Network Creation


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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Interviewees discuss the creative of television networks. 

Highlights
Herb Granath on the most important component of creating a new cable network
01:00
James L. Loper on the beginnings of the PBS Network of stations
02:32
Brian Lamb on his initial pitch for C-SPAN
03:28
Frank Stanton on the creation of CBS News
04:42
Kay Koplovitz on the creation of the Sci-Fi Channel (now SyFy)
04:49
Ted Turner on launching TNT
01:40
Who talked about this topic

Peter Arnett

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Peter Arnett on being hired as a reporter for CNN in its early days
08:40
Peter Arnett on meeting Ted Turner soon after he was hired to be on CNN
02:28

Ralph M. Baruch

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Ralph M. Baruch on the creation of Showtime and MTV Networks
11:57

George Bodenheimer

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George Bodenheimer on ESPN's business model
02:04
George Bodenheimer on the culture of ESPN
01:03
George Bodenheimer on the reasoning behind launching ESPN2
06:52
George Bodenheimer on extending the ESPN brand with the radio network and ESPN.com
00:52

Josie Carey

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Josie Carey on being hired by WQED before the station went on the air
03:22
Josie Carey on the creation of Pittsburgh public station WQED, and on meeting Fred Rogers
07:44

Marcy Carsey

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Marcy Carsey on investing in the Oxygen network
01:05

Stan Chambers

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Stan Chambers on the history and facilities of KTLA and some of the key people who were there at the beginning
14:14

Julia Child

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Julia Child on the advent of The Food Network and her "teaching" her audience
03:52

Andy Cohen

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Andy Cohen on Barry Diller offering him the opportunity to be Vice President of Original Programming at the cable channel, TRIO
02:12

Doug Herzog with Emerson College

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Doug Herzog on helping to create Comedy Central's identity, and on the creation of The Daily Show
03:10
Doug Herzog on the evolving standards of Comedy Central, and on South Park and The Daily Show
04:17

James Day

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James Day on initial funding efforts of KQED
04:08

Milton Delugg

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Milton Delugg on NBC exec Sylvester L. "Pat" Weaver's idea to have morning, noon, and night shows on NBC, and on becoming bandleader on the night show Broadway Open House (precursor to The Tonight Show)
01:57

Roy E. Disney

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Roy E. Disney on the formative years of the Disney company
11:59

Jerry Falwell

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Jerry Falwell on his purchase of the Liberty Broadcasting Cable Network
03:18

Richard Frank

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Richard Frank on the failed Paramount Television Service
05:00

Leonard H. Goldenson

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Leonard H. Goldenson his deal with Edward J. Noble (head of Lifesavers) to purchase NBC's Blue network, which became ABC
05:48
Leonard H. Goldenson on convincing Paramount's board members to buy ABC
03:06
Leonard H. Goldenson on acquiring ESPN and starting A&E
02:09

Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr.

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Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. on DuMont having only three owned and operated stations while other networks had four
02:42

Herb Granath

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Herb Granath on the start of the Lifetime cable channel
04:57
Herb Granath on the growth of ESPN and the launch of ESPN 2
17:53
Herb Granath on the birth of The History Channel
03:59
Herb Granath on the birth and management of CBS cable
04:23
Herb Granath on the birth of ESPN
19:34
Herb Granath on the formation of Eurosport
07:29
Herb Granath on becoming Co-Chairman of the Hallmark Network
06:01
Herb Granath on the most important component of creating a new cable network
01:00

Donald Hall

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Donald Hall on the formation of Hallmark Entertainment and The Hallmark Channel
05:34

Don Hastings

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Don Hastings on the set and costumes of Captain Video and His Video Rangers, and on the DuMont Television Network
02:52

Robert Johnson

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Robert Johnson on starting BET
03:39
Robert Johnson on John Malone's role in creating BET
02:51
Robert Johnson on the early business plan and promotional activity of BET
02:35
Robert Johnson on coming up with the name BET
01:36

Kay Koplovitz

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Kay Koplovitz on realizing in 1973 that cable television would offer opportunities and joining UA-Columbia
02:13
Kay Koplovitz on HBO's early years in the 1970s
02:56
Kay Koplovitz on launching Madison Square Garden Sports Network , the first basic cable network
09:00
Kay Koplovitz on changing the name of her network Madison Square Garden Sports Network to USA in 1979
03:12
Kay Koplovitz on the creation of the Sci-Fi Channel (now SyFy)
04:49

Brian Lamb

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Brian Lamb on the inception of C-SPAN
02:41
Brian Lamb on coming up with the idea for C-SPAN
08:37
Brian Lamb on his initial pitch for C-SPAN
03:28
Brian Lamb on putting C-SPAN together and the politics involved in C-SPAN's development
09:09
Brian Lamb on C-SPAN's first day of broadcast and early lack of programming
06:08
Brian Lamb on the creation of C-SPAN 2 and getting the Senate televised and C-SPAN 3
05:37

James L. Loper

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James L. Loper on getting public television station KCET on the air
03:59
James L. Loper on developing instructional television
03:48
James L. Loper on the beginnings of the PBS Network of stations
02:32
James L. Loper on PBS programming and the mission of PBS
03:33
James L. Loper on obstacles to creating PBS and dealing with Washington D.C.
03:11

Wink Martindale

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Wink Martindale on the advent of Game Show Network
02:20

Michael Moye

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Michael Moye on the pilot, initial testing, and network notes for Married...With Children
08:09
Michael Moye on Married...With Children 's place on the new FOX network
04:18
Michael Moye on FOX executives hating Married...With Children
02:41
Michael Moye on "the Rakolta incident" (so called because a woman named Terry Rakolta complained about content on Married...With Children) and FOX withholding fan mail; on subsequent problems with the network
14:01

Jeff Probst

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Jeff Probst on the FX cable channel
17:00

Ward Quaal

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Ward Quaal on WGN becoming a superstation
02:06

Sumner Redstone

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Sumner Redstone on his then-plans for UPN
01:32

Lee Rich

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Lee Rich on the network creators: David Sarnoff (NBC), William S. Paley (CBS), and Leonard Goldenson (ABC)
02:00

Pat Robertson

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Pat Robertson on buying WTOV, a local television station in Portsmouth, