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MY'STORY

The MOVE Fire

This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985 Philadelphia police fired thousands of rounds at the MOVE house, city officials approved dropping an explosive device on the roof, the resulting fire was allowed to burn, 11 people—including five children—died, and 61 homes were destroyed. Philadelphia City Council later called it a “brutal attack carried out by the City of Philadelphia on its own citizens” and acknowledged that no individual faced criminal consequences for the bombing. One timeline correction worth preserving for the BHP record: the major previous MOVE-police confrontation was August 8, 1978, about seven years before the bombing, not a year or two earlier. Officer James Ramp was killed, other police and firefighters were wounded, nine MOVE members were later convicted, and television cameras recorded police beating Delbert Africa during his arrest. The 1985 MOVE Commission later specifically criticized city planners for failing to adequately use lessons from that 1978 confrontation. And that actually strengthens the point you’re making: 1985 did not happen without precedent or institutional memory. There had already been a deadly confrontation with MOVE, years of conflict, negotiations and police involvement before Osage Avenue.

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BLACK FACTS
The Truths They Never Taught You...

Shirley Chisholm — Unbought and Unbossed

In 1968 Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress. In 1972 she launched a campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, breaking another political barrier.

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BHP gathered finds from its connected research sources. Showing the 4 strongest Black History matches.
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Wikipedia

HSN

HSN, Inc.
TypePrivate
Nasdaq: HSNI
IndustryCable Television
Satellite Television
Founded1977; 49 years ago (1977)
FoundersLowell Paxson
Roy Speer
FateAcquired by Liberty Interactive Corporation in 2017, now co-owned with QVC
Headquarters,
United States
Key peopleMindy Grossman (CEO, 2006–2017)
ParentQVC Group (formerly Qurate Retail Group) (2017–present)
DivisionsCornerstone Brands
WebsiteHSN.com
HSN
CountryUnited States
Broadcast areaWorldwide
HeadquartersWest Chester, Pennsylvania, United States
Programming
Picture format1080i (HDTV)
(HD feed downgraded to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
OwnerQVC Group (formerly Qurate Retail Group and before that, Liberty Interactive)
Sister channelsHSN2
History
LaunchedSeptember 20, 1982; 44 years ago (1982-09-20)
Former namesHome Shopping Club (1982–1985)
Home Shopping Network (1985–2000)
Links
Websitewww.hsn.com
Availability
Terrestrial
ABC Owned Television Stations-DT4 channel position; list of stations
Over-the-air as a subchannelConsult local listings
Streaming media
Digital media receiverRoku and Apple TV (4th generation)
Service(s)DirecTV Stream, Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus, Sling Freestream, The Roku Channel, YouTube TV,
WebsiteHSN Live Stream
HSN2 Live Streaming

HSN, Inc. an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the QVC Group (formerly Qurate Retail Group), which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. It is based in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

As of July 2014, Joy Mangano holds the record for most units sold in a day with 216,000 units of pillow sets.[1]

History

[edit]

The forerunner of HSN was launched by Lowell Paxson (who later established PAX-TV, which is now Ion Television) and Roy Speer in 1982 as the Home Shopping Channel, a local cable channel seen on Vision Cable and Group W Cable in Pinellas County, Florida. It expanded into the first national shopping network three years later on July 1, 1985, changing its name to the Home Shopping Club (renamed later as Home Shopping Network), and pioneering the concept of a televised sales pitch for consumer goods and services. Its competitor and future owner QVC was launched the following year.

