American-Television

Contents•TelevisioninAmerican•FivemajorU.S.networks•Threefamousnetworks•Impact•OwnershipandcontrolTelevision(TV)Ninety-ninepercentoftheAmericanhouseholdhasatelevisionset—that’sover113millionhousehold.Thevastmajorityofthemwillhaveatleasttwotelevisionsets,withalittlebitoverhalfofthemowningmorethanthreesets.Withoutadoubt,thetelevisionisoneofthemajorinfluentialtechnologies.•TheUnitedStateshasadecentralized,market-orientedtelevisionsystem.TheUnitedStateshasanationalpublicbroadcastserviceknownasthePublicBroadcastingService(PBS).Localmediamarketshavetheirowntelevisionstations,whichmaybeaffiliatedwithorownedandoperatedbyaTVnetwork.However,toensurelocalpresencesintelevisionbroadcasting,federallawrestrictstheamountofnetworkprogramminglocalstationscanrun.•Untilthe1970sand'80s,localstationssupplementednetworkprogrammingwithagooddealoftheirownproducedshows.ThenationalcableTVnetworkbecamepossibleinthemid1970swiththelaunchofdomesticcommunicationsatellitesthatcouldeconomicallybroadcastTVprogramstocableoperatorsanywhereinthecontinentalUS.•ThefivemajorU.S.networksareNBC,CBS,ABC,Fox,andTheCW.•Thefirstthreebeganasradionetworks:NBCandCBSinthe1920s,andABCwasspunofffromNBCin1943.Foxisarelativenewcomerthatbeganin1986,althoughitisbuiltupontheremnantsoftheformerDuMontTelevisionNetwork,whichwasanearlierfourthnetworkthatoperatedfrom1948to1956.TheCWwascreatedin2006whenUPNmergedwithTheWB.ABC.TheAmericanBroadcastingCompany(ABC)isanAmericancommercialbroadcastingtelevisionnetwork.•CorporateheadquartersisintheUpperWestSideofManhattaninNewYorkCity,andthecompany'snewsoperationsarealsocenteredinManhattan.EntertainmentprogrammingofficesareinBurbank,CaliforniaadjacenttotheWaltDisneyStudiosandthecorporateheadquartersofTheWaltDisneyCompany.•Createdin1943fromtheformerNBCBlueradionetwork,ABCisownedbyTheWaltDisneyCompanyandispartofDisney-ABCTelevisionGroup,formerlyABC-TV.•AsoneoftheBigThreetelevisionnetworks,itsprogramminghascontributedtoAmericanpopularculture.ABCChannels•ABC1isAustralia'spre-eminentproviderofqualitytelevision,offeringadiverserangeofprogrammingwithadistinctiveAustralianfocus.•Duringtheday,ABC4KidsonABC2screenspre-schoolcontentforyoungchildren.•WatchyourfavoriteTVshowsonyourcomputer,gamingdeviceorinternet-connectedTV.ABCiViewisavideostreamingservice.•24-hournewschannelfeaturescontinuous,commercial-freecoverageofmajorbreakingstoriesinAustraliaandaroundtheworld.FamousPrograms•Lost•BostonLegal•ThePractice•DesperateHousewives•Grey'sAnatomyABCNewsItsflagshipprogramisWorldNewswithDianeSawyer;otherprogramsincludemorningshowGoodMorningAmerica,Nightline,televisionnewsmagazineshowsPrimetime&20/20,andSundaymorningpoliticalaffairs.SpecialsABCownsthebroadcastrightstotheAcademyAwards,AmericanMusicAwards,DisneyParksChristmasDayParade,TournamentofRosesParade,CountryMusicAssociationAwardsandtheCMAMusicFestival.Since2000,ABChasalsoownedthetelevisionrightstomostofthePeanutstelevisionspecials.Since1974,ABChasgenerallyairedDickClark'sNewYear'sRockin'EveonNewYear'sEve.ABChasalsoairedtheMissAmericapageantfrom1954–1956,1997–2005,and2011–present.NBCNationalBroadcastingCompany(NBC)isanAmericancommercialbroadcastingtelevisionnetworkandformerradionetworkheadquarteredintheGEBuildinginNewYorkCity'sRockefellerCenterwithadditionalmajorofficesnearLosAngelesandinChicago.NBCHeadquartersinNewYorkCity•Formedin1926NBCwasthefirstmajorbroadcastnetworkintheUnitedStates.•Afterthe1986acquisition,thechiefexecutiveofNBCwasBobWright,untilheretired,givinghisjobtoJeffZucker.•NBCissometimesreferredtoasthePeacockNetwork,duetoitsstylizedpeacocklogo,createdoriginallyforitscolorbroadcasts.FamousShows•America’sGotTalent•TheVoice•SaturdayNightLive•TheTonightShow•DaysofOurLivesNBCNews•DatelineNBC•EarlyToday•MeetthePress•NBCNightlyNews•RockCenterwithBrianWilliams•TodayNBCinTheWorldIn1994,NBClaunchedachannelinAsiacalledNBCAsiaavailableinJapan,Malaysia,SouthKorea,RepublicofChina,ThailandandRepublicofthePhilippineslikeofNBCEurope,NBCAsiafeaturedmostofNBC'snewsprogramsaswellasTheTonightShow.CW•TheCWTelevisionNetwork(TheCW)isanAmericantelevisionnetworkthatlaunchedonSeptember18,2006.ItisalimitedliabilityjointventurebetweenCBSCorporation,theformerownersoftheUnitedParamountNetwork(UPN),andTimeWarnersubsidiaryWarnerBros.Entertainment,formermajorityownerofTheWBTelevisionNetwork•TheCWnameisderivedfromthefirstlettersofthenamesofthesecorporations(CBSandWarnerBros.).TheCWmarkeditsformallaunchdateonSeptember20,2006,withatwo-hourseasonpremiereofAmerica'sNextTopModel.Thenetwork'sprogramminglineupisintendedtoappealtopeopleranginginagefrom18to34-years-oldThenetworkcurrentlyrunsprogrammingsixdaysaweek:MondaythroughFridaysintheafternoonandinprimetime,alongwithaSaturdaymorningchildren'sprogrammingblockproducedbySabanBrandscalledVortexx.FamousShows•GossipGirl•Vampirediaries•Nikita•America'sNextTopModel•Children‘sprogramming（Kids’WB，Vortexx）NewImprovementStartinginthefallof2012,TheCWwilllaunchanewbrandnewwebsitecalledCWD-theCWDigitalStudio,anall-newdestinationfororiginalcontentcreatedexclusivelyforthedigitalplatfo