FYI (stylized as fyi,) is an American
basic cable channel owned by
A&E Networks
A&E Networks (stylized as A+E NETWORKS) is an American multinational broadcasting company that is a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its General Entertainment Content division. The company ...
, a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...
between the
Disney Media Networks
Disney Media Networks was a business segment of The Walt Disney Company that oversaw the company's television networks, cable channels, television production and distribution studios, and owned-and-operated television stations. The segment' ...
subsidiary 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 ...
and
Hearst Communications (each owns 50%). The network features lifestyle programming, with a mix of
reality
Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...
, 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
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
''. As such, it originally featured factual programs, such as reruns of its namesake. As A&E shifted its focus towards
reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...
and
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
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.
FYI is available to 69.0 million households in America .
History
The Biography Channel
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
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
''.
In addition to airing biographical shows, the network aired fictional, non-biographical programs that were previously seen on A&E, including ''
Murder, She Wrote'' and ''
Sherlock Holmes''; the scripted programming was dropped from the channel in 2007. On October 1, 2000, A&E Networks expanded its British partnership with
British Sky Broadcasting
Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...
with the launch of a UK market Biography Channel.
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. In 2007, Biography Channel unveiled a new on-air brand—identifying the network simply as "Bio".
[ 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
''Shatner's Raw Nerve'' was an American television program on The Biography Channel. In it, William Shatner sits down with various celebrities and conducts offbeat interviews with them. Some celebrities who have appeared are Tim Allen, Jon Voight ...
'', hosted by William Shatner
William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpris ...
.
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. 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. Jana Bennett
Jana Eve Bennett (6 November 1955 – 11 January 2022) was an American-born British media consultant; member of the board of the British Library; member of the board of the Headlong Theatre Company; and Adviser to Ozy Media. Previously she was ...
was hired as president of LMN and Bio in June 2013 and, having transformed TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an A ...
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
Esquire Network was an American pay television network that was a 50/50 joint venture between NBCUniversal and the Hearst Corporation. The network carried programs aimed at a metrosexual audience centering on travel, cooking, sports and fashion ...
. While preparing to launch FYI, Bio began re-airing A&E's house-flipping shows and 30 potential shows were placed in development.
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. 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, including pilot orders of ''Red Hot Design'' and ''Jennifer's Way''. In April, ''Midnight Feast'' was greenlit
To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead".
Film industry
In the context of the film and television industries, to green-light something is to ...
for the new channel while two others—''Say it to my face'' and ''Reverse Course—''were ordered to pilot.
With the June 2014 announcement of the 2015 end of the ABC Owned Television Stations
ABC Owned Television Stations is a division of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution operated by Disney Networks Group that oversees the owned-and-operated stations of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), a division of The Walt Disney ...
-run subscription network Live Well Network
Localish (formerly Live Well Network, stylized as LOCALISH) is a lifestyle TV network owned by ABC Owned Television Stations, part of Walt Disney Television, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.
Localish's 24/7 channel streams on Hulu Li ...
, some of its programming was being offered to FYI, which shared partial ABC ownership. 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.
In January 2015, following the success of its ''Six Months Later'' special, FYI ordered ''Married at First Sight: The First Year''.
Programming
*''Epic Meal Empire Today'' – produced by The Collective and Nexttime Productions, based on the ''Epic Meal Time
''Epic Meal Time'' is a Canadian YouTube cooking show known for creating extremely high-calorie meals, generally out of meat products (with particular emphasis on bacon) and including alcohol (especially Jack Daniel's). It debuted in Octobe ...
'' YouTube show.[ It was renamed to its current name in 2020.
*'' World Food Championships'' – coverage produced by Sharp Entertainment ][
* ''#BlackLove''
* '']Tiny House Hunting
''Tiny House Hunting'' is an American reality television series that premiered on the FYI cable channel on December 22, 2014. The series features real estate agents helping elves who desire to live a tiny house with their families in response to ...
''
* ''Tiny House Nation
''Tiny House Nation'' is an American reality television series. It is a tiny house movement-inspired series which features renovation experts John Weisbarth and Zack Giffin who assist families around the country building their desired houses th ...
