Why Does Freeform TV Still Air Pat Robertson’s ‘The 700 Club’?

After seeing their disclaimers on FreeForm TV before "The 700 Club," many people wonder why the channel still airs that show. Well, the answer is right here. Through the years, there doesn't seem to be a time we remember that FreeForm TV and before that ABC Family ever didn't have "The 700 Club" on their channel. At first, the show came on with a simple disclaimer stating that the show was paid for by the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), but in 2008 it changed after 700 Club host Pat Robertson made controversial comments calling for the assassination of then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Then there was a more blatant statement that the show and the viewpoints voiced on the show were not the same as the rest of the television stations. More changes were seen after the channel changed over to FreeForm TV, but still, The 700 Club remains like the cockroach the apocalypse couldn't kill. So why can't FreeForm get rid of the program?

According to TVInsider, the channel began back in 1977 as Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). The channel was renamed The Family Channel in the late 1980s and became more profitable and mainstream. In 1990 they became the International Family Entertainment (IFE) and struck a deal with CBN to allow The 700 Club to air in desireable timeslots on the network still. When the Family Channel was sold to Fox Kids in 1997 one of the stipulations was that Robertson's 700 Club had to run on the channel in desired time slots.....forever. Disney bought the channel in 2001 and attempted to buy out Robertson but the price he wants from the company is so high, there's no way the Disney company would pay it. So for now, people will continue to see The 700 Club at 10/9 c in the morning and 11/10 c nightly.