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Turner Network Television (TNT) is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on dramatic programming. Since 2007, TNT has re-launched local versions of the channel in Spain, Germany, Turkey and Belgium with more European countries in the pipeline.

History[link]

1980s[link]

TNT, as a cable service, was launched with a showing of the 1939 classic movie Gone with the Wind (to which Ted Turner had acquired the rights), on October 3, 1988. It was chosen because, it was said, it was Turner's favorite movie – it would also be the first program on sister channel Turner Classic Movies in 1994. Incidentally, the film had been premiered in Atlanta, Turner's hometown and the headquarters of Turner Broadcasting, as well as being the setting for Gone With the Wind.

TNT was, at least initially, a vehicle for older movies and television shows, but slowly began to add original programming and newer reruns. When TNT began broadcasting pre-1986 MGM films, it caused a controversy when they began colorizing many black and white classics.

1990s[link]

In 1990, it obtained partial rights to the Sunday Night Football package for the National Football League, which it retained until 1997. The NFL on TNT consisted of three or four preseason games annually and of regular-season telecasts of the first half of each season. As has always been the case for cable broadcasts, TNT distributed their feed to local television stations in the market of the teams playing.

Starting in 1995, TNT was also the home of WCW Monday Nitro, the flagship show of the now defunct World Championship Wrestling, once regularly the highest rated weekly program on cable. The program defeated Monday Night Raw, the flagship show of the then-World Wrestling Federation, for 83 straight weeks until 1998.

It was also known for its late night programming, such as MonsterVision, which showcased B movies (including a Godzilla marathon at the end of every month), with occasional guest hosts Penn and Teller. MonsterVision eventually found a permanent host in cult personality and drive in movie aficionado Joe Bob Briggs. Every Saturday night, from 1995 to 2000, he would host a pair of horror films (such as Friday the 13th Part 2 and Wes Craven's New Nightmare) provide a running commentary, trivia, off-color jokes and a drive-in total. Also included in his host segments were jokes at the expense of Turner Network Television's Standards & Practices department for heavy censorship of the featured movies. This running joke culminated in a Friday the 13th all-night marathon during Halloween of 1998, where it was implied that Ted Turner was out to kill him.

Up until 1998, TNT would also show cartoons from the Turner library, such as The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, the DePatie-Freleng Pink Panther cartoons, Dexter's Laboratory, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, among many others on a block called "TNT Toons". The Rudy and Gogo World Famous Cartoon Show was also a TNT original show featuring classic Warner Bros., MGM, and Popeye shorts, hosted by marionettes and a nanny goat. Cartoons are now exclusively on Cartoon Network and Boomerang.

In the 1990s, TNT scheduled a lineup of shows for weekday afternoons including Due South, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Babylon 5, and Ellen. In 1998, TNT took over production of the fifth and final season of Babylon 5 from the defunct Prime Time Entertainment Network. In 1999, TNT produced the Babylon 5 spinoff series Crusade but it was canceled after 13 episodes, when TNT decided science fiction did not fit their brand identity.

During 2001, TNT had its then most successful original series, Witchblade, which ran for two seasons, ending its run in 2002.

"We Know Drama" era[link]

On June 12, 2001, TNT relaunched itself, with a new logo (by Trollbäck + Company) and a new slogan, "We Know Drama", which emphasized the channel's new focus on programming with drama and energy, such as sports and network TV dramas like Angel, Law & Order, Charmed, NYPD Blue, ER, Without a Trace, Alias, Judging Amy, Las Vegas and Cold Case. It is in direct contrast to sister channel TBS, which shows more comedy related programming, and by extension Cartoon Network, which showed exclusively animated programming at the time (it still has a predominately animated schedule). In addition, NASCAR coverage moved to TNT from TBS starting in the 2001 season, as Ted Turner  believed that it would fit more with TNT's new look and theme than TBS.

