Ovation is an American

television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or multichannel video programming distributo ...

whose focus is on the fine arts and contemporary culture. The network is owned by Ovation LLC, which is made up of 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 risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

of Hubbard Media Group, and the

private-equity fund A private equity fund (abbreviated as PE fund) is a collective investment scheme used for making investments in various equity (and to a lesser extent debt) securities according to one of the investment strategies associated with private equity. ...

s Corporate Partners II, Arcadia Investment Partners, and

Perry Capital Richard Cayne Perry (born February 9, 1955) is an American hedge fund manager whose firm, Perry Capital LLC (closed in 2016) invested in several companies and, starting in 2012, owned a controlling interest in Barneys New York. Perry sold his con ...

. , approximately 54 million households (46.4 percent of those with television) had access to Ovation.

History

The channel was launched in 1996, mainly with spread-out coverage throughout the country and no satellite carriage, with its major coverage with the urban base of

Time Warner Cable Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, operat ...

. Under this form, its carriage was limited, as cable providers did not see much popularity or requests for the arts-based network, as had been seen in the past with networks like

CBS Cable CBS Cable was an early cable television network operated by CBS, Inc., dedicated to the lively arts (i.e. symphony, dance, theatre, opera, etc.). It debuted on October 12, 1981 and ceased operations on December 17, 1982. CBS Cable was a persona ...

, or former arts networks that went for a more broad-based focus, including

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...

and A&E. On August 30, 2006, the network's assets were purchased by a consortium made up of the Hubbard family and

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...

. In June 2007, the network was re-launched, coinciding with its addition by

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...

, which gave the channel full national coverage. In 2008, Ovation also became available on Dish. With the relaunch, Ovation TV claimed an "energetic" new look and a new primetime schedule revolving around "genre nights" dedicated to performance, people, and film. "TV" was dropped from its branding on March 1, 2010. The network launched in high definition in July 2010, utilizing the

1080i 1080i (also known as Full HD or BT.709) is a combination of frame resolution and scan type. 1080i is used in high-definition television (HDTV) and high-definition video. The number "1080" refers to the number of horizontal lines on the screen. ...

format. The network's investment by The Weinstein Company would come into question in October 2017, when

Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (; born March 19, 1952) is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender. He and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent films inclu ...

's sexual assault and abuse allegations came to light. Two weeks after the first public reports, the network's board notified Harvey Weinstein on October 24 that he would be expelled from any further involvement in Ovation. Shortly after, TWC's interest in the network was fully terminated, saving Ovation LLC from the legal battle to come with TWC's bankruptcy.

Carriage

On December 18, 2012,

announced plans to remove Ovation from its own systems as well as those operated by

Bright House Networks Bright House Networks, LLC also simply known as Bright House, was an American telecom company. Prior to its purchase by Charter Communications, it was the tenth-largest multichannel video service provider and the 6th largest cable internet provi ...

(whose carriage agreements were negotiated by Time Warner). Time Warner Cable and BHN dropped Ovation at midnight

Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small port ...

on December 31, 2012. The two providers later reached an agreement to resume carriage of Ovation on October 16, 2013, reinstating the channel on TWC and BHN systems on January 1, 2014. The network was carried on Dish until April 6, 2015, when it was removed from that provider at a nadir for the network where it originated little to no programming and had drifted towards carrying low-prestige Hollywood films out of format. Providers refused to renew the network under this guise, and by 2017, it had begun to acquire overseas and prestige product anew to avert the network's demise.

Programming

Ovation programming is a mix of original and acquired television series, films, documentaries and specials, targeting a multi-generational audience.

Current programming

Former programming

References

{{Hubbard Broadcasting Corporation Television networks in the United States Hubbard Broadcasting English-language television stations in the United States Television channels and stations established in 1996 The Weinstein Company 1996 establishments in the United States