U.S. pay television channel
Television channel
FXX
is an American
basic cable
channel
owned by the
Disney Entertainment
business segment and division of
The Walt Disney Company
through
FX Networks, LLC
.
[2]
It is the partner channel of
FX
, with its programming focusing on original and acquired comedy series and feature films for a primary
demographic
of men ages 18?34.
[3]
FXX launched on September 2, 2013, at 7:00 a.m. ET/6:00 a.m. CT, replacing
Fox Soccer
.
[3]
The channel set a record for the longest continuous
marathon
in the history of television with a marathon featuring every episode of
The Simpsons
that had been released at the time and
The Simpsons Movie
over the course of twelve days.
[4]
This record has since been broken by
VH1 Classic
.
[5]
As of September 2018, approximately 86.6 million households in the United States (93.9% of those with cable) receive FXX.
[6]
Since September 2023, following a pay dispute between Disney and
Charter Communications
,
Spectrum
no longer carries the channel.
[7]
History
[
edit
]
Development
[
edit
]
In January 2013, it was reported by various media outlets that sports-focused channel
Fox Soccer
would be shut down and be replaced with a general entertainment network that would act as a brother service to
FX
; while FXX was a possible name from the start, another name proposed for the new network was
FX2
.
[8]
The decision appeared to stem from
Fox Sports
' loss of U.S. television rights to English
Premier League
soccer matches, rights it shared with
ESPN
;
NBC Sports
had secured U.S. rights to the league in October 2012, a deal that took effect at the start of the
2013?14 season
.
[9]
Also likely having an effect on Fox Soccer's future was the eventual conversion of two other Fox Sports specialty channels on August 17, 2013, when the motorsports-oriented
Speed
became the new general-interest
Fox Sports 1
and the extreme sports-heavy Fuel TV converted to
Fox Sports 2
(Premier League broadcasts on NBC began that same day).
On March 28, 2013, News Corp.'s FX Networks outlined plans to launch FXX on September 2 which would replace the Fox Soccer channel. The new network would be available in approximately 74 million American homes. FX President John Landgraf said FXX would complete "a suite of three channels" targeting three different demos: FX would aim for viewers 18?49, FXX would seek viewers 18?34, and
FXM
? the movie network ? would go for viewers 25?54. He would oversee all three channels.
[3]
In the months leading up to the launch, Fox was generally coy about definitively confirming where FXX would be placed on cable/satellite channel lineups, though Fox officials had indicated off the record that the plan was to indeed replace Fox Soccer with the new network.
[10]
Fox Soccer's conversion to FXX took place on the morning of September 2, 2013, leading out of a final airing of Fox Soccer's
Being: Liverpool
with an hour block of
paid programming
(which featured a FXX disclaimer card at the front) at 6 a.m. (ET), followed by the proper launch an hour later at 7 a.m. ET.
Launch
[
edit
]
The launch clip had
FC Barcelona
's
Lionel Messi
about to score a goal (two scenes taken from the
UEFA Champions League
matches on April 3, 2012 and March 12, 2013) "broken up" before gradually transitioning to a clip of
Frank Reynolds
(
Danny DeVito
) of
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
bursting through a leather couch (representing a television screen being "ripped") being "birthed" in the nude (a scene taken from the 2009 Christmas special episode "
A Very Sunny Christmas
"), suggesting the "birth" of FXX; this led into the
pilot episode
of
Parks and Recreation
, the start of an all-day marathon airing of the series.
[11]
As a result of the rebranding, Fox Soccer's remaining event rights, including
CONCACAF
and
UEFA
matches, have moved to Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, or in some cases
Fox Soccer Plus
.
The channel was intended by Fox to be part of the basic cable lineup, but it started on many providers (including
Suddenlink Communications
,
Comcast
,
DirecTV
,
Verizon FiOS
, and
Charter Communications
) in its previous placement within a specialty sports package (along with the costs which come with those packages), a holdover from the channel's previous iteration as Fox Soccer.
[12]
The vast majority of providers have since moved it to reasonable basic channel positions over time, often next to FX where possible.
A
Canadian version
of FXX launched on April 1, 2014.
