The 101
Encyclopedia
Audience Network is a general entertainment television channel owned by DirecTV
and available exclusively on their satellite television
service throughout the United States
. Since all subscribers pay for the channel in their "Choice" basic package, most programs are uncut and commercial free.
s and other events on channel 103. The channel was initially known as Freeview because it was part of all subscription packages, starting with Total Choice. It was relocated to channel 124 several years later, ultimately moving to its current position on channel 101 and renamed The 101 Network. Since 2005, the program schedule for the channel has expanded to include original shows.
The channel was rebranded as Audience Network on June 1, 2011 with The Dan Patrick Show
as the first program using the new branding. Since the rebrand, DirecTV has advised viewers to watch it on channel 239, although it is also still available on channels 101, 334 and 500.
as the judge and several comedians or actors playing lawyers, including Kevin Pollak
, Jon Lovitz
, Jamie Kennedy
, Paul Mooney, Tom Papa
, Tom Arnold
, Bobby Lee, Paul Rodriguez
, Aries Spears
, George Wallace
, Victoria Jackson
, Rich Hall
, Louie Anderson
, and Bob Marley
. The plaintiffs and defendants are regular people with actual court cases, however the show has no legal standing and is meant for entertainment purposes only. The show was renewed for a third season which premiered on June 17, 2010.
Rock in A Hard Place is a celebrity game show, hosted by Meat Loaf
, that premiered in the fall of 2008. Rock bands (mostly from the 1970s and 1980s, but some from the 1990s) are the teams. The episodes have included A Flock of Seagulls
vs. Toto
, Right Said Fred
vs. Bananarama
, Leif Garrett
vs. Bay City Rollers
, Diva vs. Color Me Badd
, Jeffrey Osborne
vs. Tony Orlando
, Quiet Riot
All Stars vs. Air Supply
, The Skinners vs. The Shredders, Tommy Tutone
vs. Ray Parker, Jr.
, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam vs. Da Brat
, Everclear
vs. Starship, and Sha Na Na
vs. War
.
The DirecTV Concert Series is exclusive concerts of several popular bands. See here for a complete list.
The Dan Patrick Show
: on weekday mornings since August 2009, Audience Network has simulcasted the syndicated sports talk radio program. The telecast was originally exclusive to Audience Network, but since October 25, 2010, the show has been simulcast on Fox Sports Net
affiliates.
, a controversial show that been broadcast briefly on ABC
in the spring of 2000. The run included all eight episodes of the series, six of which had never been aired.
DirecTV and NBC Studios
announced on April 25, 2007 that new episodes of NBC
's daytime soap opera
Passions
would begin airing exclusively on the channel on September 17, 2007. According to the announcement, the show would retain its 1:00 p.m.CST - 2:00 p.m. ET time slot, with episodes rerun on weekends. Passions had aired on NBC since 1999, but in January 2007 the network announced it would not renew the show for a ninth season, and its run on NBC ended on September 7, 2007. In December 2007, DirecTV announced that it would not pick up Passions from NBC for a tenth season, and aired the finale on August 7, 2008.
DirecTV, NBC, and Universal Media Studios announced on April 2, 2008 that starting on October 1, 2008, the third season of the NBC series Friday Night Lights
would first air on the channel in the form of 13 first-run episodes. After DirecTV finished airing the third season episodes of Friday Night Lights, starting on January 16, 2009 NBC aired the third season with edited scenes. On March 31, 2009, NBC and DirecTV announced that they had renewed Friday Night Lights for two additional seasons, again to be broadcast first on DirecTV and then on NBC.
DirecTV has picked up rights to new episodes of Damages
, formerly on FX. It began airing reruns of seasons 1-3 on January 5, 2011. Season 4 premiered on Audience Network on July 13, 2011. DirecTV has also renewed it for a fifth season.
's original soap opera limited series, General Hospital: Night Shift
throughout Night Shift July to October 2008 run on SoapNet.
The channel broadcast the documentary
travel/adventure series Odyssey: Driving Around the World starting June 2008.
