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| Country | Australia |
|---|---|
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV 16:9) |
| Timeshift service | Classics+2 |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Foxtel Networks |
| Sister channels | Foxtel Networks channels |
| History | |
| Launched | 2 December 2000 |
| Former names | Fox Kids (Shared Channel) FOX Classics (2000 - 2023) |
Classics (formerly Fox Classics) is an Australian cable and satellite channel that specializes in showing television series and ad-free classic movies, themed movie nights and miniseries from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
History
FOX Classics began as a channel shared with FX and then Fox Kids (which itself had moved from a block on Fox8) and also shared time with The History Channel (Fox Travel/History/Soap/Talk until 1998 when the Soap and Talk Shows Moved to FX which rebrands to focus on a Female Audience) when FX separated in 2000.
This version of the channel was a night shift for the Fox Kids channel in Australia, when Fox Kids ended at a specific time (late afternoon for the most part) on Channel 6, FOX Classics began. It was essentially, ad-free classic movies (mostly from the 20th Century Fox library), hosted by Bill Collins, who would give background information and trivia about the movie to the audience, before and after the movie. Eventually Fox Kids moved back to Fox8 on 1 February 2004 and FOX Classics became a 24-hour channel.
In November 2008, with the addition of 111 Hits and the change in direction of the network to a catalogue of 50s, 60s and 70s programs, a large amount of newer material mainly sitcoms were moved from FOX Classics.
On 26 September 2023, the channel rebranded as Classics.
Current Programming
- 'Allo 'Allo!
- Are You Being Served?
- As Time Goes By
- Blackadder
- Bless Me, Father
- Dad’s Army
- Father Ted
- Fawlty Towers
- The Goodies
- Keeping Up Appearances
- Only Fools and Horses
- One Foot in the Grave
- Open All Hours
- Porridge
- Yes, Prime Minister
- The Young Ones
- Bonanza
- Rawhide
- The Wild Wild West
- Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
- Get Smart
- The Brady Bunch
- Happy Days
- Hogan's Heroes
- Mork & Mindy
- Jeopardy!
- Murder, She Wrote
Former programming
- 3rd Rock from the Sun
- Absolutely Fabulous
- The Addams Family
- Agatha Christie’s Poirot
- Batman
- The Benny Hill Show
- The Beverly Hillbillies
- Bottom
- Caroline in the City
- China Beach
- Combat!
- The Commish
- Diagnosis: Murder
- The Drew Carey Show
- The Ed Sullivan Show
- Evening Shade
- Everybody Loves Raymond
- F Troop
- Friends
- Full House
- Gilligan’s Island
- The Golden Girls
- Green Acres
- Gunsmoke
- Hey, Dad
- Hart to Hart
- Hill Street Blues
- Home Improvement
- The Honeymooners
- I Love Lucy
- Ironside
- Jake and the Fatman
- The King of Queens
- Kingswood Country
- Laramie
- Laredo
- Laverne & Shirley
- Little House on the Prairie
- Lost in Space
- The Lucy Show
- MacGyver
- M*A*S*H
- McHale's Navy
- The Mary Tyler Moore Show
- Matlock
- Miami Vice
- Mister Ed
- Mother and Son
- The Munsters
- Murphy Brown
- The New Statesman
- NYPD Blue
- The Odd Couple
- On the Buses
- Parkinson
- The Phil Silvers Show
- The Rockford Files
- The Saint
- Spin City
- Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
- Tour of Duty
- The Vicar of Dibley
- The Virginian
- Walker, Texas Ranger
- The Waltons
References
- Murdoch, Blake (28 November 2000). "New pay TV offerings from Australia's Foxtel". The Hollywood Reporter. 365 (43). BPI: 10. ISSN 0018-3660. Archived from the original on 24 August 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- "Mr Movies' classic passion". Sunday Herald Sun. 8 April 2001.
- https://web.archive.org/web/20040219182801/http://www.foxtel.com.au/channel/details.jsp?chnl=CLA Fox Classics
- "Foxtel Magazine (October 2023) - Your monthly guide to a world of entertainment". Foxtel Magazine. p. 32. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
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