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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

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

Anna Popplewell
Popplewell at the London premiere of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, 2008
Born	Anna Katherine Popplewell (1988-12-16) 16 December 1988 (age 23) London, England, UK
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1997–present

Anna Katherine Popplewell (born 16 December 1988) is an English film, television and theater actress. She is best known for her role as Susan Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia film series since 2005.^[1]

Early life[link]

Popplewell, eldest of three children, is the daughter of Andrew Popplewell and Dr. Debra Lomas, a dermatologist. She was born in London. She has two younger actor siblings: Lulu Popplewell and Freddie Popplewell, who starred as Michael Darling in the film Peter Pan. Her paternal grandfather, Sir Oliver Popplewell, is a distinguished former judge.^[2] She attended North London Collegiate School and was senior student 2006–07.^[3]

Career[link]

Popplewell began acting at the age of six, taking classes at the Allsorts Drama School. She began acting professionally in the TV production Frenchman's Creek in 1998. She made her film debut in 1999 in the film Mansfield Park and has since appeared in supporting roles in films like The Little Vampire (2000) and Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) with Scarlett Johansson. In 2001 she appeared as Victoria in the BBC serial Love in a Cold Climate.

Her first major role was in the film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) where she played Susan Pevensie. She has a phobia of mice, which required a double to do part of her scene at the Stone Table in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.^[4] She reprised her role in the sequel, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, in which she acted with William Moseley, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley and Ben Barnes. The film opened in cinemas 16 May 2008. She also made a cameo appearance in the third Narnia film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, despite her character's absence in the book on which it is based.

She was awarded the Cuppers Prize in 2007 for Best Supporting Actress in a student production of Five Kinds of Silence. In December 2007, she played Lady Macbeth in a student production of Macbeth at the OFS Studio in Oxford. In 2008 she performed as the character Wendla in the controversial play Spring Awakening.^[5]

Awards[link]

• 2006: Character and Morality in Entertainment Awards (Camie Awards) for Susan Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia. (Won)
• 2006: Best Movie Choice Actress award from The Teen Choice Awards. (Nominated)
• 2006: Best Ensemble Acting for The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe from the Camie Awards (Won)
• 2008. Best Film Star at Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards (Nominated)

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Anna Popplewell at the Internet Movie Database

Earvin "Magic" Johnson

No. 32
Point guard / Forward
Personal information
Born	(1959-08-14) August 14, 1959 (age 52) Lansing, Michigan
High school	Everett (Lansing, Michigan)
Listed height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)[1]
Listed weight	255 lb (116 kg)[2]
Career information
College	Michigan State (1977–1979)
NBA Draft	1979 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Pro career	1979–1996
Career history
1979–1991, 1996	Los Angeles Lakers
Career highlights and awards
5× NBA Champion (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987–1988) 3× NBA Most Valuable Player (1987, 1989–1990) 12× NBA All-Star (1980, 1982–1992) 3× NBA Finals MVP (1980, 1982, 1987) 9× All-NBA First Team (1983–1991) All-NBA Second Team (1982) NBA All-Rookie First Team (1980) 2× NBA All-Star Game MVP (1990, 1992) NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team NCAA Champion (1979) #32 Retired by Los Angeles Lakers
Career statistics
Points	17,707 (19.5 ppg)
Rebounds	6,559 (7.2 rpg)
Assists	10,141 (11.2 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player

Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers. He won a championship and an NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in his rookie season, and won four more championships with the Lakers during the 1980s. Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after announcing that he had contracted HIV, but returned to play in the 1992 All-Star Game, winning the All-Star MVP Award. After protests from his fellow players, he retired again for four years, but returned in 1996, at age 36, to play 32 games for the Lakers before retiring for the third and final time.

Johnson's career achievements include three NBA MVP Awards, nine NBA Finals appearances, twelve All-Star games, and ten All-NBA First and Second Team nominations. He led the league in regular-season assists four times, and is the NBA's all-time leader in average assists per game, at 11.2.^[3] Johnson was a member of the "Dream Team", the U.S. basketball team that won the Olympic gold medal in 1992.