A short-lived ABC show, The Nine
, began airing on the channel on May 27, 2009.
The channel began airing the Canadian
comedy series Trailer Park Boys
on February 5, 2009.
The channel also airs reruns of the 2005-2006 Showtime drama series Sleeper Cell.
On April 21, 2009, it was announced that DirecTV picked up the syndication rights to Oz
and Deadwood
.
The channel began airing Smith
on April 8, 2009.
On September 17, 2009, DirecTV announced that they have picked up exclusive U.S. rights to the Australian miniseries Underbelly
. It began airing on February 3, 2010.
DirecTV has syndication rights to The Wire
, which began airing on July 18, 2010.
On September 28, 2010 DirecTV acquired exclusive US rights to the British shows No Heroics
, How Not to Live Your Life
and Mutual Friends
. They premiered in November.
On February 10, 2011, DirecTV acquired exclusive U.S. rights to the Canadian series Call Me Fitz
. It premiered on April 21, 2011.
DirecTV has also acquired the exclusive U.S. rights to the Australian series Rake
.
In the Fall of 2011, DirecTV acquired exclusive U.S. rights to the Canadian sitcom Less Than Kind
and the British drama Hit and Miss.
week, DirecTV has held an annual celebrity flag football
game which promotes DirecTV's exclusive sports package NFL Sunday Ticket
. A concert follows the game which is simulcasted on WGN-TV
and WGN America.
Bracket Breakdown was an exclusive NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
pre-game show with several college basketball analysts and insiders, including Louisville's Rick Pitino
, Kentucky's John Calipari
, Oklahoma's Jeff Capel
, Tennessee's Bruce Pearl
and Washington's Lorenzo Romar
and former UCLA player and current sports talk radio show host Sean Farnham. It served as supplemental coverage to DirecTV's exclusive (now defunct) Mega March Madness
package.
SXSW: the channel exclusively carried the 2009 SXSW Festival concert live.
Farm Aid 25: Growing Hope for America
aired exclusively on DirecTV.
period in 2006, Audience Network showed several themed movies, including The Toxic Avenger.
On February 23, 2007 and February 24, 2007, Audience Network aired a preview of Chiller, the new cable channel from NBC Universal
dedicated to horror
programming that launched on channel 257 on DIRECTV March 1, 2007. Programming featured during this preview included the two-hour pilot episode of Twin Peaks
, the pilot episode of American Gothic
, episodes of Monsters
, Tales from the Crypt
, Night Gallery
, Alfred Hitchcock Presents
, Friday the 13th: The Series
, and various horror movies
.
Audience Network has aired a number of dramatic series a few days before their scheduled premiers on Showtime including The Tudors in March 2007 and Nurse Jackie
in June 2009, and Party Down
for Starz on April 22, 2010.
On August 24, 2007, Audience Network aired an exclusive high-definition broadcast of High School Musical 2, one week after its premiere on Disney Channel
, though the high definition version of Disney Channel didn't launch until 2008.
, a pop music show reminiscent of the longtime favorite American Bandstand
. CD USA aired every Saturday evening and ran all weekend long. This channel also showed American Idol Extra
, a weekly recap program, on weekends throughout the 2006 season of Idol
after it had premiered Thursdays on Fox Reality.
Other former original shows have included the Championship Gaming Invitational, Championship Gaming Series
, The FIZZ
, and Project My World
.
Havoc on The 101 broadcasted live web / phone text chats over music video
s and action sports clips. Viewers could vote for which video they want to see next via those chats. The chats are from the website Havoc.tv.
Hometown Heroes chronicled DirecTV customers who are local heroes in their communities. It was hosted by Joan Lunden
.
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
and available exclusively on their satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
service throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Since all subscribers pay for the channel in their "Choice" basic package, most programs are uncut and commercial free.
