Editing QVC (section)

===QVC's rise (1995–2005)===

On September 29, 1994, QVC Vice President Douglas Briggs unveiled the QVC Local, a customized, $1.7 million state-of-the-art television studio in a bus, in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzXJb8MoenI |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/OzXJb8MoenI| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=QVC's 20th Founder's Day QVC Local Debut, 1994 |work=[[YouTube]] |last=tealsunset |date=June 13, 2016|access-date=18 April 2020 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> In January 1995, QVC kicked off the "Quest for America's Best: 50 in 50 Tour," a 50-week nationwide product search to promote local and regional products with live broadcasts from every State. The QVC Local traveled 88,796 miles of American road during the 50 in 50 Tour in 1995.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lieberman |first1=Brett |title=QVC Begins Tour to Push U.S. Goods |url=https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1994-09-30-2984570-story.html |access-date=18 April 2020|publisher=The Morning Call |date=30 Sep 1994}}</ref>

[[Comcast]] and [[Tele-Communications Inc.|TCI]] spin-off company [[Liberty Media]] completed their acquisition of the company on February 2, 1995, and Diller resigned. Douglas S. Briggs was announced as QVC Inc. CEO on March 6, 1995, after overseeing the daily business of the company as president of QVC electronic retailing and executive vice president of QVC Inc. since February 1994.<ref>{{cite news|title=Douglas Briggs Named President of QVC|url=https://apnews.com/bf2fc815b145494c9900c8c7d53a67ba |access-date=18 April 2020|publisher=Associated Press|date=6 Mar 1995}}</ref> Briggs was tasked with boosting Diller's many start-up ventures, including QVC UK and Q2.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Flint |first1=Joe |title=No Make-Up Necessary For QVC's Briggs |url=https://variety.com/1995/tv/features/no-make-up-necessary-for-qvc-s-briggs-99124208/ |access-date=18 April 2020 |publisher=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=12 Mar 1995 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422074234/https://variety.com/1995/tv/features/no-make-up-necessary-for-qvc-s-briggs-99124208/ |archive-date=April 22, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On September 24, 1997, at 7pm ET, QVC signed off their live broadcast from their previous studio and celebrated the opening of their new broadcast center and corporate offices, Studio Park, a nearly 17-acre property with more than 58,000 square feet of filming studios in West Chester, Pennsylvania.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cool Offices: QVC's West Chester empire|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2017/07/03/qvc-studio-ark-west-chester-offices.html|access-date=18 April 2020|publisher=Philadelphia Business Journal|date=3 Jul 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706121531/http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2017/07/03/qvc-studio-ark-west-chester-offices.html|archive-date=July 6, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zB_WwNj2eI |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/8zB_WwNj2eI| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=QVC's 20th Founder's Day Studio Park Grand Opening Sept. 24, 1997 |work=[[YouTube]] |last=tealsunset |date=June 13, 2016|access-date=18 April 2020 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>

QVC tested a retail concept in 2000 at [[The Mall of America]] in [[Bloomington, Minnesota]] with a limited-term lease on a 500 square-foot store.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hogan |first1=Monica |title=QVC Heads to the Mall of America|url=https://www.multichannel.com/news/qvc-heads-mall-america-150662 |access-date=20 April 2020|publisher=Multichannel News |date=9 Jul 2000}}</ref> The next year, QVC signed a ten-year lease on a 2,500 square-foot store with broadcasting capabilities and opened QVC @ The Mall on August 8, 2001.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hovanyetz |first1=Scott |title=QVC Store Opens in Mall of America |url=https://www.dmnews.com/marketing-channels/multi-omnichannel/news/13088468/qvc-store-opens-in-mall-of-america |access-date=20 April 2020|publisher=DMNews|date=10 Aug 2001}}</ref> The Mall of America store remained the only location for this format and the store closed at the conclusion of the ten-year lease on March 22, 2011.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Snowbeck|first1=Christopher|title=Mayo Clinic opens health center in Mall of America|url=https://www.twincities.com/2011/08/10/mayo-clinic-opens-health-center-in-mall-of-america/|access-date=20 April 2020|publisher=[[Twin Cities Pioneer Press|St. Paul Pioneer Press]]|date=10 Aug 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630103217/https://www.twincities.com/2011/08/10/mayo-clinic-opens-health-center-in-mall-of-america/|archive-date=June 30, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Legal hurdles and Comcast's exit====

