W. Channel
Encyclopedia
W is an Australia
n cable
and satellite
channel available on Foxtel
, Austar
and Optus Television's
subscription platforms. Originally a retro channel, it moved into Women's interest programming around the late 1990s. Later on it dropped promoting itself as a women's channel, instead focusing on its drama programming.
in 1995 and became available on Austar in April 1999. It was relaunched as W. in 2003, shortly before digital broadcasting began. W screened original Australian programming such as Beauty and the Beast
, Love My Way
, From Here to Maternity and Studio A with Simon Burke. It also had Pay-TV rights to many popular U.S.
primetime drama series such as Pushing Dasies and The Wire
and repeats of many other series.
Antonia Kidman
, sister of actress Nicole Kidman
was the face of the W channel, for quite some time and has presented a few parenting and entertainment programs for this and other channels. W2, the timeshift channel
broadcasting programs two hours later, was launched in September 2006. A website for the channel was also launched in September 2006.
W. underwent a transformation in April 2009, which included an updated logo (now simply W) and several new additions to the primetime line-up. W HD was launched on November 15th 2009, on both Austar
and Foxtel
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n cable
Cable
A cable is two or more wires running side by side and bonded, twisted or braided together to form a single assembly. In mechanics cables, otherwise known as wire ropes, are used for lifting, hauling and towing or conveying force through tension. In electrical engineering cables are used to carry...
and satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
channel available on Foxtel
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
, Austar
Austar
Austar is an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity is Subscription Television but it is also involved with internet access and mobile phones...
and Optus Television's
Optus Television
Optus Television is the cable television division of Australian telecommunications company Optus.-History:Its immediate predecessor was Optus Vision, a joint venture between, Optus and Continental Cablevision with small shareholdings by media companies Publishing and Broadcasting Limited and Seven...
subscription platforms. Originally a retro channel, it moved into Women's interest programming around the late 1990s. Later on it dropped promoting itself as a women's channel, instead focusing on its drama programming.
History
The channel began life as the FXFX Networks
FX is the name of a number of related pay television channels owned by News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group...
in 1995 and became available on Austar in April 1999. It was relaunched as W. in 2003, shortly before digital broadcasting began. W screened original Australian programming such as Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (talk show)
Beauty and the Beast is an Australian panel television show that has appeared in numerous versions since the early days of Australian television. The first version began in 1963 on the Seven Network with host Eric Baume as the "Beast". Baume was later replaced by presenters including John Laws,...
, Love My Way
Love My Way
Love My Way was a Logie Award winning and critically acclaimed Australian television drama series. It won the AFI award for Best Television Drama Series for each of its three seasons ....
, From Here to Maternity and Studio A with Simon Burke. It also had Pay-TV rights to many popular U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
primetime drama series such as Pushing Dasies and The Wire
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
and repeats of many other series.
Antonia Kidman
Antonia Kidman
Antonia Kidman is an Australian journalist and TV presenter, and the younger sister of actress Nicole Kidman. She has 5 children.-Early life and family:...
, sister of actress Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
was the face of the W channel, for quite some time and has presented a few parenting and entertainment programs for this and other channels. W2, the timeshift channel
Timeshift channel
A timeshift channel is a television channel carrying a time-delayed rebroadcast of its "parent" channel's output. This channel runs alongside their parent: the term "timeshift" does not refer to a network broadcasting at a later time to reflect a local timezone unless the parent is also available...
broadcasting programs two hours later, was launched in September 2006. A website for the channel was also launched in September 2006.
W. underwent a transformation in April 2009, which included an updated logo (now simply W) and several new additions to the primetime line-up. W HD was launched on November 15th 2009, on both Austar
Austar
Austar is an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity is Subscription Television but it is also involved with internet access and mobile phones...
and Foxtel
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
.
