# Fox Reality Channel to Cease Operations



## Dmon4u (Jul 15, 2000)

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/358176-Fox_Reality_Channel_to_Cease_Operations.php

"News Corp.'s Fox Reality Channel will cease operations on March 31, 2010 and be replaced by a new venture from the Fox Cable Networks group, a company spokesman confirmed."

- - -

Gee ! And I thought it was the Fox Business Channel that would go first. Last I heard they were getting around 6,000 viewers per hour on average.

But, could this be the turning point for Reality TV I've been waiting for ? Now, if only more of it would die off quicker. Please please please and you can take Leno and all the Shaky Cam shows with you.


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## BK89 (Oct 11, 2005)

Good riddance. :up:


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## Videodrome (Jun 20, 2008)

I wonder if msnbc is next ?


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## FilmCritic3000 (Oct 29, 2004)

I'm curious to see what they rebrand it as. Other news outlets are stating that News Corporation is in talks with another company to co-own the new channel, whatever it may be.


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

Make it the Gordon Ramsey Channel.

Or maybe the Joss Whedon Really Screwed Up Ideas For TV Shows Channel


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## bicker (Nov 9, 2003)

I think News Corp needs a kids channel. Viacom has Nickelodeon. Disney has Disney. NBC has qubo.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

Apparently, the biggest problem for the channel was the confusion it generated amongst viewers by having both "Fox" and "Reality" in it's name.


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

Oh, please let this be the beginning of the end of the reality TV craze.


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

busyba said:


> Apparently, the biggest problem for the channel was the confusion it generated amongst viewers by having both "Fox" and "Reality" in it's name.


lol

I was coming here to make the same joke!


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

jsmeeker said:


> lol
> 
> I was coming here to make the same joke!


Wow, I'm surprised you actually read through the thread first.


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

it makes it easier when the joke was the last thing posted.


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## DianaMo (Oct 22, 2003)

Hope they bring back ZDTV / Tech TV.


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

I liked the channel. Boohoo.


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## Cainebj (Nov 11, 2006)

I hope they find a home for Solitary 4.0


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## TheMerk (Feb 26, 2001)

DianaMo said:


> Hope they bring back ZDTV / Tech TV.


See twitlive.tv and revision3.com for a pretty good approximation.


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## martinp13 (Mar 19, 2001)

How about the Fox BURN IN HELL Channel? For all those canceled serieseseses.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

If I have it in my channel list, I am unaware of it. Was it repeats of unscripted TV shows?


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## WhiskeyTango (Sep 20, 2006)

sieglinde said:


> If I have it in my channel list, I am unaware of it. Was it repeats of unscripted TV shows?


Yea, they did have a few new shows like Solitary. The problem was that it was mostly repeats of reality shows from several years ago, many of which were cancelled.


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## zalusky (Apr 5, 2002)

martinp13 said:


> How about the Fox BURN IN HELL Channel? For all those canceled serieseseses.


Why cancel individual shows when you can cancel an entire channel!

They are expanding their scope!


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

Damn.. At one point, before I had a reliable digital signal (had to install my own amplifier), I saw that they ran "My Big Fat Boss", which Fox originally cancelled partway in.. (it was available online long ago but I didn't want to watch it that way). I was hoping it'd come back in the rotation.

Also, I was hoping they'd eventually rerun *this* season of Hell's Kitchen. I missed several episodes after the first one -- at first I thought it was because I manually cancelled the second recording or had a conflict.. but a week or two ago I realized it was because of the stupid 5 episode default SP limit.. which, AFAIK, every other time I've IMMEDIATELY changed to all episodes.. guess not this time. (Not all episodes are online either.)


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## gastrof (Oct 31, 2003)

Maybe they'll launch a brand new science fiction channel. SyFy isn't quite hitting the target, and we KNOW what a good track record FOX has with scifi.


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## Todd (Oct 7, 1999)

Videodrome said:


> I wonder if msnbc is next ?


We can only hope...


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## Todd (Oct 7, 1999)

DianaMo said:


> Hope they bring back ZDTV / Tech TV.