History
What would eventually become Audience Network launched in 1999 as a continuous loop of concertConcert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s and other events on channel 103. The channel was initially known as Freeview because it was part of all subscription packages, starting with Total Choice. It was relocated to channel 124 several years later, ultimately moving to its current position on channel 101 and renamed The 101 Network. Since 2005, the program schedule for the channel has expanded to include original shows.
The channel was rebranded as Audience Network on June 1, 2011 with The Dan Patrick Show
The Dan Patrick Show
The Dan Patrick Show is a syndicated sports talk show hosted by former ESPN personality Dan Patrick. It is currently produced by DirecTV Sports Group and is syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks. The three-hour program broadcasts live every day beginning at 9 a.m. Eastern/6 a.m. Pacific time on Fox...
as the first program using the new branding. Since the rebrand, DirecTV has advised viewers to watch it on channel 239, although it is also still available on channels 101, 334 and 500.
Original series
Supreme Court of Comedy is an original show on Audience Network that premiered in 2008. It is a pseudo court show with Dom IrreraDom Irrera
Domenick Jack Irrera , originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a stand-up comedian. Much of his material is in the form of stories about his life, especially his childhood years and growing up in an Italian-American family, which contributes to the "natural" feel of his...
as the judge and several comedians or actors playing lawyers, including Kevin Pollak
Kevin Pollak
Kevin Elliot Pollak is an American actor, impressionist, game show host, and comedian. He started performing stand-up comedy at the age of 10 and touring professionally at the age of 20...
, Jon Lovitz
Jon Lovitz
Jonathan "Jon" Lovitz is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is best known as a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1990.-Early life:...
, Jamie Kennedy
Jamie Kennedy
James Harvey "Jamie" Kennedy is an American comedian, rapper, and actor.-Early life:Kennedy, the youngest of six children, was born in Upper Darby Township, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His family is of Irish descent and he was raised Roman Catholic. He attended and graduated from...
, Paul Mooney, Tom Papa
Tom Papa
Tom Papa is an American comedian, actor and TV host known for his many TV and film appearances.-Early life:Papa was born November 10, 1967 in Passaic, New Jersey, and grew up in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey...
, Tom Arnold
Tom Arnold (actor)
Thomas Dwaine "Tom" Arnold is an American actor and comedian. He has appeared in many films, perhaps most notably True Lies . He was the host of The Best Damn Sports Show Period for four years.-Early life:...
, Bobby Lee, Paul Rodriguez
Paul Rodríguez
Paul Rodriguez is a Mexican-American stand-up comedian and actor.-Personal life:Rodriguez was born in Culiacán, Sinaloa, México to Mexican agriculture ranchers.. His family migrated to East Los Angeles, where he enlisted in the military; he was stationed in Iceland and Duluth, Minnesota...
, Aries Spears
Aries Spears
Aries Spears is an American actor and comedian. Spears is best known as one of the actors on Fox's sketch comedy series MADtv, in which he was in 198 episodes, making him the second longest-serving original cast member on the show....
, George Wallace
George Wallace (comedian)
George Henry Wallace is an American comedian and actor. He is number 93 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time.-Early life:...
, Victoria Jackson
Victoria Jackson
Victoria Jackson is an American comedian, actress, satirist and singer best known as a cast member of the NBC television sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1992....
, Rich Hall
Rich Hall
Richard "Rich" Hall is an American comedian, writer and musician.-Early life and career:Hall was born in Alexandria, Virginia and grew up in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He is part Cherokee Indian...
, Louie Anderson
Louie Anderson
Louie Perry Anderson is an American stand-up comedian. Anderson created the cartoon series Life with Louie, has written three books, and was the initial host of the second revival of the game show Family Feud, from 1999 to 2002....
, and Bob Marley
Bob Marley (comedian)
Robert Cochrane "Bob" Marley, Jr. is a comedian from Portland, Maine. He has stated that when he was born, his father had no idea there was a singer named Bob Marley....
. The plaintiffs and defendants are regular people with actual court cases, however the show has no legal standing and is meant for entertainment purposes only. The show was renewed for a third season which premiered on June 17, 2010.
