Oxygen to Rebrand as TV’s Crime Destination for Women
Oxygen is committing to the crime genre. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the women-focused network is pivoting to become “a crime destination network geared toward women.” The rebrand is expected to officially take place this summer.
As part of the shift, the NBCUniversal-owned cable network picked up three new crime series: a revival of Dick Wolf’s “Cold Justice,” abduction series “Three Days to Live,” and “The Jury Speaks,” which “re-examines controversial cases told through the eyes of the original jury.”
Oxygen’s rebrand follows the increased ratings the network saw with its “four-night-a-week ‘Crime Time’ weekend block,” THR details. According to the source, Oxygen’s ratings are “up 22 percent among women 25–54 and 42 percent among total viewers thanks to veteran [series] ‘Snapped’ and similar fare.” The network also currently airs re-runs of “NCIS” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”
NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Lifestyle Networks president Frances Berwick told THR that the main impetus behind this move was the viewership of young women. “It was really just seeing that this young, female viewership we have was really leaning into and getting fanatical about the crime shows,” she said. “It really felt like there was something we could tap into here and do something different than anyone else in the genre.”
Berwick noted that she and her team plan to keep Oxygen as the network’s name. However, the channel’s overall look and feel is set to change. “We will be rolling out a different look when we launch the rebrand in the summer,” she explained.
Berwick hopes the Oxygen rebrand will see the acquisition of “off-network syndication rights to other procedurals.” The exec added that she is also looking for “high-quality crime shows that either fall into the self-contained procedural unscripted bucket or major buzzy tentpoles.” Berwick envisions the rebranded network being home to “interesting stories, different ways of storytelling and driving suspense that allow our female viewers to become armchair detectives.”
Berwick cited a television adaptation of “Serial” as the one already-existing show from another outlet she would want for the new Oxygen.
The network rebrand will be all-encompassing. Crime shows will air seven days a week on Oxygen beginning this summer. According to Berwick, Oxygen’s current non-crime shows like “Bad Girls Club” will probably not return.