[13]
2013?2019: Beginnings
[
edit
]
In October 2013, oil company
ExxonMobil
sued Fox for
trademark infringement
of its
service mark
, the interlocking X of its
Exxon
fuel brand. The network disputed the company's claim that there was the possibility of confusion, with a spokesperson explaining that "we are confident that viewers won't tune into FXX looking for gas or motor oil and drivers won't pull up to an Exxon pump station expecting to get
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
."
[14]
The parties agreed to dismiss the suit in October 2015.
[15]
On November 15, 2013, FXX acquired
broadcast syndication
rights to the
Fox
series
The Simpsons
. Original contracts had previously stated that syndication rights for the series would not be sold to
cable
until the series conclusion in deference to the local broadcast stations throughout the United States which had carried the series in syndication since the fall of 1993. However, all parties had not projected the series' longevity, nor of the technological advances since 1993.
[16]
The series premiered on August 21, 2014, starting with a twelve-day
marathon
. This featured the first 552 episodes (every single episode that had already been released at the time) aired chronologically, including
The Simpsons Movie
, which FX Networks had already owned the rights to air. The first day of the marathon was the highest rated broadcast day in the history of the network so far, the ratings more than tripled those of regular prime time programming for FXX. Ratings during the first six nights of the marathon grew night after night, with the network ranking within the top 5 networks in basic cable each night.
[17]
[18]
[4]
It was said to be the longest continuous marathon in the history of television, until
VH1 Classic
broke FXX's record with their nineteen-day marathon of
Saturday Night Live
.
[5]
On December 17, 2014, the network announced it would launch a late-night animation block on January 22. The block would feature fare originally developed and produced by
Animation Domination High-Def Studios
for Fox. It would launch with eight new episodes of
Lucas Bros. Moving Co.
and
Stone Quackers
. “We are insanely excited to partner with FXX and help them create a new block of programming for the network,” said ADHD Studios president Nick Weidenfeld.
[19]
For
Thanksgiving
2016, FXX launched a 13-day, 600-episode run of
The Simpsons
in honor of the show's 600th episode. The marathon would include the first four episodes of
The Simpsons'
28th season (of which was then-current as the season was still being aired by Fox) and ending with the episode "
Treehouse of Horror XXVII
".
[20]
[21]
On July 15, 2017, a
2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup
soccer game featuring the
U.S. men's national team
aired on FXX due to sports programming conflicts with Fox and Fox Sports 1;
The Washington Post
noted that the match was likely placed on FXX rather than Fox Sports 2 due to its broader carriage, as it is available in nearly as many households as FS1, and on basic tiers on some providers.
[22]
2019?present: Acquisition by Disney
[
edit
]
As part of
21st Century Fox
's
acquisition
by
The Walt Disney Company
, FX Networks was integrated into the newly renamed
Walt Disney Television
unit on March 20, 2019.
[23]
[24]
On April 8, 2019, FX Networks announced its acquisition of off-network rights to
Family Guy
, starting with its sixteenth season, and
Bob's Burgers
, starting with its ninth season.
Family Guy
began airing on FXX on April 16, while
Bob's Burgers
made its debut on September 24, 2019. FXX shares the rights to
Family Guy
with sister networks
Freeform
and FX.
Warner Bros. Discovery
's
Adult Swim
and
TBS
originally held the cable rights to the prior seasons of both shows; their rights to older seasons of
Family Guy
expired on September 18, 2021,
[25]
while with
Bob's Burgers
the show left TBS on August 26, 2023, meanwhile with Adult Swim they made a new deal to share rights in both networks, with earlier seasons premiered on FXX in September 28, 2023 and the later seasons premiered on Adult Swim in October 2, 2023.
[26]
[27]
On August 29, 2019, FXX announced
Cake
, a half-hour series featuring short-form adult animation and live-action content, would premiere September 25.
[28]
Cake
is the network's first original animated program since the aborted pilot of
Cassius and Clay
[29]
and the discontinuation of FXX's
Animation Domination High-Def
block in 2016.
On September 1, 2023, the carriage agreement between Disney and Charter Communications expired due to Charter's request that Disney provide free access to
Disney+
and
ESPN+
for all of Charter's subscribers. Disney requested that Charter maintain temporary carriage of their TV networks during the negotiation period, but Charter declined, resulting in a dark period that lasted 11 days, during which 15 million Spectrum TV customers lost access to Disney's TV networks. On September 11, 2023, Charter and Disney agreed to a renewed carriage agreement, which allowed Spectrum TV customers to resume watching the Disney content that were originally promised in their subscription package. Some lower-priority TV networks were permanently dropped in the renewed agreement, including
BabyTV
,
Freeform
, FXX,
FXM
,
Nat Geo Wild
,
Nat Geo Mundo
,
Disney Junior
, and
Disney XD
.
