In American television terminology, a fourth network is a reference to a fourth broadcast (over-the-air) television network, as opposed to the Big Three television networks that dominated US TV from the 1950s to the 1990s: ABC, CBS, and NBC.

When the US television industry was in its infancy in the 1940s, there were four major full-time TV networks that operated across the country: ABC, CBS. NBC, and the DuMont Television Network. Never able to find solid financial ground, DuMont ceased broadcasting in 1956. Later, many companies operated TV networks which aspired to compete against the Big Three. However, between the 1950s and the 1980s, none of these start-ups endured. After decades of these failed "fourth networks", many TV industry insiders believed a viable fourth network was impossible. TV critics grew jaded. "Industry talk about a possible full-time, full-service, commercial network structured like the existing big three, ABC, CBS and NBC, pops up much more often than the fictitious town of Brigadoon," one critic wrote.^[1]

The 1986 launch of the Fox Broadcasting Company was met with ridicule. Despite the industry skepticism and initial network instability, the Fox network eventually proved profitable by the early '90s, becoming the first successful fourth network and eventually surpassing the Big Three networks in ratings.

Background[link]

In the 1940s, four television networks began operations by linking local TV stations together via AT&T's coaxial cable telephone network. The linking allowed stations to share television programs across great distances, and allowed advertisers to air television commercials nationally. Local stations became affiliates of one or more of the four networks. These four networks — the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), and the DuMont Television Network — would be the only full-time TV networks during the 1940s and 1950s, for in 1948, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) suspended approvals for new station construction permits. Although other companies — including Paramount and Mutual — announced network plans or began limited network operations, these companies withdrew from TV after the first few years.^[2][3][4]

The FCC's "freeze", as it was called, was supposed to last for six months. When it was lifted in 1952, there were only four full-time television networks. The FCC would only license three local VHF stations in each TV market in the US. A fourth station, the FCC ruled, would have to broadcast on the UHF band. Hundreds of new UHF stations began operations, but these stations quickly folded because TV set manufacturers weren't required to include a UHF tuner until 1964. Most viewers couldn't receive UHF stations, and advertisers wouldn't advertise on stations which no one could view. Without advertising revenue, UHF station owners either returned their station licenses to the FCC, or cut operating costs in attempts to stay in business.

Since there were four networks but only three VHF stations in most major US cities, one network would be forced to broadcast on an unwatched UHF outlet. NBC and CBS had been the largest, most successful broadcasters in radio. As they began bringing their popular radio programs and stars into the TV medium, they sought—and attracted—the most profitable VHF television stations. In many areas, ABC and DuMont were left with undesirable UHF stations, or were forced to affiliate with NBC or CBS stations on a part-time basis. ABC was near bankruptcy in 1952; DuMont's network was unprofitable after 1953.

On August 6, 1956, DuMont ceased regular network operations; the end of DuMont allowed ABC to experience a profit increase of 40% that year, although ABC would not reach parity with NBC and CBS until the 1970s. The end of the DuMont Network left many UHF stations without a reliable source of programming. Several new television companies were formed through the years in failed attempts to band these stations together in a new fourth network.

Rationale[link]

Some within the industry felt there was a need for a fourth network; that complaints about diversity in programming could be addressed by adding another network. "We need a fourth, a fifth, and a sixth network," one broadcaster stated.^[1] While critics rejected "the nightly tripe being offered the public on the three major networks," they were skeptical that a fourth network would offer better material: "[O]ne wonders if a new network lacking the big money already being spread three ways will be able to come up with tripe that is equal. Certainly a new network is not going to stress quality programming when the ratings indicate that the American public prefer hillbillies, cowboys and spies. A new network will have to deliver an audience if it is to attract the big spenders from the ranks of sponsors."^[5]

Advertisers, too, called for the creation of a fourth network. Representatives from Procter and Gamble and General Foods, two of the largest advertisers in the US, hoped the competition from a fourth network would lower advertising rates on the Big Three.^[6] Independent TV producers, too, called for a fourth network after battles with the Big Three.^[7]

Failed attempts[link]

1950s[link]

George Fox Organization network[link]

George Fox, the president of the George Fox Organization, announced tentative plans for a television film network in May 1956. The plan was to sign 45-50 affiliate stations; each of these stations would have a voice in deciding what programs the network would air. Four initial programs, Jack for Jill, I'm the Champ, Answer Me This, and It's a Living, were slated to be aired; the programs would be filmed in Hollywood. However, only 17 stations had agreed to affiliate in May.^[8] The film network never made it off the ground, and none of the planned programs aired.

