FX Networks, LLC, is a company consisting of a network of cable channels plus a production company and a subsidiary of the Disney General Entertainment Content segment of

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...

. Originally a part of 21st Century Fox, the company was acquired by The Walt Disney Company on March 20, 2019. Consequently, FX Networks was integrated into the newly renamed

Walt Disney Television Disney General Entertainment Content, doing business as Walt Disney Television, is an American entertainment company that oversees television content and assets owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company. Forming the company's General Enter ...

unit.

History

Fox Broadcasting started up its fX unit by November 1993 under president Anne Sweeney Chuck Saftler was hired in November 1993. Coming from

KTLA KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is the seco ...

TV station, Mark Sonnenberg was recruited as first head of programming. On June 1, 1994, the fX cable channel premiered. Early the next month, Fox Broadcasting chair

Lucie Salhany Lucille "Lucie" Salhany ( ar, لوسي صالحاني; born May 25, 1946) is an American media executive of Jordanian and Lebanese Heritage. Salhany was the first woman to head a broadcast television network in 1993 in the position as Chairwoman ...

and fX was then transferred in a reorganization soon thereafter under Fox Television chair and CEO Chase Carey. In mid-July 1994, a movie sister channel was announced under the working name of The Fox Movie Studio, also under Sweeney under the title of president of fX and Fox Movie Studio, to start airing in the fall. FX Networks launched the Fox Movie Studio on October 31, 1994, as fXM: Movies from Fox. fXM: Movies from Fox on March 1, 2000, was renamed Fox Movie Channel. Sweeney left for Disney in February 1996. She was replaced by Sonnenberg, who remained until 1998. Peter Liguori was appointed to replace him. The FX289 channel for UK and Ireland launched in January 2004 then rebranded as FX as it moved in the Sky EPG in April 2005. The channel was rebranded as Fox on 11 January 2013. John Landgraf joined as president of entertainment in 2004 then promoted in 2005 to president and general manager of FX Networks. In that span, FX's original series increased to two to 11, which was a factor in starting an in-house production company. In August 2007, FX Productions was formed to take stakes in FX programming. FX acquired a number of non-Fox films for the channels. Landgraf was elevated to CEO of FX Networks and FX Productions in June 2013 while taking charge of FXNow digital video-on-demand platform. On March 28, 2013, FX president John Landgraf announced their upcoming launch of a new channel, FXX. Landgraf described the channel as "slightly more comedy focused" and aimed at younger audiences 18-34 compared with FX's programming and viewers aged 25–54, respectively. The channel was launched alongside the new tagline, "Fearless", that was implemented during 2013 across the channels of FX Networks. These announcements were part of FX Networks' plans to further distinguish itself from the "sameness" of free-to-air television and its "endless imitators" on subscription TV. Also that month, Fox Movie Channel changed its name back to FXM. In June 2017, the 101-year-old actress Olivia de Havilland filed a lawsuit against FX Networks and producer Ryan Murphy for inaccurately portraying her and using her likeness without permission. On March 26, 2018, a

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

appeals court threw out the lawsuit on First Amendment grounds. Expanding from the FX- BBC co-production of ''

Taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannic ...

'', in October 2018 FX agreed to give the BBC UK rights to all future and select current FX original scripted shows. On December 14, 2017,

announced that it would acquire 21st Century Fox, including FX Networks, LLC. The acquisition was completed on March 20, 2019. In a September 2018 interview with ''Variety'' of the Disney-Fox deal, Landgraf said, "I think this is a necessary step. I have curiosity and a bit of anxiety about how it will work, but I'm really excited about it. In 2017,

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

launched FX+; the service was shut down on August 20, 2019, with four shows shifting premieres to Hulu. FX programming was moved to Hulu as "FX on Hulu" on March 2, 2020, with a limited number of shows.

Networks and Services

FX

FX, originally stylized as "fX", launched on June 1, 1994. The network's original programming aspires to the standards of premium cable channels in regard to mature themes and content, high-quality writing, directing and acting. FX also carries

rerun A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. There are two types of reruns – those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Variations In the United Kingdom, the wor ...

s of theatrical films and terrestrial-network

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

s. The network broadcast from a large " apartment" in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

's Flatiron District. fX was one of the first forays into large-scale

interactive television Interactive television is a form of media convergence, adding data services to traditional television technology. It has included on-demand delivery of content, online shopping, and viewer polls. Interactive TV is an example of how new informatio ...

. The channel centered on original programming, which was broadcast live every day from the "fX Apartment," and rebroadcasts of classic television shows from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, such as ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...

'', ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne, are credited as being ...

'', ''

Eight Is Enough ''Eight Is Enough'' is an American television comedy-drama series that ran on ABC from March 15, 1977, until May 23, 1981. The show was modeled on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Tom Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, w ...

'', '' Nanny and the Professor'' and ''

The Green Hornet The Green Hornet is a superhero created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell. Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of me ...

''. fX had two taglines during this period: "TV Made Fresh Daily" and "The World's First Living Television Network". The "f" in the channel's name and logo was rendered in lower-case to portray a type of relaxed friendliness; the stylized "X" represented the channel's roots: the crossing searchlights of the

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...

logo. The channel prided itself on its interactivity with viewers. fX, in 1994, was an early adopter of the internet, embracing

e-mail Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" mean ...

and the

World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet. Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web se ...

as methods of feedback. Most of the shows would feature instant responses to e-mailed questions, and one show, '' Backchat'' (hosted by Jeff Probst), was exclusively devoted to responding to viewer mail, whether sent through e-mail or traditional postal mail.

FX Movie Channel

FX Movie Channel (or FXM) launched on October 31, 1994, as FXM: Movies from Fox (prior to its launch, the channel was originally named "Fox Movie Studio") Originally launched as a spinoff of FX, the channel focused on feature films from the

film library from the 1930s to the 1970s along with a few other film studios. FXM became a separately branded channel on March 1, 2000, when it was renamed Fox Movie Channel. On January 1, 2012, Fox Movie Channel's programming was divided into two 12-hour blocks: its main programming schedule, from 3:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, was a commercial-free block retaining the older movies from the 20th Century Fox library. Another block, called FX Movie Channel, the other 12 hours consisted of an expanded slate of more recent feature films from Fox and some of the other film studios. On March 27, 2013, Fox Entertainment Group announced that Fox Movie Channel would be fully rebranded under the FXM name and format. FX Movie Channel became the primary brand for the channel in September 2013; the classic film block retained the Fox Movie Channel name until June 9, 2014, when the block (which retains a commercial-free format) was renamed ''FXM Retro''.

FXX

Aimed at young men in the 18-34 age range, FXX is a basic cable channel channel that launched on September 2, 2013, replacing the sports-oriented Fox Soccer; FXX is a general entertainment channel that primarily focuses on comedies (whereas FX focuses primarily on drama series and films, while FXX carries a limited selection of dramatic series and films); its programming includes original and acquired comedy series, some feature films and drama series. With the launch of the channel, first-run episodes of some of FX's original comedy series (such as ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' and '' Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell'') were shifted over to FXX. At its launch, most providers that have agreements to carry FXX have placed the channel in extra-cost sports packages (despite being a general entertainment service) as an artifact of carriage deals with the previous holder of FXX's channel space, Fox Soccer; this has been resolved over time, with FX and FXX being located next to each other on some channel lineups.

FXNOW

FXNOW is a website for

desktop computer A desktop computer (often abbreviated desktop) is a personal computer designed for regular use at a single location on or near a desk due to its size and power requirements. The most common configuration has a case that houses the power supply ...

s, as well as an

application Application may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks ** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...

for

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

s and

tablet computer A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being comput ...

s, along with

Windows 10 Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It is the direct successor to Windows 8.1, which was released nearly two years earlier. It was released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on ...

. It allows subscribers of participating pay television providers (such as Time Warner Cable and Comcast Xfinity) numerous viewing options: *individual episodes of FX and FXX's original series (which are made available the morning after their original airdate), *acquired series (most notably, the 552-episode catalog of the first 25 seasons of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

,'' which was added on August 21, 2014, as part of FXX's acquisition of subscription syndication rights to the series, but has since been moved over to the

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...

streaming service), and feature films (with an initial library of 165 film titles, which increased to more than 200 titles beginning in 2015), *Additional content includes behind-the-scenes features on computers and mobile devices via their TV Everywhere login provided by their subscription provider. *The ability to watch

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

programming along was introduced in 2018, along with FX/FXX programming being added to the FOXNOW app, this feature was removed in March 2019, due to Disney acquiring FX Networks. Launched in January 2014, the service is also available through iOS,

Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

and

Windows 8 Windows 8 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012; it was subsequently made available for download via MSDN and TechNet on August 15, 2012, and later to ...

(later

) devices,

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

and

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...

, and the

Roku Roku ( ) is a brand of hardware digital media players manufactured by American company Roku, Inc. They offer access to streaming media content from online services. The first Roku model, developed in collaboration with Netflix, was introduce ...

streaming player. Although the service is available for free to subscribers of participating subscription TV providers, shows available for streaming on FXNOW feature commercial interruption.

FX+

In September 2018, Fox officially launched FX+, a streaming service featuring all FX and FXX original series from ''The Shield'' to the present day ad-free. Initially, the service was made available in the United States exclusively for Xfinity subscribers in the fall of 2017. Xfinity, Armstrong and Cox subscribers have access to FX+ direct through their set-top boxes via those providers'

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

platforms, in addition to the streaming options. In July 2019, it was announced on the service's website that it would cease being available on August 21, 2019, as a result of

's near-full acquisition of Hulu and move of FX content to that service; its ad-free model would otherwise be effectively duplicative with Hulu's commercial-free plan.

FX on Hulu

The FX content hub on Hulu (branded as FX on Hulu until December 2021) is an American content hub on the streaming platform

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television seri ...

that offers programming from FX Networks, a subsidiary of the Disney General Entertainment Content segment of

. Launched on March 2, 2020, the hub's programming is offered at no extra cost to Hulu subscribers. FX on Hulu features original programming produced by FX specifically for Hulu, in addition to past and current original shows seen on the linear FX and FXX cable networks. Hulu is majority-owned by Disney, the parent company of FX. In November 2019, four shows were moved from Hulu: '' Devs'', '' Mrs. America'', '' A Teacher'', and '' The Old Man''. As part of the "first phase" (March 2–7, 2020), FX on Hulu rolled out with 40 current and library shows, with four original shows premiering on FX before being made available on Hulu the next day. Phase two began on April 15 with ''Mrs. America'' premiering along with two other original shows and a documentary series. The initial "FX on Hulu"-branded shows premiered on the FX cable network before being made available on Hulu the next day. In December 2021, Disney announced that it would discontinue the "FX on Hulu" brand, resulting in the Hulu hub for FX and FXX programming being rebranded as simply "FX". The rebranding will also apply to

for international markets.

Programming

Note that '' The Weekly / The New York Times Presents'', which has been sometimes described as an "FX on Hulu" show, was jointly commissioned by FX and Hulu prior to the launch of the FX on Hulu hub, and is introduced with both services' logos, unlike FX on Hulu series which are introduced with only the FX logo.

FX Entertainment

FX Entertainment is the division of FX Networks that oversees original programming under the FX brand, including FX Productions. It was formed in May 2019 as part of FX Networks' executive restructuring following acquisition by Disney. On June 10, 2019, Disney announced that both FX Entertainment and Disney Television Studios would share the same casting division.

FX Productions

FX Productions (FXP) is FX Networks' in-house production company. The studio currently produces series for FX, FXX, and FX on Hulu, as well as TBS ('' Miracle Workers''). In the past, they have also made series for

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service p ...

('' One Mississippi'') and

('' The Cool Kids'').

International distribution

As Hulu is only available in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, international availability of FX on Hulu content varies by region. Due to arrangements that predate the launch of

Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth make ...

, the general entertainment content hub on

that distributes Hulu original programming and FX content outside of the U.S, several FX on Hulu programs may be carried by third-party broadcasters instead. In parts of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, FX on Hulu programming is distributed is through Star on Disney+; in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

, programming is available on its sister service Star+; and in

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

and parts of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

, these programs are distributed by Disney+ Hotstar. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

, almost all FX original programming premiere exclusively on the domestic versions of FX and FXX, as part of a previously established relationship between FX Networks and Rogers Sports and Media. Since the Star on Disney+ launch, all FX on Hulu original series air on Disney+. There was some of FX content not available on Disney+ Star in Australia due to an output deal with Binge and its parent Foxtel. It has started ending in April 2022 with its FX shows pulled and migrating to Disney+.

Unavailable programming

The FX hub on Hulu carries most series produced for FX and FXX from 2008 onwards, and certain other original programs (such as '' The Shield'') produced from 2002 onward. Notable exceptions include: * ''

American Crime Story ''American Crime Story'' is an American Anthology series, anthology true crime television series developed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who are also executive producers, alongside Brad Falchuk, Nina Jacobson, Ryan Murphy (writer), ...

'' (2016–present) — Due to a 2016 agreement between 20th Century Fox Television (now

20th Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Com ...

) and

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

, which predates the Disney acquisition and the launch of FX on Hulu, Netflix held exclusive global

SVOD SVOD may refer to: * Subscription video on demand (SVoD) * Streaming video on demand (sVoD) * Stacked Volumetric Optical Disc (SVOD) * RSBN-2S ''Svod'' (avionics), a short range navigation system found on the ''Ilyushin Il-18 The Ilyushin I ...

streaming rights to the ''ACS'' franchise (except in Canada), with new instalments arriving on Netflix several months after they finish airing on FX; as such, ''ACS'' is not available via FX on Hulu. However, the series is available live and on-demand to

Hulu + Live TV Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television series l ...

customers, as this package includes the FX linear channel. The first two seasons were pulled from Netflix worldwide at the end of February 2022 and did join FX on Hulu the following month. It has also shifted to Disney+'s Star hub internationally. * '' The Americans'' (2013–18) — 21st Century Fox licensed the exclusive U.S. SVOD streaming rights for this series to Prime Video in 2014. It was added to Hulu on July 29, 2022.

References

External links

FX (US)FX (Canada)FX (Korea)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:FX Networks Television networks in the United States FX Networks Companies based in California Peabody Award winners Disney television networks Disney acquisitions Former News Corporation subsidiaries Former Liberty Media subsidiaries Former AT&T subsidiaries Cable network groups in the United States