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134-632: World Fishing Network ( WFN ) is an American television network that offers online and mobile platform dedicated to fishing. It offers a diverse range of programming that includes instruction, tips, tournaments, travel, food boating and outdoor lifestyle content. The network is accessible to viewers in the United States and the Caribbean through cable, satellite, and telecommunication subscriptions. The channel's roots began in Canada on December 2, 2005, when it

268-489: A low-noise amplifier (LNA) connected to the feedhorn at the focal point of the dish. The amplified signal, still at the higher microwave frequencies, had to be fed via very expensive low-loss 50-ohm impedance gas filled hardline coaxial cable with relatively complex N-connectors to an indoor receiver or, in other designs, a downconverter (a mixer and a voltage-tuned oscillator with some filter circuitry) for downconversion to an intermediate frequency. The channel selection

402-525: A 19.9% interest in the Canadian channel through its division Altitude WFN ULC. Altitude would later purchase the remaining 50% interest in the channel. On January 14, 2019, World Fishing Network in Canada officially relaunched as Sportsman Channel . Television broadcaster A television broadcaster or television network is a telecommunications network for the distribution of television content , where

536-470: A DBS service, but are received in approximately 18 million homes, as well as in any home using the Sky Deutschland commercial DBS system. All German analogue satellite broadcasts ceased on 30 April 2012. The United Kingdom has approximately 160 digital channels (including the regional variations of BBC channels, ITV channels, Channel 4 and Channel 5 ) that are broadcast without encryption from

670-569: A blurry demonstration broadcast showed that it would not be in regular use for several months. The DuMont Television Network , which had begun experimental broadcasts before the war, launched what Newsweek called "the country's first permanent commercial television network" on 15 August 1946, connecting New York City with Washington. Not to be outdone, NBC launched what it called "the world's first regularly operating television network" on 27 June 1947, serving New York City, Philadelphia, Schenectady and Washington. Baltimore and Boston were added to

804-518: A built-in television tuner . Satellite television provides a wide range of channels and services. It is usually the only television available in many remote geographic areas without terrestrial television or cable television service. Different receivers are required for the two types. Some transmissions and channels are unencrypted and therefore free-to-air , while many other channels are transmitted with encryption. Free-to-view channels are encrypted but not charged-for, while pay television requires

938-509: A central operation provides programming to many television stations , pay television providers or, in the United States, multichannel video programming distributors . Until the mid-1980s, broadcast programming on television in most countries of the world was dominated by a small number of terrestrial networks . Many early television networks such as the BBC , CBC , PBS , PTV , NBC or ABC in

1072-478: A consolidation of each respective network's higher-rated programs onto one schedule); MyNetworkTV , a network formed from affiliates of UPN and The WB that did not affiliate with The CW, launched at the same time. FCC regulations in the United States restricted the number of television stations that could be owned by any one network, company or individual . This led to a system where most local television stations were independently owned, but received programming from

1206-645: A differentiation between them. Within the industry, a tiering is sometimes created among groups of networks based on whether their programming is simultaneously originated from a central point, and whether the network master control has the technical and administrative capability to take over the programming of their affiliates in real-time when it deems this necessary – the most common example being during national breaking news events. In North America in particular, many television networks available via cable and satellite television are branded as "channels" because they are somewhat different from traditional networks in

1340-526: A government entity that was created in 1926 to regulate the radio industry. With some exceptions, radio stations east of the Mississippi River received official call signs beginning with the letter "W"; those west of the Mississippi were assigned calls beginning with a "K". The number of programs that these early stations aired was often limited, in part due to the expense of program creation. The idea of

1474-530: A joint venture between Time Warner and the Tribune Company , and the United Paramount Network ( UPN ), formed through a programming alliance between Chris-Craft Industries and Paramount Television (whose parent, Viacom , would later acquire half and later all of the network over the course of its existence). In September 2006, The CW was launched as a "merger" of The WB and UPN (in actuality,

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1608-510: A large amount of syndicated programming. Other networks are dedicated to specialized programming, such as religious content or programs presented in languages other than English, particularly Spanish. The largest television network in the United States, however, is the Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS ), a non-profit, publicly owned, non-commercial educational service. In comparison to the commercial television networks, there

1742-532: A large number of channels, as does UKTV . Sweden had only one television network from 1956 until the early-1990s: the public broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT). Commercial companies such as Modern Times Group , TV4 , Viasat , and SBS Discovery have established TV networks since the 1980s although they initially aired exclusively on satellite. In 1991, TV4 became Sweden's first commercial television network to air terrestrially. Most television programming in Sweden

1876-438: A larger area, often an entire state, and become full-time affiliates to one specific metropolitan network. As well as these free-to-air channels, there are others on Australia's Pay television network Foxtel . New Zealand has one public network, Television New Zealand (TVNZ), which consists of two main networks: TVNZ 1 is the network's flagship network which carries news, current affairs and sports programming as well as

2010-456: A method called "broadcast syndication", and today nearly every television station in the United States obtains syndicated programs in addition to network-produced fare. Late in the 20th century, cross-country microwave radio relays were replaced by fixed-service satellites. Some terrestrial radio relays remained in service for regional connections. After the failure and shutdown of DuMont in 1956, several attempts at new networks were made between

2144-464: A national basis. Currently, licensed national or provincial networks must be carried by all cable providers (in the country or province, respectively) with a service area above a certain population threshold, as well as all satellite providers. However, they are no longer necessarily expected to achieve over-the-air coverage in all areas (APTN, for example, only has terrestrial coverage in parts of northern Canada). In addition to these licensed networks,

2278-530: A network system which would distribute programming to many stations simultaneously, saving each station the expense of creating all of their own programs and expandingus transmitted from station to station to listeners across the United States. Other companies, including CBS and the Mutual Broadcasting System , soon followed suit, each network signed hundreds of individual stations on as affiliates: stations which agreed to broadcast programs from one of