Sports Network/Hughes Network[link]

Also in 1956, Dick Bailey founded the Sports Network, a specialty TV network which aired only sports television programs. Millionaire Howard Hughes purchased the television network in 1968, changing the name to the Hughes Television Network. Speculation abounded that Hughes would add non-sports programs to the line-up, launching a fourth network. One television critic speculated "If Hughes does have the exciting sports programs they can change viewer's dialing habits. If dialing habits are changed might he extend his network facilities to include nonsport programming? It would be one way, less costly and with far less of a risk, to start the illusionary fourth network."^[9]

Despite the speculation, the Hughes Network never offered non-sports programs and never developed into a fourth major TV network.

NTA Film Network[link]

On October 15, 1956, National Telefilm Associates launched the NTA Film Network, a syndication service which distributed both films and television programs to independent television stations and stations affiliated with NBC, CBS, or ABC; the network had signed agreements with over 100 affiliate stations.^[10] The ad-hoc network's flagship station was WNTA-TV, channel 13 in New York.^[11] The NTA Network was launched as a "fourth TV network", and trade papers of the time referred to it as a new TV network.^[12]

The NTA Film Network offered dozens of programs to its affiliates, among them sitcom How to Marry a Millionaire (1957–1959),^[13] Western Man Without a Gun (1957–1959),^[13] sitcom This is Alice (1958–1959), Peabody Award winner Play of the Week (1959–1961),^[14] sports show The Bill Corum Sports Show (circa 1957), religious program Man's Heritage (circa 1957), The Passerby (circa 1957),^[15] courtroom drama Divorce Court (1957–1969),^[16] mystery Official Detective (1957–1958), talk show Open End (1958–1961), swashbuckler William Tell (1958–1959), adventure series Assignment: Underwater (1959–1960), cartoon Q. T. Hush (1960–1961), drama Sheriff of Cochise (later retitled U.S. Marshall, 1956–1958),^[17] Alex in Wonderland (1959),^[18] news program Newsbeat (1959–1961)^[19] and musical program Mantovani (1959).

Among its 1956–1957 offerings were 52 Twentieth Century-Fox films.^[11] Premiere Performance, a prime time block of Twentieth Century-Fox films, aired from 1957–1959. Other film blocks included TV Hour of Stars^[20] and The Big Night (both 1958–1959).^[21] The film network also announced provisional plans to telecast live sporting and special events (using network relays) by the 1959–1960 television season.^[22]

Despite this major fourth network effort, by 1961 WNTA-TV was losing money, and the network's flagship station was sold to the Educational Broadcasting Corporation that November. WNTA-TV became WNDT (later WNET), flagship station of the National Educational Television network, a forerunner of PBS.^[23] NTA network operations did not continue without a flagship station, although parent company National Telefilm Associates continued syndication services. Divorce Court was seen as late as 1969.

1960s[link]

Pat Weaver's network[link]

Pat Weaver, a former president of NBC, twice attempted to launch his own television network.^[24] According to one source, the network would have been called the Pat Weaver Prime Time Network. Although the new network was announced, no programs were ever produced.^[1]

Unisphere/Mizlou[link]

In mid-1965, radio businessman Vincent C. Piano proposed the Unisphere Broadcasting System. The service would have operated 2.5 hours each night. However, Piano had difficulty signing affiliates; a year later, no launch date had been set, and the network still lacked a "respectable number of affiliates in major markets."^[25]

The network finally launched under the name Mizlou Television Network in 1968, but the concept had changed. Like the Hughes Network, Mizlou only carried occasional sporting and special events. Despite developing a sophisticated microwave and land line broadcasting system, the company never developed into a major television network.

