Home Shopping Network or HSN is a 24-hour basic cable shopping network that can be seen on cable, satellite, and some terrestrial channels in the United States. The company also operates HSN.com, an e-commerce operation.
The channel is owned by HSN, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSNI).
History
Launched by Lowell 'Bud' Paxson and Roy Speer in 1982 as the Home Shopping Club , a local cable channel seen on Vision Cable and Group W Cable in Pinellas County, Florida, and expanded into the first national shopping network three years later on July 1 , 1985 , HSN (its initials forming its alternate name) pioneered the concept of the viewer shopping for items in the comfort of their own home.
HSN has its roots from a radio station managed by Paxson which in 1977, due to an advertiser's liquidity problem, the company was paid in can openers. Left with having to raise the funds, on-air personality Bob Circosta went on the radio and sold the can openers for $9.95 each. Lo and behold, the can openers sold out and an industry was born. Bob Circosta later became the new network's first ever home shopping host and would eventually sell 75,000 different products in over 20,000 hours of live, on-air television.
In 1986, HSN began a second network that broadcast over the air on a number of TV stations it had acquired under the name Silver King Broadcasting. In 1999, the stations were sold to IAC founder Barry Diller and changed its name to USA Broadcasting, with a few of them ending HSN programming outside of overnight hours and taking on a local programming format equivalent to Toronto's Citytv. In 2001, they were sold again, this time to Univision, and all HSN programs ceased on those channels; however, HSN continues to air on low-power stations. Ventana Television ( ventana meaning window in Spanish) has the same street address as HSN, and is the holding company for its broadcast licenses.
In 1999, the company launched HSN.com, which as of 2009 is one of the top 10 most trafficked e-commerce sites. In 2008, HSN also started MySpace and Facebook pages. In an attempt to engage with younger consumers in 2009, HSN produced a 14-episode online video series, Faces of Beautiful You, which follows three young women who find solutions to many of life's problems through HSN's beauty products. The campaign included a Facebook widget, character blogs, and profiles for the three main characters on Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook.
Hosts
Present home shopping hosts on HSN include:
Kara Connor, Todd Newton, Candace Kumai, and Christian Anderson joined HSN as the new hosts in 2008. Candace Kumai was removed from HSN's website schedule and host bio page in July 2008.
Past home shopping hosts on HSN and America's Store include:
Models
(This is only a partial list)
- Sonja Ryans
- Kara Preston
- Regina Marlow
- Natalie Hayden
- Annette Millan
- Kirsten Hill
- Lori Livingston
- Melissa Lawrence
- Melissa Vogt
- Veronica Berry
- Andrea Kennedy Fredrickson
- Gabriella Visser
Product Categories
- Jewelry
- Fashion
- Beauty
- Health & Fitness
- For Home Decoration
- Kitchen & Dining
- Electronics
- Crafts & Sewing
- Toys
- NFL items
- Collectibles
- Personalized gifts
- Outdoors
Operations
HSN runs 24 hours a day, although programming hours vary between each region, based upon the local TV provider.
United States
HSN's U.S. operations are based in St. Petersburg, Florida, which houses its corporate headquarters, studio and broadcasting facilities. Additional call center facilities are located in Roanoke, Virginia. Distribution centers are situated in Roanoke, Piney Flats, Tennessee, and Fontana, California in order to ensure the fastest possible delivery of items.
HSN also operates four retail outlet stores in Orlando, Brandon, Bardmoor, and St. Petersburg (Emplorium). HSN broadcasts 24 hours a day, 364 days a year. On Christmas, a mix of special programming airs from Christmas Eve afternoon until midnight on December 25 . For the first twelve years, a looping Yule log was aired from Noon Christmas Eve to Midnight December 26th. Several years the show allows members of the staff to go on camera with their families to say hello to relatives back home.
In 1997, HSN formally launched its second nationwide electronic retail venture, a 24 hour network under the America's Store name (it had operated similar concepts of more limited scale since 1988). This station took advantage of HSN's already extensive network of low-power transmitters located in many major metropolitan markets throughout the United States. Eventually, the network was also picked up by some cable and satellite providers. While America's Store closely mirrored HSN's programming strategy and schedule format, it functioned primarily as an outlet for distressed and discontinued HSN merchandise in various categories. Occasionally however, new merchandise would be showcased concurrently on both channels at varying schedules. Like its sister network, America's Store also had a full service internet website that shared most of its functionality with the HSN parent site. In April, 2007, America's Store ceased operating permanently. Most of the America's Store hosts (some of which were already splitting hosting duties between networks) were absorbed into the HSN programming schedule.
In 1998, Home Shopping Network launched its Spanish version Home Shopping en Español on Univision's cable network Galavision. In 2000, the Spanish version re-branded itself as HSE and tapped into low-power stations in the US and Puerto Rico. It also ceased to broadcast through Galavision. In June 2002, HSE ceased to operate.
UK
HSN had a UK sister network called HSE, which has ceased trading. On the 18 April 2005 , the falling price auction channel iBuy, was created by the ex-senior management figure of Auction World.tv, Andy Sheldon.
The iBuy shopping channel closed in May 2007, when 85 jobs were lost. The reasons for the channel's closure were cited to be connected to financial difficulties at the channel, due to their failure to successfully break into a market already dominated by shopping channels such as QVC, sit-up Ltd, Ideal World and Gems TV. It was suggested that there were a growing number of customer complaints over products, and controversy over the channel allegedly selling fake products, in particular Tiffany jewellery.
On 18 March 2007 , iBuy Senior Presenter Adam Freeman, revealed while on air, that it was to be his final shift. It was also revealed, that unlike many of the other staff at iBuy, he wasn't to be out of a job. As like the previous iBuy Head of Broadcasting, Andy Sheldon, Freeman will in fact be moving over to HSN for employment in the USA.
On 27 March 2007 , it was officially announced on the iBuy website that the channel has now ceased live broadcasting. In its slots, iBuy will be offering a variety of programming over the coming weeks, which include pre-recorded iBuy Unique, and Rye by Post Collectibles.
Germany
HSN has a sister network in Europe called HSE24.
Japan
HSN's sister network in Japan is known as The Shop Channel.
Canada
The Shopping Channel was launched in 1987 as Canadian Home Shopping Network (CHSN), HSN's sister network in Canada. In 1999, the station was sold to Rogers Communications and is no longer affiliated with HSN.
Philippines
Home Shopping Network is currently aired via Shop TV (A Solar Entertainment Corporation Shopping TV channel).
Italy
Home Shopping Europe was launched in Italy in 2001 as " Home Shopping Europe ", replacing " H.O.T. Italia " (when this acronym intended the television channel Home Order Television). In 2003 the frequencies of HSE were sold to Mediaset and the channel was renamed Mediashopping.
Technology
Call Center
HSN National started life with a standard rotary phone system that concentrated calls to the front of the queue. This corresponded to the front row of order takers in the HSN Studio at the Levitz Center (so named as the location was a former Levitz furniture store) in Clearwater. After several months, this system was no longer adequate and HSN entered a phase where a phone system from GTE was used. HSN claimed that the systems' inability to handle the high call volumes resulted in a loss of business. HSN sued GTE for $1.5 Billion. In a counter-libel suit, GTE claimed that HSN had slandered the company. GTE won a $100 Million judgment. Both parties settled out of court. In the interim, HSN found another telephone vendor to handle its call volume. The Rockwell corporation's Galaxy line of switches was used for the current call center (as well as the new locations in St. Petersburg).
Interactive Voice Response
HSN was an early adopter of an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system for order entry. This system allowed customers to place orders through the IVR rather than an agent.
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