2412-483: A network, becoming Ostankino Channel One . The other five networks were operated by Ground Zero. This free airwave space allowed many private television networks like NTV and TV-6 to launch in the mid-1990s. The 2000s were marked by the increased state intervention in Russian television. On 14 April 2001 NTV experienced management changes following the expulsion of former oligarch and NTV founder Vladimir Gusinsky . As

2546-572: A normal parabolic satellite antenna means it can only receive signals from a single satellite at a time. Simulsat or the Vertex-RSI TORUS, is a quasi-parabolic satellite earthstation antenna that is capable of receiving satellite transmissions from 35 or more C - and K u -band satellites simultaneously. In 1945 British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke proposed a worldwide communications system which would function by means of three satellites equally spaced apart in earth orbit. This

2680-401: A rate of more than $ 5.00 per subscriber to ESPN). The providers also handle the sale of advertising inserted at the local level during national programming, in which case the broadcaster and the cable/satellite provider may share revenue . Networks that maintain a home shopping or infomercial format may instead pay the station or cable/satellite provider, in a brokered carriage deal. This

2814-502: A result, most of the prominent reporters featured on NTV left the network. Later on 22 January 2002, the second largest private television network TV-6 , where the former NTV staff took refuge, was shut down allegedly because of its editorial policy. Five months later on 1 June, TVS was launched, mostly employing NTV/TV-6 staff, only to cease operations the following year. Since then, the four largest television networks (Channel One, Russia 1, NTV and Russia 2) have been state-owned. Still,

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2948-414: A rooftop parabolic receiving dish (" satellite dish "), which reflects the weak signal to the dish's focal point. Mounted on brackets at the dish's focal point is a feedhorn which passes the signals through a waveguide to a device called a low-noise block converter (LNB) or low noise converter (LNC) attached to the horn. The LNB amplifies the weak signals, filters the block of frequencies in which

3082-488: A second channel, BBC 2 (with the original service being renamed BBC 1 ). A second national commercial network was launched Channel 4 , although Wales instead introduced a Welsh-language service, S4C . These were later followed by the launch of a third commercial network, Channel 5 . Since the introduction of digital television, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 each introduced a number of digital-only channels. Sky operates

3216-461: A second or even third station providing a greater variety of content. Commercial television services also became available when private companies applied for television broadcasting licenses. Often, each new network would be identified with their channel number, so that individual stations would often be numbered "One", "Two", "Three" and so forth. The first television network in the United Kingdom

3350-694: A series of Soviet geostationary satellites to carry direct-to-home television, Ekran 1, was launched on 26 October 1976. It used a 714 MHz UHF downlink frequency so that the transmissions could be received with existing UHF television technology rather than microwave technology. The satellite television industry developed in the US from the cable television industry as communication satellites were being used to distribute television programming to remote cable television headends . Home Box Office (HBO), Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), and Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN, later The Family Channel ) were among

3484-502: A single company (as is the case with the BBC), each local area had a separate television channel that was independently owned and operated, although most of these channels shared a number of programmes, particularly during peak evening viewing hours. These channels formed the ITV network . When the advent of UHF broadcasting allowed a greater number of television channels to broadcast, the BBC launched

3618-487: A single dish) pointing to different satellites. A common solution for consumers wanting to access multiple satellites is to deploy a single dish with a single LNB and to rotate the dish using an electric motor. The axis of rotation has to be set up in the north–south direction and, depending on the geographical location of the dish, have a specific vertical tilt. Set up properly the motorized dish when turned will sweep across all possible positions for satellites lined up along

3752-446: A small number of stations still operating as affiliates. Most television services outside North America are national networks established by a combination of publicly funded broadcasters and commercial broadcasters. Most nations established television networks in a similar way: the first television service in each country was operated by a public broadcaster , often funded by a television licensing fee, and most of them later established

3886-445: A smaller dish antenna because of the higher power transmissions and greater antenna gain. TVRO systems tend to use larger rather than smaller satellite dish antennas, since it is more likely that the owner of a TVRO system would have a C-band -only setup rather than a K u band -only setup. Additional receiver boxes allow for different types of digital satellite signal reception, such as DVB/MPEG-2 and 4DTV . The narrow beam width of

4020-402: A special type of LNB. There are also LNBs available with a multi-switch already integrated. This problem becomes more complicated when several receivers use several dishes or several LNBs mounted in a single dish are aimed at different satellites. The set-top box selects the channel desired by the user by filtering that channel from the multiple channels received from the satellite, converts

4154-420: A specific frequency range, so as to be received by one of the transponders tuned to that frequency range aboard that satellite. The transponder then converts the signals to K u band , a process known as "translation," and transmits them back to earth to be received by home satellite stations. The downlinked satellite signal, weaker after traveling the great distance (see path loss ), is collected by using

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4288-406: A telephone improvement device. Its high capacity (transmitting 240 telephone calls simultaneously) also made it ideal for long-distance television transmission, where it could handle a frequency band of 1 MHz. German television first demonstrated such an application in 1936 by relaying televised telephone calls from Berlin to Leipzig , 180 km (110 mi) away, by cable. AT&T laid

4422-503: A third party company (for example, the TV2 programme Shortland Street is produced by South Pacific Pictures ). The networks produce their own news and current affairs programs, with most of the content filmed in Auckland. Direct-broadcast satellite A satellite receiver decodes the desired television program for viewing on a television set . Receivers can be external set-top boxes , or

4556-412: A tracking system to turn to follow a moving satellite. A few satellite TV systems use satellites in a Molniya orbit , a highly elliptical orbit with inclination of +/-63.4 degrees and an orbital period of about twelve hours. Satellite television, like other communications relayed by satellite, starts with a transmitting antenna located at an uplink facility. Uplink facilities transmit the signal to

4690-529: A transponder is transmitting at and on what polarisation it is using, the satellite receiver has to switch the LNB into one of four different modes in order to receive a specific desired program on a specific transponder. The receiver uses the DiSEqC protocol to control the LNB mode, which handles this. If several satellite receivers are to be attached to a single dish a so-called multiswitch must be used in conjunction with

4824-517: A unionwide network. Until 1989, there were six television networks, all owned by the USSR Gosteleradio. This changed during Mikhail Gorbachev 's Perestroika program, when the first independent television network, 2×2 , was launched. Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, USSR Gosteleradio ceased to exist as well as its six networks. Only Channel One had a smooth transition and survived as

4958-457: A wider frequency range of 2–2150 MHz. The satellite receiver or set-top box demodulates and converts the signals to the desired form (outputs for television, audio, data, etc.). Often, the receiver includes the capability to selectively unscramble or decrypt the received signal to provide premium services to some subscribers; the receiver is then called an integrated receiver/decoder or IRD. Low-loss cable (e.g. RG-6 , RG-11 , etc.)

