FX is an American pay television channel owned by FX Networks, LLC, a subsidiary of the Disney General Entertainment Content unit of The Walt Disney Company. It is based at the Fox Studios lot in Century City, California.
History[]
Founding[]
FX, originally stylized as "fX", launched on June 1, 1994. Broadcasting from a large "apartment" in Manhattan's Flatiron District, fX was one of the first forays into large-scale interactive television. The channel centered on original programming, which was broadcast live every day from the "fX Apartment", and rebroadcasts of classic television shows from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, such as Batman, Wonder Woman, Eight Is Enough, Nanny and the Professor and The Green Hornet. fX had two taglines during this period: "TV Made Fresh Daily" and "The World's First Living Television Network". The "f" in the channel's name and logo was rendered in lower-case to portray a type of relaxed friendliness; the stylized "X" represented the channel's roots: the crossing searchlights of the 20th Century Fox logo.
Disney acquisition[]
On March 20, 2019, The Walt Disney Company acquired 21st Century Fox. Consequently, FX Networks was integrated into the newly renamed Walt Disney Television unit. In a September 2018 interview with Variety of the Disney-Fox deal, Landgraf said, "I think this is a necessary step. I have curiosity and a bit of anxiety about how it will work, but I'm really excited about it".
On April 8, 2019, FX Networks had acquired 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, 2019, while Bob's Burgers made its debut on September 24, 2019. FXX shares the rights to Family Guy with sister network Freeform. WarnerMedia's Adult Swim and TBS held the rights to older seasons of both shows; WarnerMedia's rights to Family Guy expired on September 18, 2021, at which point reruns are exclusive to FX Networks and Freeform, with the rights to Bob's Burgers similarly coming under FX Networks' full control in 2023.
On May 14, 2019, Comcast relinquished its control in Hulu to Disney effective immediately. As a result, the streaming service became a division of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International with Comcast effectively becoming a silent partner. In November 2019, it was announced that FX would produce series for Hulu under the "FX on Hulu" brand. Four series previously in development for the linear FX channel will now premiere on Hulu, including Devs, Mrs. America and A Teacher. Furthermore, episodes aired on the linear FX cable network will be available on Hulu the next day. "FX on Hulu" launched on March 2, 2020.
On June 11, 2019, Hulu and FX picked up show rights to Lionsgate films released in 2020 and 2021.
In December 2021, Disney announced that it would discontinue the "FX on Hulu" brand, resulting in the Hulu hub for FX and FXX programming being rebranded as simply "FX" going forward. The rebranding will also apply to Disney+ for international markets, including Canada.
Disney shows that premiered on FX[]
Original Disney programs[]
- The Bear
- Dave
- The Old Man
- American Horror Stories
- Y: The Last Man
- Reservation Dogs
- The Premise
- Little Demon
- Welcome to Wrexham
- The Places Where We Live
- Shōgun
- Alien: Earth