+1


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## Neenahboy (Apr 8, 2004)

Several outlets are reporting that FRC will become Nat Geo Wild, a channel focusing on (yup, you guessed it) wildlife.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ic7000f78b8b50dc0b24c8706c92d8cbd


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## net114 (Dec 29, 2000)

Hey, I've got a Fox Reality Channel thermos, will it be a collector's item?


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## gastrof (Oct 31, 2003)

No, but it will get you beaten up at lunch time.


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## vikingguy (Aug 12, 2005)

Cainebj said:


> I hope they find a home for Solitary 4.0


Me to I like that show.


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## rondotcom (Feb 13, 2005)

Dmon4u said:


> http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/358176-Fox_Reality_Channel_to_Cease_Operations.php
> 
> "News Corp.'s Fox Reality Channel will cease operations on March 31, 2010"


Now if we can just get rid of FOX NEWS TV will be fun to watch again


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## lambertman (Dec 21, 2002)

"Solitary" was just about perfect. The fact that these people were willing to go through so much torture for such a small amount of money ($50K) made it compelling. And the voice of VAL was pretty funny. 

Plus, there was at least one really hot girl each season.


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## DancnDude (Feb 7, 2001)

I also hope they get Solitary shopped to another network. Maybe GSN? I didn't even get Fox Reality, but I watched the first 2 seasons on hulu and am in the middle of the 3rd. I'd love the show to appear on a channel I actually get and can record on the TiVo  VAL is awesome!


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## swinca (Jun 19, 2003)

Cainebj said:


> I hope they find a home for Solitary 4.0


How do you guys even find shows like this? I had never heard of it until this thread on TCF.


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## DancnDude (Feb 7, 2001)

swinca said:


> How do you guys even find shows like this? I had never heard of it until this thread on TCF.


I found out about it through a different thread on TCF  There weren't very many discussing the show.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

I never watched the channel, but I don't understand the hate people have for it. Clearly there is a demand for reality TV. Clearly there are people who don't like that reality TV is taking up timeslots that could be used for scripted shows. Therefore, I'd think those people would be thrilled that there is a channel dedicated to reality rather than having it on the broadcast networks.


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## hefe (Dec 5, 2000)

DevdogAZ said:


> I never watched the channel, but I don't understand the hate people have for it. Clearly there is a demand for reality TV. Clearly there are people who don't like that reality TV is taking up timeslots that could be used for scripted shows. Therefore, I'd think those people would be thrilled that there is a channel dedicated to reality rather than having it on the broadcast networks.


And furthermore, it says nothing at all about the demand for the genre itself. People watch shows they find entertaining, whether they are scripted, comedy, drama, documentary, game show, news, talk show, or the many varied programs that get lumped into "reality." The fact that some channel that most people didn't even know they had fails doesn't mean that Survivor or Apprentice or even the Bachelor is doomed or that networks will stop trying to produce the next big reality hit.

I like the reality shows that I like, I have no particular bad feeling about the genre as a whole, and I've never watched the Fox Reality Channel nor do I care if it fails. I just don't think it's an indicator of anything at all.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

hefe said:


> And furthermore, it says nothing at all about the demand for the genre itself. People watch shows they find entertaining, whether they are scripted, comedy, drama, documentary, game show, news, talk show, or the many varied programs that get lumped into "reality." The fact that some channel that most people didn't even know they had fails doesn't mean that Survivor or Apprentice or even the Bachelor is doomed or that networks will stop trying to produce the next big reality hit.
> 
> I like the reality shows that I like, I have no particular bad feeling about the genre as a whole, and I've never watched the Fox Reality Channel nor do I care if it fails. I just don't think it's an indicator of anything at all.


This!


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

Yeah it was an interesting channel but I suspect ultimately they could not get enough rights to stuff they wanted to do.

Some of their original stuff was pretty good. Solitaire as others mentioned was very good. Academy was very good too and the 3rd or 4th season is about to air, this time with firemen training.

