[2][3] It was originally co-owned by Cablevision's Rainbow Media division and Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment; the channel claimed to be "the first television service dedicated to film and the performing arts".

Those programs were Karaoke and Cold Lazarus, the final serials by British playwright Dennis Potter shown by Bravo in June 1997, and Michael Moore's documentary series The Awful Truth from 1999.

[5] The network began to add more reality shows to its lineup, some of them also very successful, including Project Runway in 2004, and Million Dollar Listing, The Real Housewives of Orange County and Top Chef, all in 2006.

In 2009, Entertainment Weekly put "Bravo reality shows" on its end-of-the-decade "best-of" list, saying, "From Queer Eye for the Straight Guy's Fab Five to Project Runway's fierce fashionistas to the kvetching, perma-tanned Real Housewives franchise, Bravo's quirky reality programming mixes high culture and low scruples to create deliciously addictive television.

[4] Other successful reality series followed, including Shahs of Sunset (2012), Vanderpump Rules (2013), Married to Medicine (2013), Below Deck (2013), Southern Charm (2014), and Summer House (2017).

[15][16] In August 2023, several of the network's reality stars, including Bethenny Frankel, Raquel Leviss, Lisa Rinna, and many others, accused Bravo and its parent company, NBCUniversal, for mistreating and causing a hostile working environment against them.

[17] In January 2024, Caroline Manzo filed a lawsuit against Bravo which alleged that the network and its affiliated companies—Forest Productions, Warner Bros. Entertainment, NBCUniversal Media, Shed Media and Peacock TV— would "regularly ply the Real Housewives cast with alcohol, cause them to become severely intoxicated, and then direct, encourage and/or allow them to sexually harass other cast members because that is good for ratings.

"[18][19][20] The lawsuit was filed a year after it was reported Brandi Glanville gave Manzo "unwanted kisses" while they participated in season 5 of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip.

Most popularly, the channel is known for its TV franchises The Real Housewives and Inside the Actors Studio, as well as Top Chef, Project Runway, Flipping Out, Below Deck, and Married to Medicine.

In 2012, the network served as the near-exclusive home for the Games' tennis tournament at Wimbledon, with up to 56 hours of coverage except for the men's and women's singles finals, which aired on NBC.

[30][31] MediaWorks New Zealand announced that it would close the youth-oriented free to air channel Four in July 2016 and replace it with Bravo as part of a deal with NBCUniversal.

A Brazilian version of Bravo was launched in 1996 by a partnership between TVA - then Grupo Abril's television arm -, TV Cultura and the original American network.

[34] In 2008, Bravo's A-List Awards were created to honor celebrities "who have made an unforgettable mark" in various fields of pop culture such as beauty, design, fashion, and cooking.