Oxygen (branded on air as Oxygen True Crime) is an American cable and digital multicast television network owned by Versant.The network primarily airs true crime television series and police procedural dramas.
The channel launched on February 1, 2000, under the ownership of Oxygen Media, a consortium including Geraldine Laybourne and Oprah Winfrey among other stakeholders. It originally carried a format of lifestyle and entertainment programming oriented towards women. Oxygen Media was acquired by NBCUniversal in 2007 for nearly $1 billion, after which the channel began to place a stronger focus on targeting young adult women. After the network experienced ratings successes with a programming block dedicated to such programming, Oxygen was relaunched in mid-2017 to focus primarily on true crime programs and crime dramas. Oxygen is among the NBCUniversal channels that transferred into Versant in 2025.
The channel initially operated as a cable network; in 2022, Oxygen began to also operate as a digital multicast television network on subchannels of NBC Owned Television Stations.As of November 2023, Oxygen is available to approximately 59 million pay television households in the United States, down from its 2012 peak of 80 million households.[1]
History
The privately held company Oxygen Media was founded in 1998 by former Nickelodeon executive Geraldine Laybourne, talk-show host Oprah Winfrey, media executive Lisa Gersh, and Carsey-Werner producers Marcy Carsey, Tom Werner and Caryn Mandabach.[2] Laybourne was the company's founder, chairwoman, and CEO, remaining with the channel until the NBCUniversal sale. The company's subscription network Oxygen launched on February 1, 2000.
Oxygen's first headquarters were at Battery Park City in New York City, near the World Trade Center.During the September 11 attacks, the network temporarily went off the air; a simulcast of Time Warner Cable-owned regional news channel NY1 was carried by Oxygen's channel space until the studio reopened within a week after the attack.[3] Oxygen's operations were later consolidated at Chelsea Market, a former Nabisco factory at 15th Street and Ninth Avenue in New York City.[4]
Prior to 2005, the channel carried a limited schedule of regular season WNBA games produced by NBA TV. The channel later began to focus chiefly on reality shows, reruns, and movies. For a time during the talk show's syndication run, Oxygen aired week-delayed repeats of The Tyra Banks Show.The yoga/meditation/exercise program Inhale was the last inaugural Oxygen program on air into the channel's NBC Universal era, albeit in repeats; it was cancelled in 2010.
Several original reality series targeting women also aired on the network, including Campus Ladies, Bliss, Oprah After the Show, Talk Sex with Sue Johanson, The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, Snapped, Girls Behaving Badly and Bad Girls Club.Oxygen launched with immediate DirecTV carriage at launch, and was added to Dish Network in early 2006, during that provider's carriage conflict with Lifetime.
Acquisition by NBC Universal
In August 2007, rumors emerged that NBCUniversal had made offers to acquire Oxygen, with the network reportedly recommending that Bravo Media head Lauren Zalaznick lead the network post-acquisition.It was reported that the network had been pursuing offers of at least $1 billion (referred to internally as "BET money", in reference to Viacom's earlier acquisition of the channel).[5] On October 9, 2007, NBC Universal announced it would be acquiring Oxygen for $925 million.[6]
The sale was completed on November 20, 2007, with Zalaznick appointed head of Oxygen. NBCU cable head Jeff Gaspin stated that Oxygen would be marketed to advertisers alongside sister properties targeting an "upscale" female audience, such as Bravo, iVillage, and Today.Some of Oxygen's executives departed during the integration, including Laybourne and president of programming Debby Beece, with Gersh transitioning to roles at other NBCU divisions (including The Weather Channel, and later NBC News).[7][8]
In April 2008, during its first upfronts under NBCU ownership, Oxygen announced a planned rebranding to take effect that June.This would include a new logo and slogan ("Live Out Loud"), establishing women 18-49 (with a particular emphasis on "young, trend-obsessed" women 18–34) as the network's target demographic, and relaunching its website with a larger focus on video content from its shows.It also announced several series in development, such as Coolio's Rules and Dance Your Ass Off.[9][10] During the 2008 Summer Olympics, Oxygen aired a two-hour block of coverage on weekday evenings as part of NBC Sports' overall coverage.Oxygen focused primarily on coverage of the gymnastics competitions.[11][12]
The June 29, 2009 premiere of Dance Your Ass Off was Oxygen's highest-rated series premiere at the time, with an average of 1.3 million viewers.[13] A high definition simulcast feed launched in March 2011.[14] On May 21, 2013, the premiere of the Bad Girls Club spin-off Bad Girls All-Star Battle became Oxygen's highest-rated series premiere to-date, with 1.73 million viewers.With a Bad Girls Club: Atlanta reunion special as a lead-in (which drew a series high of nearly 2 million viewers), Nielsen estimated that Oxygen had achieved its highest-rated night of key demographic viewership to-date, and the top two programs on cable that evening.[15]
