QVC Launches Second Linear Channel

QVC has put a second linear channel in its shopping bag.

QVC Plus, maintaining the QVC brand and featuring shows, exclusive products and program hosts, will air on a three-hour delay from the flagship service's broadcast, with on-screen graphics designating it as precorded fare.

The programmer says QVC Plus's lineup may evolve to include special offers expanding the flagship service's product lines. The company noted that QVC's operations in the United Kingdom and Germany have been offered multiple broadcast channels, some dedicated specifically to QVC's prestige beauty offerings.

QVC Plus is now available on DirecTV on channels 79 and 315, as well as MCTV (channel 158), Kuhn Communications (channel 214), Thames Valley (channel 94), and Cincinnati Bell Fioptics (channel 244). The service also has deals, financial terms of which were not disclosed, with Time Warner Cable, which negotiates programming pacts for Bright House Networks.  The latter is scheduled to launch QVC Plus at the beginning of September in Bakersfield, Calif. (channels 250 and 1250 HD);Birmingham, Ala. (channels 273 and 1273 HD); Detroit, (channels 188 and 388 HD); Indianapolis (channels 273 and 1273 HD); central Florida (channels 225 and 1329 HD); and Tampa, (channels 162 and 1329 HD).

QVC PLUS will be broadcast live on QVC's website, with additional digital commerce functionality will be coming soon.

"One of the secrets of QVC's success is that we offer customers the joy of discovery," said Mary Campbell, senior vice president, multichannel platforms at QVC, in a statement. "QVC Plus provides an additional discovery experience for our customers, and more ways to view our unique, ever-changing curation of people, places and finds."