Cable television

Home Box Office (HBO) is the first television broadcaster in the United States to be designed from the outset for cable systems and its oldest and longest-running pay television service.

Launched on November 8, 1972, HBO has been a trailblazer in pay TV, but also cable TV overall.

Some HBO innovations include the first national satellite delivery for a cable TV service, sparking the cable revolution.

For HBO, its success and popularity are built on its strategy: airing films, original series and sports.

SuperStation WTBS is the national version of the local WTBS signal, but also a trailblazer in the cable television industry, like its future sister service HBO.

One of the notable innovations for SuperStation WTBS is the first national satellite delivery for a local independent television station, sparking the basic cable revolution, like HBO as a whole.

MTV: Music Television is the first television channel in the world to present music videos around the clock.

The MTV style is a visual form that emerged during the music video boom.

A cinematic style which features fast-paced, non-linear editing, dynamic camera angles and a visually slick, flashy and glossy look, the MTV style is also used in films, television and commercials.

Having started its operations in 1981, MTV has had a significant impact in popular culture around the world, influencing music, fashion and youth trends.

Cable News Network (CNN) is the first television network in the world to offer live and uninterrupted news coverage around the clock, also one of the world's major news providers.

The CNN effect is a theory of television news.

For the CNN effect, television networks, utilizing their ability to provide live 24-hour television news coverage from around the world, play a role in deciding the actions and outcomes of events.

Headline News is CNN's spin-off channel.

While CNN blends newscasts with specialized topical and feature programs, Headline News formerly strictly focused on rolling news coverage, featuring half-hour newscasts 24 hours a day.

On television, online or in other sources, CNN is one of the world's most successful and trusted media sources for news and information.

CNN has had a significant impact in pop culture across the globe, influencing news trends.

Your 24-Hour News Source is a testament to short news updates at the top and bottom of the hour.

Inspired by CNN and CNN Headline News, Your 24-Hour News Source belongs to viewers who keep tuning in to the television set at home and who want fast-paced news coverage.

ESPN is the first television network in the world to provide live and uninterrupted coverage of sports around the clock, also one of the world's major sports providers.

Pennsylvania is the birthplace of the cable television business, active in both the United States and the world.

John Walson, Milton J. Shapp, Bill Daniels, Robert Rosencrans and Hubert Schlafly are notable cable television pioneers.

Charles Dolan, Ted Turner, Kay Koplovitz and Joseph M. Cohen are likewise notable cable television pioneers.

Bob Tarlton, Bob Magness, John C. Malone and Ken Gunter are also noted cable television pioneers.

For years until the 1980's, cable television had relied on microwave relays, local antennas and coaxial cables to improve reception in remote areas.

In fact, until the 1980's, cable TV was on a regional and rural basis.

Plus, until the 1980's, video tapes were used at the headend for programs specially-produced for a local cable company, commercial insertion and playing back content sent down the cable network.

Satellite technology in the 1980's nationalized cable TV, becoming a diverse, multi-channel platform.

What satellite technology means is that cable TV captures high-quality feeds with dish-shaped antennas and offers them to subscribers in any local geography.

The Anik A satellites, in particular Anik A1, are the world's first domestic communications satellites in geostationary orbit to receive television transmissions.

Meanwhile, Westar 1 and Satcom 1 are innovative American-made domestic satellites.

Westar 1 is the first domestic geostationary communications satellite in America, while Satcom 1 is the primary vehicle for the cable television expansion.

Service Electric was the first company for community antenna television (CATV).

Innovations from Service Electric include community antenna television systems, cable lines on utility poles, a five-channel system, distant signal importation, local programming and others.

AUSSAT, founded in 1981, is the first domestic communications satellite system in Australia.

With its first two satellites launched in 1985 via NASA's Space Shuttle, plus a third one by an Ariane rocket, AUSSAT changed telecommunications down under.

When John Walson's own Service Electric company was founded, television reception was poor due to mountain ranges blocking the signals.

To solve this problem, in June 1948, John Walson erected a big antenna on top of a nearby mountain.

In spring 1949, John Walson also added amplifiers to the cable system and started offering household connections for a fee.

Having moved to Philadelphia after WWII, Milton Shapp, in 1948, founded Jerrold Electronics, whose name was taken from his middle name.

Kenneth Alden Simons was the chief engineer at Milton Shapp's own Jerrold Electronics company.

Jerrold Electronics had innovations, like the first equipment designed for CATV systems.

For Bob Tarlton, in 1950, he made up the first cable television system to achieve not just publicity, but commercial success, using equipment from Jerrold Electronics.

Bill Daniels, not long after WWII, happened upon a Denver bar, where he saw a television set, which offered a boxing match from out-of-state.

This encounter made Bill Daniels interested in technologies bringing television over long distances.

Having gained experience from a boxing match in a Denver bar, Bill Daniels set up a microwave feed sending programs from Denver, Colorado to Casper, Wyoming in the early-1950's.

For Bill Daniels, his Casper system was the first to send broadcast signals to a microwave system.

Western Microwave Inc. and Community Television Inc. serve as the early cable companies that Bob Magness had held, doubling as precursors of Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI).

John C. Malone, hailing from Jerrold Electronics, was the President of TCI from 1973 to 1996.

Under John C. Malone, TCI was the top cable television system in the United States.

Plus, John C. Malone famously coined the term 500-channel universe to describe digital television's future.

Nicknamed Cable Cowboy and Darth Vader, John C. Malone also ran TCI's spin-off Liberty Media.

For Bob Magness, his own company Community Television Inc. acted as the cable operator, while his other company Western Microwave Inc. was a common carrier used to carry signals.

Having been a pioneer in cable television system financing, Bill Daniels had been a key figure in the business side of this industry, facilitating crucial deals and investments.

American Cable Systems is a former corporate spin-off of Jerrold Electronics, sold in the mid-1960's period to businessman Ralph J. Roberts and his partners Daniel Aron and Julian A. Brodsky.

Incorporated in 1969, Comcast is, like Service Electric and Jerrold Electronics, a pioneer in the cable television scene.

