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.
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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Tuesday, May 5
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 4)
Tuesday, May 5
- John Mulaney (Mulaney) - Catch John on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Meg Stalter (Hacks/Too Much) - Meg appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Suli McCullough (The Jamie Foxx Show) - Suli is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
- Jamie Lynn Sigler (Guys with Kids) - Andy Cohen interviews Jamie Lynn on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 3:30am on Bravo.
- Paul W. Downs (Hacks/Broad City) - Paul is a guest on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) and Cedric The Entertainer (The Neighborhood/The Last O.G./The Soul Man/The Steve Harvey Show) - Antony and Cedric talk about AC Barbeque: The Husky and Handsome Guide to Grilling on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm. Anthony will also be on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Sally Field (Gidget/The Flying Nun/The Girl with Something Extra) - Sally talks about Remarkably Bright Creatures on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Jamie Lynn Sigler (Guys with Kids) - Jamie Lynn talks about And So It Is...: A Memoir of Acceptance and Hope with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Jill Kargman (Odd Mom Out) - Jill talks about Influenced on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- The Cast of Shrinking - The Cast of Shrinking can be heard on the Morning Mash Up on SiriusXM.
- Aasif Mandvi (The Brink) - Aasif tells Sherri about his new series The Miniature Wife on Peacock on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Phoebe Robinson (Everything's Trash) - Phoebe drops into Sherri's Laugh Lounge on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Ginnifer Goodwin (Pivoting) - The Drew Barrymore Show has a little bit extra from Drew's interview with Ginnifer, so check your local listings.
- Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster/Sabrina the Teenage Witch) - Soleil appears on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
09/30 - Touché Turtle and Dum Dum - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/16 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/16 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/20 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
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