Early on though, they did a lot with old reality shows and would extend them and mix them in with commentary from the participants and such. Made it very interesting to watch some of that stuff. Once they ran through all the available content available from the over-explosion in reality though, they had nowhere else to go. Reality has changed a lot, and I suspect it was just too expensive to get rights to some of this stuff, which I don't really understand.

That being said, there is no crime procedural channel really, or drama channel or sitcom channel, so perhaps in concept the channel didn't have much of a chance.


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## hefe (Dec 5, 2000)

marksman said:


> That being said, there is no crime procedural channel really, or drama channel or sitcom channel, so perhaps in concept the channel didn't have much of a chance.


Yeah, it's hard to serve an overly narrow niche. I guess SyFy could testify to that.


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## Frank_M (Sep 9, 2001)

Wouldn't this make an interesting show? Following around employees as they shut down a network during it's final days?

Too bad they'd no longer have a place to run it.

If anyone ever talks to Alanis Morissette, tell her THAT is what "ironic" means.


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## hefe (Dec 5, 2000)

Frank_M said:


> Wouldn't this make an interesting show? Following around employees as they shut down a network during it's final days?
> 
> Too bad they'd no longer have a place to run it.


Run it live, and then switch off the feed when the channel goes dark.


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## sooperkool (Mar 18, 2009)

Just make a channel that replays the networks original primetime content. Like SoapNet, people would kill for that


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## aindik (Jan 23, 2002)

DCRTV.com reports that they're turning the channel into "National Geographic Wild."


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## ewolfr (Feb 12, 2001)

Yup, looks like a new competitor for Animal Planet.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/business/media/16fox.html?_r=1&hpw



> Fox Cable Networks and the National Geographic Channel announced Thursday that they would start a new program service that would focus on natural history and wildlife.
> 
> The service, a spinoff of the National Geographic Channel, will appear on the channel that currently is the home of the Fox Reality Channel. Fox announced Wednesday that the reality channel would stop showing its program slate as of March 31.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Well, that's a bummer. Even though I never watched Fox Reality, at least I had a passing interest in its content. I can't imagine ever having any interest in something that's being shown on National Geographic Wildlife Channel.


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## jimborst (Aug 30, 2001)

Never watched a show on this channel but I did have to record a series for a friend. "Long Way Down" or "Long Way Around" was the show and Fox reality had all guide data right but then for the series conclusion, they showed the same episode as the week before. I looked though the guide and left the SP for the show for a while but Fox reality never did show the actual series end.

If you ask me a channel that doesn't care enough about their viewers to even show the last episode deserves to die a slow death.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

sooperkool said:


> Just make a channel that replays the networks original primetime content. Like SoapNet, people would kill for that


I've said that for a long time. I would very likely(*) pay premium-channel prices for a station that just replayed the "big 4"(**) network shows for the next 24 hours. This would probably make me put a second drive on one of my Tivos, however.

(*) Now that I have a Tivo HD & a S3 (I've had both for over a year, whenever the did the TivoHD lifetime transfer option), I now have 4 tuners, so it's less of an issue.. but being able to pad EVERYTHING would still be useful.

(**) Since they cancelled "Aliens in America", I don't watch anything outside of Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS.. if they brought "Beauty & the Geek", I'd watch one show on the CW.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

I would have liked to have watched Solitary if I had known 1. that I had that channel, 2. When it was playing. Yep, I didn't know I had the channel until I started reading this thread and looked for it.


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## lambertman (Dec 21, 2002)

Every episode is still available on hulu.


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## appleye1 (Jan 26, 2002)

marksman said:


> Yeah it was an interesting channel but I suspect ultimately they could not get enough rights to stuff they wanted to do.


I think they originally hoped they'd just be the "Reality Channel" and get rights to everything, like Survivor, The Bachelor, The Amazing Race, etc. I remember articles back when they started up saying they'd be a "reality repository". But of course, they found out that the networks that owned the shows didn't want Fox showing them. So they ended up being the "Network that shows mostly reality shows that originally aired on Fox".

There's no way they could keep going with that base.


