Freeform (TV channel)

==Criticism==
With the 2006 introduction of new shows to the network by Disney, some parents reacted negatively to ABC Family's programming, feeling that the network has gone from family-friendly to "too risqué," and that content in shows such as ''[[Greek (TV series)|Greek]]'', ''[[The Secret Life of the American Teenager]]'', ''[[The Fosters (American TV series)|The Fosters]],'' and ''[[Becoming Us]]'' was far too racy for family viewing. Some critics claimed that ABC Family executives were only after attracting viewers, without concern about showing young people in questionable scenarios in its series and films. The main focus of the criticism was on [[teenage pregnancy]], [[Legal drinking age|underage drinking]], and [[LGBT]]-related issues.<ref>{{cite news|title=Teen Sex on ABC Family Sparks Debate|url=http://www.newser.com/story/49573/teen-sex-on-abc-family-sparks-debate.html|author=Amelia Atlas|website=Newser|publisher=Newser, LLC|date=February 1, 2009|access-date=May 11, 2010|archive-date=June 2, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602134958/http://www.newser.com/story/49573/teen-sex-on-abc-family-sparks-debate.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The channel's programming content standards had changed several years earlier after the sale of the channel by Pat Robertson and International Family Entertainment. The channel had even aired some acquired series and movies that contained profanity, violence, and sexual content or dialogue after the sale to News Corporation, only running this programming somewhat more so since being purchased by The Walt Disney Company as it chose to refocus the channel more towards a teen and young adult audience to reduce programming redundancy with its existing family-, children-, and teen-oriented cable network Disney Channel. Parental advisory tags had aired at the beginning of some [[TV Parental Guidelines|TV-14]] rated programs aired on the channel in recent years,{{When|date=December 2017}} such as ''That '70s Show'' and some episodes of ''The Secret Life of the American Teenager'', ''Pretty Little Liars'', ''Twisted,'' and ''The Fosters''.

Audience testing conducted by the network revealed that some infrequent viewers thought the channel was still aimed specifically at families, resulting in Disney–ABC's decision to rebrand the channel as Freeform. Network president Ascheim refuted the longstanding claim regarding the inclusion of "Family" in the name, and acknowledged the network's shift away from a strictly family-oriented focus in the years leading up to the name change.<ref name="deadline-freeform"/><ref name="TVI-freeform"/><ref name="thewrap-freeform"/>