On January 1, 2003, "TNT Plus" began broadcasting as a substitute for TNT, although it does not appear this was ever reflected in the channel's on-air identity. The apparent sole purpose of its establishment was to force rate renegotiations to help pay for TNT's new NBA and NASCAR contracts, well before the channel's rates were scheduled to come up for renewal with most cable and satellite providers. In theory, TNT Plus was to have been the sole carrier of Turner's NBA and NASCAR coverage from that point forward, while any providers still carrying the original TNT would have seen replacement programming instead.^[1] Although it appears that Comcast did not immediately sign on for TNT Plus, there is no evidence of Turner actually pulling sports programming from the "original" TNT.^[2]

In 2004, TNT became the first Turner channel to begin broadcasting in high definition. TNT is also one of the Turner-owned channels which now shows the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

On 7 December 2008, TNT unveiled a newly stylized update of its logo, mainly in shiny silver (onscreen during programming and on the TNT website) but sometimes in gold. The campaign will continue to use the channel's tagline "We Know Drama" but with more of a focus on its original series and its plan to have three nights of original primetime programming starting in 2009.^[3]

On 6 November 2009, TNT announced that it had obtained exclusive syndication rights for The Mentalist and would begin airing old episodes of the series starting in the fall of 2011.^[4]

2012 rebrand[link]

In 2012, TNT rebranded itself with a new slogan: "Drama, Period.", and the logo was simply recolored to match the themes of their shows.

TNT HD[link]

TNT HD is a 1080i high definition simulcast of TNT. TNT HD is criticized for its practice of airing a significant amount of 4:3 standard definition content stretched to 16:9 through a nonlinear process similar to the "panorama" setting on many HDTVs that some viewers have nicknamed Stretch-o-Vision; though other simulcasted HD cable channels have also fallen into this practice, TNT is usually cited since it was one of the first channels with an HD simulcast. The nonlinear stretching process leaves objects in the center of the screen with approximately their original aspect ratio; objects at the left and right edges are distorted. In addition to true HD content at 16:9, TNT HD also airs unstretched upconverted standard definition content in its original aspect ratio.

Widescreen movies[link]

Below a list of some of the movies TNT HD provides in a non-stretched widescreen format and airs frequently. Movies will be noted if they were aired in their original aspect ratio (OAR).

• The Grudge (provided in OAR)
• Jerry Maguire (provided in OAR)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
• Titanic (provided in OAR)
• Forrest Gump

Programming[link]

Drama[link]

TNT's success with original series includes the critically acclaimed The Closer, ad-supported cable's #1 series of all time; Saving Grace, which averages more than 5 million viewers along with Leverage; and Raising the Bar, which set a new ad-supported cable viewership record when it premiered on Labor Day 2008 (but has recently been canceled). Hawthorne premiered in the summer of 2009 to 3.85 million viewers, while Dark Blue premiered to under 3 million viewers. The channel also picked up Southland after it was canceled by NBC. In 2010, TNT premiered three new dramas; the light-hearted Men of a Certain Age, cop drama Memphis Beat, and police procedural Rizzoli & Isles. Rizzoli & Isles premiered in July 2010 and set a new ad-supported cable viewership record for a series premiere.^[5]

Syndicated series and films[link]

As of 2012, TNT is home to eleven syndicated television series including Cold Case, Bones, CSI: NY, Numb3rs, Charmed, Law & Order, Angel, Las Vegas, Smallville, The Mentalist, and Supernatural seasons 1-6.

TNT also owns cable television rights to various films, which are generally dramatic in scope (with comedic films airing on TBS), including action, science fiction, and war dramas (it has uncut broadcast rights to Saving Private Ryan, for example).

In June of 2011, it was announced that Castle would join the line-up in the summer of 2012, airing seasons 1 and 2. ^[6]

Sports[link]

TNT Sports (under the Turner Sports division) mainly consists of NBA basketball games and NASCAR races. The NBA on TNT (with studio hosts Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O'Neal) dates back to 1988 and has aired, either by itself or in combination with a similar package on TBS Superstation, ever since. It is considered one of the best studio shows on television. NASCAR came to TNT in 2001, carried over from TBS by their shared parent company. From 2001 to 2006, the race package was split with NBC; as of 2007, it stands alone, with six races telecast annually. Currently, TNT has the cable rights to the first two rounds of two of golf's major championships, The British Open and The PGA Championship.

TNT will air Major League Baseball postseason games in the event TBS' MLB coverage has a scheduling conflict (e.g. the end of one game overruns into the start time of another game). In 2011 TNT aired Game 2 of the Tampa Bay Rays vs. Texas Rangers series, Game 2 of the Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees series and Game 3 of the Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Milwaukee Brewers series.