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## Jesda (Feb 12, 2005)

It was good for old reruns of Hell's Kitchen. They should license the channel to MSNBC. At 6000 viewers for FRC, MSNBC's ratings would double.


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## tiams (Apr 19, 2004)

Cainebj said:


> I hope they find a home for Solitary 4.0


Solitary 4.0 is airing now. I hope they find a place for Solitary 5.0


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## SnakeEyes (Dec 26, 2000)

rondotcom said:


> Now if we can just get rid of FOX NEWS TV will be fun to watch again


Yes, because it's really hard to ignore them and there aren't other cable news channels that contribute to the nonsense out there.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

The first and looks like last show I watched on this channel is Solitary 4.0. When the concept was first introduced, I was watching bunches of other shows at the same time so I never saw it. When it left Fox Network, I didn't know where it went and discovered by accident that this channel was on my cable lineup. I wasn't interested in Solitary enough to watch the first seasons but I do want to finish out this season.

Nat Geo Wild could be OK, but I find that the regular National Geographic channel, though the subject matter may be interesting, their documentaries have a lot of filler in them.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

Jesda said:


> It was good for old reruns of Hell's Kitchen.


Yeah, as much as I hate reruns (since they're hacked up for more commercials), I was hoping LAST season's Hell's Kitchen would end up running here before FRC went off the air. That's one of the very few times I've been bitten by the Season Pass 5 episode default. (I don't remember if last season had a new name, or I re-created my SP on a different Tivo or what.. I saw the first episode then later realized episodes were 'disappearing'.. ARGH... So now I still have like the last 6 episodes of last season but want to watch the interim ones first. I saw the very first one.)

I've also recorded a very few other things on FRC. "My Big Fat Boss". Which I thought was cancelled partway in, but after watching some more, I realized I'd already seen at least the last episode. Maybe Fox cut out some in the middle but still showed the finale?


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

appleye1 said:


> I think they originally hoped they'd just be the "Reality Channel" and get rights to everything, like Survivor, The Bachelor, The Amazing Race, etc. I remember articles back when they started up saying they'd be a "reality repository". But of course, they found out that the networks that owned the shows didn't want Fox showing them. So they ended up being the "Network that shows mostly reality shows that originally aired on Fox".
> 
> There's no way they could keep going with that base.


Seems like a mistake to me though. Fox presented them with a revenue source in the lines of syndication for reality program. It should have worked... but of course the networks are all too smart for their own good now.

Imagine if things started today, networks would not let any content get to syndication.

The other networks are sitting on these reality programs and getting a tiny trickle of DVD revenue, when they could have potentially made a slightly bigger trickle of syndication revenue.

I really liked what Reality channel did early on with some of the fox shows. Going back and doing interviews and such and cutting them in with the actual episodes. It made worth watching the shows all over again.

I know my mom has become a Hell's Kitchen fan, and she was just able to see season one from this past weekend. Lots of people show up on reality shows late.

Imagine showing old seasons of big brother and such. Lots of possibilities there...

Again though, tv networks want 100% of nothing rather than a smaller percentage of something.

I do like the NGC now, so this might be interesting.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

marksman said:


> I really liked what Reality channel did early on with some of the fox shows. Going back and doing interviews and such and cutting them in with the actual episodes. It made worth watching the shows all over again.


I would like that if they were additional content -- i.e. don't cut into the original show.. but I suspect they did (just like once in a while MTV seems to do a 'commentary' Real World, where they chop out huge sections and have people talk over it.. annoying..). If these were like DVD extras, it'd be great.


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

It was mostly additional content. Episodes were running like 75 minutes for typical hour shows originally.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

Now that this channel is known to be closing down on March 29th, why does Tribune still have shows appropriate for Reality showing up through the end of the month into April rather than shows for National Geographic Wild? Maybe I want to get a season pass to a show about monkeys tearing stuff up. (not really)


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## CraigK (Jun 9, 2006)

Reality changed to National Geographic Wild here overnight. Had a message from TiVo noting the change and guide data is now for the new channel.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

My cable company does not know this. Black screen this morning, checked my Series 2 on a cable box and the cable company had information for Fox Reality still. I'll check again after work.