National Educational Television[link]

Educational television (ETV) had existed since 1952, but was poorly funded. Only a few educational television stations existed during the 1950s. By 1962, 62 educational stations were operating, most of which had affiliated with the non-commercial educational, National Educational Television (NET). That year, the US Congress approved $32 million in funding for educational television, giving a boost to the non-commercial television network. Although at the 1962 revamp of the organization, NET was branded a "fourth network",^[26] later historians have disagreed. McNeil (1996) stated, "in a sense, NET was less a true network than a distributor of programs to educational stations throughout the country; it was not until late 1966 that simultaneous broadcasting began on educational outlets."^[27]

Overmyer/United Network[link]

Millionaire Daniel Overmyer built a chain of five UHF stations during the mid-1960s. In late 1966, Overmyer announced plans for a new fourth network, named the Overmyer Network. The name was later changed to the United Network, but the network itself broadcast only for a single month, and aired only one program, The Las Vegas Show. The lack of reliable VHF stations helped kill the new, unprofitable network. Shortly after the network ceased operations, one critic called the network a fiasco, and likened the failure to the earlier DuMont, NTA Film Network, and Weaver network failures.^[1]

Westinghouse or Metromedia[link]

By the late 1960s, several fourth networks had vanished. TV set manufacturers were required to include a UHF tuner after 1964, and it was thought this would help UHF stations and any company hoping to band (mostly) UHF stations together in a fourth network. Two companies, Westinghouse and Metromedia, were floated in 1969 as possible fourth network entries.^[1] Westinghouse was the owner of several VHF stations and produced several series which aired on its stations and others. However, Donald McGannon, president of Westinghouse, estimated it would take $200 million each year to operate a full-time television network and a modest news department. McGannon denied his company had full network aspirations.^[1]

Metromedia, the successor company to the defunct DuMont Network, was a healthy chain of independent television stations. Although Metromedia "dabbled at creating a fourth network", the company was content with offering series to independent stations on a part-time basis, "nowhere near the conventional definition of a network".^[28]

Kaiser Broadcasting[link]

In September 1967, the Kaiser Broadcasting Company announced plans for live network operations by 1970.^[25] Kaiser owned eight UHF TV stations, most of them in large cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, and Detroit. The planned network never gained traction, and Kaiser sold the stations in 1977.

1970s[link]

In the 1970s, the "occasional" TV networks started to appear with greater frequency with Norman Lear, Mobil Showcase Network, Capital Cities Communications, Operation Prime Time, all entering the fray along with Metromedia.^[29] In 1978, SFM Media Service, who assisted with the Mobil Showcase Network, launched its own occasional network, SFM Holiday Network.^[30]

MetroNet[link]

In 1976, Metromedia teamed up with Ogilvy and Mather for a proposed linking of independent TV stations called MetroNet. The proposed programming would consist of several Sunday night family dramas, on weeknights a half-hour serial and a gothic series similar to Dark Shadows, and on Saturdays a variety program hosted by Charo. The plans for MetroNet failed when advertisers balked at Metromedia's advertising rate, which was only slightly lower than the Big Three's and low national coverage, leaving for Operation Prime Time.^[29]

Paramount Television Service[link]

In 1977, Paramount Pictures made tentative plans to launch the Paramount Television Service, or Paramount Progamming Service, a new fourth television network; its programming would have consisted of three hours a week. Paramount also purchased the Hughes Network including its satelite time.^[29] Thirty Movies of the Week would have followed Star Trek: Phase II on Saturday nights. This plan was aborted when executives decided the venture would cost too much, with no guarantee of profitability. The decision was made to transform Phase II into Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Paramount continued to produce TV programs for the Big Three networks. Paramount would eventually create a network seventeen years later with the launch of UPN.

Fox Network[link]

By 1985, there were 267 independent television stations in the US, most of which were small UHF stations.^[28] In May 1985, News Corporation paid $1.55 billion to acquire six independent television stations in major US cities from John Kluge's company, Metromedia. In October 1985, 20th Century Fox announced its intentions to form an independent television system which would compete with the three major television networks. 20th Century-Fox studios would combine with the former Metromedia stations to both produce and distribute programming. Because Metromedia was the successor company to the DuMont Network, radio personality Clarke Ingram has argued that Fox was essentially not a new fourth network per se, but DuMont "rising from the ashes".^[31] Former DuMont stations like WNYW in New York City and WTTG in Washington, D.C. became Fox stations.