TNT inherited the telecast of the 2001 UAW-GM Quality 500 NASCAR race at Lowe's Motor Speedway from NBC due to the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom.

TNT's coverage of the 2009 NBA playoffs earned the highest first-round ratings ever for a cable television channel.^[7]

NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on TNT[link]

On April 22, 2010, a monumental 14 year 10.8 billion dollar agreement was reached with Turner Broadcasting to receive joint broadcast rights along with CBS for the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. Starting with the 2011 tournament, in addition to CBS, TNT along with its sister networks TBS and truTV, will carry the first and second round games of the tournament as well as regional semifinal games. Beginning in 2016, CBS and TBS will alternate coverage of the Final Four weekend and broadcast of the championship game.^[8]

Upcoming series/pilots[link]

• Dallas - A continuation of the original 1978 Dallas series, set to star Larry Hagman reprising his role as J. R. Ewing. On July 8, 2011, TNT ordered 10 episodes of the series which will premiere in summer 2012.^[9]
• Major Crimes - A spinoff of TNT's The Closer starring Mary McDonnell as Captain Sharon Raydor. On May 18, 2011, TNT announced that Major Crimes had been picked up for a 10-episode season, which will premiere in summer 2012.^[10]
• Perception - A new crime drama series starring Eric McCormack as Dr. Geoffrey Pierce, a neurologist who works with the FBI to solve major crimes. On March 22, 2011, TNT ordered 10 episodes of the series which will premiere in summer 2012.^[11]
• American Flesh: Examination of social, political, racial, and sexual issues during the Golden Age of Porn in Southern California. Cast: Holly Hunter.^{[citation needed]}
• The Command - An elite squad of detectives are handpicked to served in Borough Command, where they are assigned the most high profile cases.^[12]
• Enigma - A modern day Sherlock Holmes type series. From CSI creator Anthony E. Zuiker.^[12]
• Gateway - Set in the late 1860s, the series tells the story of two brothers as they try to build a new life after the Civil War in a town called Gateway.^[12]
• Scent of the Missing - The show revolves around the working life of a Search & Rescue Officer and her dog.^[12]
• Seconds of Our Lives: Life in suburbia (a la American Beauty, Far From Heaven, and The Ice Storm). Written by Todd Haynes and Burr Steers.
• Snatched - Described as a new take on the late '90s series Relic Hunter, Snatched revolves around the daily life of a woman in her mid-thirties as she performs her day job of collecting priceless ancient artifacts, while also attempting to maintain a normal personal life.^[12]
• Untitled Mitch Alborn Project - This series follows the exploits of the station manager of a Detroit radio station.^[12]
• Untitled Shaun Cassidy Project - A family centered drama about a southern family who must adapt when they take in their recently widowed daughter-in-law and grandson.^[12]
• Untitled Jay Cocks Project - Based on the Tess Monaghan book series by Laura Lippman, the series centers on a former reporter turned Private Investigator.^[12]
• Untitled Eric Garcia Project - The series revolve around a police clerk, who's overactive imagination is used to help solve crime.^[12]
• Untitled John Wells Project - Set in the Pacific Mid-West, the series revolves around a family of cops as they investigate the paranormal on-goings in a small town.^[12]

International[link]

European, Australian, Latin American, Spanish and Asian versions of TNT were launched in the 1990s but were exclusively dedicated to movies, mainly from the MGM and Warner Brothers archives (The UK and Scandinavian TNT did show WCW Monday Nitro on Friday nights just four days after its US broadcast, and the Latin American version aired a children's block called "Magic Box"). The European, Australian and Asian versions of the channel were paired with Cartoon Network, while the Latin American version of the channel was paired with CNN International. The EMEA, Asian and Australasian TNT channels eventually became Turner Classic Movies, while the Latin American version retained the TNT branding. The most known signal broadcast from TNT in Europe was (and still is) the signal feed in France, and used similar graphics to what the US signal feed was using at the time. TCM is still operating and broadcasts MGM and Warner Brothers films like the old TNT used to. There is now also a TCM 2 in the United Kingdom which broadcasts films from MGM and Warner Brothers also.