Rock in A Hard Place is a celebrity game show, hosted by Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
, that premiered in the fall of 2008. Rock bands (mostly from the 1970s and 1980s, but some from the 1990s) are the teams. The episodes have included A Flock of Seagulls
A Flock of Seagulls
A Flock of Seagulls are an English New Wave band originally formed by brothers Michael "Mike" Score and Alister "Ali" James Score , with Frank Maudsley , Michael Kuby , H.J...
vs. Toto
Toto (band)
Toto is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The group currently consists of Joseph Williams , David Paich , Steve Porcaro , Steve Lukather , Mike Porcaro , and Simon Phillips . Toto is known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard...
, Right Said Fred
Right Said Fred
Right Said Fred is an English pop band, formed in 1989 by brothers Richard Fairbrass and Fred Fairbrass, later joined by their friend Rob Manzoli. The group is named after a song of the same name which was a hit for Bernard Cribbins in 1962...
vs. Bananarama
Bananarama
Bananarama are an English female pop duo who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Rather than relying on a two part harmony, the duo generally sings in unison, as do their background vocalists. Although there have been line-up changes, the group enjoyed their most popular...
, Leif Garrett
Leif Garrett
Leif Garrett is an American singer and actor. He became famous in the late 1970s as a teen idol, but received much publicity in later life for his drug abuse and legal troubles.-Early life:...
vs. Bay City Rollers
Bay City Rollers
The Bay City Rollers were a Scottish pop band who were most popular in the 1970s. The British Hit Singles & Albums noted that they were "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh", and were "the first of many acts heralded as the 'Biggest Group since The Beatles' and one of the most screamed-at...
, Diva vs. Color Me Badd
Color Me Badd
Color Me Badd was an R&B vocal group that was formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. The original members of the group were Bryan Abrams ; Mark Calderon ; Sam Watters and Kevin Thornton...
, Jeffrey Osborne
Jeffrey Osborne
Jeffrey Linton Osborne is an American funk and R&B musician, songwriter, lyricist, and former lead singer of the band, L.T.D.-Early life and career:...
vs. Tony Orlando
Tony Orlando
Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis , better known as Tony Orlando, is an American show business professional, best known as the lead singer of the group Tony Orlando and Dawn in the early 1970s. Discovered by producer Don Kirshner, Orlando had songs on the charts in 1961 when he was 16, "Halfway to...
, Quiet Riot
Quiet Riot
Quiet Riot is an American Heavy Metal band. They are best known for their hit singles "Metal Health" and "Cum On Feel the Noize". They were founded in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni, under the original name Mach 1, before changing the name to Little Women and finally Quiet...
All Stars vs. Air Supply
Air Supply
Air Supply is an Australian soft rock duo, consisting of Graham Russell as guitarist and singer-songwriter and Russell Hitchcock as lead vocalist. They had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight Top Ten hits in the United States, in the early 1980s...
, The Skinners vs. The Shredders, Tommy Tutone
Tommy Tutone
Tommy Tutone is a New Wave band, best known for its 1982 hit "867-5309/Jenny", which peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Although it is usually referred to as a San Francisco band, it was actually based in Willits, California, at the time that "Jenny" was released...
vs. Ray Parker, Jr.
Ray Parker, Jr.
Ray Erskine Parker, Jr. , is an American guitarist, songwriter, producer and recording artist. Parker is known for writing and performing the theme song to the motion picture Ghostbusters, for his solo hits, and performing with his band Raydio as well as the late Barry White.-Early life and...
, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam vs. Da Brat
Da Brat
Shawntae Harris , better known as Da Brat, is an American rapper and actress. Her debut album, Funkdafied, sold one million copies, making her the first female rapper to have a platinum-selling album.-Early life:...