The Fox network launched in 1986 with 88 affiliates, many of them UHF stations. This latest fourth network was met with ridicule by critics and with scorn by Big Three executives, who pointed out that the Fox network, like the failed television networks before it, would be seen mostly on poorly-watched UHF stations. Brandon Tartikoff gave Fox the dismissive nickname "the coat hanger network", implying that viewers would need to attach wire hangers to their TV sets to view Fox. NBC head Grant Tinker stated, "I will never put a fourth column on my schedule board. There will only be three."^[32]

By 1988, the network was still struggling, and Fox executives considered pulling the plug on the network.^[33] By 1990 Fox had cracked the top 30 in the Nielsen ratings with The Simpsons, which became the first series from a fourth network to enter the top 30 since the demise of DuMont more than 30 years earlier.^[34]

Fox became profitable by the early 1990s, and in 1994, was able to lure major affiliates away from CBS, when Fox took the rights to the NFL from CBS. No fourth network had been able to entice a Big Three affiliate to switch before. Fox became the most watched network in the US for the first time in its history in 2008.

References[link]

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A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small number of broadcast networks. Many early television networks (e.g. the BBC, NBC or CBS) evolved from earlier radio networks.

In countries where most networks broadcast identical, centrally originated content to all their stations and where most individual TV transmitters therefore operate only as large "repeater stations", the terms "television network", "television channel" (a numeric identifier or radio frequency), and "television station" have become mostly interchangeable in everyday language, with professionals in TV-related occupations continuing to make a difference between them. Within the industry, a tiering is sometimes created among groups of networks based on whether their programming is simultaneously originated from a central point, and whether the network master control has the technical and administrative capability to take-over the programming of their affiliates in real-time when it deems this necessary — the most common example being national breaking news events.

In North America in particular, many television networks available via cable and satellite television are branded as "channels" because they are somewhat different than traditional networks in the sense defined above, as they are singular operations – they have no affiliates or component stations, but instead are distributed to the public via cable or direct-broadcast satellite companies. Such networks are commonly referred to by terms such as "specialty channels" in Canada or "cable networks" in the U.S.

A network may or may not produce all of its own programming. If not, production houses such as Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures can distribute their content to the different networks, and it is common that a certain production house may have programs on two or more rival networks. Similarly, some networks may import television programs from other countries, or use archival programming to help complement their schedules.

Some stations have the capability to interrupt the network through the local insertion of TV commercials, station IDs, and emergency alerts. Others completely break away from the network for their own programming, known as regional variation. This is common where small networks are members of larger networks. The majority of commercial television stations are self-owned, even though a variety of these instances are the property of a Owned And Operated television network. The commercial television stations can also be linked with a non-commercial educational broadcasting agency. It is also important to note that some countries have installed nationwide television networks, so that individual television stations can act as common repeaters of nationwide programs.

The majority of commercial television stations are self-owned, even though a variety of these instances are the property of a Owned And Operated television network. The commercial television stations can also be linked with a non-commercial educational broadcasting agency. It is also important to note that some countries have installed nationwide television networks, so that individual television stations can act as common repeaters of nationwide programs. On the other hand, televisions networks also undergo the impending experience of major changes related to cultural varieties. The emergence of cable television network has made available in major media markets on television, programs aimed at American bi-cultural Latinos. Such a diverse captive audience presents an occasion for the networks and affiliates to advertise the best programming that needs to be aired. This is explained by author Tim P. Vos in his abstract “A Cultural Explanation of Early Broadcast” where he determines Targeted group/non-targeted group representations and also the cultural specificity employed in the television network entity. He notes: Policymakers did not expressly intend to create a broadcast order dominated by commercial networks. In fact, legislative attempts were made to limit the network’s preferred position.

As to individual stations, modern network operations centers usually use broadcast automation to handle most tasks. These systems are not only used for Broadcast programming and for video server play-out, but use exact atomic time from GPS or other sources to maintain perfect synchronization with upstream and downstream systems, so that programming appears seamless to audience viewers.

Global[link]

A major international television network is the British Broadcasting Corporation, or BBC which is perhaps most well known for its news agency BBC News. Owned by the Crown, the BBC operates primarily in the United Kingdom. It is funded by the television licence paid by British residents that watch broadcast TV and as a result, no commercial advertising appears on their networks. Outside of the UK, advertising is shown because the licence fee only applies to the BBC's British operations. 23,000 people worldwide are employed by the BBC and its subsidiary, BBC Worldwide.

