Lifetime Entertainment Services
| Limited liability company | |
| Industry | Mass Media |
| Genre | Women's |
| Predecessor | Hearst-ABC Video Services Cable Health Network |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Headquarters | New York City, USA |
|
Area served
|
USA |
|
Production output
|
Magazine, videos |
| Services | Cable Television Networks On-Line Information Services |
| Parent |
A&E Networks (Hearst Corporation (50%) & The Walt Disney Company (50%)) |
| Website | www |
Lifetime Entertainment Services (LES) is an American entertainment industry company, whose media properties are focused on women. Lifetime Entertainment Services is a subsidiary of A+E Networks, a joint venture of Hearst Corporation (50%) and The Walt Disney Company (50%).
ABC and the Hearst Corporation in January 1981 formed a joint venture, Hearst/ABC Video Services (HAVS), to provide programming to Alpha Repertory Television Service and launch BETA, a women's cable service, later that year. Beta was supposed to operate four hours a day and be supported by advertising. HAVS instead launched the service under the name Daytime in March 1982.
Cable Health Network was a 24-hour cable channel launched by Viacom with health-related programming in June 1982. In November 1983, Cable Health Network channel was renamed Lifetime Medical Television.
In June 1983, Hearst-ABC Video Services and Viacom International agreed that each has an equal share for ABC, Hearst and Viacom held by Hearst-ABC Video Services and Cable Health Network in the joint venture, Hearst/ABC-Viacom Entertainment Services, containing the merged Daytime and Lifetime Medical Television satellite channel.
In 1984, Hearst/ABC-Viacom Entertainment Services (HAVES) was formed from the merger of Daytime and Lifetime Medical Television to start and operate a new cable channel, Lifetime Television.
Lifetime committed $25 million to produce talk show programming, but very little worked with the audience. So by the end of 1985, Lifetime was $16 million in debt. Lifetime added more original programming to diversify its audience while programming a medical block on Sunday with all the medical talk shows which attracted pharmaceutical advertisers bringing in 25% of the network's revenue. By 1986, the talk shows were canceled and the company was $36 million in debt.
Lifetime instead refocused its programming towards women in 1987 and acquired second run syndicated programming and off-network shows.
...
Wikipedia