''
* ''Tiny House World
''Tiny House World'' is an American reality television series that premiered on the FYI cable channel on November 21, 2015. The tiny house movement-inspired series features buyers in various locations around the world trying to find the best tin ...
''
*''B.O.R.N. to Style'' – produced by Left/Right; features style makeovers at the Harlem-based boutique, B.O.R.N. (Borrowed, Old, Refurbished, and New).[
*''Rowhouse Showdown –'' produced by Jane Street Entertainment in which three teams compete to increase the house and neighborhood value via the renovation of an "identical urban homes in dilapidated neighborhoods".][
*''Lost in Love''][
*'' Man vs Child: Chef Showdown''
*''Best in Bridal''][
*'' Married at First Sight'' – based on a Danish show of the same name in which three couples, paired up by four experts ( Pepper Schwartz, ]Greg Epstein
Greg M. Epstein (born 1977) is the president of the Harvard Chaplains Organization and Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is an ordained Humanist Rabbi, and has been influential in American ...
, Dr. Logan Levkoff, and Dr. Joseph Cilona), agree to get married when they first meet.[
* ''Married At First Sight: The First Year'' (January 15, 2015)
* ''Zombie House Flipping'' – follows Justin Stamper and his team of house renovators in Orlando, Florida. A "Zombie House" is an industry term for a rundown home that is devaluing a neighborhood. Stamper and his team, Ashlee Casserly (realtor), Keith Ori (builder), and Peter Duke (designer), search for such homes and renovate them. The show first aired on January 30, 2016, and ran for eight episodes.
* ''Scraps'' – follows chef Joel Gamoran as he travels across the U.S. creating meals in unexpected places, using ]food waste
Food loss and waste is food that is not eaten. The causes of food waste or loss are numerous and occur throughout the food system, during production, processing, distribution, retail and food service sales, and consumption. Overall, about o ...
and scraps.
*'' Plant-Based by Nafsika''
*''Waterfront House Hunting''
*'' Shipping Wars''
*''Miss USA
Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020, ...
''
*''Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...
''
* '' Sell This House!''
* ''Food Factory
''Food Factory'' is a Canadian television series produced by Cineflix airing in that country on the Food Network, and in the United States on National Geographic, Quest, and FYI. The show features the industrial production lines of major food ...
''
* ''Celebrity House Hunting''
* ''The King of Queens
''The King of Queens'' is an American television sitcom that ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007, a total of nine seasons and 207 episodes. The series was created by Michael J. Weithorn and David Litt, who also served as the show ...
''
In production
*''The Feed'' – produced by Giants Pirates with ''Top Chef
''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo on March 8, 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional ch ...
'' judge Gail Simmons
Gail Simmons (born May 19, 1976) is a Canadian-American food writer and cookbook author. She has served as a permanent judge on Bravo's Emmy-winning series ''Top Chef'' since the show's inception in 2006. Simmons was previously the head critic on ...
, ''The Taste
''The Taste'' is an American cooking-themed reality competition series on ABC. It aired from January 22, 2013, through January 22, 2015. On May 7, 2015, ABC canceled ''The Taste'' after three seasons.
Format
''The Taste'' season begins with blin ...
'' judge Marcus Samuelsson
25 January 1971) is an Ethiopian-born Swedish-American celebrity chef, restaurateur and television personality. He is the head chef of Red Rooster in Harlem, New York.
Early life and education
Kassahun Joar Tsegie was born in Ethiopia. His fa ...
and comedian and food-blogger Max Silvestri
Max Silvestri (born 1983) is an American stand-up comedian.
Early life, family and education
Silvestri graduated from Brown University in 2005, concentrating on art and semiotics. While at Brown, he performed in an improv comedy troupe and w ...
as a traveling road show looking into the American food culture and its new trends.[ Originally to be a launch program (on July 12, 2014), ''The Feed'' was pushed back to a summer start.][
*''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
Chelsea Market is a food hall, shopping mall, office building and television production facility located in the Chelsea neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan, in New York City. The Chelsea Market complex occupies an entire city block with a ...
as an ingredient source, where the winning chef gets a cash prize while the losers pay their grocery bills.[
]
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.[
*''Jennifer's Way'' – produced by ]Atlas Media
Atlas Media Corp. is a New York-based independent production company of non-fiction entertainment. The company was founded in 1989 by Bruce David Klein and produces television series and specials, theatrical documentaries, and digital web seri ...