United States[link]

Television in the United States has long been dominated by the Big Three television networks, ABC, CBS and NBC, but Fox, launched in 1986, has gained prominence and is now considered as part of the "Big Four." The Big Three provide a significant amount of television programs to each of their affiliates, including newscasts, prime-time, daytime television and sports television, but still have periods each day when each affiliate can air local programming, such as local news or syndicated programmes. Since the creation of Fox, the number of American television networks has grown, but the amount of programming they provide is often much less: for example, The CW Television Network only broadcasts for ten hours each week, leaving its affiliates free to broadcast a large amount of syndicated programming. Other networks are dedicated to specialist programmes, such as religious broadcasting or services in languages other than English, especially in Spanish.

The largest television network in the United States, however, is the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), a non-profit, non-commercial educational, publicly owned service. In comparison to the commercial television networks, there is no central unified arm of broadcast programming, meaning that each PBS affiliate has a significant amount of freedom to schedule television shows as they consent to.

Some public television such as Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) carry separate digital network through affiliates such as Georgia Public Broadcasting stations. In fact some programs from PBS were branded on other channels as GPB Kids, and PBS World. The way this works is by having each network sending its signal to many local affiliate television stations across the country. These local stations then air the "network feed," and millions of households across the country tune in. In the case of the largest networks, the signal is sent to over 200 stations. In the case of the smallest networks, the signal may be sent to just a dozen or fewer stations.

The way this works is by having each network sending its signal to many local affiliate television stations across the country. These local stations then air the "network feed," and millions of households across the country tune in. In the case of the largest networks, the signal is sent to over 200 stations. In the case of the smallest networks, the signal may be sent to just a dozen or fewer stations.

With the digital terrestrial television and the mandated DTV transition in the United States, several television networks have been created specifically to be transmitted on the digital subchannels of TV stations. These include Ion Life (which is almost always paired with Ion Television as most of the stations are network-owned), and ThisTV (which is carried on an assortment of unrelated stations).

Providers of pay TV generally on cable television pay the networks a certain amount per subscriber (the highest charge being for ESPN). Direct-broadcast satellite company can sell local television commercials, in which case there may be revenue sharing. Networks that consist entirely of home shopping or infomercials may instead pay the station or cable/satellite provider, which is known as brokered programming. This is especially common with low-power TV stations, and now even more so for the ones that are using this income to make the forced conversion to digital, which in turn provides them with several extra channels to transmit different program sources on.

History[link]

Television broadcasting in the United States was heavily influenced by radio, a precursor to television. Early individual experimental radio stations in the United States began limited operations in the 1910s. In November 1920, in Pittsburgh, Westinghouse launched "the world's first commercially licensed radio station", KDKA.^[1] Other companies built early radio stations in Detroit, Boston, New York City, and other areas. Radio stations received permission to transmit through broadcast licenses obtained through the Federal Radio Commission (FRC), a government entity created in 1926 to regulate the radio industry. With few exceptions, radio stations east of the Mississippi River received official call signs beginning with the letter W; those west of the Mississippi a K. The amount of programs these early stations aired was often limited, in part due to the expense of program creation. The idea of a network system which would distribute programming to many stations simultaneously, saving each station the expense of creating all of its own programs and expanding the total coverage beyond the limits of a single broadcast signal, was devised.

NBC set up the first permanent coast-to-coast radio network in the United States by 1928, using dedicated telephone line technology. The network physically linked individual radio stations, nearly all of which were independent radio owned and operated station, in a vast chain, NBC's audio signal thus transmitted from station to station to listeners across the United States. Other companies, including CBS and Mutual, soon followed suit, each network signing hundreds of individual stations on as affiliates: stations which agreed to broadcast one network's programs.

As radio prospered throughout the 1920s and 1930s, experimental television stations, which broadcast both an audio and a video signal, began sporadic broadcasts. Experimental television station broadcast license were often granted to experienced radio broadcasters, and thus advances in television technology closely followed breakthroughs in radio technology. As interest in television grew, and as early television stations began regular broadcasts, the idea of networking television signals (sending one station's video and audio signal to outlying stations) was born. However, the signal from an electronic television system, containing much more information than a radio signal (6 MHz), required a broadband transmission medium. Transmission by a nationwide series of radio relay towers would be possible but extremely expensive.