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## pteronaut (Dec 26, 2009)

Now where am I going to get my fix of Limey car chases, especially those filmed in a town I used to live in?


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

busyba said:


> Apparently, the biggest problem for the channel was the confusion it generated amongst viewers by having both "Fox" and "Reality" in it's name.


LOL! :up:


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

CraigK said:


> Reality changed to National Geographic Wild here overnight. Had a message from TiVo noting the change and guide data is now for the new channel.


aah, ok, I was going to (jokingly) gripe here that we didn't really get it until 3/31.. though I admittedly didn't actually check the station to see if it changed yet..


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

I just saw the notice on my TiVo that it was removed from my line-up which caught me off-guard. I didn't watch it regularly but I did watch their original programming. 

Licensing issues is probably what killed them. They easily could have been popular if they ran the British and Australian versions of some of the Fox reality shows like Idol and So you think you can dance. Plus they could have picked up shows like the X Factor and Britain's Got Talent.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

Ridgecrest, CA. My cable channel is still showing Fox Reality. Yes, there was programming on it.


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

Comcast of New Jersey pulled Fox Reality Channel and replaced it with National Geographic's Wild channel. At least that's how I interpreted it, because all TiVo shows are channel abbreviations. FRC out, NGWILD in.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

My cable company hasn't done it yet. I called them and they are aware of it but just haven't done it yet. What is suprizing is that FRC still has FRC programming on it.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

So I'm confused. I thought NG Wild was taking over the FRC. So how can some areas still be getting FRC programming and some getting NG Wild programming? Is it not a matter of NG Wild taking over the actual operations/broadcasting of FRC, but merely taking FRC's slot on all cable/satellite lineups, thus they're two separate operations and could theoretically offer two different sets of programming until all carriers make the switch?


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

That has me confused also. I checked the channel that Tribune says now has NatGeo Wild on it and it is still showing Fox Reality. I have had to push off Monkies from Hell or whatever that show is about three times so far. There must be some automated something. It has commercials on it and everything. Are they being paid for the ad space?


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## Enrique (May 15, 2006)

DevdogAZ said:


> So I'm confused. I thought NG Wild was taking over the FRC. So how can some areas still be getting FRC programming and some getting NG Wild programming? Is it not a matter of NG Wild taking over the actual operations/broadcasting of FRC, but merely taking FRC's slot on all cable/satellite lineups, thus they're two separate operations and could theoretically offer two different sets of programming until all carriers make the switch?





sieglinde said:


> That has me confused also. I checked the channel that Tribune says now has NatGeo Wild on it and it is still showing Fox Reality. I have had to push off Monkies from Hell or whatever that show is about three times so far. There must be some automated something. It has commercials on it and everything. Are they being paid for the ad space?


Because many MSO's are still working on contracts for NatGo Wild, so instead of just shutting off those who's MSO's(And Sat companies) don't have a contract yet(From what I understand) Fox is still keep the lights on(or running a program loop)for the time being for those who haven't sign on the dotted line to switch over to NatGo Wild.

Time Warner Cable switched over on the morning of March 31.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

FRC was repeating Solitary 4.0 yesterday. I wish I had guide data from any source for this. The Sheriff's academy show looked interesting. Still haven't seen my monkey's destroy everything show yet.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

Mediacom still hasn't made a deal to get National Geographic Wild. Bunch of dolts.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

so does that mean you're still getting FRC?


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## appleye1 (Jan 26, 2002)

In the words of the infamous Pan Chun - "not dead yet". 

My DirecTv is still showing FRC.


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## Cearbhaill (Aug 1, 2004)

appleye1 said:


> My DirecTv is still showing FRC.


Mine is, too.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

Yep, I am still getting it. I expected the screen to go black but there is programming, such as it is, on the channel. Tribune has it as Nat Wild. I am not going to have Tribune corrected because, I don't care what is on Fox Reality. It is a waste of bandwidth just like the religious channels are and the Spanish channels are. (and home shopping, cooking etc.)


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