, Everclear
Everclear (band)
Everclear is a rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1992 best known for their radio hits spanning more than a decade. For most of its existence, Everclear has consisted of Art Alexakis , Craig Montoya , and Greg Eklund . Eklund replaced original drummer Scott Cuthbert in 1994...
vs. Starship, and Sha Na Na
Sha Na Na
Sha Na Na is an American rock and roll group. The name is taken from a part of the long series of nonsense syllables in the doo-wop hit song "Get a Job", originally recorded in 1957 by the Silhouettes....
vs. War
War (band)
War is an American funk band from California, known for the hit songs "Low Rider", "Spill the Wine", "The Cisco Kid" and "Why Can't We Be Friends?". Formed in 1969, War was a musical crossover band which fused elements of rock, funk, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, and reggae...
.
The DirecTV Concert Series is exclusive concerts of several popular bands. See here for a complete list.
The Dan Patrick Show
The Dan Patrick Show
The Dan Patrick Show is a syndicated sports talk show hosted by former ESPN personality Dan Patrick. It is currently produced by DirecTV Sports Group and is syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks. The three-hour program broadcasts live every day beginning at 9 a.m. Eastern/6 a.m. Pacific time on Fox...
: on weekday mornings since August 2009, Audience Network has simulcasted the syndicated sports talk radio program. The telecast was originally exclusive to Audience Network, but since October 25, 2010, the show has been simulcast on Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Net
The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net , are a collection of cable TV regional sports networks in the United States owned and operated by News Corporation.- Beginnings :...
affiliates.
Acquired first run series
Starting in January 2009, the channel aired WonderlandWonderland (TV series)
Wonderland was a short-lived and controversial 2000 ABC television drama directed by Peter Berg. It depicted daily life in a mental institution, from the perspectives of both the doctors and patients. Only two episodes aired on ABC during its original run in 2000...
, a controversial show that been broadcast briefly on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
in the spring of 2000. The run included all eight episodes of the series, six of which had never been aired.
DirecTV and NBC Studios
NBC Studios
The NBC Studios in New York, New York is located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the historic GE Building houses the headquarters of the NBC television network, its parent General Electric, and NBC's flagship station WNBC , as well as cable news channel MSNBC.When NBC Universal relocated,...
announced on April 25, 2007 that new episodes of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's daytime soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Passions
Passions
Passions is an American television soap opera which aired on NBC from July 5, 1999 to September 7, 2007 and on The 101 Network from September 17, 2007 to August 7, 2008....
would begin airing exclusively on the channel on September 17, 2007. According to the announcement, the show would retain its 1:00 p.m.CST - 2:00 p.m. ET time slot, with episodes rerun on weekends. Passions had aired on NBC since 1999, but in January 2007 the network announced it would not renew the show for a ninth season, and its run on NBC ended on September 7, 2007. In December 2007, DirecTV announced that it would not pick up Passions from NBC for a tenth season, and aired the finale on August 7, 2008.
DirecTV, NBC, and Universal Media Studios announced on April 2, 2008 that starting on October 1, 2008, the third season of the NBC series Friday Night Lights
Friday Night Lights (TV series)
Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins from a book and film of the same name. The series details events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to team...
would first air on the channel in the form of 13 first-run episodes. After DirecTV finished airing the third season episodes of Friday Night Lights, starting on January 16, 2009 NBC aired the third season with edited scenes. On March 31, 2009, NBC and DirecTV announced that they had renewed Friday Night Lights for two additional seasons, again to be broadcast first on DirecTV and then on NBC.
DirecTV has picked up rights to new episodes of Damages
Damages (TV series)
Damages is an American television drama series created by the writing and production trio of Daniel Zelman and brothers Glenn and Todd A. Kessler . It is broadcast in the United States on the DirecTV channel Audience Network after originally airing on FX and is produced by the creators' own...
, formerly on FX. It began airing reruns of seasons 1-3 on January 5, 2011. Season 4 premiered on Audience Network on July 13, 2011. DirecTV has also renewed it for a fifth season.