Researchers at the AT&T subsidiary Bell Telephone Laboratories patented coaxial cable in 1929, primarily as a telephone improvement device. Its high capacity (transmitting 240 telephone calls simultaneously) also made it ideal for long-distance television transmission, where it could handle a frequency band of 1 megahertz.^[2] German television first demonstrated such an application in 1936 by relaying televised telephone calls from Berlin to Leipzig, 180 km (110 mi) away, by cable.^[3]

AT&T laid the first L-carrier coaxial cable between New York and Philadelphia, with automatic signal booster stations every 10 miles (16 km), and in 1937 they experimented with transmitting televised motion pictures over the line.^[4] Bell Labs gave demonstrations of the New York–Philadelphia television link in 1940–1941. AT&T used the coaxial link to transmit the Republican national convention in June 1940 from Philadelphia to New York City, where it was televised to a few hundred receivers over the NBC station.^[5]

NBC had earlier demonstrated an inter-city television broadcast on February 1, 1940, from its station in New York City to another in Schenectady, New York by General Electric relay antennas, and began transmitting some programs on an irregular basis to Philadelphia and Schenectady in 1941. Wartime priorities suspended the manufacture of television and radio equipment for civilian use from April 1, 1942 to October 1, 1945, temporarily shutting down expansion of television networking. However, in 1944 a short film, "Patrolling the Ether", was broadcast simultaneously over three stations as an experiment.

The DuMont Television Network in 1949. DuMont's network of stations stretched from Boston to St. Louis. These stations were linked together via AT&T's coaxial cable feed, allowing the network to broadcast live television programming to all the stations at the same time. Stations not yet connected received kinescope recordings via physical delivery.

The DuMont Television Network logo.

AT&T made its first postwar addition in February 1946, with the completion of a 225-mile (362 km) cable between New York City and Washington, D.C., although a blurry demonstration broadcast showed that it would not be in regular use for several months. The DuMont Television Network, which had begun experimental broadcasts before the war, launched what Newsweek called "the country's first permanent commercial television network" on August 15, 1946, connecting New York with Washington.^[6] Not to be outdone, NBC launched what it called "the world's first regularly operating television network" on June 27, 1947, serving New York, Philadelphia, Schenectady and Washington.^[7] Baltimore and Boston were added to the NBC television network in late 1947. DuMont and NBC would be joined by CBS and ABC in 1948.

In the 1940s, the term "chain broadcasting" was used when discussing network broadcasts,^[8] as the television stations were linked together in long chains along the East Coast. But as the television networks expanded westward, the interconnected television stations formed great television networks of connected affiliate television stations. In January 1949, with the signon of DuMont's WDTV in Pittsburgh, the midwest and east-coast networks were finally connected by coaxial cable (with WDTV showing the best shows of all four networks)[1]. By 1951, the four networks stretched from coast to coast, carried on the new microwave radio relay network of AT&T Long Lines. Only a few local TV stations remained independent of the networks.

Originally, each of the four major television networks only broadcast a few hours of programs a week to their affiliate stations, mostly between the hours of 7 and 10 PM when most viewers were watching television. Most of a television station's programs were still locally produced. As the networks increased the number of programs they aired, however, officials at the Federal Communications Commission grew concerned that local television might disappear altogether. Eventually, the federal regulator enacted the Prime Time Access Rule, which restricted the amount of time that the networks could air programs; officials hoped the rules would foster the development of quality local programs, but in practice, most local stations did not want to bear the burden of producing many of their own programs, and instead chose to purchase programs from independent producers. Sales of television programs to individual local stations is called broadcast syndication, and today nearly every television station in the United States obtains syndicated programs in addition to network-produced fare.

The Fox Broadcasting Company network, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, was launched on October 9, 1986 after the company purchased the television assets of Metromedia. In the 2006–2007 television season, The CW Television Network was launched by the merger of The WB Television Network and the UPN network.

Late in the 20th century, cross-country microwave radio relays were replaced by fixed-service satellites. Some terrestrial radio relays remained in service for regional connections.

