In the United States, there are three major traditional
commercial broadcast television networks —
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
(Columbia Broadcasting System),
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
(National Broadcasting Company), and
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
(American Broadcasting Company) — that due to their longevity and ratings success are referred to as the "Big Three." They dominated American television until the 1990s
and are still considered major U.S. broadcast companies.
Backgrounds
The National Broadcasting Company and Columbia Broadcasting System were both founded as radio networks in the 1920s, with NBC eventually encompassing two national radio networks, the prestige
Red Network
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...
and the lower-profile
Blue Network
The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American Commercial broadcasting, radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945.
Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the N ...
. They gradually began experimental television stations in the 1930s, with commercial broadcasts being allowed by the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
on July 1, 1941.
In 1943, the
U.S. government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
determined that NBC's two-network setup was
anticompetitive
Anti-competitive practices are business or government practices that prevent or reduce Competition (economics), competition in a market. Antitrust laws differ among state and federal laws to ensure businesses do not engage in competitive practice ...
and forced it to spin off one of the networks; NBC chose to sell the Blue Network operations, which became the American Broadcasting Company.
All three networks began regular, commercial television broadcasts in the 1940s. NBC and CBS began commercial operations in 1941, followed by ABC in 1948. A smaller fourth network, the
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...
, launched in 1944.
The three networks originally
controlled only a few local television stations, but they quickly
affiliated with other stations to cover almost the entire U.S. by the late 1950s. Several of these stations affiliated with all three major networks and DuMont, or some combination of the four, in
markets
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
* Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
* Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, a ...
where only one or two television stations operated in the early years of commercial television; this resulted in several network shows, often those with lower national viewership, receiving scattershot market clearances, since in addition to maintaining limited broadcast schedules early on, affiliates that shoehorned programming from many networks had to also make room for locally produced content. As other stations signed on in larger cities, ABC, NBC, and CBS were eventually able to carry at least a sizeable portion of their programming on one station.
Of the four original networks, only DuMont did not have a corresponding radio network. Ironically, the fourth major radio network of the era, the
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...
, had briefly discovered the idea of launching a television network, with consideration being made to have film studio
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
supply programming talent. In fact,
Bamberger Broadcasting Bamberger is a Bavarian and Southern German toponymic surname, and it indicates someone from Bamberg in Bavaria. Notable people with the surname include:
* Ana Maria Bamberger (born 1966), Romanian physician and playwright
* Ármin Vámbéry (born ...
's
WOR-TV
WWOR-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area as the flagship of MyNetworkTV. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alongside Fox flagship WNYW (ch ...
and
WOIC (both stations affiliated with Mutual, the latter with a Washington, D.C. video outlet) maintained letterhead with "Mutual Television" decorating their identifications. Beyond this, there is no confirmation, however, that a cooperative video service was ever seriously considered, although Mutual's component stations launched television outlets in their home cities. Some of Mutual's component stations bought a stake in the
Overmyer Network
The Overmyer Network, later the United Network, was a television network. It was intended to be a fourth television network, fourth national commercial network in the United States, competing with the Big Three television networks. The network ...
in 1967, but other than a single late-night talk show, ''
The Las Vegas Show
''The Las Vegas Show'' was an American late night television program broadcast in May 1967 on the short-lived United Network. The two-hour-long talk show, hosted by comedian Bill Dana, was supposed to be the flagship program of a planned fourth ...
'', which lasted one month, that network never made it to its full launch.
Network competition
Early era
For most of the history of television in the United States, the Big Three dominated, controlling the vast majority of television broadcasting. DuMont ceased regular programming in 1955; the
NTA Film Network
The NTA Film Network was an early American television network founded by Ely Landau in 1956. The network was not a full-time television network like CBS, NBC, or ABC. Rather, it operated on a part-time basis, broadcasting films and several first ...
, unusual in that its programming, all pre-recorded, was distributed by mail instead of through communications wires, signed on in 1956 and lasted until 1961. From 1961, and lasting until the early 1990s, there were only three major networks. Every hit series appearing in the
Nielsen top 20 television programs and every successful commercial network telecast of a major feature film was aired by one of the Big Three networks.
Fox
A viable
fourth television network
In American television terminology, a fourth network is a reference to a fourth commercial broadcast (over-the-air) television network, as opposed to the Big Three television networks that dominated U.S. television from the 1950s to the 1980s: ...
in the commercial sense would not again become competitive with the Big Three until
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
was founded in October 1986 from some of the assets and remnants of the DuMont network, which had become
Metromedia
Metromedia (also often MetroMedia) was an American media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and controlled Orion Pictures from 1988 to 1997. Metromedia was established in 1956 after the DuMo ...
after DuMont folded, and were acquired by
News Corporation
News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...
earlier in 1986. Fox, which began as a distant fourth network,
rose to major network status in 1994 after
must-carry
In cable television, governments apply a must-carry regulation stating that locally licensed television stations must be carried on a cable provider's system.
