Shop at Home Network
Encyclopedia
The Shop at Home Network (more commonly known as just Shop at Home, Shop At Home TV, SATH ) was a television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...

 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

  Before its acquisition by Jewelry Television in 2006, The E. W. Scripps Company owned and operated the network from 2002 until 2006, when the network temporarily ceased operations on June 21. The network primarily focused on home shopping programming, as indicated by the name. During Scripps' ownership, some of its programming was done in conjunction with other Scripps channels (such as Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....

).

History

Shop At Home (SATH (Shop At The Home) stock symbol) the concept was started by Joe Overholt in the middle 1980s. Located in a strip mall just off of Interstate 40 in Newport Tn the original programs were taped in segments and mailed to head-end origination studios to be played when time was available. The low budget production was aired over unused satellite transponders to an audience that of individual satellite dish owners. It soon became apparent that these inconsistent excursions would not a shopping channel make. After pulling together some very limited funding from a few local East Tennessee small business men and individuals around Knoxville SAH began the search for affordable satellite distribution time. Plans were being made to take the company public and without securing a means of distribution it would fail. An "available for the right price" transponder was located and an affiliate (and friend) of Overholts entered into negotiations and after much legal and financial wrangling this most important asset was acquired.

Background

The technical difficulties caused by the hills and valleys of East Tennessee and prohibitive cost-per-mile across the vast expanses of the rural flatlands west of the Mississippi had created a pent up demand for television programing. Homeowners many of whom had no access to cable and a minimal number of off-air television channels were looking for a way to receive some of the same programs their urban cousins had access to. Since Overholt and a few others in the Knoxville area were in the process of pioneering the satellite to home backyard dish concept it was logical to search for the programming to go along with it. The first shopping channel (Home Shopping Network) had just appeared out of Florida and this was Tennessee's (SEC anyone ?) response! The ability to reach this entertainment starved market was important to the fledgling experiment and this markets appreciation and monetary encouragement was key to SAH's progress. The beginnings of todays satellite television as an industry began by providing the dish and electronics to receive the signals from satellites in space that coincidentally was the same way that HBO and other entertainment was distributed to cable systems across the country. The Knoxville group that Overholt approached had formed the "Satellite TV Awareness Association" (STAA) a local trade organization thats purpose was to inform citizens and elected representatives to Congress of the issues surrounding the "business" of the new industry. The cable lobby had portrayed back yard dish owners as pirates and accused them of stealing their programming. The STAA (Overholt was a member) and others made it public that offers had been made to the programmers to pay for the product being received but most programmers had refused the "offer to pay". The STAA sought assistance from their elected representatives, of which Al Gore was one, for a fair solution to the problem. Gore was conducting local town hall meetings and had a sympathetic ear for this ground roots movement from his constituents. A few months later when the STAA decided to bring the issues to dish owners they used the same satellite signal to do so. From a rented studio in Nashville they hired a local MC to host a panel of "experts" in the field to answer questions and propose solutions to the dish industries problems. Gore was unable to attend in person but had pledged his support and participated in the event via telephone.

In 1987 the company was taken public as Shop At Home (NASDAQ-SATH) because the stock symbol SAH was already registered. The IPO was a success and "Shop At Home" was born.

1987-2006

Originally, Shop at Home was a regional shopping network based in Newport, Tennessee. In the beginning, it was similar in format to larger national rivals QVC
QVC
QVC is a multinational corporation specializing in televised home shopping. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, United States, QVC broadcasts in five countries as QVC US, QVC UK, QVC Germany, QVC Japan and – QVC Italy to 200 million households...

 and the Home Shopping Network
Home Shopping Network
Home Shopping Network or HSN began in 1977 as a 24-hour/7 day a week home shopping television network televised via cable, satellite, and some terrestrial channels in the Philippines. HSN can also be shopped online at hsn.com...

. However, beginning in 1989, the network pioneered the sale of collectible coins and currency. The success of The Coin Vault (hosted by Robert Chambers
Robert Chambers (disambiguation)
Robert Chambers may refer to:* Robert Chambers , English judge, professor of jurisprudence, Chief Justice of Bengal, collector of Sanskrit manuscripts...

for nearly 20 years) allowed the network to branch out into shows that featured other collectible items during the 1990s, thus setting SAH apart from its peers. The Coin Vault show was Managed by Coin Vault Co-Host, Rob Parsons starting in March of 2003. Under Rob's management, The Coin Vault's sales increased from $50 to $90 Million by 2005. Most shopping networks, like QVC and HSN, were primarily targeted at a predominantly female audience, while SAH's collectible-themed shows attracted a mostly male audience.