Hubert Schlafly invented the teleprompter device in 1950, and alongside Broadway theatre actor Fred Barton Jr. and media proprietor Irv B. Kahn, co-founded TelePrompTer Corporation, also in 1950.

TelePrompTer Corporation also expanded to cable in the late-1950's.

Box Office Television (BOT) was a former American subscription television service, launched in July 1953 and sold not long after to TelePrompTer.

Early television star Sid Caesar backed (and invested in) Box Office Television (BOT).

With Box Office Television (BOT), closed-circuit programs, including movies and special events, were delivered via microwave or telephone lines to movie theatres across the United States.

Plus, Box Office Television (BOT) produced programming for hotels.

Some other pay television systems used broadcast signals and required a descrambler, but Box Office Television (BOT) used direct line transmission, ensuring high quality.

Bob Rosencrans entered cable television in 1953 with Box Office Television/TelePrompTer.

Having entered the cable television scene in 1953, Bob Rosencrans founded his own company named Columbia Cable Systems, based in Washington (and in the Pacific Northwest), in 1961.

For Columbia Cable Systems, its name came from its base along the Columbia River near the Oregon border, plus Bob Rosencrans' alma mater Columbia College, run by Columbia University.

In 1972, United Artists Cablevision, which was United Artists Theatres' cable subsidiary, merged with Columbia Cable Systems, led by Bob Rosencrans, to form UA-Columbia Cablevision.

Rogers Cablesystems, a Canadian-based cable company, acquired UA-Columbia Cablevision in 1981.

Bob Rosencrans left Rogers UA Cable Systems in 1984 to found Columbia International.

Ken Gunter founded San Angelo's first cable TV system in 1961 called International Cablevision.

Having been the first cable television company in the United States to go public and be traded on Wall Street, Ken Gunter's own International Cablevision had prospered.

Jack Cole was Ken Gunter's Washington attorney, who put with him Bob Rosencrans, whose Columbia Cable Systems had 4 West Coast services.

International Cablevision merged with Columbia Cable Systems in 1969 (with United Artists acquiring this company in 1972).

During the early-1950's, Charles Dolan worked on short sports films for television syndication.

Charles Dolan's sports newsreel business was financially unsuccessful, but its potential was successful enough to be sold to to a larger rival company.

Telenews Productions, a New York-based company held by the Hearst Corporation, purchased Charles Dolan's financially unsuccesful but potential sports newsreel business.

With Telenews purchasing his initial business, Charles Dolan moved to New York at age 26.

Not long after, in 1954, Charles Dolan joined a Telenews customer to found Sterling Movies USA.

Sterling Movies USA's initial purpose was to distribute industrial movies to targeted audiences, such as conventions and hotel guests.

For Sterling Movies USA, it was the launchpad for Charles Dolan's later ventures.

Teleguide, founded in 1962, provided tourist information, news, interviews and feature interstitials to hotels, and later, apartment and office buildings in the New York area via closed-circuit TV.

Plus, Sterling Information Services was Charles Dolan's other company.

Having gained experience with Teleguide, Charles Dolan realized that, since tall buildings prevented television broadcast signals in the air, Manhattan needed cable.

Manhattan Cable, run by Sterling, was the first cable television system in America to earn cable lines located underground in urban areas, rather than via microwave antennas or on telephone poles. 

With the financial backing made by Time-Life Inc., which serves as Time's book publishing division, Sterling Manhattan Cable was one of the company's first cable outlets.

Despite investments, Manhattan Cable suffered a loss of money.

In 1969, Sterling Communications took a 49% stake in Sterling Manhattan held by Time-Life, which, concurrently, increased its share in Sterling Communications.

Also in 1969, Sterling Manhattan Cable launched its own television service dedicated to sports events from Madison Square Garden.

Later, Charles Dolan began proposing a cable television service that would provide unedited theatrical movies from major Hollywood studios and sports events without commercial breaks.

HBO started its operations on November 8, 1972 under Charles Dolan's own Sterling Communications empire as a regional service via its microwave network across the Eastern United States.

Not long after its debut on November 8, 1972, HBO and its associated outlets were spun off into a new subsidiary called Home Box Office Inc. by Sterling Communications in February 1973.

Warner Communications acquired Time's stake in Sterling in May 1973, but failed in June 1973.

July 1973 was when Time agreed to acquire Sterling Communications (and also to assume its financial liabilities), completed on September 18, 1973.

By completing the 1973 transaction, HBO and Sterling Manhattan were transferred into Time-Life.

In exchange, Charles Dolan purchased a small cable system in Nassau Country on Long Island, which served as the foundation for his Cablevision Systems Corporation in 1973.

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania was the first place in the world to have HBO upon its 1972 launch.

Upon its 1972 launch, HBO had 375 subscribers via Service Electric Cablevision in Wilkes-Barre.

Gerald Levin was HBO's programming Vice President upon its November 8, 1972 launch; on its first broadcast, he appeared to welcome 375 subscribers via Service Electric in Wilkes-Barre.

After Time Inc. purchased HBO in 1973, Gerald Levin became its President and CEO.

Nicholas J. Nicholas Jr., who was Gerald Levin's rival, became Time's President and CEO in 1986.

Developing microwave and telephone towers all across the US was cost-prohibitive for Time/HBO; its microwave network was also expansive and difficult to maintain, especially in winter.

Geographical limits also caused difficulties for HBO's microwave network.

In the fall of 1974, executives from both Time Inc. and HBO made plans to nationalize HBO.

The use of a communications satellite to directly carry HBO to cable systems all across America, both within and outside its microwave relay system, was chosen by Time Inc.

On September 30, 1975, HBO began to carry its feed via satellite across the nation.

Westar 1 was the satellite being used by HBO for its national debut using satellite distribution to cable systems on September 30, 1975.

Satcom 1 replaced the competing Westar 1 as the satellite being used to carry HBO, coming just a few months after its national debut on September 30, 1975.

Prior to HBO's uplink, since its 1948 inception, cable television had been limited and regional.

Conversely, the Big Three networks used microwave links covering all 50 US states.

HBO's satellite uplink via Westar 1, and later, Satcom 1, made it the first cable television service in the world to deliver its signal via satellite on a national basis.

Upon its launch in 1972, HBO covered northeastern Pennsylvania, before expanding to other states in America's Mid-Atlantic and New England regions, all by microwave relays.

With its satellite uplink, HBO served the Eastern, Midwest and Southern regions of the United States.

TelePrompTer extended HBO's reach to the West Coast in December 1975 through its Seattle-Tacoma cable operations, achieving coast-to-coast distribution, a historic feat for cable TV.

By December 1978, HBO covered all 50 US states.

Delivered via satellite, HBO uses separate Eastern and Pacific feeds, ensuring that programs could be presented at consistent local times across the US.

Michael J. Fuchs, who entered the entertainment scene as a lawyer, notably worked at HBO, where he pioneered the concept of programming specially-created for cable TV.

From 1984 to the mid-1990's or before 1996, Michael J. Fuchs was HBO's Chairman and CEO.

Scientific Atlanta, led by Sid Topol, and RCA Americom, run by RCA, which also owned NBC, played roles in providing equipment for HBO's satellite plan, unveiled by Gerald Levin in 1975.

UA-Columbia, held by Bob Rosencrans, had installed the first commercial satellite earth station in Fort Pierce and Vero Beach, both based in Florida's Treasure Coast, to nationalize HBO.

Assisting Bob Rosencrans in HBO's national debut was Ken Gunter.

Kay Koplovitz was the promoter for HBO's national debut; both Hubert Schlafly and Joseph M. Cohen were likewise involved in this event.

Joel Crager, who served as one of the announcers for the Big Three network ABC until the late-20th century, also went to cable with HBO in its first national years.

As one of the main staff announcers for both ABC and HBO, Joel Crager bridged the gap between the traditional Big Three television scene and the cable industry,

From its 1972 inception until 1977, HBO aired games emanating from MSG, including the New York Rangers (NHL) and the New York Knicks (NBA).

Incidentally, games from MSG were also on Sterling Manhattan Cable, also run by Charles Dolan.

The first program on HBO when launched on November 8, 1972 was an NHL match between the New York Rangers and the Vancouver Canucks.

Sometimes a Great Notion was the first film aired on HBO after the Rangers-Canucks match.

HBO World Championship Boxing is HBO's former flagship offering of live boxing matches.

Boxing After Dark and KO Nation are spin-offs of the HBO World Championship Boxing brand.

Whereas World Championship Boxing had top-tier professional boxers, Boxing After Dark had rising boxing stars, and KO Nation blended boxing with hip-hop.

Inside the NFL, which HBO originated in 1977, was cable television's longest-running program until 2021.

Gulf and Western Industries, which had owned Paramount Pictures Corporation since 1966, assumed a stake in Madison Square Garden in 1969, taking complete control in 1977.

Jack M. Rice Jr., who owned locally-based pay television companies in Atlanta, launched a television station with the call letters named in his honour.

Operating on UHF channel 17, WJRJ-TV ran on a shoestring budget and suffered technical issues.

Initially, WJRJ-TV aired a few off-network reruns, vintage films, cartoons and a local newscast.

As Atlanta's first new commercial television station in 13 years and its second indie overall, WJRJ-TV emanated from its West Peachtree Street Northwest studios, once held by WAGA-TV.

WQXI-TV launched its operations on December 18, 1954 as the first independent television station in Atlanta, having operated on UHF channel 36, but a few months later, was shut down.

Relaunched in 1969 after 14 dark years on channel 36, WATL-TV originated The Now Explosion.

Created by Bob Whitney, The Now Explosion was a concept that mixed top forty hit music tunes with video and film techniques, an early experiment in music videos before MTV.

As for the WQXI-TV call letters, they were previously used since the late-1960's era by a former ABC station (now WXIA-TV) under the Pacific & Southern Broadcasting empire.

Pacific & Southern Broadcasting had its origins in Hawaii, where KHON-TV was its flagship.

In 1973, Pacific & Southern merged with Combined Communications Corporation (CCC).

Formed in the late-1960's era, Combined Communications Corporation was based in Phoenix, Arizona, where the KTAR stations served as its flagship outlets.

John J. Louis Jr., whose father was one of the founders of the Needham, Louis and Brorby advertising agency, ran the KTAR stations that his father had purchased years ago.

Karl Eller., meanwhile, already had experience in the outdoor advertising scene in Arizona, notably as Needham, Louis and Brorby's account supervisor.

Altogether, John J. Louis Jr. and Karl Eller, both experienced at Needham, Louis and Brorby, were key figures at Combined Communications Corporation.

Gannett merged with Combined Communications Corporation.

Turner Communications Corporation, a media empire run by the eponymous Ted Turner, who was an Atlanta entrepreneur, announced an agreement to merge with Rice Broadcasting in July 1969.

Upon the FCC's approval in December 1969, the calls WTCG were chosen to replace WJRJ-TV.

When his media empire agreed to merge with Rice Broadcasting in July 1969, Ted Turner had run the billboard advertising business founded by his deceased father, plus a few radio stations.

However, for Ted Turner himself, WTCG was the first television property.

The WTCG call letters reportedly stood for "Watch This Channel Grow," although the TCG in its calls officially stood for Turner Communications Group.

During its first years under Ted Turner, WTCG retained its low-budget programming format, which its precursor WJRJ-TV used.

However, one of the main changes for WTCG under Ted Turner's ownership was its focus on financial stability and technical upgrades, like colour, which WJRJ-TV lacked.

WTCG assumed the rights to air The Now Explosion from its recently-closed originator WATL-TV.

In July 1972, WTCG obtained the broadcast rights to air Major League Baseball games involving the Atlanta Braves, effective in the 1973 season.

Plus, in 1972, WTCG obtained the broadcast rights to air NBA games involving the Atlanta Hawks.

Both the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Hawks were later sold to Ted Turner to air match-ups for his station and keep his sports franchises in Atlanta.

Furthermore, Ted Turner purchased WCTU-TV, which began earlier in the late-1960's period as North Carolina's first independent television station, around the same time he bought WTCG.

Under Ted Turner, WCTU-TV became WRET-TV, using the initials of his full real name.

When Ted Turner began to own WTCG, most American cities below the top 20 media markets lacked independent television stations with a general entertainment format.

For this reason, most American cities below the top 20 television markets largely have access to three stations affiliated with the Big Three networks and a non-commercial educational station.

In addition, cable systems in most US cities below the top 20 media markets also carried three stations affiliated with the Big Three networks and three PBS stations.

One PBS member station was available over local cable systems from within the home market in most American cities below the top 20 media markets, two from neighbouring markets.

17 Update Early in the Morning is a former newscast on WTCG with a humorous tone.

Short news updates on WTCG, under the name WTCG Update, have a more serious tone than the 17 Update program.

Under Ted Turner, WTCG began to carry its feed to cable systems using microwave antennas across the Southeastern United States in 1972, with the enactment the Prime Time Access Rule.

Following HBO's example, Turner planned to do the same for one of its television stations in December 1975, since it lacked coverage outside the Southeastern United States.

Although WTCG was the preferred choice for distribution to cable providers, WRET was a backup.

Like its future sister network HBO, Scientific Atlanta provided equipment for the satellite transmission proposal for WTCG.

Just before 1977 arrived nearly a month later, WTCG, having been selected over WRET-TV, started to distribute its signal via satellite to cable systems across the United States.

Satcom 1, used by its future sister network HBO to replace Westar 1, was being used by WTCG for its national debut using satellite distribution to cable systems.

Before its satellite uplink, WTCG used microwave relays to carry its signal on a regional basis.

However, WTCG's national satellite uplink via Satcom 1 made it the first local independent station to deliver its signal via satellite on a national level.

For WTCG, its national satellite uplink was the launchpad for basic cable, like HBO's national satellite uplink was for the satellite-delivered cable business as a whole.

With its national satellite uplink, WTCG became a superstation.

In North American broadcasting, superstation is a term used to describe independent television stations based in their originating media market being delivered via satellite on a national level.

Plus, WTCG's superstation status transformed the small-town Atlanta Braves baseball club, run by Ted Turner, into a team with a national presence, nicknamed America's Team, starting in 1977.

Meanwhile, the nickname America's Team is most famously associated with the Dallas Cowboys. 

Southern Satellite Systems (SSS) was a independent company founded by Ted Turner to distribute his Atlanta television station WTCG on a national level.

FCC regulations forbade Ted Turner from running both a television station and a satellite carrier.

Ed Taylor, hailing from Western Union, which launched the Westar 1 satellite that distributed the HBO signal nationally when uplinked in 1975, took SSS from Ted Turner for a dollar.

The SSS purchase by Ed Taylor from Ted Turner was done to comply with FCC regulations.

Not long after its national satellite uplink, WTCG changed its call letters to WTBS.

Since 1961, the WTBS calls have been used by a college radio station in Massachusetts.

According to the changes of its call letters, the TBS in the WTBS calls stood for Turner Broadcasting System, the name its parent company adopted.

For this purpose, the station began branding itself as SuperStation WTBS.

However, until October 1980, the national WTBS signal continued to sporadically use the same on-air branding as the Atlanta signal (which was referred to as WTBS Channel 17).

The short news updates on WTBS were renamed TBS NewsWatch.

In 1981, Turner decided to have all programs carried by WTBS continue on locally and nationally, but separated the feeds.

By spliting the feeds, local commercials being seen on WTBS in Atlanta were substitued with separate national commercials, direct response ads and public service announcements.

For the local Atlanta feed, by 1981, WTBS became SuperStation 17.

Meanwhile, on the national signal available outside Atlanta, by 1981, references to WTBS' over-the-air channel number were removed.

On June 29, 1981, SuperStation WTBS began using a specialized program scheduling format allowing programs to begin 5 minutes later, both past the hour and the half-hour.

This format, informally called Turner Time, was reduced in 1997 and completely ended years later.

While other broadcast and cable networks generally have programs begin at the top and bottom of each hour, SuperStation WTBS decided to have programs begin 5 minutes later.

The W being used in the SuperStation WTBS name was dropped, and SuperStation TBS was utilized to emphasize its national reach, both in the late-1980's or after 1986.

In September 1989, this SuperStation TBS on-air brand was swapped for TBS SuperStation (in order to further emphasize the strong national standing of this channel).

Just one year later, in September 1990, after the swap of its on-air branding, TBS SuperStation became simply known as TBS.

For TBS, its 3-letter branding being utilized for the national feed lasted until December 1996, when, in celebration of its 20th year on a national basis, the Superstation name, lost in 1990, was reinstated.

Super-branded blocks were also aired on TBS Superstation since December 1996.

For instance, Super TV offered weekday daytime films and series, Super Prime for primetime films and Super Weekend for films on Saturdays and Sundays, all on TBS Superstation.

Plus, WTBS was carried north of the border in Canada from 1985 to before 2008.

Meanwhile, WTOV-TV (unrelated to WTOV-TV serving the Ohio Valley), operated twice in the 1950's decade, firstly as the second built in Norfolk proper, the third in Hampton Roads.

Pat Robertson, a young televangelist, acquired the UHF license being held by the defunct and unrelated WTOV-TV in 1960, establishing the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). 

On October 1, 1961, WYAH-TV began its operations as America's first Christian television station.

From its early roots in Virginia as WYAH-TV, the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), which Pat Robertson owned, grew to become a media empire.

April 29, 1977 was when CBN launched its national extension: the CBN Satellite Service.

In 1989, a group of local investors under the name Centennial Communications purchased WYAH-TV, becoming WGNT, which stands for Great New Television (or Great Norfolk Television).

Under Centennial, WGNT had a more modern and racy programming approach than WYAH-TV.

Both HBO and TBS began on a regional basis, but became nationalized through satellite delivery.

Conversely, 1977 was when both the CBN Satellite Service and an unrelated Madison Square Garden Network began on a national satellite-delivered basic cable basis.

Initially, upon its April 29, 1977 launch, the CBN Satellite Service was commercial-free.

However, upon its September 1, 1981 relaunch, the CBN Cable Network began accepting advertising revenue.

