Arena (TV channel)

Arena (formerly Fox Arena) is an Australian general entertainment cable and satellite channel available on Foxtel, Austar, and Optus Television's subscription platforms.

Arena

Country	Australia
Programming
Language(s)	English
Picture format	576i (SDTV 16:9) 1080i (HDTV 16:9)
Timeshift service	Arena +2
Ownership
Owner	Foxtel Networks
Sister channels	Foxtel Networks channels
History
Launched	22 April 1995^[1]^[2]
Former names	Arena (1995-2020) FOX Arena (2020-2023)
Links
Website	www.arenatv.com.au
Availability
Streaming media
Foxtel Go	Channel 111
Binge	binge.com.au

History

In the late 1990s, Arena had the slogan "The Art of Television". It ran a mix of programs, including UK serial Coronation Street, and cult horror and science fictions films presented by Tabitha Clutterbuck. This included programs from E! prior to the launch of E! in Australia.

On 1 March 2001 it relaunched, with an added focus on talk shows and celebrity.^[3][4]

 

2005 Logo

On 31 July 2005, its look was again updated, with a new logo and the new slogan, "Great TV Any time".^[5]

It was owned and operated by XYZnetworks until 1 October 2007 when management and programming were taken over by Foxtel,^[6] with XYZ Networks still retaining ownership.

 

2008-2020 Logo

In April 2008, Foxtel announced a partnership with Universal Networks International, where Arena would be re-branded as an Australian version of the American channel Bravo—featuring original series from the network, and adopting a variation of Bravo's branding and slogan, whilst retaining the previous Arena name.^[7]

On 1 June 2010, Arena TV switched from standard 4:3 to 16:9 widescreen programming. Many of Arena's programmes like Gilmore Girls, Two and a Half Men, How I Met Your Mother and One Tree Hill amongst other shows are originally presented in widescreen. Arena TV's switch to widescreen is part of Foxtel's plan to have every channel in widescreen by the end of 2010.

 

2020-2023 logo

On 3 November 2014, Arena launched a HD feed. In addition, Arena + 2 moved from channel 154 to channel 151.^[8]

On 1 July 2020, the channel rebranded as FOX Arena with a new logo and tagline ‘Live Out Loud.’^[9][10] The channel now operates as part of Foxtel's LifeStyle suite of television networks.

On 28 September 2023, the channel rebranded to its former name Arena with a new logo.^[11]

Slogans

Slogan	Year(s)
The Art of Television	1995–2001
Get Into It	2001–2005
Great TV Any Time	2005–2008
Watch What Happens	2008–2020
Live Out Loud	2020–present

Programming

Current original programming

• The Real Housewives of Melbourne (2014–present)
• The Real Housewives of Sydney (2017)

Current syndicated programming

• The Bachelor
• Bridezillas
• Days of Our Lives^[12]
• Divorce Court
• The Drew Barrymore Show
• Entertainment Tonight
• Friends
• Hot Bench
• Marriage Boot Camp
• Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles
• The People's Court
• Project Runway
• The Real Housewives of Atlanta
• The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
• The Real Housewives of Cheshire
• The Real Housewives of Miami
• The Real Housewives of Melbourne
• The Real Housewives of New Jersey
• The Real Housewives of New York City
• The Real Housewives of Orange County
• The Real Housewives of Potomac
• Shortland Street
• Sex and the City
• TMZ on TV
• Top Chef
• Wheel of Fortune
• Vanderpump Rules
• The Young and the Restless

Former original programming

• Confidential (2007 on FOX8, 2008 on Arena)
• Park Street (Australian TV series) (2011)
• Project Runway Australia (2008–2012)
• WAG Nation (2012)
• Untitled top secret project (cancelled)

