Jewelry Television Buys Shop at Home
By Staff -- JCK-Jewelers Circular Keystone, 9/1/2006
Jewelry Television is buying rival TV network Shop at Home for $17 million. As a result, Jewelry Television will keep the network on the air on a “part-time” basis, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Owner E.W. Scripps had previously announced plans to shut the network down.
The new network “will not sell jewelry in the immediate future, but it could evolve into that,” says spokeswoman Kelly Fletcher.
The move will likely increase the number of homes Jewelry Television is seen in, as it will air in the hours when Shop at Home is not broadcasting. Jewelry Television is currently available in 60 million homes, Shop at Home in 57 million.
As a result of the deal, former Shop at Home president Tim Engle will rejoin the network as president. Fletcher says the network is making plans to retain current Shop at Home employees.
The two stations are about 150 miles apart—Jewelry TV is in Knoxville, Tenn., and Shop at Home is in Nashville, Tenn.
