FYI (American TV channel)

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox television channel

FYI (stylized as fyi,) is an American basic cable channel owned by A+E Global Media, a joint venture between the Disney Entertainment subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications (each owns 50%). The network features lifestyle programming, with a mix of reality, culinary, home renovation and makeover series.

The network originally launched in 1998 as The Biography Channel, as an offshoot of A&E and named after its television series Biography. As such, it originally featured factual programs, such as reruns of its namesake. As A&E shifted its focus towards reality television and drama series, the Biography Channel became the home for several series that had been displaced by the flagship network (including Biography itself), but shifted towards reality-oriented series itself in 2007 and was rebranded as simply Bio. In 2014, the channel was rebranded as FYI, an initialism for "for your information".

Template:As of, FYI is available to approximately 35,000,000 pay television households in the United States-down from its 2015 peak of 73,000,000 households.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In recent years, FYI has lost carriage with the growth of streaming alternatives and has generally been depreciated by A+E Global Media in current retransmission consent negotiations with cable and streaming providers.

History

The Biography Channel

Template:Multiple image The channel was launched on November 16, 1998, as The Biography Channel by A&E Television Networks, which conceived the channel as an offshoot of the long-running A&E profile series Biography.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=wrap>Template:Cite news</ref> On October 1, 2000, A&E Networks expanded its British partnership with British Sky Broadcasting with the launch of a UK market Biography Channel.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In August 2006, The Biography Channel became the exclusive home for the Biography series, as it was dropped by A&E. Another 64 hours of the show was ordered for its first year on the channel.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2007, Biography Channel unveiled a new on-air brand—identifying the network simply as "Bio".<ref name=wrap/> The changes came as the network shifted its scope to de-emphasize traditional biographical programs in favor of "true stories about fascinating people", such as the series Shatner's Raw Nerve, hosted by William Shatner.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Bio had been stagnating since A+E's 2013 upfront presentation as little focus was placed upon it. Bio was generating 12 cents per subscriber from the video provider, about half the industry average.Template:Citation needed After tweaking the three main A+E channels, Bio averaged viewers of 91,000 adults 25–54 in prime compared to what A&E (716,000) and History (703,000) managed over the same period.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Jana Bennett was hired as president of LMN and Bio in June 2013 and, having transformed TLC from an educational channel to a lifestyle network, was considered an indication that adding a lifestyle channel to the A+E portfolio was a possibility. An opening in the genre occurred as the Style Network became the men-focused Esquire Network. While preparing to launch FYI, Bio began re-airing A&E's house-flipping shows and 30 potential shows were placed in development.<ref name=dl>Template:Cite web</ref>

As FYI (2014–present)

In December 2013, A+E Networks announced that The Biography Channel would be rebranded as FYI, a contemporary lifestyle network, starting in mid 2014.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> By February, FYI had a slate of six new series including three food series, two home design series, and one style series, with other shows also in development,<ref name="wrap2">Template:Cite news</ref> including pilot orders of Red Hot Design starring Shasta Smith, and Jennifer's Way.<ref name=vty>Template:Cite news</ref> In April, Midnight Feast was greenlit for the new channel while two others—Say it to my face and Reverse Course—were ordered to pilot.<ref name=vty0>Template:Cite news</ref>

With the June 2014 announcement of the 2015 end of the ABC Owned Television Stations-run subscription network Live Well Network, some of its programming was being offered to FYI, which shared partial ABC ownership.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The network launched on July 7, 2014, with a preview special, FYI: First Look, featuring previews of the network's new programming. Its first new original series, Married at First Sight, premiered the next day.<ref name=mch>Template:Cite news</ref>

In January 2015, following the success of its Six Months Later special, FYI ordered Married at First Sight: The First Year.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Programming

Current programming

Former FYI

In production

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  • The Feed – produced by Giants Pirates with Top Chef judge Gail Simmons, The Taste judge Marcus Samuelsson and comedian and food-blogger Max Silvestri as a traveling road show looking into the American food culture and its new trends.<ref name=wrap2/> Originally to be a launch program (on July 12, 2014), The Feed was pushed back to a summer start.<ref name=mch/>
  • Midnight Feast – produced by Nerd TV and hosted by Chef Spike Mendelsohn; a competitive cooking show in which three chefs use New York's Chelsea Market as an ingredient source, where the winning chef gets a cash prize while the losers pay their grocery bills.<ref name=vty0/>

In development

  • Red Hot Design – features a team led by designer and artist Shasta Smith making upscale art and furniture from unusual materials and produced by Cineflix Productions.<ref name=vty/>
  • Jennifer's Way – produced by Atlas Media; features Jennifer Esposito, an actress who entered the food business with a gluten-free bakery, as she attempts to expand beyond the single NYC location into cookbooks, packaged goods and franchised locations.<ref name=vty/>
  • Say It To My Face – produced by Pie Town Productions; restaurant owners and chefs and their online critics meet to defend their position. Then under the aid of co-hosts Andrew Gruel and Anthony Dispensa,<ref>Redcarpetcrash.com Template:Webarchive</ref> the restaurant gets a makeover.<ref name=vty0/>
  • Reverse Course – produced by Stick Figure Studios and hosted by chef and restaurateur Sam Talbot; from the finished meal then going in reverse to cooking, preparation and local sourcing.<ref name=vty0/>

Final Bio programming

Former Bio

International versions of Bio and FYI

Despite the relaunch, international versions of The Biography Channel exist in some regions. An international version of The Biography Channel previously operated in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Israel, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, but has since been replaced by other channels. The Australian channel was closed in 2015. The Canadian version, operated under license by Rogers Media, was relaunched as Viceland in February 2016, but was then shut down on March 31, 2018.

References

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