North America Canada
Under current CRTC regulations, the lowest tier of service on ...
rules took effect; the rules allowed Fox affiliates to force their way onto cable lineups, and the network's affiliation deal with
New World Communications
New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 197 ...
, which it later purchased in 1996, and the acquisition of
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
broadcast rights brought a wave of new Fox affiliates.
Since its founding, Fox has surpassed ABC and NBC in the ratings during the early primetime hours in which it competes against the longer-established networks, becoming the second most-watched network behind CBS during the 2000s. During the 2007–08 season, Fox was the highest-rated of the major broadcast networks, as well as the first non-Big Three network to reach first place, but it lost the spot in the 2008–09 season and dropped to a close second. From 2004 to 2012, Fox also dominated American television in the lucrative and viewer-rich 18–49 age demographics, in large part due to the success of its NFL coverage and its top rated prime time program, ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
''. Given the network's success in its prime time and
sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
offerings, it has been occasionally included with the Big Three, in which case the phrase "Big Four" is used.
Although Fox has firmly established itself as the nation's fourth major network with its ratings success, it is not considered part of the Big Three. Among Fox's differences with the Big Three is its reduced weekday programming. It lacks national
morning
Morning is the period from sunrise to noon. There are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and night) because it can vary according to one's lifestyle and the hours of daylight at each time of year. However, morning strict ...
and evening news programs; Fox has a news division consisting of
cable
Cable may refer to:
Mechanical
* Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof
* Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
and
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
operations, but does not provide content for the broadcast television network other than
a weekly news analysis program, limited
special breaking news reports and an affiliate news service for its stations called Fox News Edge. Fox does not feature any
daytime programming, a third hour of
prime time
Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
,
late-night talk show
A late-night talk show is a genre of talk show popular in the United States, where the format originated. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest interviews, comedy sketches and music performances. It i ...
s, or
Saturday morning children's programming (though it did previously carry the latter).
Fifth and sixth networks
Other networks eventually launched in an attempt to compete with the Big Three as well as Fox, although these "netlets" have been unable to ascend to the same level of success.
The WB
The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...
and
UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which prod ...
launched in 1995; like Fox, they both added nights of prime time programming over the course of a few years, although The WB was the only one that aired any on weekends, carrying a Sunday night lineup for all but its first half-season on the air.
Both networks mainly aired only prime time and children's programming. The latter was the only form of weekday daytime programming offered by either one, although UPN discontinued its
children's lineup in 2003 at the conclusion of a content deal with Disney, and UPN aired sports programming via the short-lived
XFL
XFL may refer to:
Sports
* XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001
* XFL (2020), a professional American football league
Vehicles
* Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
, as well as ''
WWF SmackDown!
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time Zone, ET on Fox Br ...
''.
While The WB and UPN each had a few popular series during their existences, they struggled for overall viewership and financial losses. This led their respective parent companies,
Time Warner
Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States.
It was originally established in 1972 by ...
and
CBS Corporation
The second incarnation of CBS Corporation (the first being a short-lived rename of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation) was an American multinational media conglomerate with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing, and t ...
, to shut them down in 2006 to jointly launch
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
, which initially featured a mix of programs from both predecessors, as well as some newer shows after the launch. The last surviving series of The CW's predecessors —
''Supernatural'', from The WB — continued until its finale on The CW in 2020.
Fox launched
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...
at the same time as The CW, with a lineup of English language
telenovela
A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...
s; it later shifted toward unscripted programs and movies, though its persistent lack of ratings success led News Corporation to convert it into a programming service, relying on a lineup of acquired series, in 2009.
PBS
Likewise, the
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...
(PBS), which has existed since 1970, is not considered part of the "big three" networks. PBS operates as a
noncommercial
A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that does not, in some sense, involve commerce, at least relative to similar activities that do have a commercial objective or emphasis. For example, advertising-free community ...
service with a very different distribution form compared to the major networks; its member stations basically own the network instead of the traditional mode of a network owning some of its stations and affiliating with additional stations owned by other broadcasters, and it maintains memberships with more than one educational station in a few markets.
Market share
In the 21st Century, the "Big Three" have controlled only a relatively small portion of the broadcasting market in the United States; by 2005, their collective share was estimated at a combined 32%.
The Big Three's market share has declined considerably as a result of growing competition from other broadcast networks such as Fox, The CW, and MyNetworkTV; Spanish language networks such as
Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
,
UniMás
UniMás (, stylized as ''UNIMÁS'', and originally known as TeleFutura from its launch on January 14, 2002, to January 6, 2013) is an American Spanish free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. The network's programming, which is ...
, and
Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...
; national cable and satellite channels such as
TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
,
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
, and
AMC
AMC may refer to:
Film and television
* AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain
* AMC Networks, an American entertainment company
** AMC (TV channel)
** AMC+, streaming service
** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company
*** AM ...
; and streaming channels such as
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
.
Each of the Big Three networks is now owned by a
media conglomerate
A media conglomerate, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as music, television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, theme parks, or the Internet. According to the ...
, providing
corporate synergy
Corporate synergy refers to a financial benefit that a corporation expects to realize when it merges with or acquires another corporation. Corporate synergy occurs when corporations interact congruently with one another, creating additional value. ...
with various cable channels, a
major film studio
Major film studios are production and distribution companies that release a substantial number of films annually and consistently command a significant share of box office revenue in a given market. In the American and international markets, the ...
, and other sibling media assets. ABC merged with
Capital Cities Communications
Capital Cities/ABC Inc. was an American media company. It was founded in 1985 when Capital Cities Communications purchased the much larger American Broadcasting Company. It eventually proposed a merger of equals with The Walt Disney Company and ...
in 1985, which was then bought by
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
in 1996. NBC and
Vivendi Universal
Vivendi SE is a French mass media holding company headquartered in Paris. Widely known as the owner of Gameloft, Groupe Canal+, Havas, Editis, Prisma Media, Vivendi Village and Dailymotion, the company has activities in television, film, video ...
's film and television subsidiary Vivendi Universal Entertainment (owner of
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
) merged in 2004 to form
NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States.
NBCUniversal is primari ...
, which was then bought by
Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
in 2011. In 1999,
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to:
* Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate
* Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom
* Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
(owner of
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
) took control of CBS; they then split in 2006, but only to
merge back in 2019 into a single company known as ViacomCBS (now known as
Paramount Global
Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. I ...
since 2022).
Each of the Big Three networks have also sought to augment traditional broadcast viewership of entertainment programming with a companion streaming service.
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
, launched as a shared platform in 2008 and majority-owned by ABC parent Disney since 2019, has become a primary streaming home for ABC. CBS programs are largely carried via
Paramount+
Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to:
Entertainment and music companies
* Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
, begun as CBS All Access in 2014. NBCUniversal, which also has a minority stake in Hulu, launched
Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...
in 2020 as the main streaming home for selected series among the NBC broadcast network and its sibling cable channels.
See also
*
Lists of ABC television affiliates
The following are lists of affiliates of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television network:
*List of ABC television affiliates (by U.S. state)
*List of ABC television affiliates (table)
*List of former ABC television affiliates
See also ...
*
Lists of NBC television affiliates
The following are lists of affiliates of the NBC television network:
*List of NBC television affiliates (by U.S. state)
*List of NBC television affiliates (table)
*List of former NBC television affiliates
See also
*Lists of ABC television affili ...
*
Lists of CBS television affiliates
The following are lists of affiliates of the CBS television network:
*List of CBS television affiliates (by U.S. state)
*List of CBS television affiliates (table)
*List of former CBS television affiliates
See also
*Lists of ABC television affili ...
*
Cable television in the United States
Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948. By 1989, 53 million U.S. households received cable television subscriptions, with 60 percent of all U.S. households doing so in 1992. with Data by SNL Kagan shows that about 58 ...
*
Communications in the United States
The primary regulator of communications in the United States is the Federal Communications Commission. It closely regulates all of the industries mentioned below with the exception of newspapers and the Internet service provider industry.
Hist ...
*
Fourth television network
In American television terminology, a fourth network is a reference to a fourth commercial broadcast (over-the-air) television network, as opposed to the Big Three television networks that dominated U.S. television from the 1950s to the 1980s: ...
*
High-definition television in the United States
High-definition television (HDTV) in the United States was introduced in 1998 and has since become increasingly popular and dominant in the television market. Hundreds of HD channels are available in millions of homes and businesses both terres ...
*
List of television stations in the United States
The pages below contain lists of television stations in the U.S. by call sign.
Historically, stations to the east of the Mississippi River were given call signs beginning with the letter ''W'', stations to the west ''K''. However, there are excep ...
*
List of United States cable and satellite television networks
The following is a list of pay television networks broadcasting or receivable in the United States, organized by broadcast area and genre.
Some television providers use one or more channel slots for east/west feeds, high definition services, se ...
*
List of United States over-the-air television networks
In the United States, for most of the history of broadcasting, there were only three or four major commercial national terrestrial networks. From 1946 to 1956, these were ABC, CBS, NBC and DuMont (though the Paramount Television Network had so ...
*
List of United States television markets
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
Satellite television in the United States
Currently, there are two primary satellite television providers of subscription based service available to United States consumers: DirecTV and Dish Network, which have 21 and 10 million subscribers respectively.
1970s
In 1975 RCA created Satc ...
*
Television in the United States
Television is one of the major mass media outlets in the United States. , household ownership of television sets in the country is 96.7%, with approximately 114,200,000 American households owning at least one television set as of August 2013. ...
*
Television news in the United States
Television news in the United States has evolved over many years. It has gone from a simple 10- to 15-minute format in the evenings, to a variety of programs and channels. Today, viewers can watch local, regional and national news programming, in ...
*
United States cable news
Cable news channels are television networks devoted to television news broadcasts, with the name deriving from the proliferation of such networks during the 1980s with the advent of cable television.
In the United States, the first nationwide ca ...
References
{{Television in the United States
Television in the United States
Television terminology