[30]
[31]
[32]
Shift towards animation
[
edit
]
On September 20, 2021, FXX began airing reruns of fellow 20th Television animated shows
King of the Hill
and
The Cleveland Show
, and dramatically overhauled the network lineup to air roughly 14 hours of adult animated series every day, save for airings of
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
and
Dave
, with films only airing in the mornings and early afternoon.
[33]
This later expanded to roughly 16 hours after FXX began airing
Futurama
on November 15, 2021, having acquired the off-network rights to that series from
NBCUniversal
's
Syfy
(who last aired the series on November 10).
[34]
[35]
[36]
FX Networks currently shares the rights to
King of the Hill
,
Bob's Burgers
and
Futurama
with Adult Swim, while also sharing
Futurama
and
The Cleveland Show
with
Paramount Global
's
Comedy Central
.
FXX ran its first marathon of every
Family Guy
episode from the first 19 seasons, except "
Partial Terms of Endearment
", from December 25, 2021 to January 1, 2022, in a similar fashion to their previous multi-day marathons of
The Simpsons
.
Following the shift in the network lineup, FXX averaged 243,000 viewers in primetime in 2022, up 23% compared to 2021, ranking 53rd among all networks. FXX also went up 23% in the 18-49 demographic, averaging 139,000 and ranking 25th. Both numbers beat that of their closest competitor, Adult Swim.
[37]
Programming
[
edit
]
FXX's original programming consists of comedy series, such as
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
and
Archer
(both of which previously aired on sister network FX). The network's original series generally air on Wednesday or Thursday nights in the last hour of network primetime. As of September 2021, FXX's acquired lineup (outside programming shared with FX and FXM) consists of film telecasts in the morning and adult animated series airing in the afternoon and evenings.
Programming blocks
[
edit
]
- Animation Domination
? Originally broadcast on Fox as "Animation Domination High-Def", this was a late adult animation block that hosted short-form series such as
Axe Cop
,
Major Lazer
, and
Stone Quackers
.
- Simpsons Sunday
? A Sunday afternoon block that aired episodes of
The Simpsons
that have a similar theme to the episode that would air later that night on
Fox
.
"Every. Simpsons. Ever."
[
edit
]
FXX is the cable home of
The Simpsons
(excluding the
Tracey Ullman
shorts
), of which marathons are aired in primetime. FXX is known for their larger
Simpsons
marathon events in which the entire run of the series at the time is aired over a number of days.
[38]
A third marathon, the "Plus+Size Holiday Marathon," aired from December 17 to 31, 2019, and consisted of 661 episodes, excluding "
Stark Raving Dad
", and the syndication premiere of
The Longest Daycare
animated short. The marathon was a promotional event for
Disney+
, which would become the exclusive streaming service for the series after the shuttering of FX's
Simpsons World
hub.
[39]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
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.
Bloomberg
. December 19, 2017.
- ^
Wallenstein, Andrew (December 14, 2017).
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.
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July 17,
2020
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b
c
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.
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2020
.
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a
b
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.
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Steinberg, Brian (January 15, 2015).
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.
Variety
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November 19,
2016
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.
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.
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.
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2020
.
- ^
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on December 27, 2012
. Retrieved
March 30,
2013
.
- ^
Harris, Christopher (March 28, 2013).
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.
EPLTalk
. Retrieved
April 21,
2013
.
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- ^
Burke, Timothy (September 2, 2013).
"Watch Fox Soccer Channel Die In The Most Undignified Manner Possible"
.
Deadspin
. Retrieved
September 3,
2013
.
- ^
Channel Surfer: Tonight's TV (with VIDEO)
Amarillo Globe News
, September 4, 2013
- ^
Wong, Tony (January 14, 2014).
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.
The Toronto Star
. Retrieved
July 16,
2020
.
- ^
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.
The Hollywood Reporter
. Retrieved
July 16,
2020
.
- ^
Gardner, Eric (October 19, 2015).
"Fox, ExxonMobil Hit Brakes on "FXX" Trademark Dispute"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. Retrieved
July 16,
2020
.