Germany[link]

In January 2009, a version of TNT launched in Germany as TNT Serie. The channel shows the German premiere of 30 Rock and Friday Night Lights, as well a wide variety of old and recent American drama and comedy, including Murder, She Wrote, Northern Exposure, Monk, Third Watch, Rescue Me, Six Feet Under, Seinfeld, ER, The King of Queens, Everybody Loves Raymond, Caroline in the City, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones and Falling Skies. Shows on TNT Serie are broadcast with two audio channels, one with the original English soundtrack and one with a German-dubbed soundtrack.

In June 2009, the German version of TCM was relaunched as "TNT Film". After Boomerang (2006), Cartoon Network and TCM (both 2007) TNT Serie is the fourth German Turner channel.

As of fall 2010, both "TNT Serie" and "TNT Film" are also available in HD as "TNT Serie HD" and "TNT Film HD".

Spain[link]

The TNT brand came back to the Spanish market in summer 2007, when it launched exclusively on pay TV platform Digital+ becoming the 6th Turner channel available in Spain after TCM, TCM Clásico (launched alongside the new TNT), Cartoon Network, Boomerang and CNN+, a joint-venture between Turner Broadcasting and the Spanish Sogecable. As of 2012^[update], TNT is available on several cable operartors. TNT España its divided in two blocks: Movies and TV Series, airing TV shows such as: The Vampire Diaries, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, and Falling Skies. TNT España was the first channel which produced a TV series for a pay/cable channel in Spain.

Turkey[link]

A local version of TNT in Turkey launched in 3rd March 2008 by Doğan Media Group as a film channel. Foreign TV series and movies were aired and the original red-gray TNT logo was used. In 24 January 2011, it was re-launched as an entertainment channel with new TV shows. ^[13]

Belgium[link]

On April, 10, 2012 TNT started in Belgium, exclusively on Telenet. First one month for free, after that a subscription is necessary. See http://www.tnt-tv.be