Original Programs
| Title | Number of Seasons | Number of Episodes | First Broadcast | Last Broadcast | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Love My Way Love My Way Love My Way was a Logie Award winning and critically acclaimed Australian television drama series. It won the AFI award for Best Television Drama Series for each of its three seasons .... Series 2 Only |
1 | 12 | 2005 | 2006 | Ended |
| Spirited Spirited (TV series) Spirited is an Australian television drama series made for subscription television channel W which aired for two seasons, from 2010-2011.... |
1 | 8 | 2010 | Present | Series 2 Premieres in 2011 |
Current Programming
- Army WivesArmy WivesArmy Wives is an American drama series that follows the lives of four army wives, their families, and an army husband whose wife is in the army. The series, shot at ABC Studios, premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007...
- Boston LegalBoston LegalBoston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...
- Burn NoticeBurn noticeA burn notice is an official statement issued by one intelligence agency to other agencies. It states that an individual or a group is unreliable for one or more reasons...
- Cold Case
- DamagesDamages (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...
- Extreme Makeover Home Edition
- Friday Night Lights (TV series)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...
- Jeopardy!Jeopardy!Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
(US version) - Law & OrderLaw & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
- Leverage (TV series)Leverage (TV series)Leverage is an American television drama series on TNT that premiered in December 2008. The series is produced by director/executive producer Dean Devlin's production company Electric Television...
- Lie to MeLie to MeLie to Me is a 2009-2011 American television series.Lie to Me may also refer to:* Lie to Me , a South Korean drama series* "Lie to Me" , an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer...
- Most HauntedMost HauntedMost Haunted is a British paranormal documentary reality television series. The series was first shown on 25 May 2002 and ended on 21 July 2010. It was broadcast on Living and presented by Yvette Fielding. The programme was based on investigating purported paranormal activity...
- Outrageous FortuneOutrageous Fortune (TV series)Outrageous Fortune was a New Zealand comedy/drama television series, which was created by James Griffin and Rachel Lang and was produced by South Pacific Pictures...
- Rescue MeRescue Me (TV series)Rescue Me is an American television drama series that premiered on the FX Network on July 21, 2004, and concluded on September 7, 2011. The series focuses on the professional and personal lives of a group of New York City firefighters in the fictitious Ladder 62 / Engine 99 firehouse.The show...
- The BorderThe Border (TV series)The Border is a Canadian drama airing on CBC Television and 20 other TV networks worldwide. It was created by Peter Raymont, Lindalee Tracey, Janet MacLean and Jeremy Hole of White Pine Pictures. The Executive in Charge of Production is Janice Dawe. Episodes in the first season were directed by...
- The CloserThe CloserThe Closer is an American crime drama, starring Kyra Sedgwick as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Georgia police detective who often closes her cases using sometimes-questionable methods...
- The GladesThe GladesThe Glades or The glades may refer to:* The Glades , a shopping centre in London, United Kingdom* The Glades , a nickname given to areas in western Palm Beach County, Florida...
- The ListenerThe ListenerThe Listener was a weekly magazine established by the BBC in January 1929 which ceased publication in 1991. The entire digitised catalogue was made available online to libraries, educational and research institutions in 2011....
- The MentalistThe MentalistThe Mentalist is an American police procedural television series which debuted on September 23, 2008, on CBS. The show was created by Bruno Heller, who is also the show's executive producer...
- The UnitThe UnitThe Unit is an American action-drama television series that focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled after the real-life U.S. Army special operations unit commonly known as Delta Force...
- The Young and the RestlessThe Young and the RestlessThe Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
- Without a TraceWithout a TraceWithout a Trace is an American television drama which originally ran on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009. The series was set in New York City and concerned a fictitious FBI Missing Persons Unit.-Premise:...
- White CollarWhite Collar (TV series)White Collar is a USA Network television series created by Jeff Eastin, starring Matt Bomer as con-man Neal Caffrey and Tim DeKay as Special Agent Peter Burke. It premiered on October 23, 2009. In December 2009, White Collar was renewed for a second season that began on July 13, 2010...