Former syndicated programming

• 2 Broke Girls
• 24 Hour Catwalk
• All Saints
• Alias
• America's Next Top Model
• The Amazing Race
• Bethenny
• Bethenny Getting Married
• Bridezillas
• Burn Notice
• Celebrity Apprentice
• Celebrity Name Game
• Chef Academy
• Coronation Street
• Defying Gravity
• Desperate Housewives
• Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23
• Double Exposure
• Drop Dead Diva
• The Drew Carey Show
• The Dr. Oz Show
• Dukes of Melrose
• ER
• The Ellen DeGeneres Show
• Everwood
• Entourage
• Flipping Out
• Ghost Whisperer
• Gilmore Girls
• Go Girls
• Grey's Anatomy
• The Guardian
• Hey Paula
• Hitched
• Hope & Faith
• How I Met Your Mother
• I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding
• It's a Brad, Brad World
• The Insider
• Jerry Springer
• Jeopardy! (moved back to Fox Classics)
• Joan of Arcadia
• Judge Judy
• Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List
• Katie
• The Late Show with David Letterman
• Las Vegas
• The L Word
• Lie to Me
• Louie Spence's Showbusiness
• Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends
• Malcolm in the Middle
• Make Me A Supermodel
• The Maury Povich Show
• Melrose Place
• Mike & Molly
• Million Dollar Listing New York
• Millionaire Matchmaker
• Mob Wives
• Mob Wives Chicago
• The Nate Berkus Show
• The New Adventures of Old Christine
• The New Atlanta
• The New Normal
• Nip/Tuck
• NYC Prep
• The O.C.
• One Tree Hill
• Outrageous Fortune
• The Price Is Right (US Version)
• Property Envy
• Queer Eye For The Straight Guy
• The Rachel Zoe Project
• The Real Housewives of Australia
• The Real Housewives of D.C.
• The Real Housewives of Dallas
• The Real Housewives of Sydney
• The Real Housewives of Vancouver
• Reba
• Rita Rocks
• Saving Hope
• Shear Genius
• The Simple Life: Interns
• Six Feet Under
• Saturday Night Live
• Secret Diary of a Call Girl
• Shahs of Sunset
• Styled by June
• Suburgatory
• Tabatha's Salon Takeover
• Tamra's OC Wedding
• The Sopranos
• Thintervention with Jackie Warner
• Tim Gunn's Guide To Style
• Top Design
• Top Chef: Just Desserts
• Top Chef Masters
• Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood
• True Tori
• Two and a Half Men
• Tru Calling
• The Tyra Banks Show
• The Unit
• Ugly Betty
• The View
• Wahlburgers
• Wheel of Fortune
• Weeds
• The West Wing
• Without a Trace
• Will and Grace
• The Wire (Moved from Fox8/Fox Arena)
• Winners and Losers
• Work Out

References

1. Browne, Rachel (22 April 1995). "Galaxy takes knife to fees". The Sun-Herald. Sydney, Australia: Fairfax Media. p. 23. Retrieved 21 December 2009. XYZ Entertainment is launching the other four Galaxy channels today. They are a documentary channel Quest, children's and cult TV channel Max, general entertainment channel Arena and music channel Red.
2. . Archived from the original on 24 December 2004. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
3. Danielsen, Shane (8 March 2001). "New Arena for female viewers". The Australian. Sydney, Australia: News Limited.
4. Brown, Pam (27 February 2001). "Arena's Soft Landing". The West Australian. Perth, Australia: West Australian Newspapers Limited.
5. Lee Lewes, Jacqeuline (20 July 2005). "A driving force". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Sydney, Australia: News Limited.
6. Foxtel takes Arena
7. A New Arena 25 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
8. Knox, David (3 November 2014). "BoxSets, Discovery Kids launch on Foxtel". TV Tonight. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
9. "Smooth joins axed music channels, Arena to be renamed. | TV Tonight".
10. "Arena rebrands to FOX Arena | TV Tonight".
11. "Foxtel Magazine (October 2023) - Your monthly guide to a world of entertainment". Foxtel Magazine. p. 32. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
12. Knox, David (24 February 2014). "Foxtel to fast-track Days of Our Lives". TV Tonight. Retrieved 24 February 2014.

External links

• Official site