Popular shows during the 1990s and early 2000s also included The Knife Collector's Show, co-hosted for most of its run by Shawn Leflar and former SAH personality Tom O'Dell
Tom O'Dell
Thomas O'Dell is a host on the Cutlery Corner Network, a satellite television shopping show dedicated to selling cutlery and assorted medieval weaponry such as swords and katanas...

, and the Sports Collectibles show, emceed by Don West
Don West (sportscaster)
Donald "Don" West is an American pitchman, television personality and wrestling broadcaster currently working as an on-screen talent for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and also as a pitchman for WildWestDeals.com, an internet marketing website...

 for a majority of its run. The network also kept an eye on the most popular collectible trends of the late 1990s and early 2000s including shows devoted to Beanie Babies and Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...

.

During this era, the network's late-night fare developed a cult following due to its hosts' outlandish behavior and loud tone of voice. As a result, the show was parodied several times on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...

with Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...

 playing Don West.

Starting in 2000, it was thought that SAH's collectibles-based format began to wear off in popularity and most of its management was replaced. The new management switched the network to a more traditional shopping channel format, and as a result, replaced many of its old hosts and brought in new personalities, most notably Paula Deen
Paula Deen
Paula Deen American cook, cooking show host, restaurateur, author, actress and Emmy Award-winning television personality.Deen resides in Savannah, Georgia, where she owns and operates...

 and Emeril Lagasse
Emeril Lagasse
'Emeril John Lagasse is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, and cookbook author. A regional James Beard Award winner, he is perhaps most notable for his Food Network shows Emeril Live and Essence of Emeril as well as catchphrases such as “Kick it up a notch!” and...

 (The Coin Vault was retained, and remained successful).

Before the network's temporary suspension, it operated 24 hours a day, but ran some taped programming in addition to live broadcasts.

First closure

E.W. Scripps ceased its operations of Shop at Home on June 21, 2006. The company cited difficulties in competing with the larger QVC and HSN. "Going Out Of Business" proceedings began May 22, 2006, when Shop at Home started their Huge Blow-Out-Sale. During this sale, many of their regular items were sold at discounted rates, along with some items that weren't presented on Shop at Home before. Special sale conditions were that credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...

s were required, and that all sales were final. The sale ended June 2, 2006; however, a Last-Chance Sale began exactly a week later on June 9, and lasted until the network's closure.

Employees at Shop at Home were to receive an additional two weeks pay, severance pay, and, if they remained through the network's closure, three months of benefits, such as insurance.

Resurrection

As the scheduled final days of Shop at Home approached, Jewelry Television announced it would purchase some assets of the network and maintain 100 unspecified jobs in Nashville under its sale agreement. Scripps detailed the sale at $17 million for fixed assets, and noted that Jewelry Television would also assume existing cable and satellite television carriage agreements.

On June 23, 2006, Shop at Home TV returned to the air with a limited schedule, once again specializing in the sale of various collectible merchandise ranging from collectible gold, silver and rare coins; popular brand name watches like Tag Heuer & Bulova; to unique knives and autographed sports memorabilia.

The original schedule was 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. Eastern time. Kim Church (named Kim Stamper until 2005), Shawn Leflar
Shawn Leflar
Shawn Leflar is a guest host of the coin shoppe show on ShopNBC network. He is most notable for a clip in which he attempts to demonstrate the strength of one of the katanas he is selling by banging it against a wooden table-top. The katana snaps in half and a piece hits him in his midsection...

, Robert Parsons, Elliot Smith, and several other hosts returned.

On September 11, 2006, Shop at Home returned to a full 24-hour on air schedule, returning to selling a variety of products.

Second closure

It was announced on January 8, 2008 that Shop at Home would permanently cease its broadcast on March 7, 2008, again citing its failure to successfully compete with QVC, HSN, and ShopNBC
ShopNBC
ShopNBC is an American broadcast and cable home shopping network, owned and operated by ValueVision Media, which is in turn 30% owned by GE Equity and NBC Universal...

.

Before its second closure, several long time hosts returned to the show in a "Reunion Month" throughout the month of February.

A couple of the shows have received new life on other networks. The Watch Show and Tim Temple moved to Jewelry Television. Robert Chambers will host a show similar to The Coin Vault on ShopNBC.

Shop at Home went off-the-air on March 8, 2008. The website continues to be active, selling coins, knives, and sports collectables. It also promotes watch sales via Jewelry Television (and, previously, a website branded as part of Jewelry Television rather than Shop at Home, which has since been folded into the main Jewelry Television website), but no longer does so.

Hosts

  • Kim Church (formerly Kim Stamper) - later at Jewelry Television
    Jewelry Television
    Jewelry Television is an American television network, similar to the Home Shopping Network. It was formerly called "America's Collectibles Network" . The privately-held company was founded in 1993 and broadcasts high definition programming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to over 80 million unique...

     and then back at Shop at Home; now at HSN
  • Nan Kelley
    Nan Kelley
    Nan Kelley is a former Miss Mississippi who later became a host and correspondent for the Great American Country cable television network.-Early life and career:...