Regulation[link]

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations in the United States restricted the number of television stations that could be owned by any one network, company or individual (Concentration of media ownership). This led to a system where most local television stations were independently owned, but received programming from the network through a franchising contract, except in a few big cities that had network owned-and-operated stations (O&O) and independent stations. In the early days of television, when there were often only one or two stations broadcasting in an area, the stations were usually affiliated with several networks and were able to choose which television programs to air. Eventually, as more stations were licensed, it became common for each station to be affiliated with only one network and carry all of the "prime-time" network programs. Local stations occasionally break from regularly scheduled network broadcast programming however, especially when there is local breaking news (e.g. severe weather). Moreover, when stations return to network programming from commercial breaks, the station identification is displayed in the first few seconds before switching to the network's logo.

Another FCC regulation, the Prime Time Access Rule, restricted the number of hours of network programming that could be broadcast on the local affiliate stations. This was done to encourage the development of local programming, and to give local residents access to broadcast time. More often, the result included a substantial amount of syndicated programming, usually consisting of old movies, independently produced and syndicated shows, and reruns of network programs. Occasionally, these shows were presented by a local host, especially in programs that showed cartoons and short comedies intended for children. See list of local children's television series (United States).

Canada[link]

A number of different definitions of "network" are used by government agencies, industry, and the general public.

Under the Broadcasting Act, a network is defined as "any operation where control over all or any part of the programs or program schedules of one or more broadcasting undertakings is delegated to another undertaking or person"^[9] and must be licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

Only four national over-the-air television networks are currently licensed by the CRTC: the government-owned CBC (English) and Radio-Canada (French), French-language private network TVA, and a network focused on Canada's indigenous peoples, APTN. A third French-language service, V, is licensed as a provincial network within Quebec, but not nationally.

Currently, licensed national or provincial networks must be carried by all cable systems (in the country or province, respectively) with a service area above a certain population threshold, as well as all satellite providers. However, they are no longer necessarily expected to achieve over-the-air coverage in all areas (APTN, for example, only has terrestrial coverage in parts of northern Canada).

In addition to these licensed networks, the two main private English-language over-the-air services, CTV and Global, are also generally considered to be "networks" by virtue of their national coverage, although they are not officially licensed as such. CTV was previously a licensed network, but relinquished this licence in 2001 after acquiring most of its affiliates, making operating a network licence essentially redundant (per the above definition).

Smaller groups of stations with common branding are often categorized by industry watchers as television systems, although the public and the broadcasters themselves will often refer to them as "networks" regardless. Some of these systems, such as CTV Two, Citytv, and the now-defunct E!, essentially operate as mini-networks, but have reduced geographical coverage. Others, such as Omni or CTS, have similar branding and a common programming focus, but schedules may vary significantly from one station to the next.

Most local television stations in Canada are now owned and operated directly by their network, with only a very few affiliates still operating.

Europe, Asia, Africa and South America[link]

This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please help improve the article by updating it. There may be additional information on the talk page. (October 2009)

Most television services outside North America are national networks established by a combination of publicly funded broadcasters and commercial broadcasters.^{[citation needed]} Most nations established television networks in a similar way: the first television service in each country was operated by a public broadcaster, often funded by a TV licensing fee, and most of them later established a second or even third station providing a greater variety of content. Commercial television services also became available when private companies applied for television broadcasting licenses. Often, each new network would be identified with their channel number, so that individual stations would often be numbered One, Two, Three, and so forth.

United Kingdom[link]

The first television network in the United Kingdom was provided by the BBC, but commercial broadcasting was established in order to create a second television network. Rather than creating a single network with local stations owned and operated by a single company (as is the case with the BBC), each local area had a separate television station independently owned and operated, although most of these stations shared a number of programmes. Gradually, each of these stations formed the ITV Network.

When UHF television allowed a greater number of television stations to broadcast, the BBC launched a second network, BBC Two (and the original service was later renamed BBC One). A fourth nationwide commercial network was launched, Channel 4, although Wales introduced a Welsh-language service instead, S4C. A fifth network, currently called Channel 5, was later launched. Since the introduction of digital television, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 each introduced a number of digital-only channels. The large amount of remaining channels are operated by satellite and virgin media cable only BSkyB and free to view UKTV who operate a number of channels including Dave, GOLD, Watch, yesterday and other more specific channels

Netherlands[link]

Until 1989, Netherlands Public Broadcasting was the only television network in the Netherlands, with three stations, Nederland 1, Nederland 2 and Nederland 3. Rather than having a single production arm, there are a number of public broadcasting organizations that create programming for each of the three stations, each working relatively independently. Commercial broadcasting in the Netherlands is currently operated by two networks, RTL Nederland and SBS Broadcasting, which together broadcast seven commercial stations.

