tyler Moore

On the eve of the 45th anniversary of the premiere of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, PBS announces a new documentary about the TV legend featuring new interviews with an array of Moore's colleagues, friends and admirers. Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration airs October 13, 2015, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET (check local listings). Not only did Moore "turn the world on with her smile," as her show's theme song declared, she also influenced a generation of women to become more independent and to pursue successful and fulfilling careers. Moore's own 50-plus-year career has spanned award-winning films and Broadway shows, as well as two beloved television series that broke ground and continue to entertain viewers. Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration includes heartfelt interviews with Dick Van Dyke, Betty White, Valerie Harper and many others who recall Moore's career highlights and underscore the importance of her television characters in shaping today's society.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, February 25

Young Sheldon - "Crappy Frozen Ice Cream and an Organ Grinder's Monkey" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Sheldon and George Sr. dine with President Hagemeyer (Wendie Malick) and a university benefactor. Also, Georgie gives Missy some brotherly advice when Mary won’t let her go to the school dance, and Dale and June (Reba McEntire) convince Meemaw to attend their son’s wedding.

B Positive - "B Negative" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Drew and Gina start thinking about their futures after Jerry (David Anthony Higgins) gets a surprise call that he’s receiving a new kidney.

Mom - "Whip-Its and Emotionally Attuned Babies" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Bonnie has success creating a line of mocktails for Adam’s bar. Also, Jill finds herself attracted to Bonnie’s therapist, Trevor (Rainn Wilson).

The Unicorn - "In Memory Of..." (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Natalie realizes that her memories of her mom are starting to fade when Michelle and Delia have a memorial to honor Wade’s wife. Also, Forrest and Ben get competitive when their kids enter a fundraising contest at school.

Call Me Kat - "First Date" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Kat deals with nerves over her first date with Oscar; Randi tries to figure out the perfect anniversary gift for Daniel.

Last Man Standing - "Grill in the Mist" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
In the wake of the pandemic, Mike and Kristin are forced to make some tough business decisions involving Outdoor Man; Jen helps Mandy get organized.

Mr. Mayor - "#Palmtreereform" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Neil's plan to save the city money on palm tree maintenance meets unexpected resistance; Tommy and Mikaela don't believe Jayden when he announces he's going to be a father.

Young Rock - "Depositions" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
With Carol's lawyer at Cloud 9 to depose the employees, Jonah tries to ease Glenn's nerves; Mateo enlists Sandra's help hiding the details of his work arrangement while Dina grows concerned about Garrett's behavior at customer service.

grown-ish - "Know Yourself" (Freeform, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Vivek has a new experience with Heidi; Aaron and Doug struggle to adjust their views on sexuality and masculinity; Nomi and her new baby, Luna, return to Cal U; Junior shows up to fight for Sky.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 22)

Thursday, February 25

Steve Harvey (The Steve Harvey Show) - Catch Steve on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Regina King (227/Leap of Faith) - Regina appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
David Spade (Rules of Engagement/8 Simple Rules/Just Shoot Me!) - David is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Jodie Foster (Paper Moon/Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice) - Jodie will be on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS. She also talks about The Mauritanian on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Randall Park (Fresh Off the Boat) - Randall appears on A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Kevin James (The Crew/Kevin Can Wait/The King of Queens) - Kevin is a guest on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster/Sabrina, the Teenage Witch) - Soleil will be on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
Michael Chiklis (Daddio) - Michael talks about the crime drama series Coyote on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie) - Jane is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Nick Jonas (Jonas) - Nick talks about the new season of The Voice on E!'s Daily Pop at 11am.
Tia Mowry (Family Reunion/Instant Mom/The Game/Sister, Sister) - Tia talks about how she is taking charge of her health in 2021 on E!'s Daily Pop at 11am.
Maureen McCormick (The Brady Bunch/The Brady Brides) - Maureen talks about life as a Brady and how she is coping during the pandemic on The Dr. Oz Show, so check your local listings.