Johnson was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, and enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.^[4] He was rated the greatest NBA point guard of all time by ESPN in 2007.^[5] His friendship and rivalry with Boston Celtics star Larry Bird, whom he faced in the 1979 NCAA finals and three NBA championship series, were well documented. Since his retirement, Johnson has been an advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and safe sex,^[4] as well as an entrepreneur,^[6] philanthropist,^[7] broadcaster and motivational speaker.^[8] Johnson was a part-owner of the Lakers for several years, and was part of a group that purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012.

Amateur career[link]

Early years[link]

Earvin Johnson Jr. was born to Earvin Sr., a General Motors assembly worker, and Christine, a school custodian.^[9] Johnson grew up in Lansing, Michigan, and came to love basketball as a youngster, idolizing players such as Earl Monroe and Marques Haynes,^[10] and practicing "all day".^[4]

Johnson was first dubbed "Magic" as a 15-year-old sophomore playing for Lansing's Everett High School, when he recorded a triple-double of 36 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists.^[4] After the game, Fred Stabley Jr., a sports writer for the Lansing State Journal, gave him the moniker^[11] despite the belief of Johnson's mother, a Christian, that the name was sacrilegious.^[4] In his final high school season, Johnson led Lansing Everett to a 27–1 win–loss record while averaging 28.8 points and 16.8 rebounds per game,^[4] and took his team to an overtime victory in the state championship game.^[12]

Michigan State University[link]

Although Johnson was recruited by several top-ranked colleges such as Indiana and UCLA, he decided to play close to home.^[13] His college decision came down to the University of Michigan and Michigan State University in East Lansing. He ultimately decided to attend Michigan State when its coach Jud Heathcote told him he could play the point guard position. The talent already on Michigan State's roster also drew him to the program.^[14]

Johnson did not initially aspire to play professionally, focusing instead on his communication studies major and on his desire to become a television commentator.^[15] Playing with future NBA draftees Greg Kelser, Jay Vincent and Mike Brkovich, Johnson averaged 17.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game as a freshman, and led the Spartans to a 25–5 record, the Big Ten Conference title, and a berth in the 1978 NCAA Tournament.^[4] The Spartans reached the Elite Eight, but lost narrowly to eventual national champion Kentucky.^[16]

During the 1978–79 season, Michigan State again qualified for the NCAA Tournament, where they advanced to the championship game and faced Indiana State University, which was led by senior Larry Bird. In what was the most-watched college basketball game ever,^[17] Michigan State defeated Indiana State 75–64, and Johnson was voted Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.^[12] After two years in college, during which he averaged 17.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.9 assists per game, Johnson was drafted in the 1979 NBA Draft.^[18]

Professional career[link]

Rookie season in the NBA (1979–80)[link]

Johnson was drafted first overall in 1979 by the Los Angeles Lakers. Johnson said that what was "most amazing" about joining the Lakers was the chance to play alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,^[19] the team's 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) center who became the leading scorer in NBA history.^[20] Despite Abdul-Jabbar's dominance, he had failed to win a championship with the Lakers, and Johnson was expected to help them achieve that goal.^[21] Johnson averaged 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game for the season, was selected to the NBA All-Rookie Team, and was named an NBA All-Star Game starter.^[22]

The Lakers compiled a 60–22 record in the regular season and reached the 1980 NBA Finals,^[23] in which they faced the Philadelphia 76ers, who were led by forward Julius Erving. The Lakers took a 3–2 lead in the series, but Abdul-Jabbar, who averaged 33 points a game in the series,^[24] sprained his ankle in Game 5 and could not play in Game 6.^[21] Paul Westhead decided to start Johnson at center in Game 6; Johnson recorded 42 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals in a 123–107 win, while playing guard, forward, and center at different times during the game.^[21] Johnson became the only rookie to win the NBA Finals MVP award,^[21] and his clutch performance is still regarded as one of the finest in NBA history.^[5][25][26] He also became one of four players to win NCAA and NBA championships in consecutive years.^[27]

Ups and downs (1980–83)[link]

