Around this time, the channel began airing a late night block of classic family oriented shows like You Bet Your Life with Groucho Marx, I Married Joan, and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

[10] During this time, from 1994 to 1997, The Family Channel sponsored NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver Ted Musgrave in the #16 Ford Thunderbird for Roush Racing.

[22] Notable programs aired during this era included S Club 7 in Miami—a sitcom serving as a starring vehicle for the eponymous British pop group, and Big Wolf on Campus.

The New York Times classified both series as being among a larger wave of television programming catered towards children aged 9 through 14—also referred to as tweens.

[31] Analysts felt that Disney's purchase of Fox Family was influenced by the ongoing consolidation occurring in the media industry, such as the then-recently completed merger of America Online (AOL) and Time Warner, and a desire to acquire a new pay-TV outlet that had significant carriage – at the time of the purchase, Fox Family was seen in 83 million homes.

[33] The company developed a programming strategy to turn ABC Family into a "broad-appeal programming network with its own identity", picking up same-season encores of ABC series such as Alias, Less than Perfect, and Life with Bonnie; adding a weeknight sitcom block; and continuing to emphasize movies – having already reached a 10-year agreement for the cable rights to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

[22] The next major plan was to reposition the channel to market it toward college students, young women, or at a more hip audience under the name "XYZ," a reverse reference to ABC.

[36] Disney continued to be subject to stipulations requiring CBN programming, including that The 700 Club be aired thrice daily on the network.

[26] On August 29, 2005, Disney began distancing itself further from Robertson following his controversial remarks suggesting that Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez should be assassinated.

An ABC Family spokesperson stated that it had no editorial control over The 700 Club and that the company "strongly rejects the views expressed by Pat Robertson."

[39][42] In July 2009, the network earned its best-ever ratings for the month of July in primetime and in total viewership, credited to the strength of Secret Life and new series Make It or Break It, 10 Things I Hate About You and Ruby & the Rockits, along with airings of the Harry Potter film franchise and the television premiere of Labor Pains.

[43] On June 8, 2010, ABC Family premiered Pretty Little Liars – a teen drama based on the series of young-adult mystery novels by Sara Shepard.

Pretty Little Liars quickly became ABC Family's flagship program, frequently breaking ratings records;[39][44] by 2014, Pretty Little Liars had ranked among the five most-watched scripted series on basic cable among multiple female age demographics, and the second-highest rated cable series among females 12–34.

[48] During the channel's 2015–16 upfront presentation on April 14, 2015, ABC Family executives announced that it would establish a focus on "becomers," a group termed by network representatives to refer to what are normally identified as "millennials".

ABC Family president Tom Ascheim explained in describing this demographic, "The most important question that young people ask themselves as they're going from high school to their thirties is, 'Who am I becoming?'

Ascheim explained that "Freeform" was intended to represent how "becomers" are in the "formation" of their lives and that the brand would reflect a participatory experience for viewers across multiple platforms.

An extensive campaign to promote the rebrand kicked off on the date of the announcement and encompassed the network's popular 31 Nights of Halloween and 25 Days of Christmas blocks during the fourth quarter of that year.

[3][51] At the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour on January 9, 2016, in addressing the reasoning behind the name (which had been derided by some viewers on social media and news websites reporting on the pending rebrand), ABC Family president Tom Ascheim noted that while it does not mind the "wholesome" perception, it does "not necessarily represent" the network.

However, despite firmly focusing on its specified target audience, Freeform continued to carry much of the existing programming it aired beforehand under the ABC Family brand, including family-oriented series and films, and its annual 25 Days of Christmas and 31 Nights of Halloween events.

[34][35][51] Although the socially conservative views expressed during the programs conflict with the culturally progressive/adult content of some of the channel's secular programming, Freeform also retained The 700 Club and The 700 Club Interactive (along with CBN's day-long telethon on the last Sunday in January), as network executives were not able to reach an agreement with Pat Robertson to buy out CBN's time-buy contract with the channel (Disney–ABC offered to pay $42 million – roughly the same amount that the ministry earned in revenue during 2015 from syndication fees for The 700 Club and various related productions – to terminate the agreement with the Christian Broadcasting Network, though Robertson stipulated a higher payout that Ascheim deemed "astronomical" in comparison to its actual value).

The new slogan reflects refinements to the network's programming direction, with a larger focus on "forward-looking" series (such as The Bold Type and the Black-ish spin-off Grown-ish).

President Tom Ascheim explained that with the rebranding, Freeform was "purposefully and passionately moving our brand forward by defying expectations and dismantling conventions; busting stereotypes of theme, cast and culture in service to a more inclusive world on and off screen."

The network also unveiled upcoming series in development, such as Scott Stewart's Augs, as well as a new trailer and June 7, 2018 premiere date for Marvel's Cloak and Dagger.

[65] In May 2020, former Netflix executive Tara Duncan—who was signed to an overall deal with sister streaming service Hulu in April 2020[66]—became the new president of Freeform, replacing the departing Ascheim (who left to join Warner Bros.

The logo consists of a wordmark in modified Neue Haas Grotesk Text with curved cut-outs in its "F" lettering, intended to create illusory motions; Freeform's senior vice president of content marketing Joe Ortiz explained that the designs were intended to reflect "the ability to change and an openness to change", and "[create] a sense we are never static and always growing.

[72][73][74] Though Disney emphasized that there would be no change to its commitment to the Freeform brand, some analysts expressed doubt about it remaining as a linear channel in future provider negotiations.

Outside of prime time, Freeform as of January 2025 offers a slate of mostly reruns of contemporary comedy series, such as black-ish and Boy Meets World.

The channel also produces some original programming, which as of January 2025 includes shows such as Chrissy & Dave Dine Out, Grand Cayman Secrets in Paradise, Royal Rules of Ohio, Sasha Reid and the Midnight Order, Scam Goddess and Wayne Brady The Family Remix.

ABC Family's airing of The Hunger Games on October 10, 2014, was one of the channel's most watched telecasts for a single film, being seen by nearly 1.9 million viewers.

Freeform is becoming known for airing previews of upcoming movies, as it has done for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Hairspray, and Stardust.