Fusion

**ACME Fusion** is an American over-the-air television network owned by ACME Media's ACME Studios & Networks subsidiary. The network broadcasts a variety of content, with an emphasis on dramatic television shows, feature films, and reality television.

It initially included news, lifestyle, pop culture, satire, and entertainment for English-speaking millennials, especially those from a Hispanic heritage; the channel was Univision's first significant push into English-language programming, owned by Fusion Media Group, a multi-platform media firm subsidiary of Univision Communications, which relied in part on the resources of its parent company's news division, Noticias Univision. Fusion was headquartered in "NewsPort," an expansion of the Univision campus (formerly a freight warehouse) at 8551 NW 30th Terrace in the Miami suburb of Doral, Florida, which it shared with Noticias Univision; it also had studios in Los Angeles and bureaus in Mexico City, New York City, and Washington, D.C. The station discontinued broadcasting on December 31, 2021.

## Background

Fusion was ABC News' third try in the world of 24-hour cable news, whereas El Rey Network was Univision Communications' first attempt at English-language cable networks. ABC News and Group W (formerly a branch of Westinghouse) created Satellite News Channel, a 24-hour news service, in 1982. Nevertheless, due to insufficient clearance from cable providers, they sold the channel after less than a year to CNN (a subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting System, which has been under Time Warner's control since 1996), which utilized it to bolster coverage of CNN Headline News. In the mid-1990s, consistent rumors of the launch of an ABC cable news channel persisted alongside the debuts of MSNBC and Fox News Channel. However, these rumors never came to fruition, as the network was acquired by The Walt Disney Company, which instead focused on expanding ESPN's sports news division.

ABC News established ABC News Now in 2004 as an early digital multicast network accessible via video portals such as Yahoo 22 years later. It was a low-profile endeavor created for the internet side of ABC News, and it was never intended to expand beyond that platform and onto the conventional cable as a 24-hour news station.

## History

Isaac Lee, the recently appointed president of Noticias Univision, revealed plans in December 2010 to launch a 24-hour English-language cable news channel aimed at Latino Americans. Univision Communications would later, in late 2011, propose forming a joint venture with Walt Disney Company-owned ABC News to develop the channel. The conversations resulted in the firms' formal announcement of the channel on May 8, 2012, with an initial launch date of the first half of 2013. (the channel would be given its name, Fusion, in February 2013). On October 4, 2013, the business announced the appointment of Isaac Lee as CEO to replace interim CEO, Beau Ferrari.

On August 1, 2013, Fusion's formal debut date and initial programming schedule were revealed. The channel officially premiered on October 28, 2013, after a simulcast of ABC's Good Morning America and Univision's Despierta América! earlier in the day to promote Fusion's launch and programming. Fusion began regular programming on October 28, 2013, with the premiere of America with Jorge Ramos, following a three-minute musical act.

Fusion's target audience was millennials (approximately the age bracket of adults 18-34). This population is often characterized as digitally literate and prefers social media and online sources to add news and base opinions, largely eschewing traditional broadcast and print sources. To that purpose, Fusion shifted its programming away from continuous coverage of breaking news. Instead, it focused on the context and analysis of material and issues, interviews, documentaries, and long-form stories on current events, lifestyles, and pop culture. Fusion also used an on-air blending of serious topics and discussions frequently laced with irreverence and humor (a "common language" among millennials, according to former host Alicia Menendez) to reduce the air of pretense and seriousness with which other news outlets treat current issues. The "fusion" of gravity and levity has been visible in Fusion's primetime lineup: America with Jorge Ramos took a more traditional approach in its debut week, with interviews with President Barack Obama and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, while other early Fusion episodes Alicia Menendez and Tonight emphasized more personal and less serious issues, while shows like No, You Shut Up dabbled in irreverence and even satire.

Fusion was initially intended to appeal to a younger audience of English-speaking Hispanic and Latino Americans; approximately one-fifth of millennials are classified as Latino and have generally grown up in an English-speaking society in the United States, either as emigrants or as U.S. nationals by birth. Following criticism that too much emphasis was placed on ethnicity during creation, Fusion would extend its scope, intending to "engage and champion a youthful, diverse, and inclusive America," regardless of cultural or linguistic background. Isaac Lee, Fusion's CEO and Univision's President of News, noted that Hispanic millennials consider themselves part of the larger American culture and that "they want to be in the same room and having the same conversation" as non-Hispanics.