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• TNT HD
• The Futon Critic

v t e Time Warner Inc. Board of directors Herbert Allison Jim Barksdale Stephen Bollenbach Jeffrey Bewkes Frank Caufield Robert Clark Mathias Döpfner Jessica Einhorn Reuben Mark Michael Miles Ken Novack Richard Parsons Deborah Wright Home Box Office HBO (Multiplex Asia) Cinemax (Multiplex Asia) HBO Films Warner Channel (Latin America Asia India) Time Inc. Magazines All You Coastal Living Cooking Light Entertainment Weekly Essence Fortune Golf Health InStyle Life.com Money People People en Español People StyleWatch Real Simple Southern Living Sports Illustrated Sports Illustrated Kids Sunset Time Time for Kids This Old House IPC Media 25 Beautiful Homes Amateur Gardening Amateur Photographer Angler's Mail Beautiful Kitchens Chat Chat - It's Fate Chat passion Country Homes & Interiors Country Life Cycle Sport Cycling Active Cycling Weekly Decanter essentials European Boatbuilder Eventing Golf Monthly Homes & Gardens Horse Horse & Hound IBI Ideal Home InStyle Livingetc Look Marie Claire (UK) Motor Boat & Yachting Motor Boats Monthly Mountain Bike Rider Mousebreaker NME Now Nuts Practical Boat Owner Pick Me Up Rugby World Shooting Times Soaplife Sporting Gun Superyacht Business SuperYacht World The Field Shooting Gazette TrustedReviews TV & Satellite Week TV easy TVTimes Uncut VolksWorld What Digital Camera Wallpaper What's on TV Woman woman&home Woman's Own Woman's Weekly Yachting Monthly Yachting World World Soccer Other Maghound Oxmoor House Sunset Books Turner Broadcasting v t e Turner Broadcasting System (a subsidiary of Time Warner) North American television Boomerang · Cartoon Network (HD/VOD/SAP) · CNN (HD/VOD/SAP) · CNN Airport Network · HLN (HD/SAP) · NBA TV1 · Turner Classic Movies (HD/VOD/SAP) · TBS (HD/VOD/SAP) · TNT (HD/VOD/SAP) · truTV (HD) · WPCH TBS Europe Boomerang Central/Eastern Europe+Europe/Middle East/Africa · France · Germany · Italy · Pan-European · Spain · UK & Ireland Cartoon Network Arab World · Central/Eastern Europe · CN Too · Denmark · Europe/Middle East/Africa · France · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Italy · Netherlands · Nordic · Norway · Pan-European · Russia/SE Europe · Spain · Sweden · Turkey · UK & Ireland Others Boing France · Boing Italy2  · Cartoonito · CNN Türk · CNN+ · Nuts TV · TCM UK & Ireland · TCM 2 · TCM/Cartoon Network TBS Asia Pacific Boomerang Australia · Southeast Asia Cartoon Network Australia · China (on demand) · India · Japan · Pakistan · Philippines · Southeast Asia · Taiwan HBO HBO Asia · HBO Signature Asia · HBO Family Asia · HBO Hits · MAX Asia · Screen RED Asia Warner Channel WarnerTV Asia · WB Channel India Others China Entertainment Television · CNN-IBN · Imagine TV · Lumiere Movies · Pogo · Real · TCM Asia · truTV Asia TBS Latin America Cartoon Network · Boomerang · Tooncast · Chilevisión · CNN Chile · CNN en Español · Glitz* · HLN · HTV · Infinito · I.Sat · Space · TBS · TCM Classic Entertainment · TNT · truTV International CNN International TV production/distribution Cartoon Network Studios · Turner Entertainment · Cartoon Network Development Studio Europe Internet assets Cartoon Network Video · CNN.com · CNNMoney.com · Crime Library · The Smoking Gun · Super Deluxe · bamzu Former Kids' WB · Toonami · Toonami Jetstream (50% with Viz Media) · Turner South (now SportSouth) · WRET (now WCNC-TV) For computer GameTap ^Note 1 Actually owned by the NBA, but is operated by Turner. ^Note 2 Joint venture with Mediaset. Warner Bros. v t e Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (a subsidiary of Time Warner) Feature film production Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Family Entertainment Warner Bros. Animation New Line Cinema Castle Rock Entertainment Television production and distribution The CW (co-owned with CBS) Toonzai (25%, with 4Kids Entertainment (50%) and CBS (25%)) New Line Television Shed Media (55.75%) Telepictures Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Television (Warner Horizon Television) Warner Bros. Television Distribution Warner Bros. International Television Warner Channel (with HBO Latin America Group) WarnerTV (with HBO Asia) WB Channel (with Turner International India Pvt Ltd) Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Monolith Productions TT Games Snowblind Studios Rocksteady Studios Turbine, Inc. NetherRealm Studios DC Entertainment, Inc. DC Comics imprints DC • DC Archive Editions • Johnny DC • Mad Books • Vertigo • Will Eisner Library Miscellaneous assets DC Direct Home video Warner Home Video Warner Premiere (Raw Feed) Warner Archive Collection Miscellaneous assets The WB Kids' WB! TMZ Momlogic Flixster (Rotten Tomatoes) WaterTower Music Key People Jack Warner Harry Warner Albert Warner Sam Warner Barry Meyer Website: warnerbros.com Miscellaneous MovieTickets.com Annual revenue  USD 43.6 billion (2005) Employees 87,850 (2005) Stock symbol NYSE: TWX Website timewarner.com

Look up TNT in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

TNT is the chemical explosive trinitrotoluene.

TNT or T.N.T. may also refer to:

Arts and media[link]

Television[link]

• TNT (TV channel), American cable television channel and its international offshoots
• TNT (TV station), a television station in Launceston, Australia
• Télévision Numérique Terrestre, a French digital terrestrial television service
• TNT (Russian TV channel), Russian federal television channel
• Tuesday Night Titans, a 1980s-era World Wrestling Federation TV show

Other media[link]

• TNT (comics), an obscure 1940s superhero
• TNT (magazine), for travellers living and working in the UK
• Tamers of Nonhuman Threats, a Donald Duck comics series
• Greg Bownds, Australian professional wrestler and promoter
• TnT (professional wrestling), a tag team, consisting of Tara and Brooke Tessmacher
• Transsexual News Telegraph, a magazine

Music[link]

• T.N.T. (album), a 1975 album by AC/DC
  • "T.N.T." (song), title song from that album
• TNT (Tanya Tucker album), a 1978 album by Tanya Tucker
• TNT (Tortoise album), a 1998 album by Tortoise
• TNT (band), a Norwegian hard rock band
  • TNT (TNT album), their debut album
• TNT MC , Greek rapper

Locations[link]

