ABC Family

ABC Family is a cable channel owned by Disney ABC Cable Networks. It was originally founded in 1977 as The CBN Cable Network by Evangelical minister Pat Robertson, as extension to his television ministry, over time the network started airing less and less religious programming. In 1988 to reflect, the change in format, the channel changed its name to The Family Channel. By the year 1990, CBN spun off the network, because it had grown too profitable for the ministry. In 1997, News Corporation, owners of the Fox television network and Saban Entertainment bought the network and changed the network to Fox Family Channel the next year. In 2002, ABC bought the channel and gave it its current name. In 2005 ABC Family started airing Disney movies starting with The Parent Trap and by 2007 they started airing animated films and more recently they aired Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

Programming Stunts
Annually, ABC Family provides two major programming stunts, "The 13 Days of Halloween", which runs from October 19 through 31, and the "25 Days of Christmas", running from December 1 through Christmas Day, which have been a part of the channel since the "Fox Family" days. In addition, prior to the 25 Days of Christmas, the network has added a "Countdown to 'The 25 Days of Christmas'", running about two weeks before the event begins, running through Thanksgiving.

Criticism
Since ABC Family is a semi-religious and semi-family-oriented network it has often been criticized for it's variety of programming. Many shows on ABC Family have episodes that either deal with teen-drinking (Boy Meets World and Still Standing) or teenage pregnancy (The Secret Life of the American Teenager). ABC Family encourages concerned parents to control what their children watch. In fact, ABC Family will always put up a Disclaimer on TV-14 programs and movies with disturbing images such as The Sixth Sense.