Fusion shared a former warehouse in Doral, Florida (dubbed the "Newsport" by employees) with Noticias Univision. Specific resources were also shared with ABC News and Noticias Univision (The interview of President Obama, conducted by ABC News correspondent Jim Avila, was one such example of that reliance.). The network, however, functioned independently of ABC and Univision's news departments, employing its on-air talent, correspondents, management, production crew, and board of directors. Fusion's programming was managed by Univision, while Disney-ABC Television Group handled advertising sales and cable and satellite distribution. While ABC News president Ben Sherwood stated that the channel would eventually offer all original programming, repurposed ABC News and Univision content and sponsored programming ran on the channel during late night time slots in its early months (which has since departed the schedule completely).

It was reported in December 2015 that Disney was in talks to sell its interest in Fusion to Univision. On April 21, 2016, the purchase was completed.

On November 16, 2016, the firm laid off a significant section of its personnel ahead of the channel's expected restructure, in which the assets of Gizmodo Media Group and The Onion will comprise the new core of the station's content.

Fusion rebooted its article-based web presence under the moniker "Splinter" on July 24, 2017; everything related to the channel remained at Fusion.net, branded as Fusion TV. Before the rebranding, the article-based half of Fusion's website material was moved to the Fusion.kinja.com domain. Univision later sold Splinter to G/O Media and announced that the publication would cease on October 10, 2019.

### Carriage decline and closure

Dish Network pulled the channel from its list on January 10, 2020. AT&T dropped the network from the DirecTV and U-Verse TV lineups and its associated streaming services on January 23, 2020.

Charter Communications (Spectrum) and older TWC/BHN systems withdrew the channel and El Rey Network from their channel roster on September 2, 2020. Other providers began to remove from the network during the rest of 2020 and 2021 when it was omitted from retransmission consent discussions for the newest three-year carriage cycle for Univision-distributed networks.

Univision informed their remaining carriage partners that the network would be shut down on December 31, 2021, with minimal public notice, as the business reaffirmed its concentration on Spanish-language audiences and its impending merger with Televisa. It was the second year in a row that a Univision-funded English-language channel was shut down, following the closure of El Rey's wireline network precisely a year earlier.

### ACME Fusion

ACME Media officials proposed relaunching Fusion as an over-the-air network on August 22, 2022, following the acquisition of the intellectual property rights to the network name, which would occur after the start of the 2022-23 television season. On the announcement day, a comprehensive promotional effort was launched across soon-to-be sibling networks ACME and Quibi TV. According to ACME Media president Joey Villalobos, Fusion is meant to depict how "young adults" are in the "growth" of their life, and the brand would reflect a participatory experience for viewers. The channel plans to offer original programs through 2023 as part of a new programming strategy.

The network announced a substantial move for Fusion within the next few months, on March 20, 2023. Fusion's enlarged development schedule would include more original live-action content and more "huge unscripted ideas with attitude."

## Programming

Fusion now broadcasts a mix of original drama and reality series and reruns of dramas that aired on major broadcast networks. The channel's daytime, overnight, and Saturday morning schedules are mainly dominated by reruns of current and former network police procedural shows such as Cold Case, Lost, and stalwart Dexter. In contrast, its weekday morning schedule is heavily dominated by sci-fi, supernatural, and fantasy series.

### Movies

Since its debut, feature films have been a cornerstone of Fusion, having film licensing agreements with Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (primarily Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema), Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (primarily Walt Disney Pictures (live-action only), Touchstone Pictures, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Studios), Columbia Pictures, Universal Pictures, and Paramount Pictures.

### ACME Rewind

ACME Rewind is a late-night programming block focusing on legendary animated theatrical shorts from America's Golden Age of Animation. Most of the cartoons aired are from Warner Bros. or subsidiaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, such as Turner Entertainment and Cartoon Network's most popular programs, most of which date back to the 1990s.