Fox to Launch Reality Cable TV Channel in 2005

[CookieS]

Fox to Launch Reality Cable TV Channel in 2005
Tue Jul 13, 2004 08:35 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Fox Networks Group on Tuesday said it would launch a reality television cable network early next year, raising the stakes in the new genre as rivals accuse Fox Broadcasting of stealing their ideas.

The Fox Reality Channel will debut in the first three months of 2005 with new and repeat performances from Fox, known for shows like "American Idol" and "The Simple Life," as well as outtakes and contestant interviews, foreign adaptations of popular concepts and shows from other production companies.

The network will also back up programs on the main Fox broadcast channel with extra material, it said.

The Fox broadcast network has yet to comment on criticism from rivals that it has stolen their ideas for new reality shows, mounting a boxing show after NBC decided to do so and debuting "Trading Spouses," a show about parents from different families switching places, ahead of "Wife Swap" on ABC, which first came up with the idea.

There are already two other reality cable channels -- EchoStar Communications Inc's Dish satellite network carries Europe's "Reality TV" in the United States, and an independent group is preparing to launch a "Reality Central" channel with new reality shows and gossip about the industry late this year.

E! Entertainment Television co-founder Larry Namer is president and chief executive of "Reality Central" and said he expected Fox's rivals ABC, CBS and NBC would be wary of working with a Fox channel and would prefer to work with his own.

His channel is in the process of getting deals for carriage from five of the biggest 10 U.S. carriers.

A Fox spokesman said it has not named an executive to head the channel as yet.

Fox is part of the Fox Entertainment Group Inc., which is controlled by News Corp. Ltd. NBC Universal is controlled by General Electric Co. and ABC is owned by Walt Disney Co.
AHHH NO!!!

[Charlie]

This is going a bit too far now.

[Nick K.]

I'm discgusted. Reality t.v. needs to die and instead it is starting to get its own channels now.

[Obi]

[Luke Skywalker]No...that's not true....THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!![/Luke Skywalker]

[shogunthethird]

you know what I wanna see?


WHEN ANIMALS ATTACK....Rupert Murdoch and the rest of those Fox network scumbags

[The Dork Knight]

It was inevitable...

- The Dork Knight

[Kyl416]

Didn't Chappele's Show come up with Trading Spouces first?

[Icer]

Reality TV has arrived and is here to stay, it's as much a part of TV as Comedy Sitcoms are.

Making a channel out of it was bound to happen...not surprised it's FOX.

Joe Millionaire here I come, aint seen you in a while

[Youko Recca]

Hmm, maybe the companies will be so busy complaining and pointing fingers that eventually they'll give up and stop producing reality tv. If you're lucky.

[oranthal]

This can be a good thing. If all reality TV shows airs on that channel, then I don't have to run into them when I watch network TV. As for the reality TV channel, I'll just erase it from my TV's memory, so I won't even get a peep from it. It's kind of like putting all the criminals in one place, so we won't run into one on the streets.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Well great... more Reality TV, just what we needed...

Reruns at that. It's probably be nothing but reruns for quite a while... as Fox wouldn't want to detract from their main channels Reality TV loving viewership.

[Mr. Pedro]

I'm surprised that they didn't do this sooner. =P

[Lord Ashram]

[Luke Skywalker]No...that's not true....THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!![/Luke Skywalker]
Actually it was just No... NO! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! :p

But yeah, this good proof of how some of us are de-evolving.

[Mynd Hed]

This can be a good thing. If all reality TV shows airs on that channel, then I don't have to run into them when I watch network TV. As for the reality TV channel, I'll just erase it from my TV's memory, so I won't even get a peep from it. It's kind of like putting all the criminals in one place, so we won't run into one on the streets.
Ah, that would be wonderful if that were the way it worked, but unfortunately, it won't be that way, any more than network TV gave up on comedy after Comedy Central came around, any more than all animation is now on Cartoon Network.

[Jaguar]

Fox gives another reason for people to hate them.