In 1986, HSN began a second network that broadcast free-to-air on a number of television stations it had acquired under the name Silver King Broadcasting. In 1992, HSN spun off from Silver King Broadcasting, and afterwards saw Liberty Media acquire stock in the network.[2] In 1996, the station group was sold back to Silver King Broadcasting, which was now owned by Barry Diller,[3][4] and changed its name to "HSN Inc." after its merger with Silver King was completed.[5] Under Diller's leadership, the HSN also acquired the USA Network, Sci-Fi Channel and Universal Television in October 1997.[6] This resulted in HSN Inc. being changed to USA Network Inc.[7] The purchase was finalized in February 1998.[8]

In September 2000, Home Shopping Network changed its name to HSN.[9]

Mindy Grossman became CEO of HSN in 2006,[10] and aggressively reinvented and relaunched the brand. She took HSN public in 2008 and has overseen its multibillion-dollar retail portfolio and multimedia expansion.[11] Grossman left HSNi in May 2017 to helm Weight Watchers.[12]

In April 2017, HSN CEO Mindy Grossman stepped down to assume the CEO position at Weight Watchers.[13] On July 6, 2017, Liberty Interactive announced it would buy the remaining 62% of HSN stock it did not already own to acquire the company for its QVC Group. QVC CEO Mike George would be CEO of the combined company.[14]

In September 2018, HSN had partnered with Pickler & Ben for a "shop the show" feature that allows viewers to buy featured items from HSN via the show's website and HSN.com.[15]

In May 2023, HSN's parent Qurate Retail Group's stock was facing a delisting from the Nasdaq if share prices were unable to rebound, as their stock had declined over 80% over the past year.[16] In October 2023, CreditRiskMonitor reported that Qurate Retail Group was nearing a potential Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.[17] On February 21, 2025, HSN's parent Qurate Retail Group officially changed its name to QVC Group.

On April 15, 2026, QVC Group warned that it was preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as soon as the end of that day, citing steadily viewer declines and debt burdens. QVC Group plans to enter a prepackaged restructuring support agreement with its creditors and exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy within no later than 90 days, or by around July 2026.[18] On April 16, QVC Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas with plans to reduce over $5 billion in long-term debt, which will allow for the company to continue operating while having over $1 billion in debt remaining.[19]

Sister channels

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  • HSN2, launched on August 1, 2010, acts as a timeshift channel carrying tape-delayed presentations of products and programming. Dish Network has carried it since launch.[20]
  • America's Store, formerly the Home Shopping Club Overnight Service, was HSN's secondary service that was on the air from 1988 until April 2007.

Operations

[edit]

Until 2025, HSN's United States operations were based in St. Petersburg, Florida, which housed its corporate headquarters, studio and broadcasting facilities. Additional call center facilities are located in Roanoke, Virginia & Toledo, Ohio. Distribution centers are situated in Roanoke, Piney Flats, Tennessee, and Fontana, California. In October, 2018 Quarate announced the closure of the Roanoke distribution center in favor of a combined QVC/HSN distribution center to be located in Bethlehem, PA.[21] In January 2025, it was announced that HSN would be closing its St. Petersburg headquarters and relocating to West Chester, Pennsylvania, home of HSN and QVC parent company Qurate Retail Group.[22]

As of today, HSN and QVC are carried over the digital public airwaves and can be viewed without a cable subscription or a streaming device. Additionally, a new Streaming service was introduced to cable providers, which provides a different shopping experience compared to if a viewer went online and ordered merchandise.[23]

Technology

[edit]

Call center

[edit]

HSN National began 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, Florida. 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 system's 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.[24]

Original order-taking system

[edit]