Off network reruns
The channel aired repeat episodes of SoapNetSOAPnet
SOAPnet is an American cable television channel that broadcasts current and past soap operas and primetime dramas, along with some original programming. The channel launched on January 20, 2000, and is owned by Disney-ABC Television Group, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
's original soap opera limited series, General Hospital: Night Shift
General Hospital: Night Shift
General Hospital: Night Shift is an American prime time serial that first aired on SOAPnet for a 13-episode run from July 12, 2007 to October 4, 2007. A spin-off of the ABC Daytime soap opera General Hospital, the show is SOAPnet's first original scripted drama series and follows the nighttime...
throughout Night Shift July to October 2008 run on SoapNet.
The channel broadcast the documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
travel/adventure series Odyssey: Driving Around the World starting June 2008.
A short-lived ABC show, The Nine
The Nine (TV series)
The Nine is an American television serial drama that premiered October 4, 2006 on ABC and aired only one season. The show was produced by Warner Bros. Television.- Plot :...
, began airing on the channel on May 27, 2009.
The channel began airing the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
comedy series Trailer Park Boys
Trailer Park Boys
Trailer Park Boys is a Canadian comedy mockumentary television series created and directed by Mike Clattenburg that focuses on the misadventures of a group of trailer park residents, some of whom are ex-convicts, living in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The...
on February 5, 2009.
The channel also airs reruns of the 2005-2006 Showtime drama series Sleeper Cell.
On April 21, 2009, it was announced that DirecTV picked up the syndication rights to Oz
Oz (TV series)
Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons...
and Deadwood
Deadwood (TV series)
Deadwood is an American Western drama television series created, produced and largely written by David Milch. The series aired on the premium cable network HBO from March 21, 2004, to August 27, 2006, spanning three 12-episode seasons. The show is set in the 1870s in Deadwood, South Dakota, before...
.
The channel began airing Smith
Smith (TV series)
Smith is an American television drama that premiered on September 16, 2006 at 10:00 PM ET on CBS and on September 18, 2006 on CTV in Canada...
on April 8, 2009.
On September 17, 2009, DirecTV announced that they have picked up exclusive U.S. rights to the Australian miniseries Underbelly
Underbelly (series)
Underbelly is an Australian television true crime-drama which originally broadcast on the Nine Network. Each series contains 13 episodes and is based on real-life events including the Melbourne gangland killings between 1995-2004, the Griffith drug trade between 1976-1987, and the Kings Cross scene...
. It began airing on February 3, 2010.
DirecTV has syndication rights to The Wire
The Wire (TV series)
The Wire is an American television drama series set and produced in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon, the series was broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States...
, which began airing on July 18, 2010.
On September 28, 2010 DirecTV acquired exclusive US rights to the British shows No Heroics
No Heroics
No Heroics is a British superhero-comedy television series, which began on 18 September 2008. The show is ITV2's first original sitcom. It was nominated for Best New British TV Comedy of 2008 at the British Comedy Awards.-Setting:...
, How Not to Live Your Life
How Not to Live Your Life
How Not to Live Your Life is a British sitcom, written by and starring Dan Clark, about a neurotic twenty-nine year old man who is trying to navigate his way through life but is not helped by his bad instincts. On 27 May 2011 it was announced by the new BBC Three controller Zai Bennett that the...
and Mutual Friends
Mutual Friends
Mutual Friends is a British comedy drama television series broadcast in six episodes on BBC One in 2008. The series starred Marc Warren, Alexander Armstrong, Keeley Hawes, Sarah Alexander, Claire Rushbrook, Emily Joyce, Naomi Bentley and Joshua Sarphie as a group of old friends whose lives are...
. They premiered in November.
On February 10, 2011, DirecTV acquired exclusive U.S. rights to the Canadian series Call Me Fitz
Call Me Fitz
Call Me Fitz is a Canadian television series produced by E1 Entertainment, Amaze Film & Television, and Big Motion Pictures. The half-hour comedy stars Jason Priestley as Richard "Fitz" Fitzpatrick, a morally bankrupt used-car salesman whose consequence-free life is complicated by the arrival of...
. It premiered on April 21, 2011.