- ^
Littleton, Cynthia (November 15, 2013).
"
'The Simpsons' Lands $750 Mil Cable Syndication, VOD Pact with FXX"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
July 16,
2020
.
- ^
Steinberg, Brian (April 9, 2014).
"
'Simpsons' to Launch on FXX With 12-Day Marathon; App Expected to Debut"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
July 16,
2020
.
- ^
Kissell, Rick (August 22, 2014).
"
'The Simpsons' Marathon More Than Triples Primetime Audience for FXX"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
July 16,
2020
.
- ^
Andreeva, Nellie (December 17, 2014).
"FXX Launches Late-Night Animation Block With Series From ADHD Studios"
.
Deadline
. Retrieved
July 16,
2020
.
- ^
Kreps, Daniel (September 23, 2016).
"All 600 'Simpsons' Episodes to Air Consecutively This Thanksgiving"
.
Rolling Stone
. Retrieved
July 17,
2020
.
- ^
Negley, Erin (December 6, 2016).
"As 'Simpsons' 600-episode marathon winds down, can you pick a favorite?"
.
lancasteronline.com
. Retrieved
July 15,
2020
.
- ^
Goff, Steven (July 14, 2017).
"The FXX is in: U.S. national soccer team will appear on different channel"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
July 15,
2017
.
- ^
Goldman, David (December 14, 2017).
"Disney buys 21st Century Fox: Who gets what"
.
CNN Money
. Retrieved
December 14,
2017
.
- ^
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.
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. Retrieved
March 20,
2019
.
- ^
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'Family Guy' Will Stop Airing on Adult Swim Extremely Soon"
.
Popculture
. Retrieved
September 17,
2021
.
- ^
Andreeva, Nellie (April 8, 2019).
"FX Networks Nabs Off-Network Rights To 'Family Guy' & 'Bob's Burgers'; FXX To Share 'Family Guy' With Freeform"
.
Deadline
. Retrieved
April 23,
2019
.
- ^
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. September 21, 2023. Archived from
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on September 21, 2023
. Retrieved
September 21,
2023
.
- ^
Andreeva, Nellie (August 29, 2019).
"FXX Sets Premiere Date For 'Cake' Series For Live-Action & Animated Short-Form Programming ? Update"
.
Deadline
. Retrieved
July 17,
2020
.
- ^
Andreeva, Nellie (January 4, 2016).
"
'Cassius And Clay' Animated Comedy Series Not Going Forward At FXX"
.
Deadline
. Retrieved
July 17,
2020
.
- ^
"Disney, Charter Settle Cable Dispute Hours Before Debut of ESPN's 'Monday Night Football'
"
.
Variety
. September 11, 2023
. Retrieved
September 12,
2023
.
- ^
"Are Some Disney Channel Day's Numbered?"
.
What's on Disney Plus
. September 11, 2023
. Retrieved
September 12,
2023
.
- ^
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.
What's on Disney Plus
. September 12, 2023
. Retrieved
September 12,
2023
.
- ^
"TV Schedule for FXX USA HD - Eastern"
. Archived from
the original
on September 9, 2021.
- ^
animatedplus [@animatedplus] (November 8, 2021).
"Futurama leaves the Syfy lineup this Wednesday morning at 9:30am. The last episode to air will be the second to last episode "Stench and Stenchibility". The series will continue to air on Comedy Central and will join the FXX this Monday"
(
Tweet
).
Archived
from the original on November 9, 2021
. Retrieved
December 24,
2021
– via
Twitter
.
- ^
animatedplus [@animatedplus] (November 10, 2021).
"Syfy is airing Futurama for the last time. https://t.co/VWWaZJLcSU"
(
Tweet
).
Archived
from the original on November 10, 2021
. Retrieved
December 24,
2021
– via
Twitter
.
- ^
"TV Schedule for FXX USA - Eastern"
. Archived from
the original
on November 14, 2021.
- ^
Schneider, Michael (December 29, 2022).
"Most-Watched Television Networks: Ranking 2022's Winners and Losers"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
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2023
.
- ^
de Moraes, Lisa (August 22, 2014).
"
'The Simpsons' Marathon Launches With Biggest Day In FXX History"
.
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.
- ^
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.
TV Guide
. Retrieved
July 16,
2020
.
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
FXX
.