Following the acquisition of NBC Universal by Comcast and the last-minute replacement of its sister channel Style Network with Esquire Network (which was originally intended to replace G4) on September 23, 2013, some of its acquired programs were moved to Oxygen.[16]In April 2014, as part of a gradual refocusing of NBCU's women's cable networks by new division head Bonnie Hammer, and the appointment of Frances Berwick as the head of Oxygen and Bravo, it was revealed that Oxygen would undergo a shift in its programming strategy to focus on a "modern", young female audience.Berwick explained that the new slate, which included upcoming series such as Fix My Choir, Funny Girls, Nail'd It, Sisterhood of Hip Hop, Street Art Throwdown, and planned spin-offs of Preachers of L.A., would "deliver on the freshness, authenticity, high emotional stakes and optimism that this demographic is looking for", and that many of the new programs would "appeal to things that are important in the lives of young, millennial women" and be "authentic".[17] As part of the refocusing, the network also introduced a new slogan, "Very Real".[18]
Refocus on true crime and Versant spin-off
In December 2016, it was reported that NBCUniversal was considering rebranding Oxygen as a true crime-oriented channel. Since 2015, the genre had seen growing interest, especially among young adult women. The network had introduced a primetime block known as Crime Time on Fridays through Mondays (anchored by series such as Snapped), which had helped Oxygen see a 42% increase in total viewership, and a 22% increase among women 25–54.[19] NBCUniversal had reportedly been in talks with Dick Wolf (producer of NBC's Law & Order and Chicago franchises) to take an equity stake in a rebranded channel that could be led by reruns of the programs.[20][21] In January 2017, the network also began a related foray into podcasting, with the true crime series Martinis & Murder.[22]
In February 2017, NBCUniversal confirmed that it planned to reformat Oxygen with a focus on true crime programming aimed towards women.
International
On October 17, 2024, NBCUniversal announced an agreement with Bell Media to launch a Canadian version of Oxygen on January 1, 2025; the channel formerly operated as a Canadian version of Oxygen competitor Investigation Discovery before its Warner Bros. Discovery factual channel brands rights expired and moved to Rogers Media.[34]
Programming
Current
Kill or Be Killed
Buried in the Backyard
911 Crisis Center
Cold Justice
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered
Dateline: Unforgettable
Homicide for the Holidays
Killer Siblings
Snapped
Mark of a Killer
Final Moments
Accident, Suicide or Murder
The Real Murders of Orange County
The Real Murders of Atlanta
The Real Murders of Los Angeles
Blood & Money
Living with a Serial Killer
Snapped: Killer Couples
Twisted Killers
Floribama Murders
Fatal Family Feuds
Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Siegler
Sin City Murders
Sins of the South
Deadly Waters With Captain Lee
A Plan To Kill
Philly Homicide
Unknown Serial Killers of America
The Death Investigator with Barbara Butcher
Former
50 Funniest Women Alive
Addicted to Beauty
All About Aubrey
All My Babies' Mamas
All the Right Moves
As She Sees It
Bachelorette Party: Las Vegas
Bad Girls All-Star Battle
Bad Girls Club
Bad Girls Club: Afterparty
Bad Girls Club: Flo Gets Married
Bad Girls Road Trip
Battle of the Ex Besties
Behind the Shield
Best Ink
Birth Stories
Bliss
Syndicated
Absolutely Fabulous
America's Got Talent (2011-2012)
America's Next Top Model (2007-2015)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2010-2012)
Burn Notice (2013-2016)
Chicago P.D. (2015-2017)
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2012-2016)
Cybill (2005-2008)
A Different World (2006-2009)
Ellen (2002-2007)
The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2005-2007)
Glee (2012-2015)
Grace Under Fire (2003-2006)
House (2011-2013)
Over-the-air affiliates
On May 2, 2022, NBC Owned Television Stations began to carry Oxygen as a subchannel on digital terrestrial television, primarily on NBC and Telemundoowned and operated stations.[38] With Oxygen's spinoff to Versant, it is unknown if NBC Owned Television Stations will continue carrying the channel.
During its upfront presentations, Oxygen unveiled other new crime programs that were in development for the 2017–2018 season, such the new Dick Wolf series Criminal Confessions, a docuseries on the murder of Jessica Chambers co-produced with NBCUniversal-funded BuzzFeed,[24] and a new season of Wolf's Cold Justice (which had been originally cancelled by TNT).[19][26] In September 2017, Oxygen and USA Network acquired off-network reruns of Chicago P.D., which were added to their schedules in October 2017.[27][28]
In November 2024, Comcast announced its intent to spin off most of NBCUniversal's cable properties (including Oxygen) into a new public company, now known as Versant.[29][30][31][32][33]
Peep Show (as the first US telecaster; the UK sitcom was initially paired with the Canadian Show Me Yours as a Saturday-night provocative comedy bloc.)
