ABC TGIF | Promo | 1991 | Full House | Family Matters | Perfect Strangers | Going Places
TGIF is the name of a defunct American prime time television programming block that aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), initially from 1989 to 2000. The name comes from the initials of the popular phrase "Thank God It's Friday"; however, the stars of the lineup touted the abbreviation as meaning "Thank Goodness It's Funny." The block mainly featured situation comedies aimed at a family audience.
It marked one of the first attempts by a major network to brand a programming block, with the goal of encouraging young viewers to watch the entire lineup, instead of just a particular show.[1] The "TGIF" block dominated the ratings in the 18–49 demographic for most of the 1990s.[2] However, ratings began declining in the latter half of the decade.[1] ABC revived the "TGIF" brand in September 2003, with its second run lasting only two seasons. For both the 1989 to 2000 and 2003 to 2005 runs, the block served as a lead-in to the long-running newsmagazine 20/20, whose placement on Fridays predates the original launch of TGIF and has remained part of ABC's Friday to this day.