; features Jennifer Esposito
Jennifer Esposito is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the feature films '' Summer of Sam'' (1999), ''Don't Say a Word'' (2001), ''Welcome to Collinwood'' (2002), as well as ''Crash'' and ''Taxi'' (both 2004). She has also appe ...
, 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.[
*''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, the restaurant gets a makeover.][
*''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.][
]
Final Bio programming
* '' Alien Encounters''[
* '']Biography
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
''
* '' Celebrity Ghost Stories[''
* '' Gangsters: America's Most Evil''][
* ''Ghost Bait''][
* '' Haunted History''
* '']Mobsters
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization a ...
''[
* '']Sell This House
''Sell This House'' is an American reality television series that premiered July 6, 2003 on A&E and May 18, 2020 on FYI. Host Tanya Memme and home stagers/interior designers Roger Hazard and Daniel Kucan help homeowners who are having trouble ...
''[
]
Former Bio
* ''Cold Case Files
''Cold Case Files'' is a reality legal show/ documentary on the cable channel A&E Network and the rebooted series on Netflix. It is hosted by Bill Kurtis and the original series produced by Tom Golden. The show documents the investigation o ...
'' (repeats) profiles serial killers
* '' Notorious'', child murdering mothers
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
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
channel was closed in 2015. The Canadian version, operated under license by Rogers Media, was relaunched as Viceland
Viceland (stylized in all caps), and Vice TV in the United States, are brands used for television channels owned and programmed by Vice Media. Viceland launched on February 29, 2016, with two branded cable channels; the American version (rebra ...
in February 2016, but was then shut down on March 31, 2018.
*Canada: As part of a licensing agreement with Shaw Media, their lifestyle channel, Twist TV, was rebranded as a Canadian version of FYI in September 2014. It was shut down on December 31, 2019.
*Latin America: The Latin American version aired the same programming and used the same logo as the former U.S. flagship channel and it was operated by the HBO Latin America Group
HBO Latin America was a company that owned and distributed several television channels in the region of Latin America. It was originally founded as a joint venture between Time Warner and Ole Communications in 1991 with the launch of HBO in the r ...
subsidiary of Time Warner
Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States.
It was originally established in 1972 by ...
under a brand licensing agreement with A&E Networks. In July 2014, The Biography Channel was replaced by H2.
*United Kingdom: A British version of Bio was launched on 1 October 2000 and ceased operations on 4 November 2013, being replaced by a British version Lifetime. The channel was also available in Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium.
*Spain and Portugal: Bio in Spain and Portugal was replaced by A&E in October 2014.
*Germany: Bio in Germany was replaced by A&E in September 2014.
*Israel: Bio is known as in Israel. In September 2014, the channel was replaced by Lifetime.
* Bio in South East Asia was replaced by FYI in October 2014. FYI was shut down on 1 July 2019.
*India: FYI TV18 was launched in July 2016 as the second channel in the partnership between A&E Networks and TV18
TV18 Broadcast Limited (formerly Global Broadcast News and IBN18 Broadcast Limited) is an Indian entity belonging to Network18 Group based in Mumbai. TV18 owns and operates various national channels in separate partnerships with NBCUniversal ...
, the first being History TV18
History TV18 (formerly known as The History Channel) is a television channel in India. It broadcasts infotainment and documentry shows. It is owned by a joint venture between A+E Networks, owner of the American History channel, and TV18, an Ind ...
. The network was closed on July 8, 2020.
* Bio. Australia: The channel was known as The Biography Channel, then as Bio., until it closed in November 2015.
References
External links
*
{{Commons category, FYI (American TV channel)
A&E Networks
English-language television stations in the United States
Television channels and stations established in 1998
Television networks in the United States
1998 establishments in the United States