ABC Family Turns Into Freeform

When most people hear “ABC Family,” they think of the channel’s popular “25 Days of Christmas” and frequent Harry Potter marathons. The network has a reputation as a wholesome, family channel with shows directed towards kids ages 10-12.

Network president Tom Ascheim and the rest of the executives of ABC Family decided that that needed to change. In October 2015, they announced that the name of network changed to Freeform.

Freeform begins in January. The name change accompanies new releases of shows. The name Freeform was chosen to represent the evolution of broadening the channel’s horizons. The channel is trying to market more towards the “Becomer” audience.

The “Becomer” audience is considered people aged 14 to 34 years old, who are in the stages of life where they are finding out who they are. This reflects when ABC Family was first created for the millennial viewers. The network is trying to keep up with them as they grow up. The “Becomer” audience also influences the theme of “becoming.” This means that the characters in the shows will be “becomers” themselves.

One of the main reasons why the network decided to rebrand itself is because they want to reel in new viewers. Since most people associated ABC Family with family, they didn’t watch the channel.

If they had, they would’ve seen that, while family is a big theme in the show, the shows on the channel aren’t very innocent. Shows like Pretty Little Liars and The Fosters have very heavy themes that aren’t suggested for children under the age of 14.

Now that the new name isn’t associated with “family” anymore, the network believes that it can take more liberties and have darker themes in their shows, which in many people’s opinions were dark enough.

There are many mixed reviews with the rebranding of the network. Some viewers have no opinion, while some are ecstatic that their favorite shows don’t have to be censored as much as they were before.

Other viewers aren’t as happy. Many think that the new name is ridiculous and unnecessary. Others, especially parents, are disappointed. They don’t want their children to see, what they consider to be, adult content in-between their G-rated movies or shows.

Even though the name has changed, the shows will stay the same. Household favorites like The Middle will continue, along with other comedies like Baby Daddy and Young & Hungry. Other than the new name and new theme of “becoming,” it looks like Freeform will be very similar to ABC Family.

With new shows being introduced such as Shadowhunters, Recovery Road, and the recently announced Nicki Minaj comedy series, 2016 looks like a good year for Freeform.