• Trinidad and Tobago, a twin island republic in the Caribbean

Computing[link]

• TNT (instant messenger), an open source instant messaging client
• RIVA TNT, a computer graphics chipset by nVidia
• Template Numerical Toolkit, a C++ software library
• The NeWS Toolkit, an early Unix GUI library
• TNT ("The Neopets Team"), abreviation for the Neopets support team
• TNT ("Tree analysis using New Technology"), a phylogenetic software package
• TNT block in Minecraft used as a explosive

Organizations[link]

• TNT (clothing), an Israeli clothing company
• Team in Training, a charitable endurance sports training program serving the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
• TNT N.V., a Dutch international transport and logistics corporation now known as PostNL, and its present and past divisions
  • TNT Airways (part of TNT Express), in Belgium and Papua New Guinea
  • TNT Express, demerged from TNT N.V. in 2011; purchased by UPS in 2012
  • TNT Logistics, former name of CEVA Logistics
  • Koninklijke TNT Post, the former national postal company in the Netherlands, succeeded by PostNL
• Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters, a Philippine professional basketball team
• Tamil New Tigers, a militant Tamil organization

Other[link]

• Original ring name of professional wrestler Savio Vega
• Tornado Naked Tre, a motorcycle model range by Benelli
• Typographical Number Theory, a formal axiomatic basis for number theory in mathematics
• Taiko no Tatsujin, a Japanese rhythm game
• Troponin T, a protein
• The IATA airport code for Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

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A television channel is a physical or virtual channel over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the broadcast or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with carrier frequencies of 55.25 MHz for NTSC analog video (VSB) and 59.75 MHz for analog audio (FM), or 55.31 MHz for digital ATSC (8VSB). Channels may be shared by many different television stations or cable-distributed channels depending on the location and service provider.

Depending on the multinational bandplan for a given region, analog television channels are typically 6, 7, or 8 MHz in bandwidth, and therefore television channel frequencies vary as well. Channel numbering is also different. Digital television channels are the same for legacy reasons, however through multiplexing, each physical radio frequency (RF) channel can carry several digital subchannels. On satellites, each transponder normally carries one channel, however small, independent channels can be used on each transponder, with some loss of bandwidth due to the need for guard bands between unrelated transmissions. ISDB, used in Japan and Brazil, has a similar segmented mode.

Channel separation on over-the-air channels is accomplished by skipping at least one channel between two analog stations' frequency allocations. (There can be gaps between channels, where numbers are sequential, but frequencies are not contiguous, such as the skip from VHF low to high, and the jump to UHF.) On cable TV, it is possible to use adjacent channels only because they are all at the same power, something which could only be done over the air if the two stations were transmitted at the same power and height from the same location. For digital TV, selectivity is inherently better, therefore channels adjacent (either to analog or digital stations) can be used even in the same area.

Other meanings[link]

Commonly, the term "television channel" is used to refer to either a terrestrial television station or its cable/satellite counterpart (both outlined below). Sometimes, especially outside the U.S. and in the context of cable/satellite television, it is used instead of the term television network, which otherwise (in its technical use above) describes a group of geographically-distributed television stations that share affiliation/ownership and some or all of their programming with one another.

This terminology may be muddled somewhat in other jurisdictions, for instance Europe, where terrestrial channels are commonly mapped from physical channels to common numerical positions (i.e. BBC One does not broadcast on any particular "channel 1" but is nonetheless mapped to the "1" input on most British television sets). On digital platforms, such (location) channels are usually arbitrary and changeable, due to virtual channels.

Television station[link]

A television station is a type of broadcast station that broadcasts both audio and video to television receivers in a particular area. Traditionally, TV stations made their broadcasts by sending specially-encoded radio signals over the air, called terrestrial television. Individual television stations are usually granted licenses by a government agency to use a particular section of the radio spectrum (a channel) through which they send their signals. Some stations use LPTV broadcast translators to retransmit to further areas.

Many television stations are now in the process of converting from analogue (NTSC, PAL or SECAM) broadcast, to digital TV (ATSC broadcast, DVB or ISDB).

Non-broadcast television channels[link]

Because some regions have had difficulty picking up over-the-air signals (particularly in mountainous areas), alternative means of distribution such as direct-to-home satellite and cable television have been introduced. Television channels specifically built to run on cable or satellite blur the line between TV station and TV network. That fact led some early cable channels to call themselves superstations.