5092-482: Is TV3 , which competes directly with both TVNZ broadcast networks. MediaWorks also operates a second network, FOUR , which airs mostly imported programmes with children's shows airing in the daytime and shows targeted at teenagers and adult between 15 and 39 years of age during prime time. MediaWorks also operates a timeshift network, TV3 + 1, and a 24-hour music network, C4 . All television networks in New Zealand air

5226-414: Is because the LNB is translating two different circular polarizations (right-hand and left-hand) and, in the case of K-band, two different frequency bands (lower and upper) to the same frequency range on the cable. Depending on which frequency and polarization a transponder is using, the satellite receiver has to switch the LNB into one of four different modes in order to receive a specific "channel". This

5360-517: Is centralised except for local news updates that air on SVT2 and TV4. Until 1989, Netherlands Public Broadcasting was the only television network in the Netherlands, with three stations, Nederland 1 , Nederland 2 and Nederland 3 . Rather than having a single production arm, there are a number of public broadcasting organizations that create programming for each of the three stations, each working relatively independently. Commercial broadcasting in

5494-418: Is especially common with low-power television stations, and in recent years, even more so for stations that used this revenue stream to finance their conversion to digital broadcasts, which in turn provides them with several additional channels to transmit different programming sources. Television broadcasting in the United States was heavily influenced by radio. Early individual experimental radio stations in

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5628-441: Is even more adversely affected by ice crystals in thunder clouds. On occasion, sun outage will occur when the sun lines up directly behind the geostationary satellite to which the receiving antenna is pointed. The downlink satellite signal, quite weak after traveling the great distance (see path loss ), is collected with a parabolic receiving dish, which reflects the weak signal to the dish's focal point. Mounted on brackets at

5762-407: Is explained by author Tim P. Vos in his abstract A Cultural Explanation of Early Broadcast , where he determines targeted group/non-targeted group representations as well as the cultural specificity employed in the television network entity. Vos notes that policymakers did not expressly intend to create a broadcast order dominated by commercial networks. In fact, legislative attempts were made to limit

5896-425: Is handled by the receiver using the DiSEqC protocol to control the LNB mode. If several satellite receivers are to be attached to a single dish, a so-called multiswitch will have to be used in conjunction with a special type of LNB. There are also LNBs available with a multi-switch already integrated. This problem becomes more complicated when several receivers are to use several dishes (or several LNBs mounted in

6030-548: Is no central unified arm of broadcast programming, meaning that each PBS member station has a significant amount of freedom to schedule television shows as they consent to. Some public television outlets, such as PBS, carry separate digital subchannel networks through their member stations (for example, Georgia Public Broadcasting ; in fact, some programs airing on PBS were branded on other channels as coming from GPB Kids and PBS World ). This works as each network sends its signal to many local affiliated television stations across

6164-773: Is referred to as baseband . This baseband comprises the video signal and the audio subcarrier(s). The audio subcarrier is further demodulated to provide a raw audio signal. Later signals were digitized television signals or multiplex of signals, typically QPSK . In general, digital television, including that transmitted via satellites, is based on open standards such as MPEG and DVB-S / DVB-S2 or ISDB-S . The conditional access encryption/scrambling methods include NDS , BISS , Conax , Digicipher , Irdeto, Cryptoworks , DG Crypt , Beta digital , SECA Mediaguard , Logiways , Nagravision , PowerVu , Viaccess , Videocipher , and VideoGuard . Many conditional access systems have been compromised. An event called sun outage occurs when

6298-527: Is the British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC ), which is perhaps most-well known for its news agency BBC News . Owned by the Crown , the BBC funds itself in two ways. UK services branded under BBC are funded by the television license paid by British residents, as a result no advertising appears on these services. The advertising-funded arm ( BBC Studios ) employs 23,000 people worldwide including

6432-473: Is the only remaining satellite broadcasting in analog signals. The satellites used for broadcasting television are usually in a geostationary orbit 36,000 km (22,000 mi) above the earth's equator . The advantage of this orbit is that the satellite's orbital period equals the rotation rate of the Earth, so the satellite appears at a fixed position in the sky. Thus the satellite dish antenna which receives

6566-464: Is used to connect the receiver to the LNBF or LNB. RG-59 is not recommended for this application as it is not technically designed to carry frequencies above 950 MHz, but may work in some circumstances, depending on the quality of the coaxial wire, signal levels, cable length, etc. A practical problem relating to home satellite reception is that an LNB can basically only handle a single receiver. This

6700-595: The Relay 1 satellite was the first satellite to transmit television signals from the US to Japan. The first geosynchronous communication satellite , Syncom 2 , was launched on 26 July 1963. The subsequent first geostationary Syncom 3 , orbiting near the International Date Line , was used to telecast the 1964 Olympic Games from Tokyo to the United States . The world's first commercial communications satellite, called Intelsat I and nicknamed "Early Bird",

6834-563: The Astra 28.2°E satellite constellation, and receivable on any DVB-S receiver (a DVB-S2 receiver is required for certain high definition television services). Most of these channels are included within the Sky EPG , and an increasing number within the Freesat EPG. India 's national broadcaster, Doordarshan , promotes a free-to-air DBS package as " DD Free Dish ", which is provided as in-fill for

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6968-1003: The Big Three television networks , the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), CBS (formerly the Columbia Broadcasting System) and the National Broadcasting Company ( NBC ); however, the Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox), which launched in October 1986, has gained prominence and is now considered part of the "Big Four". The Big Three provide a significant number of programs to each of their affiliates, including newscasts , prime time, daytime and sports programming, but still reserve periods during each day where their affiliate can air local programming , such as local news or syndicated programs . Since