    - now at Great American Country
    Great American Country
    Great American Country , is a Nashville, Tennessee-based country music cable television network.-History:The station launched December 31, 1995 and Garth Brooks' video "The Thunder Rolls" was the first video to air on GAC....

     (GAC)
  • Lisa Robertson - now at QVC
    QVC
    QVC is a multinational corporation specializing in televised home shopping. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, United States, QVC broadcasts in five countries as QVC US, QVC UK, QVC Germany, QVC Japan and – QVC Italy to 200 million households...

  • Julie Tello - now at HSN
  • Kim Prentiss (as Kim Boyd until 2005) - now at Jewelry Television
    Jewelry Television
    Jewelry Television is an American television network, similar to the Home Shopping Network. It was formerly called "America's Collectibles Network" . The privately-held company was founded in 1993 and broadcasts high definition programming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to over 80 million unique...

  • Shawn Leflar -
  • Elliott Smith - now an electronics expert at ShopNBC
    ShopNBC
    ShopNBC is an American broadcast and cable home shopping network, owned and operated by ValueVision Media, which is in turn 30% owned by GE Equity and NBC Universal...

  • Lea Little - Saturday-Wednesday nights and later Wednesday-Sunday nights; later hosted weekly Bella Luce on Jewelry Television
    Jewelry Television
    Jewelry Television is an American television network, similar to the Home Shopping Network. It was formerly called "America's Collectibles Network" . The privately-held company was founded in 1993 and broadcasts high definition programming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to over 80 million unique...

     and then back at Shop at Home; now a guest product expert on HSN
  • Shawn Diddy - later at Jewelry Television
    Jewelry Television
    Jewelry Television is an American television network, similar to the Home Shopping Network. It was formerly called "America's Collectibles Network" . The privately-held company was founded in 1993 and broadcasts high definition programming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to over 80 million unique...

    ; now at HSN
  • Robert Parsons - now a Partner at Internet and Mobile Televison Applications Network
  • Matt Martin
  • Chuck Long - now on "The Country Vibe with Chuck & Becca"
  • Jennifer Miller - now at Jewelry Television
    Jewelry Television
    Jewelry Television is an American television network, similar to the Home Shopping Network. It was formerly called "America's Collectibles Network" . The privately-held company was founded in 1993 and broadcasts high definition programming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to over 80 million unique...

  • Libby Floyd - now a host at ShopNBC
    ShopNBC
    ShopNBC is an American broadcast and cable home shopping network, owned and operated by ValueVision Media, which is in turn 30% owned by GE Equity and NBC Universal...

  • Nichole Murphy
  • Christina Reguli
  • Ron Maestri
  • Steve Bryant
  • Betty Leigh - now at HSN


After the close of Shop at Home, Kim Church, Lea Little, and Shawn DIddy moved to HSN, with Lea Little as a guest product expert.

The Coin Vault

After the close of Shop at Home, The Coin Vault returned to air December 2008 under different ownership. Reuniting two of the former hosts of from Shop at Home, Robert Chambers & Shawn Leflar. The show is now produced only miles from the old Shop at Home studio outside of Nashville, TN.

Hosts of The Coin Vault
  • Robert Chambers (formerly of Shop at Home)
  • Shawn Leflar (formerly of Shop at Home)
  • Scott Houk

Television stations

While Shop at Home was primarily a cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...

 and satellite
Direct broadcast satellite
Direct broadcast satellite is a term used to refer to satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception.A designation broader than DBS would be direct-to-home signals, or DTH. This has initially distinguished the transmissions directly intended for home viewers from cable television...

 television network, the network also aired on broadcast television
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...

 station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...

s in the United States. Until Scripps' sale of the network, five of these stations were owned and operated by Shop at Home itself. In September 2006, Scripps agreed to sell the stations to Multicultural Television Broadcasting LLC
Multicultural Broadcasting
Multicultural Broadcasting is a media company based in New York City founded by Chinese-American businessman Arthur Liu. Multicultural caters mostly to the Asian American community and owns television and radio stations in several of the top markets in multiple languages.-History:This company was...

 for $170 million pending FCC approval; they dropped Shop at Home programming soon after Multicultural took over. The five stations are:
  • WSAH
    WSAH
    WSAH is a television station licensed to Bridgeport, Connecticut in the New York City television market, operating a digital signal on UHF channel 42. It is owned by Multicultural Television Broadcasting, LLC...