HSN developed its original order-taking system on a Burroughs Large System mainframe using the LINC 10 fourth generation language.[25]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "HSN's "Queen of Invention" Joy Mangano Shatters Records Again with History-Making Sellout". HSN. July 28, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  2. ^ "Silver King, HSN to merge". CNN. August 26, 1996. Archived from the original on May 25, 2002. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  3. ^ "Silver King to buy HSN". UPI. August 26, 1996. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  4. ^ Hofsmeister, Sallie (August 27, 1996). "Diller Makes 1.26". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  5. ^ Martin Peers (December 19, 1996). "Silver King annexes HSN". Variety. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  6. ^ Quinones, Eric R. (October 20, 1997). "Barry Diller taking over USA Network and other Universal TV businesses". Associated Press. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  7. ^ Farhi, Paul (October 21, 1997). "HSN To Acquire Cable Networks From Universal". Washington Post. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  8. ^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (February 15, 1998). "Barry Diller, Media Titan, Wants a Shot at the Small Time". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  9. ^ "HSN". www.hsn.com. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  10. ^ "World's Most Powerful Women". Mindy Grossman. Forbes. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  11. ^ Grossman, Mindy. "HSN's CEO on Fixing the Shopping Network's Culture". Harvard Business Review. December 2011. Reprinted in: Harvard Business Review. How I Did It: Lessons from the Front Lines of Business. Harvard Business Review Press, 2014. pp. 54–61.
  12. ^ "Weight Watchers Hires HSN's Mindy Grossman As CEO". Fortune. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  13. ^ "Weight Watchers New CEO HSN Mindy Grossman". Forbes (Press release). July 6, 2017.
  14. ^ Isidore, Chris (July 6, 2017). "QVC buying rival Home Shopping Network". CNN Money. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  15. ^ "Faith Hill-Produced 'Pickler & Ben' Talk Show Launching in September". Taste of Country. August 24, 2017. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  16. ^ "QVC, HSN parent Qurate Retail Group faces delisting from Nasdaq is share price doesn't rebound". The Business Journals. May 3, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  17. ^ "11 retailers at risk of bankruptcy in 2023". Retail Dive. October 2, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  18. ^ Basu, Reshmi; Randles, Jonathan (April 15, 2026). "TV-Shopping Network QVC Plans to File Bankruptcy Imminently". Bloomberg. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
  19. ^ Basu, Reshmi (April 16, 2026). "QVC Shopping Channel Files Bankruptcy to Cut $5 Billion of Debt". Bloomberg. Retrieved April 16, 2026.
  20. ^ HSN2 Set For Aug. 1 Dish Network Debut Archived copy Multichannel News June 14, 2010
  21. ^ Harris, Jon (December 3, 2018). "At 1.7 million square feet, new QVC warehouse will be the largest in Lehigh Valley — maybe in Pa". The Morning Call. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  22. ^ Lisciandrello, Carl (January 31, 2025). "HSN is closing its St. Petersburg headquarters after nearly 50 years and moving to Pennsylvania". WUSF. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
  23. ^ "QVC, HSN parent takes livestream shopping to new channel". June 29, 2022.
  24. ^ AP (November 4, 1989). "COMPANY NEWS; GTE Settles Dispute With Home Shopping". The New York Times. Retrieved October 2, 2017 – via www.nytimes.com.
  25. ^ "The Home Shopping Network (HSN) Company Profile – COUPONSDIGEST.COM". Retrieved June 5, 2020.


[edit]

Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.

Wikipedia

HSN

HSN, Inc. an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the QVC Group (formerly Qurate Retail Group), which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. It is based in West Chester, Pennsylvania. As of July 2014, Joy Mangano holds the record for most units sold in a day with 216,000 units of pillow sets.

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Wikipedia

List of over-the-air HSN affiliates

The following is a list of over-the-air affiliates for HSN, a television network in the United States.

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Wikipedia

HSN (disambiguation)

HSN, formerly Home Shopping Network, is an American television network. HSN may also refer to: Hasan Abdal railway station, in Pakistan Hereditary sensory neuropathy, a medical condition that inhibits sensation Health Sciences North, a hospital in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada Xiang Chinese, a variety of the Chinese language Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport in Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China Hammerskin Nation, a white supremacist group

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Wikipedia

Maven (wrestler)

Maven Klate Huffman (born November 26, 1976) is an American social media personality and semi-retired professional wrestler. He is the inaugural male winner of Tough Enough and went on to wrestle under his first name in the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/WWE) from 2001 to 2005, in which time he became a three-time WWF Hardcore Champion and was named 'Rookie of the Year' by Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Since his departure from WWE, he has made occasional appearances on the independent circuit and in the media, including two years as a presenter on HSN. In 2023, Maven launched his YouTube channel which has amassed over 900,000 subscribers, on which he shares his experiences in professional wrestling.

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TOPIC OF THE DAY

Greenwood / Black Wall Street

Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.

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TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE DAY

Which Black woman became the first elected to the United States Congress?

Shirley Chisholm, elected in 1968.