Satellite and cable have created changes. Local programming TV stations in an area can sign-up or even be required to be carried on cable, but content providers like TLC cannot. They are not licensed to run broadcast equipment like a station, and they do not regularly provide content to licensed broadcasters either. Furthermore, a distributor like TNT may begin producing its own programming, and shows presented exclusively on cable/satellite by one distributor may be syndicated to broadcast stations. The cost of creating a nationwide channel has been reduced and there has been a huge increase in the number of such channels, with most catering to a small group. See also: significantly viewed.

From the definitions above, use of the terms "network" or "station" in reference to nationwide cable/satellite channels is technically inaccurate. However, this is an arbitrary, inconsequential distinction, and varies from company to company. Indeed, the term "cable network" has entered into common usage in the United States in reference to such channels. There is even some geographical separation among "national" cable/satellite channels in the U.S., be it programming (e.g., the Fox Sports Net group of regional sports channels, which share several programs), or simply regionalized advertising inserted by the local cable company.

Should a legal distinction be necessary between a (location) channel as defined above and a television channel in this sense, the terms "programming service" (e.g. [1]) or "programming undertaking" (for instance, [2]) may be used instead for the latter definition.

A person viewing by cable or satellite might not know what kind of organization is responsible for a given program, especially if it is syndicated, so what seems to be a station or a network may be neither.

See also[link]

Look up television channel in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Barker channel
• Lists of television channels
• Television channel frequencies

v t e Telecommunications (general) History Beacons Broadcasting Communications satellites Computer networks Drums Electrical telegraphs Fax Heliographs Hydraulic telegraphs Internet Mass media Mobile phones Optical telegraphy Photophones Radio Radiotelephones Telegraphy Telephones The Telephone Cases Television Undersea telegraph lines Videophones Pioneers Edwin Howard Armstrong John Logie Baird Alexander Graham Bell Tim Berners-Lee Jagadish Chandra Bose Vint Cerf Claude Chappe Lee De Forest Philo Farnsworth Reginald Fessenden Elisha Gray Guglielmo Marconi Alexander Stepanovich Popov Johann Philipp Reis Nikola Tesla Alfred Vail Charles Wheatstone Vladimir K. Zworykin Media Coaxial cable Free-space optical Optical fiber Radio waves Telephone lines Terrestrial microwave Networks ARPANET BITNET Ethernet FidoNet ISDN Internet Local area Mobile NGN Packet switched Public Switched Telephone Radio Television Telex Wide area World Wide Web Wireless Geographic v t e Telecommunications in Africa Sovereign states Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe States with limited recognition Azawad Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland Dependencies and other territories Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla / Plazas de soberanía (Spain) Madeira (Portugal) Mayotte / Réunion (France) Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom) Western Sahara v t e Telecommunications in Asia Sovereign states Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Burma (Myanmar) Cambodia People's Republic of China Cyprus East Timor (Timor-Leste) Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen States with limited recognition Abkhazia Nagorno-Karabakh Northern Cyprus Palestine Republic of China (Taiwan) South Ossetia Dependencies and other territories British Indian Ocean Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Hong Kong Macau v t e Telecommunications in Europe Sovereign states Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales States with limited recognition Abkhazia Kosovo Nagorno-Karabakh Northern Cyprus South Ossetia Transnistria Dependencies and other territories Åland Faroe Islands Gibraltar Guernsey Jersey Isle of Man Svalbard Other entities European Union v t e Telecommunications in North America Sovereign states Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States Dependencies and other territories Anguilla Aruba Bermuda Bonaire British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Curaçao Greenland Guadeloupe Martinique Montserrat Navassa Island Puerto Rico Saint Barthélemy Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saba Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten Turks and Caicos Islands United States Virgin Islands v t e Telecommunications in Oceania Sovereign states Australia East Timor (Timor-Leste) Fiji Indonesia Kiribati Marshall Islands Federated States of Micronesia Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Dependencies and other territories American Samoa Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands Easter Island French Polynesia Guam Hawaii New Caledonia Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Pitcairn Islands Tokelau Wallis and Futuna v t e Telecommunications in South America Sovereign states Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela Dependencies and other territories Aruba Bonaire Curaçao Falkland Islands French Guiana South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands