Crime (formerly Fox Crime) is an Australian subscription television channel primarily screening crime drama television series. The channel launched on 7 November 2019, replacing TVHits.[1][2]
In August 2013 it was announced Foxtel had failed to complete negotiations with the TV1 General Entertainment Partnership for a new carriage deal for their channel TV1, an Australian general entertainment channel dedicated to hit television series. As a result, Foxtel planned to replace it with another general entertainment channel once TV1's carriage deal had expired.[3] In October 2013 it was announced TVHits, a channel owned and operated by Foxtel Networks, would replace TV1 on 1 January 2014. The branding logo used an exclamation point in place of the "I" character.[4][5]
TVHits' logo used for its entirety (2014–2019)
On 1 January 2014, the channel launched on pay television provider Foxtel (which included its streaming service Foxtel Go as well as its IPTV service Foxtel Play)[4][6] as well as on Australian IPTV provider Fetch TV.[7][8]
On 1 January 2019 TVHits ceased broadcasting on Fetch TV as the provider, and TVHits parent company Foxtel were unable to renew their supply agreement.[9]
In late 2019 Foxtel announced they would launch four new entertainment channels on 7 November 2019, one of which was Fox Crime.[1][2] Fox Crime was described as offering crime and mystery series such as the CSI and NCIS franchises.[2] This new channel would replace the existing TVHits which offered similar content. These new Fox-branded channels were a means of building and consolidating the Fox brand to combat increasing competition in the subscription television marketplace.[12]
