RKOx

RKOx is an American pay television channel owned by the RKO Networks Group division of RKO Media. It is based at the RKO Media headquarters in, , with a secondary base of operations in ,.

The channel was launched on March 3, 1998 as RKO X, and "relaunched" as RKOx on January 1, 2000. RKOx broadcasts reruns of scripted RKO Network programs and theatrical films, its own original programs—oftentimes produced through RKOx Studios, and sports/ coverage, as well as the professional wrestling program WWE Velocity. RKOx's original programming has been noted for its variety with regards to running time, genre, and medium, with many series aspiring to the standards of premium cable channels in regard to their mature content and high production quality.

As of July 2023, RKOx is available in 83.2 million households in the United States. Localized channels are also available in Canada, Latin America, Martonia, and the United Kingdom. The Gordican channel RKO1 carries near-identical programming to RKOx. RKOx also has a programming hub on RKO Universe, which features both original series currently airing on the network and RKOx Studios-produced RKO Universe original series.

1998-2000: Early years as RKO X
RKOx launched as RKO X on March 3, 1998 at 7:30 a.m. with a telecast of  as its first program. The RKO Media staff had rented out a three-story former apartment building in, for use as RKO X's headquarters. (This building now houses RKO CC1 Hollywood, one of the playout centers for RKO Media's television networks.) As opposed to RKOx's equal blend of reruns and originals, RKO X mostly aired reruns of terrestrial-network dramas and airings of pre-1990 films from the RKO Pictures library; between shows were -style interstitial segments with such hosts as Cassidy Meyers, Jim Pasqual, Lauren Troy, voice actor Kenneth Jezek, future political commentator Lorraine Stickland, and future stars Kearney Forbes and Lorene Chen, which were recorded on the third floor, while "technical stuff" took place on the first and second floors. The channel carried four taglines: "TV for Everyone", "Television Made Simple", "The Best of Television" and "The Best of RKO".

Outside of films, the channel would primarily air reruns of numerous terrestrial-network shows from RKO Television Distribution and/or the RKO Network, though there were a few exceptions. It often broadcast shows in genre-themed blocks, like RKO X Witness for crime series, RKO X Toons for animation, RKO X Casual for comedies, and RKO Xtreme for action series. March 28, 1998 saw the debut of the channel's first original show, a Saturday morning talk show called RKO X Saturday which was hosted by actress Caroline Coleman, actor-comedian Lenny Weinberg, and rapper Taryn "Missy T" Marley. March 30 saw the premieres of the weekday afternoon talk show RKO X Live hosted by Claire Samson and Josh Gomez, the weekly music video program RKOpera hosted by Don Leaver, and the '80s action movie showcase From the Griffon Vault hosted by The Griffon Group regular Lee Elliot. Elliot and Coleman have described the RKO X days as "troubling" due to RKO Media putting most of its funding into RKO Pictures, the RKO Network, and related subsidiaries, "leaving little for RKO X to live on". Coleman once told XYZ News, "They even spent more on the apartment than the channel itself!"

In May 1999, Bizcom acquired a 20% stake in RKO X as part of a contractual deal with RKO Media, but the deal did not last long, as Bizcom went defunct in December 1999. During RKO and Bizcom's partnership, however, the channel saw a slow decrease in original programs. RKOpera and RKO X Live were cancelled in July 1999; RKO X Saturday was moved to the RKO Network, renamed RKO Saturday, and cancelled in 2001; and From the Griffon Vault, the last to go, was cancelled in November 1999. Their time slots were replaced with extended editions of the programming blocks, which—in December 1999—also disappeared from the network, along with the network TV shows. Prior to the rebrand as RKOx, the channel's last programs were films.

2000-2003: RKOx launches
RKO X was "relaunched" as RKOx on January 1, 2000.