     43 Bridgeport, Connecticut
    Bridgeport, Connecticut
    Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...

    /New York City
    New York City
    New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

  • WMFP
    WMFP
    WMFP is a television station in the Boston market. The station is licensed to Lawrence, Massachusetts, and is owned by NRJ TV, LLC. The station's programming primarily consists of programming from the Retro Television Network...

     62 Lawrence
    Lawrence, Massachusetts
    Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States on the Merrimack River. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 76,377. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. It and Salem are...

    /Boston, Massachusetts
  • KCNS
    KCNS
    KCNS is a digital television station in San Francisco, California, in the United States, owned by NRJ TV, LLC. It carries programming from the Retro Television Network on its main channel, and programming from Sino TV and Saigon TV on its subchannels. The station operates on 39 digital, covering...

     38 San Francisco, California
    San Francisco, California
    San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

  • WRAY-TV
    WRAY-TV
    WRAY-TV is a full-power television station licensed to Wilson, North Carolina and serves the entire Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, North Carolina metropolitan area...

     30 Wilson
    Wilson, North Carolina
    Wilson is a city and the county seat of Wilson County in the Coastal Plain region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The 18th largest city in the state, Wilson had a population of 49,167 according to the 2010 census.- Geography :...

    /Raleigh, North Carolina
    Raleigh, North Carolina
    Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

  • WOAC
    WOAC
    WRLM is a full-powered television station licensed to Canton, Ohio, serving the Canton area as part of the Cleveland/Akron/Canton market. The station is owned by Tri-State Christian Television.WRLM's tower is located in Brimfield, near Interstate 76....

     67 Canton
    Canton, Ohio
    Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...

    /Cleveland, Ohio
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...



Other stations remained affiliated with the Shop at Home Network, and are listed below:
  • WYLE Florence
    Florence, Alabama
    Florence is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the northwestern corner of the state.According to the 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the city's population was 36,721....

    /Huntsville, Alabama
    Huntsville, Alabama
    Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....

    /Decatur, Alabama
    Decatur, Alabama
    Decatur is a city in Limestone and Morgan Counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The city, affectionately known as "The River City", is located in Northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake, along the Tennessee River. It is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County...

  • KSVM-LP Santa Barbara, California
    Santa Barbara, California
    Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...

    /Santa Maria, California
    Santa Maria, California
    Santa Maria is a city in Santa Barbara County, on the Central Coast of California. The 2010 census population was 100,062, putting it ahead of Santa Barbara for the first time and making it the largest city in the county...

    /San Luis Obispo, California
    San Luis Obispo, California
    San Luis Obispo is a city in California, located roughly midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the Central Coast. Founded in 1772 by Spanish Fr. Junipero Serra, San Luis Obispo is one of California’s oldest communities...

  • WJJA Racine
    Racine, Wisconsin
    Racine is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a population of 82,196...

    /Milwaukee
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin
    Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...

  • WJYS
    WJYS
    WJYS is an independent television station owned by Oxford Media Group Inc., licensed to Hammond, Indiana, but headquartered in Tinley Park, Illinois with antennae on top of the Willis Tower in downtown Chicago, serving the Chicago, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan markets on digital...

     Hammond, Indiana
    Hammond, Indiana
    Hammond is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 80,830 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hammond is located at ....

    /Chicago
  • KHON-DT2
    KHON-TV
    KHON-TV is a Fox-affiliated television station in Honolulu, Hawaii. The station broadcasts on virtual channel 2.In addition to its Honolulu broadcast facilities, KHON has relays on all the major Hawaiian Islands to rebroadcast programs outside of metropolitan Honolulu: KHAW-TV in Hilo; KAII-TV in...

     Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

     (late night hours only)


Some stations stopped broadcasting Shop at Home before the first closure:
  • KZJL
    KZJL
    KZJL is a Spanish-language television station in Houston, Texas airing owner Liberman Broadcasting's Estrella TV network. It broadcasts in digital on UHF channel 44, displaying channel 61 to tuners via PSIP.-Digital television:...

     Houston, TX


In addition, programming was seen online on the network's website.

Following SAH's first closure, these stations began airing Jewelry Television. Some stations continued to JTV in the late morning and afternoon even after Shop at Home's return to 24-hour programming. WJJA would carry JTV until April 21, when it was purchased by Weigel Broadcasting
Weigel Broadcasting
Weigel Broadcasting is an American locally based television broadcasting company. The company is based in downtown Chicago, Illinois, alongside its flagship station WCIU-TV , at the apt address of 26 North Halsted Street in the Greektown neighborhood.- History :The company was founded by Chicago...

 to carry the Me TV
MeTV
Me-TV is a television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that airs classic television sitcoms, dramas and classic commercials from the 1950s through the 1980s. The network is a sister network to This TV...

classic television format and became WBME-TV.

External links

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