Early in the 1980–81 season, Johnson was sidelined after he suffered torn cartilage in his left knee. He missed 45 games,^[18] and said that his rehabilitation was the "most down" he had ever felt.^[28] Johnson returned before the start of the 1981 playoffs, but the Lakers' then-assistant and future head coach Pat Riley later said Johnson's much-anticipated return made the Lakers a "divided team".^[29] The 54-win Lakers faced the 40–42 Houston Rockets in the first round of playoffs,^[30][31] where Houston upset the Lakers 2–1 after Johnson airballed a last-second shot in Game 3.^[32]

During the off-season, Johnson signed a 25-year, $25-million contract with the Lakers, which was the highest-paying contract in sports history up to that point.^[33] At the beginning of the 1981–82 season, Johnson had a heated dispute with Westhead, who Johnson said made the Lakers "slow" and "predictable".^[34] After Johnson demanded to be traded, Lakers owner Jerry Buss fired Westhead and replaced him with Riley. Although Johnson denied responsibility for Westhead's firing,^[35] he was booed across the league, even by Lakers' fans.^[4] Despite his off-court troubles, Johnson averaged 18.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 9.5 assists, and a league-high 2.7 steals per game, and was voted a member of the All-NBA Second Team.^[18] He also joined Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson as the only NBA players to tally at least 700 points, 700 rebounds, and 700 assists in the same season.^[12] The Lakers advanced through the 1982 playoffs and faced Philadelphia for the second time in three years in the 1982 NBA Finals. After a triple-double from Johnson in Game 6, the Lakers defeated the Sixers 4–2, as Johnson won his second NBA Finals MVP award.^[36] During the championship series against the Sixers, Johnson averaged 16.2 points on .533 shooting, 10.8 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 2.5 steals per game.^[37] Johnson later said that his third season was when the Lakers first became a great team,^[38] and he credited their success to Riley.^[39]

During the 1982–83 NBA season, Johnson averaged 16.8 points, 10.5 assists, and 8.6 rebounds per game and earned his first All-NBA First Team nomination.^[18] The Lakers again reached the Finals, and for a third time faced the Sixers, who featured center Moses Malone as well as Erving.^[40] With Johnson's teammates Norm Nixon, James Worthy and Bob McAdoo all hobbled by injuries, the Lakers were swept by the Sixers, and Malone was crowned the Finals MVP.^[40] In a losing effort against Philadelphia, Johnson averaged 19.0 points on .403 shooting, 12.5 assists, and 7.8 rebounds per game.^[41]

Battles against the Celtics (1983–87)[link]

Johnson battling with Bird for rebounding position in Game 2 of the 1985 NBA Finals at Boston Garden.

In Johnson's fifth season, he averaged a double-double of 17.6 points and 13.1 assists, as well as 7.3 rebounds per game.^[18] The Lakers reached the Finals for the third year in a row, where Johnson's Lakers and Bird's Celtics met for the first time in the post-season.^[42] The Lakers won the first game, and led by two points in Game 2 with 18 seconds to go, but after a layup by Gerald Henderson, Johnson failed to get a shot off before the final buzzer sounded, and the Lakers lost 124–121 in overtime.^[42] In Game 3, Johnson responded with 21 assists in a 137–104 win, but in Game 4, he again made several crucial errors late in the contest. In the final minute of the game, Johnson had the ball stolen by Celtics center Robert Parish, and then missed two free throws that could have won the game. The Celtics won Game 4 in overtime, and the teams split the next two games. In the decisive Game 7 in Boston, as the Lakers trailed by three points in the final minute, opposing point guard Dennis Johnson stole the ball from Johnson, a play that effectively ended the series.^[42] Friends Isiah Thomas and Mark Aguirre consoled him that night, talking until the morning in his Boston hotel room amidst fan celebrations on the street.^[43][44] During the Finals, Johnson averaged 18.0 points on .560 shooting, 13.6 assists, and 7.7 rebounds per game.^[45] Johnson later described the series as "the one championship we should have had but didn't get".^[46]