DirecTV has also acquired the exclusive U.S. rights to the Australian series Rake
Rake (TV series)
Rake is an Australian television series, produced by Essential Media and Entertainment, that first aired on ABC1 in 2010. It stars Richard Roxburgh as Cleaver Greene, a brilliant but self-destructive barrister, a rake...
.
In the Fall of 2011, DirecTV acquired exclusive U.S. rights to the Canadian sitcom Less Than Kind
Less Than Kind
Less Than Kind is a Canadian television comedy-drama series that stars Jesse Camacho as Sheldon Blecher, a teenager growing up in a loving but dysfunctional Jewish family in Winnipeg. The show's cast also includes Maury Chaykin and Wendel Meldrum as Sheldon's parents, Benjamin Arthur as his older...
and the British drama Hit and Miss.
Specials
Celebrity Beach Bowl: since 2007, during Super BowlSuper Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
week, DirecTV has held an annual celebrity flag football
Flag football
Flag football is a version of Canadian football or American football that is popular worldwide. The basic rules of the game are similar to those of the mainstream game , but instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier to end...
game which promotes DirecTV's exclusive sports package NFL Sunday Ticket
NFL Sunday Ticket
NFL Sunday Ticket is an Out-of-Market Sports Package that broadcasts National Football League regular season games unavailable on local affiliates. It carries all regional Sunday afternoon games produced by Fox and CBS...
. A concert follows the game which is simulcasted on WGN-TV
WGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
and WGN America.
Bracket Breakdown was an exclusive NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
pre-game show with several college basketball analysts and insiders, including Louisville's Rick Pitino
Rick Pitino
Rick Pitino is an American basketball coach. Since 2001, he has been the head coach at the University of Louisville. He has also served as head coach at Boston University, Providence College and the University of Kentucky, leading that program to the NCAA championship in 1996...
, Kentucky's John Calipari
John Calipari
John Calipari is an American basketball coach. Since April 2009, he has been the men's head coach at the University of Kentucky....
, Oklahoma's Jeff Capel
Jeff Capel
Felton Jeff Capel III is an American former college basketball player at Duke University and was a head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University and University of Oklahoma. He is currently an assistant coach for his alma mater, Duke.-Youth:Capel is from a basketball family...
, Tennessee's Bruce Pearl
Bruce Pearl
Bruce Dean-Fredrick Pearl is an American college basketball coach who most recently served as head coach of the University of Tennessee Volunteers men's team. He is a graduate of Boston College, where he obtained his first position as an assistant basketball coach. He was the first coach to lead...
and Washington's Lorenzo Romar
Lorenzo Romar
-References:1. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FocusOnTheFamilyDailyBroadcast/~3/dnPdyF5PmG0/ffd_20110314.mp3-External links:*...
and former UCLA player and current sports talk radio show host Sean Farnham. It served as supplemental coverage to DirecTV's exclusive (now defunct) Mega March Madness
Mega March Madness
Mega March Madness was a pay-per-view out-of-market sports package covering games in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship which was exclusive to DirecTV since 2002 and supplemented the coverage from CBS Sports. The charge for the package was a one-time $69 charge per year...
package.
SXSW: the channel exclusively carried the 2009 SXSW Festival concert live.
Farm Aid 25: Growing Hope for America
Farm Aid
Farm Aid started as a benefit concert on September 22, 1985, in Champaign, Illinois, held to raise money for family farmers in the United States...
aired exclusively on DirecTV.
Movies and previews
During the HalloweenHalloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
period in 2006, Audience Network showed several themed movies, including The Toxic Avenger.
On February 23, 2007 and February 24, 2007, Audience Network aired a preview of Chiller, the new cable channel from NBC Universal
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
dedicated to horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
programming that launched on channel 257 on DIRECTV March 1, 2007. Programming featured during this preview included the two-hour pilot episode of Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
, the pilot episode of American Gothic
American Gothic (TV series)
American Gothic is an American horror series created by Shaun Cassidy and executive produced by Sam Raimi. The show first aired on CBS on September 22, 1995, and was cancelled after a single season on July 11, 1996.-Plot:...