Russia[link]

Soviet era[link]

The first television network of Soviet Union appeared on 4 November 1967 when the Channel One of USSR Central Television became all-union one. Until 1989 there were six TV channels, all owned by the USSR Gosteleradio. This changed during Gorbachev's Perestroika when the first independent television network, 2×2, was launched.

1990s[link]

Following a breakup of the Soviet Union, USSR Gosteleradio ceased to exist as well as its six channels. Only Channel One had a smooth transition to the Ostankino Channel One and the network itself survived. The other 5 networks were Ground Zero. This free airwave space allowed many private television networks like NTV and TV-6 to appear in the mid-1990s.

2000s[link]

2000s were marked by the increased state intervention in Russian Television. On 14 April 2001 NTV television channel had its management changed following the expulsion of former oligarch and the founder of NTV Vladimir Gusinsky. As a result most of the star reporters left the channel. Later, on 22 January 2002, the second biggest private television network TV-6, where the former NTV staff took refuge, was shut down allegedly because of its editorial policy. Five months later, on 1 June TVS was launched, mostly consisting of NTV/TV-6 staff, only to stop airing 1 year later. Since then four biggest TV networks (Channel one, Russia 1, NTV and Russia 2) are state-owned.

Still, 2000s saw a rise of several independent TV networks like REN (its coverage increased vastly allowing it to become federal channel), Petersburg — Channel Five (overall the same), the relaunched 2×2 and others. Now the TV audience is mainly shared by 5 leading companies: Channel one, Russia 1, NTV, TNT and CTC.

Australia[link]

Australia has two national public networks, the ABC and SBS. The ABC operates eight stations as part of its main network ABC1, one for each state and territory, as well as three digital-only channels, ABC2, ABC3 and ABC News 24. SBS currently operates two stations, SBS One and SBS Two.

The first commercial networks in Australia involved commercial stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and later Perth, sharing programming, with each network forming networks based on their allocated channel numbers: TCN-9 Sydney, GTV-9 Melbourne, QTQ-9 Brisbane, NWS-9 Adelaide and STW-9 Perth together formed the Nine Network, while their equivalents on VHF channels 7 and 10 formed the Seven Network and Network Ten respectively. Until 1989, areas outside of these main cities had access to only a single commercial station, and these rural stations often formed small networks such as Prime Television. Beginning in 1989, however, television markets in rural areas began to aggregate, allowing these rural networks to broadcast over a larger area, often an entire state, and become full-time affiliates to one specific metropolitan network.

Philippines[link]

In the Philippines, in practice, the terms network, station and channel are used interchangeably as programming line-ups are mostly centrally planned from the networks' main offices, and since provincial/regional stations usually just relay the broadcast from their parent company network's flagship station (usually based in the Mega Manila area). Hence VHF networks are sometimes informally referred to by the channel number they are seen on terrestrial TV in the Mega Manila area (e.g. Channel 2 or Dos for ABS-CBN, Channel 5 or Singko for TV5, and Channel 7 or Siyete for GMA Network) while some networks have the channel numbers in their name (e.g. TV5, Studio 23 and Net 25 which are seen on channels 23 and 25 respectively).

Unlike the US where networks get programmes from various production houses, the two largest networks in the Philippines produce all their prime time programmes except for Asianovelas. Other networks adopt block-time programming whose programming arrangements are similar to the relationship between a US network and station. And also Philippines has network wars in which the fans of the 2 major networks defend their favorite channel, or when the 2 major networks produce similar and rival programming, and example of this, is when an ABS-CBN fan tells an insult on GMA (usually being called cheap), and a GMA fan would answer and make another insult (usually the answer is that ABS-CBN is mayabang, arrogant in English), and an exchange of insults would occur, usually on social networking sites, especially Facebook. In terms of programming, for example, after the launch of Showtime, GMA launched Diz Iz It!, but was cancelled due to the former's popularity, and the latter was called a copycat and cheap. But the real definition of the network wars is that the 3 networks battle for ratings supremacy.

References[link]

See also[link]

Look up television network in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Cable television in the United States
• Concentration of media ownership
• List of television networks by country
• Parent company
• Television system

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