MSG, which Gulf+Western had run since 1969 (totally since 1977), joined forces with UA-Columbia Cablevision, led by Bob Rosencrans, to start the unrelated MSG Network in September 1977.

On April 9, 1980, the national feed of the unrelated MSG Network, launched in 1977, became the USA Network, in order to expand beyond sports into a generalist service.

Besides Bob Rosencrans, Kay Koplovitz masterminded the USA Network from 1977 to 1998.

As for its local feed, a cable TV network that Madison Square Garden and UA-Columbia Cablevision have launched in 1977 remained.

Upon its April 29, 1977 launch, the CBN Satellite Service was a dedicated religious service.

On September 1, 1981, the CBN Satellite Service became the CBN Cable Network and began to offer secular programs, aside from religious ones.

This secular-religious programming mix being used by the CBN Cable Network mirrored the concept being used by CBN-owned independent stations.

Meanwhile, upon its September 1977 debut, the USA Network aired mostly sports events.

Just one year after its 1977 debut, in 1978, the USA Network broadened its scope to include children's programming, and with its April 1980 relaunch, general entertainment.

C-SPAN, of which Bob Rosencrans was an early financial backer, was seen during the daytime on the USA Network until the early-1980's.

With C-SPAN no longer being carried, the USA Network began to offer a full 24-hour service.

Between 1984 and 1986, the USA Network phased out sports in favour of general entertainment.

However, the USA Network still aired athletics, specifically pro wrestling (WWF/WWE), which was a major portion of its programming line-up.

In 1981, Rogers took UA-Columbia, which, in 1977, along with MSG, began the USA Network.

MCA/Universal and Paramount Pictures Corporation, two of the Hollywood film studios, acquired the USA Network in 1981, as well as Time Inc., which held HBO.

Gulf+Western transferred its stake in the USA Network from MSG to Paramount in 1981.

Six years after its 1981 entry, in the late-1980's, Time Inc. exited the USA Network ownership, leaving MCA/Universal and Paramount as its equal partners.

ABC had become the top-rated television network in the United States by 1978, and wanted a stronger Charlotte station.

On July 1, 1978, WSOC-TV broke with the stodgy NBC and instead joined the higher-rated ABC.

WSOC-TV is one of the two television stations held by Cox Enterprises in the Southern United States making the switch from NBC to ABC, along with its flagship station in Atlanta.

Still in Charlotte, NBC went to former indie WRET-TV, which Ted Turner ran.

For WRET-TV, it was the sole television station owned by Ted Turner to be affiliated with a Big Three network.

Having gained the NBC affiliation, WRET-TV launched its news operation called Action News, which WPVI-TV pioneered.

On July 13, 1948, United Press agreed with Fox's Movietone News service to shoot news film for local television stations across the United States.

United Press Movietone (UPMT) had endured many innovations and procedures in the news-gathering business for television.

With the BBC as its first European client, United Press Movietone became the first agency in television news to operate on a truly international level.

In the mid-1960's, UPI ended its partnership with Fox-Movietone, the latter remaining in the newsreel business, also resulting in the loss of its contract with the BBC.

Meanwhile, UPI set up a new entity of its own called United Press International News Film (UPIN).

The BBC's main domestic rival ITN joined forces with United Press International to form United Press International Television News (UPITN) in the late-1960's era.

UPI suffered financial difficulties, and in the early-1980's, sold its stake in UPITN, which was renamed Worldwide Television News (WTN) in 1985.

Stakes in WTN, which ITN partly owned, were by ABC (America) and the Nine Network (Australia).

With the other broadcasters from the British Commonwealth and the Rank Organization, the BBC also formed Visnews, with Reuters joining in 1960.

From 1957 to 1993, Visnews, based in London, served as the primary non-American competitor of the US-involved UPITN/WTN agency, which formerly had the BBC as its first European client.

Changes in Visnews came in the late-1960's period, when Rank left Visnews and Reuters took a bigger interest.

NBC, which, since 1962, had a long-term partnership with Visnews, acquired a minority interest in this London-based television news agency, effective January 1, 1989.

Television News Inc. (TVN) is a short-lived syndicated news service, offering daily news film feeds to independent television stations in the United States and Canada from 1973 to 1975.

Joseph Coors, a Colorado businessman with conservative views, owned a majority stake in Television News Inc., a conservative alternative to the Big Three networks, whose news output was liberal.

Robert Pauley, a former ABC Radio executive, was the chief executive for Television News Inc.

Visnews, a UPITN rival formed by the BBC and other Commonweath broadcasters, had owned a small stake in Television News Inc.

TVN (partly-held by Visnews, which the BBC and Reuters held) took the US business of its competitor UPITN (partly-held by ITN, which was the BBC's main domestic rival) in 1974.

In January 1975, TVN disclosed plans to change newsfeed distribution from a long-distance phone line method to a satellite delivery one, using Westar 1, which could send HBO to a national level.

Like HBO's own innovative satellite distribution proposal, TVN's plan was equally-innovative in that it marked the first full use of an American domestic satellite for television program distribution.

Having suffered financial difficulties and having not executed a proposed satellite distribution plan that would have made it a pioneer, TVN closed in 1975 after Coors withdrew its financial support.

Reese Schonfeld was a member of the UPITN personnel.

After TVN closed its doors in 1975, Reese Schonfeld founded his own newsfeed distributor named the Independent Television News Association (ITNA).

For ITNA, it successfully executed the satellite plan that TVN had pursued, but failed to materialize.

Not to be confused with the British television news provider ITN, which partly held UPITN for whom Reese Schonfeld worked, ITNA was based at WPIX in the Daily News Building in New York.

Using Westar 1, which also carried HBO for its national launch, ITNA had provided both pooled news coverage and newsfeed to independent stations in the United States.

With ITNA's successful satellite plan, Reese Schonfeld teamed up with Ted Turner (who masterminded Superstation WTBS) to develop their own concept: a 24-hour all-news station.

The concept developed by Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld was CNN. 

Countering the humorous tone of the 17 Update program on WTCG, CNN used a serious, dramatic and hard-hitting tone.

Satcom 1, which already carried other pioneering cable networks like HBO and TBS, also carried CNN upon its 1980 debut, after its intended satellite Satcom 3 failed to reach orbit and was lost.

Besides Reese Schonfeld, whose ITNA came from WPIX, Ted Kavanau, who began the first primetime newscast in New York through rival WNEW-TV, was also involved with CNN's launch.

At WNEW-TV, Ted Kavanau developed the tabloid and fast-paced news style that other indie outlets in major markets across the United States also used, as well as CNN.

Ed Turner, unrelated to Ted Turner despite sharing a surname, was also involved with CNN's launch.

In 1966, Ed Turner started the 10 p.m. news format on a non-Big Three television station in the United States through WNEW-TV's sister station WTTG.

Prior to his work at WTTG, Ed Turner worked at KWTV, where he grew up with the 10 p.m. newscast time slot he later brought to a non-Big Three television station.

For both Ed Turner and Ted Kavanau, they put the 10 p.m. news model on the map of a non-Big Three station through WNEW-TV and WTTG, which Metromedia owned.

Preparing itself for its 1980 debut, CNN recruited some news veterans from the independent television landscape rather than the Big Three networks.

Reese Schonfeld, Ed Turner and Ted Kavanau are some of the notable individuals from non-Big Three television stations who were involved in CNN's launch.

Sam Zelman, who revolutionized local news in both North America and the world with a newscast that would last 60 minutes/one hour through KNXT, was also involved with CNN's launch.

Turner Broadcasting System sold WRET-TV, which used NBC, to Group W/Westinghouse to raise the capital needed for its new venture CNN; under Group W, it was renamed WPCQ-TV.

Daniel Schorr, who was one of the later recruits of the legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow at CBS News, was CNN's first on-air employee and its Senior Washington Correspondent.

Bernard Shaw, who worked at both CBS News and ABC News, was CNN's first official news anchor.

Like Daniel Schorr, Bernard Shaw honed his craft at CBS News.

ITNA, which was a early template for CNN, both of which Reese Schonfeld co-founded, was also the company for which Daniel Schorr was hired as White House correspondent in 1977.

While at CBS News, Bernard Shaw developed his "cool under pressure" demeanor.

Having both Bernard Shaw and Daniel Schorr hail from CBS, CNN bridged the gap between the high journalistic standards they honed at broadcast television and early low-budget cable.

The husband-and-wife anchor team, coming from KOVR and KCRA, both based in Sacramento: Dave Walker and Lois Hart, delivered the first actual newscast from CNN upon its launch.

Lou Dobbs, who previously worked at KING-TV in Seattle and KTVK in Phoenix, was the last of the original anchors to leave the CNN launch team.

Mary Alice Williams, who was born in Minneapolis-St. Paul, where she began her career at KSTP, and who also came from WPIX and WNBC-TV, was also a CNN trailblazer.

Having been one of the original CNN personnel, Mary Alice Williams oversaw the building of its New York hub at the World Trade Centre.

Don Farmer and his wife Chris Curle also came to CNN from ABC, the earlier being its Washington reporter on a national basis, the latter working at WJLA-TV.

Nick Charles and Fred Hickman, both of whom started their television careers at WICS, were CNN's iconic sports anchors.

Robert Pittman entered media in the late-1960's as a radio announcer and later made his reputation as a programmer of the struggling radio stations in major markets.

Under his stewardship, Robert Pittman turned these once-ailing radio stations around.

WNBC (AM) is one of the radio stations that Robert Pittman joined in 1977.

In 1978, while a programmer at WNBC (AM), Robert Pittman produced and co-hosted Album Tracks, which was aired for fifteen minutes on NBC-owned television stations.

Due to his successful turnaround of the failing radio stations, including WNBC (AM), plus his work on television through Album Tracks, Robert Pittman joined Warner-Amex.

Like Turner, Warner-Amex is a pioneer of the basic cable TV scene. 

At Warner-Amex, Robert Pittman initially worked at The Movie Channel, but left to make up his own concept: a 24-hour radio music station, combined with the visuals of television.

MTV was Robert Pittman's own concept, launched on August 1, 1981.

Upon its debut on August 1, 1981, MTV was limited to specific northern New Jersey portions, despite being based in New York City.

The "I Want My MTV!" marketing campaign encouraged viewers not having MTV to call their local cable systems and get this channel, fueling its own national expansion.

Besides, Michael Jackson's Billie Jean was a turning point for MTV, but helped it make a profit.

With the "I Want My MTV!" campaign, as well as Michael Jackson's Billie Jean music video in heavy rotation, MTV became one of the first cable TV services to earn a full-year profit in 1984.

Premium television services, such as HBO, have established different business models earlier.

However, the successful profit of MTV proved that a 24-hour, ad-supported basic cable channel can be lucrative.

On August 12, 1981, ABC joined Group W/Westinghouse to form their own news venture.

In response, Turner launched its response to the ABC/Group W news service with its similar format.

CNN's faster-paced service CNN2, later known as CNN Headline News, started operations 19 months after its original launch.

Driving the vision for CNN2/CNN Headline News was Ted Kavanau.

The Satellite News Channel (SNC) was a joint venture between ABC Video Enterprises and Group W Satellite Communications, doubling as the first rival to CNN.

Just over one year after its launch, SNC, together with its transponders, was bought and shut down by Turner Broadcasting System.

With Turner's purchase of SNC, many cable providers carrying SNC would carry either CNN or, more frequently, CNN Headline News.

CNN produced an hour-long weeknight newscast for WTBS called the TBS Evening News.

At 10 p.m. Eastern Time, the TBS Evening News delivered national and international news stories, plus national weather and sports, due to the national superstation status being held by WTBS.

In July 1984, the TBS Evening News made the move to CNN and was relaunched as the CNN Evening News.

Meanwhile, CNN Headline News assumed production responsibilities for TBS NewsWatch.

At first, TBS NewsWatch was produced in-studio with an on-screen anchor format by WTBS, but with CNN Headline News, changed to video content with voice narration.

The CNN Headline News simulcasts were also aired on SuperStation WTBS.

By loosening the public affairs programming requirements held by the FCC, both the TBS NewsWatch segments and the CNN Headline News simulcasts were phased out in 1996.

The first two CNN presidents, like Reese Schonfeld, came from UPITN, a joint venture between United Press International and ITN.

Georgia-born Tom Johnson was the third CNN president, hailing from the Los Angeles Times.

During its first decade, CNN lagged behind the established evening newscasts being aired on network television in the United States.

However, CNN's coverage of the first Gulf War made it a major force in 24-hour television news.

Whilst other broadcasters lost communication links, CNN used a working four-wire telephone line that allowed them to broadcast live from Baghdad during the first Gulf War.

Robert Wiener and Eason Jordan installed a link from Baghdad to CNN during the first Gulf War.

The trio that comprised Bernard Shaw, Peter Arnett and John Holliman brought CNN to unprecedented success and popularity during Operation Desert Storm, due to Robert Wiener's telephone link.

Peter Arnett was the sole CNN voice from Al-Rashid after Bernard Shaw and John Holliman left.

Beyond North America, CNN International distributed the American counterpart's coverage of the first Gulf War to many other countries around the world.

Global broadcasters aired CNN's coverage of the first Gulf War, some in the Arab world, where, before this conflict, television news was state-controlled and state-run.

The success of the first Gulf War, as covered by CNN, spurred Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, a Saudi businessman educated in the United States, to begin MBC as part of his ARAvision group.

London, England was chosen as the base for the first headquarters of Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim's MBC service.

Having been MBC's first site, London had freedom of press and a neutral and independent territory.

Except Lebanon, television stations around the Arab world were state-controlled and used prerecorded news coverage, often focusing on government announcements and.ceremonial events.

Backed by Saleh Kamel and the Saudi royals, Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim's MBC had professional Western-made broadcast production standards previously unused in the Arab world.

The 1986 Space Shuttle tragedy and the Jessica McClure rescue also contributed to CNN shedding its initially-derided perception, besides the first Gulf War.

Fionnuala Sweeney, who was a journalist at RTÉ since the late-1980's after a stint at pirate radio, also served as the host of the 1993 Eurovision Song Contest.

Incidentally, hosting the 1993 Eurovision Song Contest, presented by RTÉ, was Fionnuala Sweeney's worldwide breakthrough, making her known to a wider audience outside Ireland.

Besides, Fionnuala Sweeney worked at CNN for 21 years from the mid-1990's to the mid-2010's.

Hired by CNN, a year after her Eurovision breakthrough, Fionnuala Sweeney bridged the gap between Eurovision's glitzy and glamorous entertainment and CNN's serious global news and information.

WPIX was the originating station for Independent Network News (INN), which was the national news extension of the television service of the New York Daily News.

Just before INN's launch, WPIX reunited Bill Jorgensen with John Corporon, both of whom came from WNEW-TV, where they launched New York's first primetime newscast in the late-1960's.

Having been a national news alternative for non-Big Three television stations in the United States, INN started on June 9, 1980, 8 days after CNN's launch on June 1.

Incidentally, Ted Kavanau, who also came from WNEW-TV, developed the tabloid and fast-paced news style that other non-Big Three outlets and CNN used in the late-1960's.

Besides Bill Jorgensen, Steve Bosh and Pat Harper also co-anchored INN.

Responding to competitive pressure from CNN and INN, both of which provided more comprehensive national news alternatives for independent stations, ITNA closed its doors.

Distributed by Tribune Entertainment, INN was seen over non-Big Three stations that lacked in-house production capabilities for a news program.

SSS launched the Satellite Program Network (SPN), which became Tempo Television.

Tempo Television's transponder space was sold by SSS to NBC in the late-1980's, and NBC used it to launch the Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) in 1989.

Roger Ailes was hired by NBC in August 1993 to be the President of CNBC, tasked by NBC CEO Bob Wright to turn around this then-ailing channel.

Despite Roger Ailes' short reign as its president, CNBC made its turnaround; its spin-off channel called America's Talking, which Roger Ailes created, had low-budget discussion programs.

In January 1996, NBC announced plans to partner with Microsoft to begin MSNBC, both on cable and online, with the satellite transponder that America's Talking used, ending the latter network's life.

Having disagreed over NBC's decision to partner with Microsoft to start MSNBC, Roger Ailes left and moved from NBC to Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation empire to launch Fox News Channel.

Both MSNBC and Fox News Channel were the first rivals to CNN since SNC folded.

Incidentally, Reese Schonfeld and Roger Ailes, both involved with the former TVN news film service, played roles in guiding CNN, CNBC, MSNBC (using the AT transponder) and Fox News.

During its initial years, from 1996 to 2002, Fox News lagged behind CNN, but still made its first steps towards surpassing the latter.

Since January 2002, Fox News has officially been the top-rated news channel in the United States.

9/11 and its aftermath were the catalysts for Fox News officially earning the ratings crown in January 2002.

Although he left (and died), Roger Ailes' own influence on Fox News (the "Fox look" and pacing) still remains; it shifts towards personality-driven digital content, however.

For HBO, TBS and CNN, they are pioneers in satellite-delivered cable television.

Charles Dolan was to cable infrastructure in urban areas and non-commercial premium television what Ted Turner was to superstations and 24-hour news channels.

In October 1996, Turner merged with Time Warner, which ran 20% of the earlier's stake in the past.

HBO, Cinemax, TBS, CNN, CNN Headline News and TNT became sister channels with the 1996 Time Warner/Turner merger.

Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam is a documentary that won two Primetime Emmys.

HBO's Emmy Award-winning documentary special Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam proved that cable TV could compete with and beat traditional network TV for top industry honours.

Let's Get Ready to Rumble is an iconic and famous catchphrase being used by ring announcer Michael Buffer.

The World Wrestling Federation (WWF) is the former name for an iconic and world-famous wrestling promotion.

Hulk Hogan is the former main superstar of the WWF, especially since the 1980's.

World Championship Wrestling (WCW) is the WWF's former rival.

Ric Flair had been the former main superstar of the former NWA, in particular WCW, since he won his first world championship in September 1981.

Monday Night Raw is the WWF's flagship television program since January 1993.

Championship Wrestling and Superstars of Wrestling are some of the WWF's former flagship television programs before Monday Night Raw.

Saturday Night's Main Event and Primetime Wrestling are also the WWF's former television programs.

For Championship Wrestling, it was the first WWF television program.

Due to the national superstation status being held by WTCG/WTBS, Georgia Championship Wrestling became the first NWA territory to earn a national reach via cable television.

All-American Wrestling was the WWF's first weekly television program on a national basis.

In the early-1980's or after 1981, GCW's television program became World Championship Wrestling, a name being used by Jim Barnett in Australia.

July 14, 1984 was called Black Saturday, when Vince McMahon, in an effort to expand his promotion's national reach, took over both the time slot and the television program name held by GCW.

Black Saturday (July 14, 1984) was a ratings failure for GCW (run by the WWF), and subsequently led Vince McMahon to sell its time slot to Jim Crockett Promotions.

In addition, JCP also assumed the World Championship Wrestling name from Vince McMahon.

Conversely, Vince McMahon's purchase and subsequent sale of GCW gave him capital, helping finance WrestleMania, the first flagship event for the WWF.

JCP was acquired by Ted Turner in the late-1980's or before 1989; under Ted Turner, the promotion was renamed after JCP's flagship television program.

For Black Saturday (July 14, 1984), GCW's ownership by the WWF was a major catalyst of the intense personal and professional rivalry between Vince McMahon and Ted Turner.

This rivalry between Vince McMahon and Ted Turner culminated in the Monday Night Wars.

Eric Bischoff was WCW executive in the mid-to-late-1990's.

Under Eric Bischoff, WCW had endured changes, among which were the replacement of the traditional Southern style in favour of a modern, entertainment-focused, reality-based and edgy one.

Due to the New World Order, a rebellious stable consisting of Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, WCW Monday Nitro had dominated the ratings from June 1996 to April 1998.

On its April 13, 1998 edition from the CoreStates Centre in Philadelphia, WWF Raw had an advertised match between Vince McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

This Austin-McMahon contest, whch ended in a no contest, due to interference from Dude Love, led to WWF Raw finally breaking the ratings dominance held by WCW Monday Nitro after 84 weeks.

Hailing from Rochester, Ferdinand J. Smith did on-air music for HBO.

Ferdinand J. Smith composed the orchestral cue for the HBO in Space sequence, inspired by the film scores from Hollywood's Golden Age.

The HBO in Space cue, written by Ferdinand J. Smith, was recorded with a full orchestra, giving it a powerful and cinematic quality, which was unusual at the time for cable television.

Doing the work for the orchestral HBO in Space cue was Score Productions.

In addition, Ferdinand J. Smith composed the Star Tunnel cue for ABC's movie presentations in 1981.

Bill "Troll" Tullis was the music director for Turner Broadcasting System, bur also one of the longtime voices for SuperStation WTBS, CNN and CNN Headline News until 2002.

Having been the music director for Turner Broadcasting System, Bill "Troll" Tullis was responsible for many of its unique and innovative music, notably for TBS, CNN and CNN Headline News.

Just before moving to television, Bill "Troll" Tullis worked in radio, having served as the first program director for WVVS-FM.

As the student-run radio station of Valdosta State College, WVVS-FM introduced heavy rock and prog rock bands to regional audiences under Bill "Troll" Tullis.

Leaving Turner in 2002, Bill "Troll" Tullis founded All TV Music.

John Young, Don Harrison and James Earl Jones, besides Bill "Troll" Tullis, are some other longtime voices for Turner Broadcasting System, the latter for CNN.

The iconic and famous phrase delivered by James Earl Jones is "This...is CNN."

During the 1980's, CNN used stock music cues from many labels, including De Wolfe, KPM, Bruton, Sonoton, Killer Tracks, FirstCom, MusicHouse, Atmosphere, Match, Parry, Omni, etc.

Plus, during the 1980's, CNN contracted Score Productions to create custom music for its station IDs.

In 1990, its 10th year, CNN again contracted Score Productions to create custom music.

For Score Productions, it also made music for CNN Headline News since its merger with the Satellite News Channel, partly-run by ABC News, the latter for which it also did music.

Incidentally, Score Productions created the music for ABC News, including World News Tonight, the Satellite News Channel, CNN and CNN Headline News.

Herb Avery, a jazz musician based in Atlanta, has made orchestral and jazz-inspired cues on both the domestic and worldwide feeds of CNN, plus Headline News, during the 1990's and beyond.

The cues being created for CNN by Score Productions and Herb Avery are also used in the Turner Broadcast Music Library by Sound Ideas.

Sound Ideas also formerly distributed De Wolfe Music and Beatbox Music in Canada.

During the Cold War, news music in the Eastern Bloc had a neutral orchestral sound.

After the Cold War, news music in the Eastern Bloc used a more modern uniform sound influenced by Western-style (Western European and American) pop music principles.

Celebrate by Three Dog Night was used in the SuperStation TBS rendition as the jingle and the music basis for the promos and interstitial music during informally-known Celebrate era.

During the 1980's, CNN used stock music cues from many labels, including De Wolfe, KPM, Bruton, Sonoton, Killer Tracks, FirstCom, Atmosphere, Match, Parry, Omni, etc.

Plus, during the 1980's, CNN created custom music for its station identifications.

In 1990, its 10th year, and with the imminent Gulf War, CNN contracted Score Productions to create custom music.

For Score Productions, it had already done music for CNN Headline News, since its merger with the defunct Satellite News Channel, for which Score Productions already did music.

The music cues being created for CNN by Score Productions are also utilized in the Turner Broadcast Music Library by Sound Ideas

Besides Turner, Sound Ideas formerly distributed De Wolfe Music and Beatbox Music in Canada.

During the Cold War, television news music themes in the Eastern Bloc sounded neutral.

With Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms (glasnost/perestroika), television news music themes in the Eastern Bloc began adopting a more modern uniform Western-influenced sound.

Meanwhile, in both mainland China and Vietnam, many news music themes utilize a modern Western sound, whereas some others sound traditional.

Some Chinese composers also do television news music in a modern Western sound.