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QVC is a West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, USA, multinational corporation, specializing in televised home shopping. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel, QVC broadcasts in four countries (US, UK, Germany and Japan) to 141 million consumers. The name is an initialism—standing for Quality, Value, Convenience.
QVC was founded on June 13, 1986 by Joseph Segel. One of the first brands to sign a two year deal with QVC was Sears products. Its first live broadcast took place at 7:30 PM ET on November 24 of that year, reaching 7.6 million TV homes. The corporation later set a new record for first full-year fiscal sales for a new public company of $112 million.[1]
Initially broadcast live from 7:30 PM ET until midnight each weekday and all day Saturdays and Sundays, the channel extended its live programming to 24 hours in January 1987. QVC acquired its top competitor, the Cable Value Network (CVN), in 1989. By February 1990, many cable systems nationwide had replaced CVN with QVC. The $380 million deal contributed to a loss of $17 million during the next fiscal quarter, and then to difficulties in the couple of years that followed.[2]
On February 2, 1995, Comcast purchased a majority shareholding in QVC, Inc., taking control of the corporation. QVC kicked off the "Quest for America's Best: 50 in 50 Tour," a 50-week nationwide product search. QVC.com was founded in 1996.
In July 2003, Comcast sold its majority share to Liberty Media.
In March 2004, the integrity of the company was brought into question when the Federal Trade Commission charged QVC with making "deceptive claims" about weight loss products and the United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the company.
In May 2009, QVC became the first multimedia retailer to offer a native high-definition service. QVC shipped its billionth package on March 22, 2007.
On September 23, 2007, QVC U.S. rebranded itself, changing its logo on-air and online. The rebranding was accompanied by an advertising campaign with the tagline "iQdoU?" ("I shop QVC, do you?") that had preceded the rebrand with "teaser" billboards in major U.S. cities, most notably in New York's Times Square. The iQdoU? campaign also included a teaser website found at iQdoU.com.[3]
In January 2009, QVC made its mobile debut, enabling its customers to use text messages to find and buy products sold on QVC. Additionally, QVC unveiled its mobile Web site, m.QVC.com, where customers can browse QVC product and show information, as well as make purchases.
In December 2009, QVC expanded its mobile presence with the launch of an application for iPhone and iPod touch on the App Store.
QVC established its Facebook page in July 2008 and its Twitter page in January 2009. QVC integrates these platforms into its live show, instantaneously responding to customer feedback and inquiries.
All of QVC's operations (U.S., UK, Germany and Japan) run 24 hours a day, although live programming hours vary between each region.
QVC has its headquarters in West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, near West Chester and by U.S. Route 202.[4][5] The $100 million QVC Studio Park complex, located on an 80-acre (32 ha) plot of land, opened in 1997.[6]
QVC's U.S. operations are based in the Studio Park complex, which houses its corporate headquarters, studio and broadcasting facilities. Studio Park is the former corporate offices of Commodore Business Machines. Call center facilities are located in Chesapeake, Virginia; Port St. Lucie, Florida; and San Antonio, Texas. QVC's distribution centers are situated in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Suffolk, Virginia; Florence, South Carolina; and Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
QVC U.S. also operates a series of retail stores across the country, including one at the Mall of America in Minnesota. Its outlet stores are located in Lancaster, Pa.; Frazer, Pennsylvania; Prices Corner, Del.; Rehoboth Beach, Del.; and Myrtle Beach, S.C. (opening in April 2010).
QVC is broadcasts live in the United States 24/7, apart from the Christmas show which is pre recorded to more than 98 million households, and ranks as the number two television network in terms of revenue (#1 in home shopping networks), with sales in 2009 giving a net revenue of $7.4 billion.
QVC UK was launched in October 1993. Its first broadcast was held at 2 p.m., reaching 2.7 million homes.
QVC UK's headquarters and broadcasting facilities are located at Marco Polo House in Battersea, London, while call center and distribution facilities are situated in Knowsley, Merseyside. QVC UK also runs two outlet stores, one in Warrington, the other in Shrewsbury.
QVC UK broadcasts live 17 hours a day (although the channel runs 24 hours a day), 364 days a year. In 2009, QVC UK shipped more than 13.5 million units and handled more than 14,500 phone calls.[citation needed]
QVC Germany, incorporated in Düsseldorf, runs call centre operations from two sites in Bochum and Kassel, whilst distribution is handled from a dedicated site in Hückelhoven.
QVC Germany broadcasts live 24 hours a day, 363.5 days a year (off-air Christmas Eve (no program after noon) and Christmas Day), with 33.8 million households reached.
QVC Japan is based in Makuhari, where its corporate headquarters and call center facility are located. Distribution facilities are located in Sakura City.
QVC Japan broadcasts live 24 hours a day (as of June 2004—previously running for 15 hours—making it the first broadcaster in Japan to run a 24-hour live service), to 7.5 million homes.
In 2010, QVC plans to expand its international presence with the addition of programming in Italy starting on 1 October. The primary distribution platform for QVC Italy will be Telecom Italia Media Broadcasting's digital terrestrial television system.
QVC’s live broadcast is supported by 25 program hosts. They come from a variety of different backgrounds and work three-to four-hour shifts on-air, four to five days a week.
Embedded below is a list of QVC's current hosts in the United States, along with their signature shows:
(This is only a partial list)
http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/app.html/params.file.|cp|mainhqpress,html/left.html.file.|nav|navhqabout,html
http://www.multichannel.com/article/263755-QVC_HD_Now_100_High_Def.php
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