7102-537: The C-band (4–8 GHz) from FSS type satellites, requiring the use of large 2–3-meter dishes. Consequently, these systems were nicknamed "big dish" systems, and were more expensive and less popular. Early systems used analog signals , but modern ones use digital signals which allow transmission of the modern television standard high-definition television , due to the significantly improved spectral efficiency of digital broadcasting. As of 2022, Star One D2 from Brazil

7236-481: The C-band frequencies and the dishes required were large; typically over 3 meters (10 ft) in diameter. Consequently, TVRO is often referred to as "big dish" or "Big Ugly Dish" (BUD) satellite television. TVRO systems were designed to receive analog and digital satellite feeds of both television or audio from both C-band and K u -band transponders on FSS -type satellites. The higher frequency K u -band systems tend to resemble DBS systems and can use

7370-573: The Gorizont communication satellites later that same year. These satellites used geostationary orbits . They were equipped with powerful on-board transponders, so the size of receiving parabolic antennas of downlink stations was reduced to 4 and 2.5 metres. On October 18, 1979, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began allowing people to have home satellite earth stations without a federal government license. The front cover of

7504-540: The Nine Network ; while their equivalents on VHF channels 7 and 10 respectively formed the Seven Network and Network 10 . Until 1989, areas outside these main cities had access to only a single commercial station, and these rural stations often formed small networks such as Prime Television . Beginning in 1989, however, television markets in rural areas began to aggregate, allowing these rural networks to broadcast over

7638-405: The geostationary orbit directly above the equator. The dish will then be capable of receiving any geostationary satellite that is visible at the specific location, i.e. that is above the horizon. The DiSEqC protocol has been extended to encompass commands for steering dish rotors. There are five major components in a satellite system: the programming source, the broadcast center, the satellite,

7772-466: The intermediate frequency ranges of 950–2150 MHz to carry the signal from the LNBF at the dish down to the receiver. This allows for the transmission of UHF signals along the same span of coaxial wire at the same time. In some applications ( DirecTV AU9-S and AT-9), ranges of the lower B-band and 2250–3000 MHz, are used. Newer LNBFs in use by DirecTV, called SWM (Single Wire Multiswitch), are used to implement single cable distribution and use

7906-469: The satellite dish , and the receiver . "Direct broadcast" satellites used for transmission of satellite television signals are generally in geostationary orbit 37,000 km (23,000 mi) above the earth's equator . The reason for using this orbit is that the satellite circles the Earth at the same rate as the Earth rotates, so the satellite appears at a fixed point in the sky. Thus satellite dishes can be aimed permanently at that point, and do not need

8040-510: The "prime-time" programs that the network offered. Local stations occasionally break from regularly scheduled network programming however, especially when a breaking news or severe weather situation occurs in the viewing area. Moreover, when stations return to network programming from commercial breaks , station identifications are displayed in the first few seconds before switching to the network's logo. A number of different definitions of "network" are used by government agencies, industry, and

8174-496: The 10.7-12.7 GHz band, but some still transmit in the C-band (4–8 GHz), K u -band (12–18 GHz), or both. The leg of the signal path from the satellite to the receiving Earth station is called the downlink. A typical satellite has up to 32 K u -band or 24 C-band transponders, or more for K u / C hybrid satellites. Typical transponders each have a bandwidth between 27 and 50 MHz. Each geostationary C-band satellite needs to be spaced 2° longitude from

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8308-555: The 1950s and the 1970s, with little success. The Fox Broadcasting Company , founded by the Rupert Murdoch -owned News Corporation (now owned by Fox Corporation ), was launched on 9 October 1986 after the company purchased the television assets of Metromedia ; it would eventually ascend to the status of the fourth major network by 1994. Two other networks launched within a week of one another in January 1995: The WB Television Network,

8442-424: The 1979 Neiman-Marcus Christmas catalogue featured the first home satellite TV stations on sale for $ 36,500. The dishes were nearly 20 feet (6.1 m) in diameter and were remote controlled. The price went down by half soon after that, but there were only eight more channels. The Society for Private and Commercial Earth Stations (SPACE), an organisation which represented consumers and satellite TV system owners,

8576-461: The 2000s saw a rise of several independent television networks such as REN (its coverage increased vastly allowing it to become a federal network), Petersburg – Channel Five (overall the same), the relaunched 2×2 . The Russian television market is mainly shared today by five major companies: Channel One, Russia 1, NTV, TNT and CTC. The major commercial television network in Brazil is Rede Globo , which

8710-517: The CRTC: government-owned CBC Television (English) and Ici Radio-Canada Télé (French), French-language private network TVA , and APTN , a network focused on Indigenous peoples in Canada . A third French-language service, Noovo (formerly V), is licensed as a provincial network within Quebec , but is not licensed or locally distributed (outside of carriage on the digital tiers of pay television providers) on

8844-540: The NBC television network in late 1947. DuMont and NBC would be joined by CBS and ABC in 1948. In the 1940s, the term "chain broadcasting" was used when discussing network broadcasts, as the television stations were linked together in long chains along the East Coast . But as the television networks expanded westward, the interconnected television stations formed major networks of connected affiliate stations. In January 1949, with

8978-486: The Netherlands is currently operated by two networks, RTL Nederland and SBS Broadcasting , which together broadcast seven commercial stations. The first television network in the Soviet Union launched on 7 July 1938 when Petersburg – Channel 5 of Leningrad Television became a unionwide network. The second television network in the Soviet Union launched on 22 March 1951 when Channel One of USSR Central Television became

9112-586: The US and in Australia evolved from earlier radio networks. In countries where most networks broadcast identical, centrally originated content to all of their stations, and where most individual television transmitters therefore operate only as large " repeater stations ", the terms "television network", " television channel " (a numeric identifier or radio frequency ) and "television station" have become mostly interchangeable in everyday language, with professionals in television-related occupations continuing to make

