Skypath is a system the NBC

television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid ...

uses to distribute satellite programming to its affiliate stations. Launched in January 1984, Skypath (whose lead developer was Richard Edmondson at NBC's New York Rockefeller Center offices) was the first such system of its kind. Its main hub consisted of East Coast, West Coast, and affiliate feeds located on the K_u band RCA Satcom K2 satellite, with one C-band transponder located on RCA's now-defunct Satcom 1R. It was conceived because of concerns that the breakup of AT&T would escalate long lines rates for sending programs across the country. (Part I
November 1987
Part II
December 1987
By 1987, the network fed 177 affiliate stations via Skypath. In 1988, NBC began to encrypt their Skypath affiliate feeds with Leitch

encryption In cryptography, encryption is the process of encoding information. This process converts the original representation of the information, known as plaintext, into an alternative form known as ciphertext. Ideally, only authorized parties can d ...

. By the mid-1990s, such encryption was limited to NFL football games. One of the feeds on the Skypath system was NBC Skycom, used for general internal "closed-circuit" video and news feeds between NBC and its local affiliates. Skycom operated in the fashion of a "video news wire" service (much in the same vein as CBS' NewsNet/NewsPath and ABC's DEF (Daily Electronic Feed) and NewsOne services) that provided news story packages and other material (such as promos, especially ones "personalized" by NBC for a local affiliate station) originated by both NBC and local NBC affiliates across the nation to be used by other affiliates. Prior to the arrival of Skypath, NBC programming, with the exception of ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...

'', was delivered via

coaxial cable Coaxial cable, or coax (pronounced ) is a type of electrical cable consisting of an inner conductor surrounded by a concentric conducting shield, with the two separated by a dielectric ( insulating material); many coaxial cables also have a p ...

and

microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from about one meter to one millimeter corresponding to frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz respectively. Different sources define different frequency ra ...

transmission through the facilities of

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile ...

(however, NBC did have limited satellite delivery on an experimental basis via their C-band transponder on Satcom F1 beginning with the satellite's launch in 1975). Beginning in the early 1980s, ''The Tonight Show'' began satellite delivery to the East Coast. In 1997, NBC began the transition of Skypath to

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals ** Digital camera, which captures and stores digital ...

transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission ** ...

. The new system, completed in 2002, also allowed the network to send HD and regionalized feeds to the affiliates.{{cite news, url=https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/nbc-moves-to-flexible-digital-distribution, work=TVTechnology, title=NBC Moves to Flexible Digital Distribution, date=January 9, 2002, accessdate=April 27, 2019 As of 2005, Skypath exists on the SES Americom Ku-Band AMC-1 and AMC-8 satellites, NBC having discontinued the analog C-band feed in 1998. All of the feeds are now broadcast via

Digital Video Broadcasting Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) is a set of international open standards for digital television. DVB standards are maintained by the DVB Project, an international industry consortium, and are published by a Joint Technical Committee (JTC) ...

(DVB).

References

External links

YouTube video of NBC Skycom feeds from 1986
Satellite television National Broadcasting Company