Broadcast TV Networks | Major Networks, Broadcast Syndication & History | Study.com

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Television

A lot of people think that Fox is the fourth television network to hit TV screens in the U.S., after the first big three: NBC, ABC, and CBS. But did you know there was another television network that formed and folded before Fox ever came along?

In this lesson, you’ll find out what that network was called. But first, let’s define television networks and syndication, and go over a few other interesting tidbits related to these networks.

Television Networks: Definition, Examples, & Purpose

There is more than one way we can define the term ‘television network.’ To keep things simple, we’ll describe a television network as an entertainment distribution web composed of television stations.

There are numerous television networks in the U.S., including CBS, NBC, and ABC. All three of these companies are television networks, and they all also have television stations in specific parts of the country.

For instance, the CBS television network has well over two dozen TV stations across the country, including WLNY-TV in New York and WPSG-TV in Philadelphia.

The purpose of a television network is to provide the web of television stations with a central operator that acquires or produces entertaining content. This central operator then feeds each station with various programs and shows.

Let’s continue with our CBS example. The CBS television network has an arm called CBS Entertainment. CBS Entertainment develops or acquires programming, and then schedules and distributes it across stations like WLNY-TV and WPSG-TV throughout the U.S.

Broadcast Syndication

Not all the shows developed or acquired by CBS, or any other TV network, are shown solely on the TV stations that are part of the network. In fact, there’s a term for the possibility that some of these programs can be shown on stations outside of their home network. It’s known as broadcast syndication. Specifically, broadcast syndication refers to selling the rights to show a particular program.

For example, the famous American gameshow Jeopardy! is currently distributed by an arm of CBS known as CBS Television Distribution, which syndicates it to various channels across the U.S, including those that are part of other networks, such as NBC.

What this means is that a program can be shown on a television station that is part of a large network. However, the rights to the content are acquired by the local station, which then chooses when to air the program.

This is why Jeopardy! may be on an NBC station in one city, but on an ABC station in another (with different time slots as well).

The History of Television Networks

The history of television networks in the U.S. goes back to the mid-20th century.

The biggest original TV networks actually arose from pre-existing radio networks and came to life around 1940. The first two TV networks were NBC and CBS – NBC formed in 1939, and CBS started to develop its network in 1941.

ABC came a bit after. In fact, ABC owes its very existence to NBC. That’s because the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) deemed in 1941 that NBC had to sell one of its radio networks, and the creation of ABC was the end result. ABC would go on to enter television in 1948.

By that same year, there were four television networks in the U.S., including the now defunct DuMont. Between the four of them, they had over 125 TV stations.

Over the coming decades, NBC, ABC, and CBS would come to dominate broadcast TV in unparalleled fashion. It wouldn’t be until the 1986 that a serious new contender would appear: the Fox Television Network. The CW Television Network came along even later, in 2006.

Lesson Summary

A television network is an entertainment distribution web composed of television stations. Examples of television networks include NBC, CBS, and ABC. NBC launched in 1939, CBS in 1941, and ABC in 1943. The purpose of a TV network is to have a central operator that acquires (or develops) and then distributes programming across the web of channels.

Broadcast syndication refers to selling the rights to show a particular program. This means that a single TV show can be shown on TV stations belonging to different networks.

While NBC, CBS, and ABC are the original stations, Fox arose in 1986 and the CW Network in 2006.