9246-578: The US most condominiums, neighborhoods, and other homeowner associations tightly restricted their use, except in areas where such restrictions were illegal. These restrictions were altered in 1986 when the Federal Communications Commission ruled all of them illegal. A municipality could require a property owner to relocate the dish if it violated other zoning restrictions, such as a setback requirement, but could not outlaw their use. The necessity of these restrictions would slowly decline as

9380-590: The United States began limited operations in the 1910s. In November 1920, Westinghouse signed on "the world's first commercially licensed radio station", KDKA in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania. Other companies built early radio stations in Detroit, Boston , New York City and other areas. Radio stations received permission to transmit through broadcast licenses obtained through the Federal Radio Commission (FRC),

9514-480: The channels. The signal is then sent to the uplink where it is transmitted to the satellite. With some broadcast centers, the studios, administration and up-link are all part of the same campus. The satellite then translates and broadcasts the channels. Most systems use the DVB-S standard for transmission. With pay television services, the data stream is encrypted and requires proprietary reception equipment. While

9648-457: The company reactivates it. Some receivers are capable of decrypting the received signal itself. These receivers are called integrated receiver/decoders or IRDs. Analog television which was distributed via satellite was usually sent scrambled or unscrambled in NTSC , PAL , or SECAM television broadcast standards. The analog signal is frequency modulated and is converted from an FM signal to what

9782-544: The country's terrestrial transmission network. It is broadcast from GSAT-15 at 93.5°E and contains about 80 FTA channels. While originally launched as backhaul for their digital terrestrial television service, a large number of French channels are free-to-air on satellites at 5°W, and have recently been announced as being official in-fill for the DTT network. In North America (United States, Canada and Mexico ) there are over 80 FTA digital channels available on Galaxy 19 (with

9916-399: The country. These local stations then carry the "network feed", which can be viewed by millions of households across the country. In such cases, the signal is sent to as many as 200+ stations or as little as just a dozen or fewer stations, depending on the size of the network. With the adoption of digital television , television networks have also been created specifically for distribution on

10050-440: The creation of Fox, the number of American television networks has increased, though the amount of programming they provide is often much less: for example, The CW only provides fifteen hours of primetime programming each week (along with three hours on Saturdays), while MyNetworkTV only provides ten hours of primetime programming each week, leaving their affiliates to fill time periods where network programs are not broadcast with

10184-503: The digital subchannels of television stations (including networks focusing on classic television series and films operated by companies like Weigel Broadcasting (owners of Movies! and Me-TV ) and Nexstar Media Group (owners of Rewind TV and Antenna TV ), along with networks focusing on music, sports and other niche programming). Cable and satellite providers pay the networks a certain rate per subscriber (the highest charge being for ESPN , in which cable and satellite providers pay

10318-519: The dish's focal point is a device called a feedhorn or collector. The feedhorn is a section of waveguide with a flared front-end that gathers the signals at or near the focal point and conducts them to a probe or pickup connected to a low-noise block downconverter (LNB). The LNB amplifies the signals and downconverts them to a lower block of intermediate frequencies (IF), usually in the L-band . The original C-band satellite television systems used

10452-526: The dishes got smaller. Originally, all channels were broadcast in the clear (ITC) because the equipment necessary to receive the programming was too expensive for consumers. With the growing number of TVRO systems, the program providers and broadcasters had to scramble their signal and develop subscription systems. In October 1984, the U.S. Congress passed the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 , which gave those using TVRO systems

10586-691: The early days of satellite television reception to differentiate it from commercial satellite television uplink and downlink operations (transmit and receive). This was the primary method of satellite television transmissions before the satellite television industry shifted, with the launch of higher powered DBS satellites in the early 1990s which transmitted their signals on the K u band frequencies. Satellite television channels at that time were intended to be used by cable television networks rather than received by home viewers. Early satellite television receiver systems were largely constructed by hobbyists and engineers. These early TVRO systems operated mainly on

10720-536: The federal regulator enacted the Prime Time Access Rule , which restricted the amount of time that the networks could air programs; officials hoped that the rules would foster the development of quality local programs, but in practice, most local stations did not want to bear the burden of producing many of their own programs, and instead chose to purchase programs from independent producers. Sales of television programs to individual local stations are done through

10854-649: The first L-carrier coaxial cable between New York City and Philadelphia , with automatic signal booster stations every 10 miles (16 km), and in 1937 it experimented with transmitting televised motion pictures over the line. Bell Labs gave demonstrations of the New York–Philadelphia television link in 1940 and 1941. AT&T used the coaxial link to transmit the Republican National Convention in June 1940 from Philadelphia to New York City, where it

10988-565: The first satellite in history. The first public satellite television signals from Europe to North America were relayed via the Telstar satellite over the Atlantic ocean on 23 July 1962, although a test broadcast had taken place almost two weeks earlier on 11 July. The signals were received and broadcast in North American and European countries and watched by over 100 million. Launched in 1962,

11122-534: The first to use satellite television to deliver programming. Taylor Howard of San Andreas , California , became the first person to receive C-band satellite signals with his home-built system in 1976. In the US, PBS , a non-profit public broadcasting service, began to distribute its television programming by satellite in 1978. In 1979, Soviet engineers developed the Moskva (or Moscow ) system of broadcasting and delivering of TV signals via satellites. They launched

11256-518: The four major television networks originally only broadcast a few hours of programs a week to their affiliate stations, mostly between 8:00 and 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time , when most viewers were watching television. Most of the programs broadcast by the television stations were still locally produced. As the networks increased the number of programs that they aired, however, officials at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) grew concerned that local television might disappear altogether. Eventually,

11390-554: The general public. Under the Broadcasting Act , a network is defined as "any operation where control over all or any part of the programs or program schedules of one or more broadcasting undertakings is delegated to another undertaking or person", and must be licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Only three national over-the-air television networks are currently licensed by

11524-490: The idea of networking television signals (sending one station's video and audio signal to outlying stations) was born. However, the signal from an electronic television system, containing much more information than a radio signal, required a broadband transmission medium. Transmission by a nationwide series of radio relay towers would be possible but extremely expensive. Researchers at AT&T subsidiary Bell Telephone Laboratories patented coaxial cable in 1929, primarily as

11658-488: The indoor receiver to the satellite television dish and LNB, and that the technology for handling the signal at L-band and UHF was far cheaper than that for handling the signal at C-band frequencies. The shift to cheaper technology from the hardline and N-connectors of the early C-band systems to the cheaper and simpler 75-ohm cable and F-connectors allowed the early satellite television receivers to use, what were in reality, modified UHF television tuners which selected

11792-471: The majority being ethnic or religious in nature). Other FTA satellites include AMC-4 , AMC-6 , Galaxy 18 , and Satmex 5. A company called GloryStar promotes FTA religious broadcasters on Galaxy 19 . Satellite TV has seen a decline in consumers since the 2010s due to the cord-cutting trend where people are shifting towards internet-based streaming television and free over-the-air television . The term television receive-only , or TVRO, arose during

11926-443: The majority of the locally produced shows broadcast by TVNZ and imported shows. TVNZ's second network, TV2 , airs mostly imported shows with some locally produced programs such as Shortland Street . TVNZ also operates a network exclusive to pay television services, TVNZ Heartland , available on providers such as Sky . TVNZ previously operated a non-commercial public service network, TVNZ 7 , which ceased operations in June 2012 and

12060-556: The manufacture of television and radio equipment for civilian use from 1 April 1942 to 1 October 1945, temporarily shutting down expansion of television networking. However, in 1944 a short film, " Patrolling the Ether ", was broadcast simultaneously over three stations as an experiment. AT&T made its first postwar addition in February 1946, with the completion of a 225-mile (362 km) cable between New York City and Washington, D.C., although

12194-417: The market. Some countries operate satellite television services which can be received for free, without paying a subscription fee. This is called free-to-air satellite television. Germany is likely the leader in free-to-air with approximately 250 digital channels (including 83 HDTV channels and various regional channels) broadcast from the Astra 19.2°E satellite constellation. These are not marketed as

12328-577: The network for their own programming, a method known as regional variation . This is common where small networks are members of larger networks. The majority of commercial television stations are self-owned, even though a variety of these instances are the property of an owned-and-operated television network. The commercial television stations can also be linked with a noncommercial educational broadcasting agency. Some countries have launched national television networks, so that individual television stations can act as common repeaters of nationwide programs. On

12462-530: The network through a franchising contract, except in a few major cities that had owned-and-operated stations (O&O) of a network and independent stations. In the early days of television, when there were often only one or two stations broadcasting in a given market, the stations were usually affiliated with multiple networks and were able to choose which programs would air. Eventually, as more stations were licensed, it became common for each station to be exclusively affiliated with only one network and carry all of

12596-490: The network's preferred position. As to individual stations, modern network operations centers usually use broadcast automation to handle most tasks. These systems are not only used for programming and for video server playout , but use exact atomic time from Global Positioning Systems or other sources to maintain perfect synchronization with upstream and downstream systems, so that programming appears seamless to viewers. A major international television broadcaster

12730-458: The networks. As radio prospered throughout the 1920s and 1930s, experimental television stations, which broadcast both an audio and a video signal, began sporadic broadcasts. Licenses for these experimental stations were often granted to experienced radio broadcasters, and thus advances in television technology closely followed breakthroughs in radio technology. As interest in television grew, and as early television stations began regular broadcasts,

12864-432: The next satellite to avoid interference; for K u the spacing can be 1°. This means that there is an upper limit of 360/2 = 180 geostationary C-band satellites or 360/1 = 360 geostationary K u -band satellites. C-band transmission is susceptible to terrestrial interference while K u -band transmission is affected by rain (as water is an excellent absorber of microwaves at this particular frequency). The latter

12998-572: The next. Citytv originally began operating as a television system in 2002 when CKVU-TV in Vancouver started to carry programs originating from CITY-TV in Toronto and adopted that station's "Citytv" branding, but gradually became a network by virtue of national coverage through expansions into other markets west of Atlantic Canada between 2005 and 2013. Most local television stations in Canada are now owned and operated directly by their network, with only

13132-514: The operation of broadcaster UKTV in the UK itself. Experimental television broadcasts were started in 1929, using an electromechanical 30-line system developed by John Logie Baird . Limited regular broadcasts using this system began in 1934 and an expanded service (now known as BBC Television ) started from Alexandra Palace in November 1936. Television in the United States had long been dominated by

13266-410: The other hand, television networks also undergo the impending experience of major changes related to cultural varieties. The emergence of cable television has made available in major media markets, programs such as those aimed at American bi-cultural Latinos. Such a diverse captive audience presents an occasion for the networks and affiliates to advertise the best programming that needs to be aired. This

13400-490: The public and the broadcasters themselves will often refer to them as "networks" regardless. Some of these systems, such as CTV 2 and the now-defunct E! , essentially operate as mini-networks, but have reduced geographical coverage. Others, such as Omni Television or the Crossroads Television System , have similar branding and a common programming focus, but schedules may vary significantly from one station to

13534-475: The quality of the coaxial wire. The shift to more affordable technology from the 50   ohm impedance cable and N-connectors of the early C-band systems to the cheaper 75   ohm technology and F-connectors allowed the early satellite television receivers to use, what were in reality, modified UHF television tuners which selected the satellite television channel for down conversion to another lower intermediate frequency centered on 70 MHz where it

13668-493: The residence using cheap coaxial cable . To transport the signal into the house at its original K u band microwave frequency would require an expensive waveguide , a metal pipe to carry the radio waves. The cable connecting the receiver to the LNB are of the low loss type RG-6 , quad shield RG-6, or RG-11. RG-59 is not recommended for this application as it is not technically designed to carry frequencies above 950 MHz, but will work in many circumstances, depending on

13802-466: The right to receive signals for free unless they were scrambled, and required those who did scramble to make their signals available for a reasonable fee. Since cable channels could prevent reception by big dishes, other companies had an incentive to offer competition. In January 1986, HBO began using the now-obsolete VideoCipher II system to encrypt their channels . Other channels used less secure television encryption systems. The scrambling of HBO

13936-868: The same programming across the entire country with the only regional deviations being for local advertising; a regional news service existed in the 1980s, carrying a regional news programme from TVNZ's studios in New Zealand's four largest cities, Auckland, Wellington , Christchurch and Dunedin . In the 1960s, the service operated at the time by the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation was four separate television stations – AKTV2 in Auckland, WNTV1 in Wellington, CHTV3 in Christchurch and DNTV2 in Dunedin – which each ran their own newscast and produced some in-house programmes, with other shows being shared between

14070-434: The satellite over a narrow beam of microwaves , typically in the C-band frequency range due to its resistance to rain fade . Uplink satellite dishes are very large, often as much as 9 to 12 metres (30 to 40 feet) in diameter to achieve accurate aiming and increased signal strength at the satellite, to improve reliability. The uplink dish is pointed toward a specific satellite and the uplinked signals are transmitted within

14204-419: The satellite television channel for down conversion to a lower intermediate frequency centered on 70 MHz, where it was demodulated. This shift allowed the satellite television DTH industry to change from being a largely hobbyist one where only small numbers of systems costing thousands of US dollars were built, to a far more commercial one of mass production. In the United States, service providers use

14338-404: The satellite television signals are transmitted, and converts the block of frequencies to a lower frequency range in the L-band range. The signal is then passed through a coaxial cable into the residence to the satellite television receiver, a set-top box next to the television. The reason for using the LNB to do the frequency translation at the dish is so that the signal can be carried into

14472-718: The satellite's transponders drowns out reception. Direct-to-home (DTH) can either refer to the communications satellites themselves that deliver service or the actual television service. Most satellite television customers in developed television markets get their programming through a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) provider. Signals are transmitted using K u band (12 to 18 GHz) and are completely digital which means it has high picture and stereo sound quality. Programming for satellite television channels comes from multiple sources and may include live studio feeds. The broadcast center assembles and packages programming into channels for transmission and, where necessary, encrypts

14606-428: The satellite. The uplink dish is pointed toward a specific satellite and the uplinked signals are transmitted within a specific frequency range, so as to be received by one of the transponders tuned to that frequency range aboard that satellite. The transponder re-transmits the signals back to Earth at a different frequency (a process known as translation, used to avoid interference with the uplink signal), typically in

14740-562: The sense defined above, as they are singular operations – they have no affiliates or component stations, but instead are distributed to the public via cable or direct-broadcast satellite providers. Such networks are commonly referred to by terms such as " specialty channels " in Canada or " cable networks " in the U.S. A network may or may not produce all of its own programming. If not, production companies (such as Warner Bros. Television , Universal Television , Sony Pictures Television and TriStar Television ) can distribute their content to

14874-508: The sign-on of DuMont's WDTV in Pittsburgh, the Midwest and East Coast networks were finally connected by coaxial cable (with WDTV airing the best shows from all four networks). By 1951, the four networks stretched from coast to coast, carried on the new microwave radio relay network of AT&T Long Lines . Only a few local television stations remained independent of the networks. Each of

15008-603: The signal can be aimed permanently at the location of the satellite and does not have to track a moving satellite. A few systems instead use a highly elliptical orbit with inclination of +/−63.4 degrees and an orbital period of about twelve hours, known as a Molniya orbit . Satellite television, like other communications relayed by satellite, starts with a transmitting antenna located at an uplink facility. Uplink satellite dishes are very large, as much as 9 to 12 meters (30 to 40 feet) in diameter. The increased diameter results in more accurate aiming and increased signal strength at

15142-409: The signal to a lower intermediate frequency , decrypts the encrypted signal, demodulates the radio signal and sends the resulting video signal to the television through a cable. To decrypt the signal the receiver box must be "activated" by the satellite company. If the customer fails to pay their monthly bill the box is "deactivated" by a signal from the company, and the system will not work until

15276-624: The stations. Programmes and news footage were distributed via mail, with a programme airing in one region being mailed to another region for broadcast the following week. A network was finally established in 1969, with the same programmes being relayed to all regions simultaneously. From the 1970s to the 1990s, locally produced programmes that aired on TV One and TV2 were produced out of one of the four main studios, with TVNZ's network hub based in Wellington. Today, most locally produced programmes that are aired by both TVNZ and other networks are not actually produced in-house, instead they are often produced by

15410-418: The sun lines up directly behind the satellite in the field of view of the receiving satellite dish. This happens for about a 10-minute period daily around midday, twice every year for a two-week period in the spring and fall around the equinox . During this period, the sun is within the main lobe of the dish's reception pattern, so the strong microwave noise emitted by the sun on the same frequencies used by

15544-545: The two main private English-language over-the-air services, CTV and Global , are also generally considered to be "networks" by virtue of their national coverage, although they are not officially licensed as such. CTV was previously a licensed network, but relinquished this license in 2001 after acquiring most of its affiliates, making operating a network license essentially redundant (per the above definition). Smaller groups of stations with common branding are often categorized by industry watchers as television systems , although

15678-417: The underlying reception technology is similar, the pay television technology is proprietary, often consisting of a conditional-access module and smart card . This measure assures satellite television providers that only authorized, paying subscribers have access to pay television content but at the same time can allow free-to-air channels to be viewed even by the people with standard equipment available in

15812-471: The use of gallium arsenide FET technology enabled the use of smaller dishes. Five hundred thousand systems, some costing as little as $ 2000, were sold in the US in 1984. Dishes pointing to one satellite were even cheaper. People in areas without local broadcast stations or cable television service could obtain good-quality reception with no monthly fees. The large dishes were a subject of much consternation, as many people considered them eyesores , and in

15946-471: The various networks, and it is common that a certain production firm may have programs that air on two or more rival networks. Similarly, some networks may import television programs from other countries, or use archived programming to help complement their schedules. Some stations have the capability to interrupt the network through the local insertion of television commercials, station identifications and emergency alerts . Others completely break away from