In the 1984–85 regular season, Johnson averaged 18.3 points, 12.6 assists, and 6.2 rebounds per game and led the Lakers into the 1985 NBA Finals, where they faced the Celtics again. The series started poorly for the Lakers when they allowed an NBA Finals record 148 points to the Celtics in a 34-point loss in Game 1.^[47] However, Abdul-Jabbar, who was now 38 years old, scored 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in Game 2, and his 36 points in a Game 5 win were instrumental in establishing a 3–2 lead for Los Angeles.^[47] After the Lakers defeated the Celtics in six games, Abdul-Jabbar and Johnson, who averaged 18.3 points on .494 shooting, 14.0 assists, and 6.8 rebounds per game in the championship series,^[48][49] said the Finals win was the highlight of their careers.^[50]

Johnson again averaged a double-double in the 1985–86 NBA season, with 18.8 points, 12.6 assists, and 5.9 rebounds per game.^[18] The Lakers advanced to the Western Conference Finals, but were unable to defeat the Houston Rockets, who advanced to the Finals in five games.^[51] In the next season, Johnson averaged a career-high of 23.9 points, as well as 12.2 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game,^[18] and earned his first regular season MVP award.^[4][52] The Lakers met the Celtics for the third time in the NBA Finals, and in Game 4 Johnson hit a last-second hook shot over Celtics big men Parish and Kevin McHale to win the game 107–106.^[53] The game-winning shot, which Johnson dubbed his "junior, junior, junior sky-hook",^[53] helped Los Angeles defeat Boston in six games. Johnson was awarded his third Finals MVP title after averaging 26.2 points on .541 shooting, 13.0 assists, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.33 steals per game.^[53][54]

Repeat and falling short (1987–91)[link]

Before the 1987–88 NBA season, Lakers coach Pat Riley publicly promised that they would defend the NBA title, even though no team had won consecutive titles since the Celtics did so in the 1969 NBA Finals.^[55] Johnson had another productive season with averages of 19.6 points, 11.9 assists, and 6.2 rebounds per game.^[18] In the 1988 playoffs, the Lakers survived two 4–3 series against the Utah Jazz and the Dallas Mavericks to reach the Finals and face Thomas and the Detroit Pistons,^[56] known as the "Bad Boys" for their physical style of play.^[57] Johnson and Thomas greeted each other with a kiss on the cheek before the opening tip of Game 1, which they called a display of brotherly love.^[44][58][59] After the teams split the first six games, Lakers forward and Finals MVP James Worthy had his first career triple-double of 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists, and led his team to a 108–105 win.^[60] Despite not being named MVP, Johnson had a strong championship series, averaging 21.1 points on .550 shooting, 13.0 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game.^[61] It was the fifth and final NBA championship of his career.

In the 1988–89 NBA season, Johnson's 22.5 points, 12.8 assists, and 7.9 rebounds per game^[18] earned him his second MVP award,^[62] and the Lakers reached the 1989 NBA Finals, in which they again faced the Pistons. However, after Johnson went down with a hamstring injury in Game 2, the Lakers were no match for the Pistons, who swept them 4–0.^[63]

Playing without Abdul-Jabbar for the first time, Johnson won his third MVP award^[64] after a strong 1989–90 NBA season in which he averaged 22.3 points, 11.5 assists, and 6.6 rebounds per game.^[18] However, the Lakers bowed out to the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference semifinals, which was the Lakers' earliest playoffs elimination in nine years.^[65] Johnson performed well during the 1990–91 NBA season, with averages of 19.4 points, 12.5 assists, and 7.0 rebounds per game, and the Lakers reached the 1991 NBA Finals. There they faced the Chicago Bulls, led by shooting guard Michael Jordan, a five-time scoring champion regarded as the finest player of his era.^[66][67] Although the series was portrayed as a matchup between Johnson and Jordan,^[68] Bulls forward Scottie Pippen defended effectively against Johnson. Despite two triple-doubles from Johnson during the series, finals MVP Jordan led his team to a 4–1 win.^[4] In the last championship series of his career, Johnson averaged 18.6 points on .431 shooting, 12.4 assists, and 8.0 rebounds per game.^[69]

HIV announcement and Olympics (1991–92)[link]

After a physical before the 1991–92 NBA season, Johnson discovered that he had tested positive for HIV. In a press conference held on November 7, 1991, Johnson made a public announcement that he would retire immediately.^[70] He stated that his wife Cookie and their unborn child did not have HIV, and that he would dedicate his life to "battle this deadly disease".^[70] Johnson initially said that he did not know how he contracted the disease,^[70] but later acknowledged that it was through having multiple sexual partners during his playing career.^[71] At the time, only a small percentage of HIV-positive people had contracted it from heterosexual sex,^[59][72] and it was initially rumored that Johnson was gay or bisexual, although he denied both.^[59] Johnson later accused Isiah Thomas of spreading the rumors, a claim Thomas denied.^[44][73] Johnson's HIV announcement became a major news story in the United States,^[74] and in 2004 was named as ESPN's seventh most memorable moment of the past 25 years.^[75] Many articles praised Johnson as a hero, and former U.S. President George H. W. Bush said, "For me, Magic is a hero, a hero for anyone who loves sports."^[76]

Olympic medal record
Men's basketball
Competitor for  United States
Gold	1992 Barcelona	National team

Despite his retirement, Johnson was voted by fans as a starter for the 1992 NBA All-Star Game at Orlando Arena, although his former teammates Byron Scott and A. C. Green said that Johnson should not play,^[77] and several NBA players, including Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone, argued that they would be at risk of contamination if Johnson suffered an open wound while on court.^[78] Johnson led the West to a 153–113 win and was crowned All-Star MVP after recording 25 points, 9 assists, and 5 rebounds.^[79] The game ended after he made a last-minute three-pointer, and players from both teams ran onto the court to congratulate Johnson.^[80]

Johnson was chosen to compete in the 1992 Summer Olympics for the US basketball team, dubbed the "Dream Team" because of the NBA stars on the roster.^[81] During the tournament, which the USA won,^[82] Johnson played infrequently because of knee problems, but he received standing ovations from the crowd, and used the opportunity to inspire HIV-positive people.^[15]

Post-Olympics and later life[link]

Before the 1992–93 NBA season, Johnson announced his intention to stage an NBA comeback. After practicing and playing in several pre-season games, he returned to retirement before the start of the regular season, citing controversy over his return sparked by opposition from several active players.^[12] During his retirement, Johnson has written a book on safer sex, run several businesses, worked for NBC as a commentator, and toured Asia and Australia with a basketball team that comprised former college and NBA players.^[4]

He returned to the NBA as coach of the Lakers near the end of the 1993–94 NBA season, replacing Randy Pfund. After losing five of six games, Johnson announced he would resign after the season, choosing instead to purchase a 5% share of the team in June 1994.^[4] In the following season, at the age of 36, Johnson attempted another comeback as a player. Playing power forward, he averaged 14.6 points, 6.9 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game in the last 32 games of the season.^[18] After the Lakers lost to the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs,^[83] Johnson retired permanently, saying, "I am going out on my terms, something I couldn't say when I aborted a comeback in 1992."^[12]

Off the court[link]

Magic Johnson's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Personal life[link]

Johnson first fathered a son in 1981, when Andre Johnson was born to Melissa Mitchell. Although Andre was raised by his mother, he visited Johnson each summer, and as of October 2005 was working for Magic Johnson Enterprises as a marketing director.^[6] In 1991, Johnson married Earlitha "Cookie" Kelly in a small wedding in Lansing which included guests Thomas, Aguirre, and Herb Williams.^[84] Johnson and Cookie have one son, Earvin III;^[6] the couple adopted a daughter, Elisa, in 1995.^[85] Johnson resides in Dana Point, California.^[86]

Media figure and business interests[link]

In 1998, Johnson hosted a late night talk show on the Fox network called The Magic Hour, but the show was canceled after two months because of low ratings.^[87] He runs Magic Johnson Enterprises, a company that has a net worth of $700 million;^[6] its subsidiaries include Magic Johnson Productions, a promotional company; Magic Johnson Theaters, a nationwide chain of movie theaters; and Magic Johnson Entertainment, a movie studio.^[88] Johnson has also worked as a motivational speaker.^[8] Johnson was an NBA commentator for Turner Network Television for seven years,^[89] before becoming a studio analyst for ESPN's NBA Countdown in 2008.^[90] In 1994, Johnson became a minority owner of the Lakers, having reportedly paid more than $10 million for part ownership. He also held the title of team vice president.^[91] Johnson sold his ownership stake in the Lakers in October 2010.^[92] In 2006 Johnson created a contract food service with Sodexo USA called Sodexo-Magic.^[93]

Los Angeles Dodgers[link]

In January 2012, Johnson joined with Guggenheim Partners and Stan Kasten in a bid for ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.^[94] In March 2012, Johnson's ownership group was announced as the winner of the proceedings to buy the Dodgers.^[95]

Politics[link]

Johnson is a supporter of the Democratic Party—in 2006, he publicly endorsed Phil Angelides for governor of California,^[96] and in 2007 he supported Hillary Clinton for president of the United States.^[97] In 2010 Johnson endorsed Barbara Boxer in her race for re-election.^[98]

HIV activism[link]

In 2003, Johnson met with Nancy Pelosi to discuss federal assistance for those with AIDS.

After announcing his infection in November 1991, Johnson created the Magic Johnson Foundation to help combat HIV,^[99] although he later diversified the foundation to include other charitable goals.^[100] In 1992, he joined the National Commission on AIDS, but left after eight months, saying that the commission was not doing enough to combat the disease.^[99] He was also the main speaker for the United Nations (UN) World AIDS Day Conference in 1999,^[100] and has served as a United Nations Messenger of Peace.^[101]

HIV had been associated with drug addicts and homosexuals,^[99] but Johnson's campaigns sought to show that the risk of infection was not limited to those groups. Johnson stated that his aim was to "help educate all people about what [HIV] is about" and teach others not to "discriminate against people who have HIV and AIDS".^[100] Johnson was later criticized by the AIDS community for his decreased involvement in publicizing the spread of the disease.^[99][100]

To prevent his HIV infection from progressing to AIDS, Johnson takes a daily combination of drugs.^[102] He has advertised GlaxoSmithKline's drugs,^[103] and partnered with Abbott Laboratories to publicize the fight against AIDS in African American communities.^[102]

Career achievements[link]

Johnson's number 32 jersey was retired by the Lakers in 1992.

In 905 NBA games, Johnson scored 17,707 points, 6,559 rebounds, and 10,141 assists, translating to career averages of 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 11.2 assists per game, the highest assists per game average in NBA history.^[18] Johnson shares the single-game playoff record for assists (24),^[104] holds the Finals record for assists in a game (21),^[104] and has the most playoff assists (2,346).^[105] He holds the All-Star Game single-game record for assists (22), and the All-Star Game record for career assists (127).^[104] Johnson introduced a fast-paced style of basketball called "Showtime", described as a mix of "no-look passes off the fastbreak, pin-point alley-oops from halfcourt, spinning feeds and overhand bullets under the basket through triple teams."^[4] Fellow Lakers guard Michael Cooper said, "There have been times when [Johnson] has thrown passes and I wasn't sure where he was going. Then one of our guys catches the ball and scores, and I run back up the floor convinced that he must've thrown it through somebody."^[4][12] Johnson was exceptional because he played point guard despite being 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), a size reserved normally for frontcourt players.^[4] He combined the size of a power forward, the one-on-one skills of a swingman, and the ball handling talent of a guard, making him one of the most dangerous triple-double threats of all time; his 138 triple-double games are second only to Oscar Robertson's 181.^[106]

For his feats, Johnson was voted as one of the 50 Greatest Players of All Time by the NBA in 1996,^[107] and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.^[108] ESPN's SportsCentury ranked Johnson #17 in their "50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century"^[109] In 2006, ESPN.com rated Johnson the greatest point guard of all time, stating, "It could be argued that he's the one player in NBA history who was better than Michael Jordan."^[5] Several of his achievements in individual games have also been named among the top moments in the NBA.^{[26][110][111]}

Rivalry with Larry Bird[link]

Johnson and Larry Bird were first linked as rivals after Johnson's Michigan State squad defeated Bird's Indiana State team in the 1979 NCAA finals. The rivalry continued in the NBA, and reached its climax when Boston and Los Angeles met in three out of four NBA Finals from 1984 to 1987. Johnson asserted that for him, the 82-game regular season was composed of 80 normal games, and two Lakers–Celtics games. Similarly, Bird admitted that Johnson's daily box score was the first thing he checked in the morning.^[80]

Several journalists hypothesized that the Johnson–Bird rivalry was so appealing because it represented many other contrasts, such as the clash between the Lakers and Celtics, between Hollywood flashiness ("Showtime") and Boston/Indiana blue collar grit ("Celtic Pride"), and between blacks and whites.^[112][113] The rivalry was also significant because it drew national attention to the faltering NBA. Prior to Johnson and Bird's arrival, the NBA had gone through a decade of declining interest and low TV ratings.^[114] With the two future Hall of Famers, the league won a whole generation of new fans,^[115] drawing both traditionalist adherents of Bird's dirt court Indiana game and those appreciative of Johnson's public park flair. Sports journalist Larry Schwartz of ESPN asserted that Johnson and Bird saved the NBA from bankruptcy.^[12]

Despite their on-court rivalry, Johnson and Bird became close friends during the filming of a 1984 Converse shoe advertisement that depicted them as enemies.^[116][117] Johnson appeared at Bird's retirement ceremony in 1992, and described Bird as a "friend forever";^[80] during Johnson's Hall of Fame ceremony, Bird formally inducted his old rival.^[115]

Works[link]

Biographies[link]

Johnson's autobiography is Johnson, Earvin (1992). Magic Johnson: My Life. Random House. ISBN 0-449-22254-3.  Other biographies include:

• Haskins, James (1981). Magic: A Biography of Earvin Johnson. Hillside, New Jersey: Enslow Publishers. ISBN 0-89490-044-7. 
• Gutman, Bill (1991). Magic: More Than a Legend. New York, New York: Harper Paperbacks. ISBN 0-06-100542-8. 
• Morgan, Bill (1991). The Magic: Earvin Johnson. ISBN 0-606-01895-6. 
• Gutman, Bill (1992). Magic Johnson: Hero On and Off the Court. Brookfield, Connecticut: Millbrook Press. ISBN 1-56294-287-5. 
• Johnson, Rick L. (1992). Magic Johnson: Basketball's Smiling Superstar. New York, New York: Dillon Press. ISBN 0-87518-553-3. 
• Rozakis, Laurie (1993). Magic Johnson: Basketball Immortal. Vero Beach, Florida: Rourke Enterprises. ISBN 0-86592-025-7. 
• Schwabacher, Martin (1993). Magic Johnson (Junior World Biographies). New York, New York: Chelsea Juniors. ISBN 0-7910-2038-X. 
• Bork, Günter (1994). Die großen Basketball Stars. Copress-Verl. ISBN 3-7679-0369-5.  (German)
• Frank, Steven (1994). Magic Johnson (Basketball Legends). New York, New York: Chelsea House Publishers. ISBN 0-7910-2430-X. 
• Bork, Günter (1995). Basketball Sternstunden. Copress-Verl. ISBN 3-7679-0456-X.  (German)
• Blatt, Howard (1996). Magic! Against The Odds. New York, New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-00301-1. 
• Rosner, Mark (1999). Michael MacCambridge. ed. Earvin "Magic" Johnson: The Star of Showtime. New York: Hyperion ESPN Books. pp. 251–52.  (In ESPN SportsCentury)
• Gottfried, Ted (2001). Earvin Magic Johnson: Champion and Crusader. New York, New York: F. Watts. ISBN 0-531-11675-1. 

Instructional[link]

• Johnson, Earvin "Magic" (1992). Magic's Touch: From Fundamentals to Fast Break With One of Basketball's All-Time Greats. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co. ISBN 0-201-63222-5. 
• Johnson, Earvin "Magic" (1996). What You Can Do to Avoid AIDS. New York: Times Books. ISBN 0-8129-2844-X. 
  • Updated version of Johnson, Earvin "Magic" (1992). Unsafe Sex in the Age of AIDS. New York: Times Books. ISBN 0-8129-2063-5. 

See also[link]

• List of National Basketball Association career assists leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career steals leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff rebounding leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff assists leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff steals leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association players with most assists in a game
• List of National Basketball Association players with most steals in a game

References[link]