[Sigma]

Didn't Chappele's Show come up with Trading Spouces first?Thats what I thought, but regardless Fox is still ripping off other peoples ideas.

As horrid as a reality TV channel is, it doesn't suprise me at all especially comming from the reality TV whores at Fox. :shrug:

[Michael24]

Ugh!

But, I hope they at least rerun "Murder In Small Town X," the only 'reality' show I liked due to the fact the focus wasn't on backstabbing and *****y contestants, but rather detective team work. (Well, there was one really *****y character, but she finally got killed off halfway through.)

[Elven Moon]

As long as they move it all to ONE channel and keep them away from the other channels, fine.

[Deadly Messiah]

OMG, my dream is becoming true.

Please tell me Fox is only kidding. Once this happens, we will never get anything fictional on TV again.

Well, not like reality tv shows are that real. God, they so suck miserably. What do people find so great about them?

[True Noir]

More reality tv shows? Great...:rolleyes: The only reality show I watch is Road Rules and Realword and the challenges. A whole channel commited to reality shows. Unfortunately, I hate to say it but this is going to be pretty successful.

[Discloner]

All of Fox's reality television efforts concentrated on a single network I probably won't have on my cable line-up for a solid 5 years.

I fail to see what's so horrible about that.

Even if my cable provider did carry the channel, I'd simply have to not watch the network to avoid the programming. One of the problems with reality television is that it takes away from 'real' sitcoms and shows that involve stories and actors, but you can't be taking away such shows on a network that is supposed to be devoid of them...thus exausting the genera all together, or ridding people's taste of it faster.

So someone...please, explain to me what the problem with this is?

[Obi]

Actually it was just No... NO! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! :p

Actually, it was:

Darth Vader: "Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father..."
Luke: "He told me enough! He told me YOU killed him."
Darth Vader: "No...I am your father."
Luke: "No....that's not true....that's IMPOSSIBLE!"
Darth Vader: "Search your feelings, you KNOW it to be true."
Luke: "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! NO!!!!!"

:p

[Batman49]

I thought we already had an all Reality TV channel, MTV.

[Master Moron]

I thought we already had an all Reality TV channel, MTV.

Good point. You know I'm finding myself watching more reality TV nowadays. I'm watching Big Brother 5, Amazing Race whatever the hell number it is, and the Simple Life 2. I think I'm starting to get addicted to this crap. I need to supplement reality TV with something else, like crack.

[Peter Paltridge]

Heh, and you know what.....I can imagine they'll try to spice things up in 5 years by debuting an actual SITCOM on the reality channel. Then they'll put on three more and a game show. Finally the Fox Reality Channel will totally not resemble its namesake in any way and to see any reality TV you'll have to ask your cable provider for "Fox Reality Channel 2." It's the natural cycle of things....

[NicK']

OMG, my dream is becoming true.

Please tell me Fox is only kidding. Once this happens, we will never get anything fictional on TV again.

Well, not like reality tv shows are that real. God, they so suck miserably. What do people find so great about them?
Dunno, I guess the fact that they're just normal people and aren't actors (or are they? DUN DUN DUNNNN!).

Anyways, although I am annoyed that there are going to be more annoying Reality T.V. shows, atleast they will be on one channel, instead of flooding Fox, The WB, and other channels with them.

[Mynd Hed]

Anyways, although I am annoyed that there are going to be more annoying Reality T.V. shows, atleast they will be on one channel, instead of flooding Fox, The WB, and other channels with them.
You mean the same way all comedy is now located on Comedy Central, and all cartoons are now on Cartoon Network, and no other channel has any comedy or animation?
Oh, WAIT. They DON'T. Jeez, does anyone even bother to read threads that they post in any more?


Heh, and you know what.....I can imagine they'll try to spice things up in 5 years by debuting an actual SITCOM on the reality channel. Then they'll put on three more and a game show. Finally the Fox Reality Channel will totally not resemble its namesake in any way and to see any reality TV you'll have to ask your cable provider for "Fox Reality Channel 2." It's the natural cycle of things....
Martianinvader wins the thread. (-: