Rachel Vasone
April 18, 2014
TV & Culture
ABC Family
Background/History of Channel
ABC Family was launched in 1977 by a televangelist named Pat Robertson’s as a Christian Broadcasting Network(CBN) focused mostly on religious programming, until 1981 when it was changed to CBN Cable Network and instead began to include a mix of recent and classic family oriented films and series while also keeping few religious programs. At this time ABC Family already reached one million homes. It was not until 7 years later in 1988 that the word “family” was actually included in the channel’s name and became known as The CBN Family Channel. Soon the network gained significant popularity and profit thus it was spun off to a new company, International Family Entertainment Inc., to keep CBN’s non profit status safe. By 1990 it was called the Family Channel. Then in 1998 it was renamed to Fox Family Channel, until 2001 when Disney bought and rebranded ABC Family. In 2006, a new slogan was developed under ABC Family: A New Kind of Family It became the American basic cable and satellite television channel owned by a division of Disney-ABC Television part of Walt Disney Company, that we know today as simply “ABC Family”.
The type of viewers ABC Family receives mainly resonate in the 18-34 age group (37%) and the 35-54 age group (35%). ABC Family’s viewers are mostly women (70%) and a little less than half attended college. Some households that view ABC Family are those with one or more child (45%). So essentially the channel targets young to middle aged females and families.
Commercial Profile of the Channel
In terms of advertising and commercials, ABC Family does a lot of self promoting of their own dramas, original movies, blockbusters and qual...
... middle of paper ...
... has become obvious to me that rather than a family channel, this network is mainly targeted at young to middle aged women. After going through multiple transformations from CBN network to Fox Family channel to finally ABC Family, the channel has seen its most success as ABC Family: A new kind of family. Although this is one of my top favorite channels and it will continue to be, I found myself very exhausted and bored with most of the viewing I did. The series were enjoyable as I love Boy Meets World and That 70s Show, though most series were outdated and of no interest to me. Overall I find ABC Family to be a full filing and entertaining channel, with versatile shows films and series. However I could never solely watch ABC Family without flicking through other channels on the remote without going absolutely crazy from the repetitive advertisements and movies.
Younger generations and the more vulnerable in society can be influenced in avoiding peer pressure, but for the individuals filled with wisdom, the shows can reflect based on American modern society. Everybody Loves Raymond and Full House are great shows who faces similar life obstacles a typical person living in the US has today. As a result, most modern family comedy sit-coms are reflecting our society’s generations and the more vulnerable. Based on the success of early family sit coms, American’s adapted to a fast pace lifestyle with the help of modern
Advertisements are one of many things that Americans cannot get away from. Every American sees an average of 3,000 advertisements a day; whether it’s on the television, radio, while surfing the internet, or while driving around town. Advertisements try to get consumers to buy their products by getting their attention. Most advertisements don’t have anything to do with the product itself. Every company has a different way of getting the public’s attention, but every advertisement has the same goal - to sell the product. Every advertisement tries to appeal to the audience by using ethos, pathos, and logos, while also focusing on who their audience is and the purpose of the ad. An example of this is a Charmin commercial where there is a bear who gets excited when he gets to use the toilet paper because it is so soft.
Since the beginning of time itself, Television has been one the most influential pieces of media that the world has ever encountered. The beginning days of television depicted stereotypical mothers cooking and cleaning their homes for their husbands and children. Yet, as the decades passed, television took a dramatic turn, leaving the days of drama free entertainment as a vast memory. Now a day, however, when one hits the power on button to Bravo, the screen lights expand to ritzy socialites dealing with their everyday lives as “housewives”. Bravo TV’s hit number one reality television show, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, deals with the everyday lives of modern-day housewives. When speaking of these women and their family life, the reality series shows its viewers that family life in modern times is dramatic, full of misrepresentations of how people are perceived, and that fame comes at the cost of family.
The Impact of African-American Sitcoms on America's Culture Since its start, the television industry has been criticized for perpetuating myths and stereotypes about African-Americans through characterizations, story lines, and plots. The situation comedy has been the area that has seemed to draw the most criticism, analysis, and disapproval for stereotyping. From Sanford and Son and The Jefferson’s in the 1970s to The Cosby Show (1984) and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the 1990s, sitcoms featuring black casts and characters have always been controversial. However, their significance upon our American culture cannot be disregarded.
The American Dream is something that defines the United States of America, where everyone has the right to pursue happiness in the land of opportunity. The American Dream is different for everyone because it is simply whatever one considers the happiest possible way of living. Although interpretations of the American Dream are different, there are usually common elements that exist, such as a house, a family, and being financially stable. Today, popular series like Duck Dynasty and Modern Family portray different versions of the American Dream and images of family life in the United States. Anyone who is even remotely familiar with these shows would agree that they could not be more different. Despite this claim, Duck Dynasty and Modern Family are becoming increasingly popular because they both display important family values and reflect struggles facing 21st century families, making them relatable to broad audiences.
The target demographics for FOX include an average age of 28 years with a $55,000 annual income. 56% of viewers are male while 43% are female, and of these only 37% have a college degree. Due to such specifics, it is imperative that keep a variety of shows that appeal to a wide range of young adults. The FOX Family Channel is more oriented towards children and families.
Since the three cliché families are advertised as being interrelated, it is meant as a representation of the differences that can vary within extended families. Because there is a large amount of characters that play major roles, an interview style is used for the viewers to gain insight within situations and explain events; this is a creative and easy to understand way to communicate and connect with the audience, which is very broad. The drastic contrast of family styles and personalities creates a wide range that the TV series can appeal to. The large spectrum which Modern Family appeals to consists of: the “average” ...
agencies own our TV sets and all the media. We live in a capitalistic world. These
...isney Channel – a trend that will be almost impossible to stop.” They asked families to appeal to Disney to change this “trend”, and have gotten ample negative attention from news agencies such as Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, and more. Because of the response of One Million Moms, news agencies now affiliate Christianity with “not wanting gay people in our homes”, as if Christians did not need more help telling the world they despised the gay community.
American Broadcasting Company's sitcom, Modern Family, debuted in 2009 and is in its sixth season. It was met with critical acclaim and good ratings (Modern Family). The show airs once per week on the ABC network (ABC shows schedule). The show attempts to portray the humor behind three different families of varying composition. However, Modern Family’s attempt at giving an honest portrayal of the titular modern family falls short and instead relies upon tired tropes and clichés to derive its humor. Modern Family does not attempt to depict the state of gender roles in today’s society, sadly falling back on old gender standards found in sitcoms since their start.
Disney Channel now has changed dramatically since when I was younger. Not only has the channel itself changed, but so have the shows and the stars. Some of the changes are good, but some aren’t so good either. Disney Channel has still kept on doing some of the same things they did back then. On the other hand, the majority of the stuff on Disney Channel now has changed since the 2000s.
In today’s time, television has a broad array of shows. These programs range from children’s cartoons all the way to real-life dramas. Reality television portrays families in their everyday lives and how the typically handle dramatic situations. Although there is some truth in the family’s lifestyles and relationships, reality television creates a false interpretation of the way everyday families should live; moreover, the producers construct staged scenes, unrealistic images, and promote immorality.
...nyone makes they are always there for each other. Not everyone is perfect and Modern Family shows that no matter what decisions you make you will always have your family. Many viewers can relate this to their families because it is something that is an occurrence or problem in every family. Modern Family does a terrific job in showing how family members should be treated.
Disney is the parent company for many of societies favorite brands and products on a global scale. After doing research I can honestly say that the Disney brand owns almost every media outlet. According to PBS “The Walt Disney Company is the third largest global media conglomerate. Its FY 2000 revenues topped $25
... Dittman also stated that “the average child is bombarded with more than 40,000 TV. commercials a year” (Dittman, 2004). The campaigns shown on TV persuade children to feel that They desperately need the product and that they have to nag their parents into buying it. product for them, or they will be left out of the cool crowd.