In 1998, two former hosts filed a class-action lawsuit against QVC, claiming that they were discriminated against by the shopping channel based on their race. The lawsuit went on to state that QVC refused to allow non-white hosts any permanent daytime/primetime spots, which relegated them to the overnight hours, otherwise known as the "[[graveyard slot|graveyard shift]]." Because of this, the non-white hosts were paid considerably less than the white hosts.<ref>{{cite web |author=Sean Sexton |url=http://www.dmnews.com/lawsuit-alleges-pattern-of-racism-at-qvc/article/60890/ |title=Lawsuit Alleges Pattern of Racism at QVC – Direct Marketing News |publisher=Dmnews.com |access-date=3 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724205949/http://www.dmnews.com/lawsuit-alleges-pattern-of-racism-at-qvc/article/60890/ |archive-date=July 24, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://articles.philly.com/2004-06-07/news/25369173_1_qvc-jack-comstock-q2 |title=QVC official denies any racism A suit contends Jack Comstock treated minorities badly. He told the jury about his criteria for hosts. - Philly.com |publisher=Articles.philly.com |date=7 June 2004 |access-date=3 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430135645/http://articles.philly.com/2004-06-07/news/25369173_1_qvc-jack-comstock-q2 |archive-date=April 30, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On July 3, 2003, Comcast sold its majority share to [[Liberty Media]], which purchased the remaining 56.5% of QVC it didn't already own for $7.9 billion. Comcast, for which QVC was a financial asset, not a strategic one, continued to carry QVC for its 21 million cable subscribers.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ahrens |first1=Frank |title=Comcast Sells Its QVC Stake for $7.9 Billion |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2003/07/04/comcast-sells-its-qvc-stake-for-79-billion/21abd8ca-da23-47a8-9b8d-7b885b8957e2/|access-date=25 April 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=4 Jul 2003}}</ref>

On Wednesday, March 24, 2004, the [[Federal Trade Commission|FTC]] sued QVC over violating a June 2000 order barring the company from making misleading claims about dietary supplements.<ref>{{cite news |title=FTC Sues QVC Over Claims |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-mar-25-fi-qvc25-story.html |access-date=25 April 2020|newspaper=[[The Los Angeles Times]] |date=25 Mar 2004}}</ref> A March 2009 settlement with the FTC charged QVC with paying $6 million for consumer redress and a $1.5 million civil penalty and for QVC to discontinue the dietary supplements products.<ref>{{cite news |title=QVC to Pay $7.5 Million to Settle Charges that It Aired Deceptive Claims |url=https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2009/03/qvc-pay-75-million-settle-charges-it-aired-deceptive-claims |access-date=25 April 2020 |website=[[Federal Trade Commission]] |date=19 Mar 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213155914/https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2009/03/qvc-pay-75-million-settle-charges-it-aired-deceptive-claims |archive-date=December 13, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=QVC Draws FTC Complaint for Diet Products |url=https://www.multichannel.com/news/qvc-draws-ftc-complaint-diet-products-270778|access-date=25 April 2020|publisher=Multichannel News|date=24 Mar 2004}}</ref>

In 2006, the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia settled a dispute between QVC and HSN over the use of the phrase "[[Christmas in July]]," QVC maintaining their use of it since 1987, and HSN claiming copyright on it in 2000.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cochrane |first1=Brian |title=Ho-ho-halt! |url=https://variety.com/2006/biz/news/ho-ho-halt-1200337200/ |access-date=25 April 2020 |publisher=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=25 Jun 2006 }}</ref>