Psychic Friends Network
Encyclopedia
The Psychic Friends Network was a telephone
psychic
service operating in the United States
in the 1990s. The company's infomercial
s were aired frequently on late night
television.
-like format and hosted by singer Dionne Warwick
and psychic
Linda Georgian, each installment featured a 1-900 number for viewers to call to consult a psychic at the rate of $3.99 per minute
. The program also featured reenactments of callers' stories and appearances by daytime soap opera
stars.
The infomercials became the most popular infomercial to date, and parodies
and imitators soon followed. The parent company, Inphomation, took in profits of over $100 million within the first few years of the Network's operation. From 1992-1997, the Psychic Friends Network infomercials were named top infomercial of the year by the Jordan-Whitney Greensheet
. The company declared bankruptcy in 1998 due to poor business decisions and spiraling competition. In 2001, the bankruptcy trustees for the Psychic Friends Network sued MCI WorldCom Network Services Inc for mismanagement of billing and collections and won a judgement of $4.1 million dollars in 2004.
Michael Lasky re-purchased the assets of the company, including the trademark. PFN is ready to re-launch, this time starring Vivica A. Fox
as the new celebrity host, replacing Warwick.
The Psychic Friends Network has signed Walter Mercado to do a series of talk shows in both English and Spanish and is launching a new website with a state-of-the-art billable audio/video chat system.
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
service operating in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the 1990s. The company's infomercial
Infomercial
Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...
s were aired frequently on late night
Late Night
Late Night is shorthand for several different things:*Late night television - generally United States programming airing after 11:30pm EST**Late-night talk show, the most common type of late night television in the United States...
television.
History
The Psychic Friends Network was launched in 1991, with an infomercial, and a brand new state of the art phone system, that took the calls and forwarded them to the psychics who were working at home. This technology allowed the customers to build personal relationships with individual psychics. Presented in talk showTalk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
-like format and hosted by singer Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
and psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
Linda Georgian, each installment featured a 1-900 number for viewers to call to consult a psychic at the rate of $3.99 per minute
Minute
A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units...
. The program also featured reenactments of callers' stories and appearances by daytime soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
stars.
The infomercials became the most popular infomercial to date, and parodies
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
and imitators soon followed. The parent company, Inphomation, took in profits of over $100 million within the first few years of the Network's operation. From 1992-1997, the Psychic Friends Network infomercials were named top infomercial of the year by the Jordan-Whitney Greensheet
Greensheet
Greensheet is a local community newspaper based in Houston, Texas with local offices in Houston, Texas, Dallas, Texas, Ft. Worth, Texas and Austin, Texas. The newspaper was founded in March 1970. Greensheet currently has 20 print editions in Texas. 12 in Houston, Texas; 4 in Dallas, Texas; 3 in...
. The company declared bankruptcy in 1998 due to poor business decisions and spiraling competition. In 2001, the bankruptcy trustees for the Psychic Friends Network sued MCI WorldCom Network Services Inc for mismanagement of billing and collections and won a judgement of $4.1 million dollars in 2004.
Michael Lasky re-purchased the assets of the company, including the trademark. PFN is ready to re-launch, this time starring Vivica A. Fox
Vivica A. Fox
Vivica Anjanetta Fox is an American actress and television producer. She is best known for her roles in the films Independence Day, Set It Off, Soul Food, Why Do Fools Fall In Love,Kill Bill and Juwanna Mann....
as the new celebrity host, replacing Warwick.
The Psychic Friends Network has signed Walter Mercado to do a series of talk shows in both English and Spanish and is launching a new website with a state-of-the-art billable audio/video chat system.