, episodes of Monsters
Monsters (TV series)
Monsters is a syndicated horror anthology series which originally ran from 1988 to 1991 and reran on the Sci-Fi Channel during the 1990s. As of 2011, Monsters airs on NBC Universal's horror/suspense-themed cable channel Chiller in sporadic weekday marathons.In a similar vein to Tales from the...
, Tales from the Crypt
Tales from the Crypt (TV series)
Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from 1989 to 1996 on the premium cable channel HBO...
, Night Gallery
Night Gallery
Night Gallery is an American anthology series that aired on NBC from 1970 to 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, The Twilight Zone, served both as the on-air host of Night Gallery and as a major contributor of scripts, although...
, Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
, Friday the 13th: The Series
Friday the 13th: The Series
Friday the 13th: The Series is an American-Canadian horror television series that ran for three seasons, from October 3, 1987 to May 26, 1990 in first-run syndication....
, and various horror movies
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
.
Audience Network has aired a number of dramatic series a few days before their scheduled premiers on Showtime including The Tudors in March 2007 and Nurse Jackie
Nurse Jackie
Nurse Jackie is an American series that premiered on June 8, 2009, on Showtime, Movie Central and The Movie Network.The series stars Edie Falco as the title character Jackie Peyton, an emergency room nurse at All Saints' Hospital in New York City...
in June 2009, and Party Down
Party Down
Party Down is an American comedy television series created and primarily written by John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge, and Paul Rudd that aired on the Starz network in the United States.-Conception:...
for Starz on April 22, 2010.
On August 24, 2007, Audience Network aired an exclusive high-definition broadcast of High School Musical 2, one week after its premiere on Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
, though the high definition version of Disney Channel didn't launch until 2008.
Former programming
The first original program on the channel was CD USACD USA
CD USA, which debuted in 2006, is an American music television show airing exclusively on DirecTV's" The 101" network in the United States. The show is an American version of CD:UK, a similarly themed music show on ITV in the UK. Its hosts are John Wynn, Becky Baeling, and formerly, Jonathan...
, a pop music show reminiscent of the longtime favorite American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
. CD USA aired every Saturday evening and ran all weekend long. This channel also showed American Idol Extra
American Idol Extra
American Idol Extra was a television show that was shown on the Fox Reality Channel and Star! and billed as "the show that picks up right where American Idol leaves off"...
, a weekly recap program, on weekends throughout the 2006 season of Idol
American Idol (season 5)
The fifth season of American Idol began on January 17, 2006 and concluded on May 24, 2006. Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell returned to judge, and Ryan Seacrest returned to host. It is the most successful season to date ratings-wise and also with 18 contestants getting record deals -...
after it had premiered Thursdays on Fox Reality.
Other former original shows have included the Championship Gaming Invitational, Championship Gaming Series
Championship Gaming Series
The Championship Gaming Series was an international electronic sports league based in the United States of America, though it had expanded to every continent except Antarctica for Season Two before being abruptly discontinued....
, The FIZZ
The FIZZ
The FIZZ was a half-hour weekly television program hosted by Cory "Mr. Safety" Williams and Jessica "JP" Payne. It was created by Andrew Kobliska for DirecTV Original Entertainment. The show features video bloggers, aspiring hosts, online videos and indie music videos.The program premiered in...
, and Project My World
Project My World
Project Myworld is a reality television series that was broadcast on American satellite TV channel, The 101 Network, an exclusive service of DirecTV. The ten-part series premiered on October 16, 2006 and was shown on Monday nights....
.
Havoc on The 101 broadcasted live web / phone text chats over music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s and action sports clips. Viewers could vote for which video they want to see next via those chats. The chats are from the website Havoc.tv.
Hometown Heroes chronicled DirecTV customers who are local heroes in their communities. It was hosted by Joan Lunden
Joan Lunden
Joan Lunden is an American journalist, author and television host. She was the co-host of ABC's Good Morning America from 1980 through 1997 and is the author of 8 books...
.