16080-433: The viewer to subscribe and pay a monthly fee to receive the programming. Modern systems signals are relayed from a communications satellite on the X band (8–12 GHz) or K u band (12–18 GHz) frequencies requiring only a small dish less than a meter in diameter. The first satellite TV systems were a now-obsolete type known as television receive-only . These systems received weaker analog signals transmitted in

16214-633: Was Canada 's geostationary Anik 1 , which was launched on 9 November 1972. ATS-6 , the world's first experimental educational and direct broadcast satellite (DBS), was launched on 30 May 1974. It transmitted at 860 MHz using wideband FM modulation and had two sound channels. The transmissions were focused on the Indian subcontinent but experimenters were able to receive the signal in Western Europe using home constructed equipment that drew on UHF television design techniques already in use. The first in

16348-509: Was added to Verizon FiOS that year. Since WFN's launch on Verizon and Dish Network, it has been added to several other television providers such as Charter Communications , and television providers in the Caribbean, including Flow Cable in Jamaica. On January 10, 2011, WFN announced that it had sold a 50% stake in its U.S. operations to Altitude Sports and Entertainment . In 2011, Altitude purchased

16482-473: Was controlled typically by a voltage tuned oscillator with the tuning voltage being fed via a separate cable to the headend, but this design evolved. Designs for microstrip -based converters for amateur radio frequencies were adapted for the 4 GHz C-band . Central to these designs was concept of block downconversion of a range of frequencies to a lower, more easily handled IF. The advantages of using an LNB are that cheaper cable can be used to connect

16616-399: Was demodulated. An LNB can only handle a single receiver. This is due to the fact that the LNB is mapping two different circular polarisations – right hand and left hand – and in the case of the K u -band two different reception bands – lower and upper – to one and the same frequency band on the cable, and is a practical problem for home satellite reception. Depending on which frequency

16750-432: Was established in 1980. Early satellite television systems were not very popular due to their expense and large dish size. The satellite television dishes of the systems in the late 1970s and early 1980s were 10 to 16 feet (3.0 to 4.9 m) in diameter, made of fibreglass or solid aluminum or steel , and in the United States cost more than $ 5,000, sometimes as much as $ 10,000. Programming sent from ground stations

16884-1454: Was founded in 1965. It grew to become the largest and most successful media conglomerate in the country, having a dominating presence in various forms of media including television, radio, print (newspapers and magazines) and the Internet. Other networks include Rede Bandeirantes , RecordTV , SBT , RedeTV! , TV Cultura , and TV Brasil . Australia has two national public networks, ABC Television and SBS . The ABC operates eight stations as part of its main network ABC TV , one for each state and territory, as well as three digital-only networks, ABC Kids / ABC TV Plus , ABC Me and ABC News . SBS currently operates six stations, SBS , SBS Viceland , SBS World Movies , SBS Food , NITV and SBS WorldWatch . The first commercial networks in Australia involved commercial stations that shared programming in Sydney , Melbourne , Brisbane , Adelaide and later Perth , with each network forming networks based on their allocated channel numbers: TCN-9 in Sydney, GTV-9 in Melbourne, QTQ-9 in Brisbane, NWS-9 in Adelaide and STW-9 in Perth together formed

17018-415: Was launched into geosynchronous orbit on April 6, 1965. The first national network of television satellites, called Orbita , was created by the Soviet Union in October 1967, and was based on the principle of using the highly elliptical Molniya satellite for rebroadcasting and delivering of television signals to ground downlink stations. The first domestic satellite to carry television transmissions

17152-465: Was launched under the ownership of Insight Sports . The company expanded the channel in the United States in November 2007 with its launch on Verizon FiOS as a standard definition channel. A few months later, in May 2008, WFN launched a high definition (HD) channel on Dish Network , called "World Fishing Network HD", a channel with a separate schedule from its standard definition counterpart. The HD channel

17286-445: Was met with much protest from owners of big-dish systems, most of which had no other option at the time for receiving such channels, claiming that clear signals from cable channels would be difficult to receive. Eventually HBO allowed dish owners to subscribe directly to their service for $ 12.95 per month, a price equal to or higher than what cable subscribers were paying, and required a descrambler to be purchased for $ 395. This led to

17420-431: Was operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC ). On 2 November 1936 the BBC opened the world's first regular high-definition television service, from a 405 lines transmitter at Alexandra Palace. The BBC remained dominant until eventually on 22 September 1955, commercial broadcasting was established to create a second television network. Rather than creating a single network with local channels owned and operated by

17554-519: Was published in the October 1945 issue of the Wireless World magazine and won him the Franklin Institute 's Stuart Ballantine Medal in 1963. The first satellite relayed communication was achieved early on in the space age, after the first relay test was conducted by Pioneer 1 and the first radio broadcast by SCORE at the end of 1958, after at the beginning of the year Sputnik I became

17688-586: Was relayed from eighteen satellites in geostationary orbit located 22,300 miles (35,900 km) above the Earth. By 1980, satellite television was well established in the US and Europe. On 26 April 1982, the first satellite channel in the UK, Satellite Television Ltd. (later Sky One ), was launched. Its signals were transmitted from the ESA 's Orbital Test Satellites . Between 1981 and 1985, TVRO systems' sales rates increased as prices fell. Advances in receiver technology and

17822-441: Was replaced by the timeshift channel TV One Plus 1. The network operated by Television New Zealand has progressed from operating as four distinct local stations within the four main centers in the 1960s, to having the majority of the content produced from TVNZ's Auckland studios at present. New Zealand also has several privately owned television networks with the largest being operated by MediaWorks . MediaWorks' flagship network

17956-758: Was televised to a few hundred receivers over the NBC station W2XBS (which evolved into WNBC ) as well as seen in Schenectady, New York via W2XB (which evolved into WRGB ) via off-air relay from the New York station. NBC had earlier demonstrated an inter-city television broadcast on 1 February 1940, from its station in New York City to another in Schenectady , New York by General Electric relay antennas, and began transmitting some programs on an irregular basis to Philadelphia and Schenectady in 1941. Wartime priorities suspended

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