Treat yourself to a $500 QVC Shopping Spree!

Treat yourself to a $500 QVC Shopping Spree!

QVC (an acronym for "Quality Value Convenience") is an American cable, satellite and broadcast television network, and flagship shopping channel specializing in televised home shopping that is owned by Qurate Retail Group. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States, QVC broadcasts to more than 350 million households in seven countries as QVC US, QVC UK, QVC Germany, QVC Japan, QVC Italy, QVC/CNR (China) and QVC France.

QVC was founded on June 13, 1986,by Joseph Segel. One of the first brands to sign a two-year deal with QVC for its products was Sears. The channel's first live broadcast took place at 7:30 p.m. ET on November 24, of that year, reaching 7.6 million cable television homes; the first item sold was a "Windsor Shower Companion" shower radio, presented by host John Eastman (Bob Bowersox was the first host seen on-screen). The corporation later set a new record for first full-year fiscal sales for a new public company of $112 million.

Initially broadcast live from 7:30 p.m. until midnight ET each weekday and all day on Saturdays and Sundays, the channel extended its live programming to 24 hours in January 1987. In 1989, QVC acquired its top competitor, the Cable Value Network (CVN), founded by Irwin L. Jacobs. The $380 million deal contributed to a loss of $17 million during the next fiscal quarter, and then led to difficulties in the couple of years that followed.

QVC's U.S. operations are based in the Studio Park complex, which houses its corporate headquarters, studio and broadcasting facilities. Studio Park is the former corporate offices of Commodore Business Machines. Call center facilities are located in Chesapeake, Virginia, and San Antonio, Texas. QVC's distribution centers are located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Suffolk, Virginia; Florence, South Carolina; Rocky Mount, North Carolina and Ontario, California. Its 2013 sales were worth $5.84 billion.

QVC U.S. also operates a retail store at their Studio Park complex, and two outlet stores in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Frazer, Pennsylvania.

QVC broadcasts live in the United States 24/7, 364 days a year to more than 100 million households, and ranks as the number two television network in terms of revenue (#1 in home shopping networks), with sales in 2015 giving a net revenue of $8.7 billion. The only day on which QVC does not broadcast its usual format is Christmas, when the station runs a taped telecast of the West Chester Christmas Parade and other pre-recorded programming.

Every year the "QVC Presents 'FFANY Shoes on Sale'" event is broadcast in which donated designer shoes are sold at half the suggested retail price and 80% of the proceeds go to breast cancer research and education. It is organized with the Fashion Footwear Association of New York, which runs a coinciding Shoes on Sale initiative along with an awards gala.