Jewelry Television said it has reached an agreement to purchase the assets of Shop At Home, Inc. and will continue operating the network on a part-time basis. The decision comes on the heels of an announcement by The E W Scripps Company that Shop At Home would discontinue broadcasting in late June.

A new company is being formed to operate Shop At Home, Jewelry Television said in a statement. The name of the new company will be Shop At Home Network, LLC and Jewelry Television will have controlling interest in this company. Shop At Home will continue to operate from its Nashville, Tenn. headquarters.

“After careful consideration we have decided that keeping Shop At Home on the air in a reduced capacity is a winning situation for all involved,” said Joe Fields, chief operating officer for Jewelry Television. “We will be able to retain a significant number of Shop At Home employees in their current positions as well as hiring others for positions with Jewelry Television in Knoxville.”

Tim Engle will join Shop At Home Network, LLC as president and will report to the Shop At Home Network, Inc. Board of Directors. Engle was formerly president and chief operating officer of Shop at Home and left the network in 2001 to pursue other interests. Most recently, Engle was CEO of Beach Renovations, Inc.

Jewelry Television is a television retailer seen in more than 78 million cable households in the U.S. It posted sales of $390 million in sales in 2005 and says it is growing at an excess of 20 percent per quarter.

JCK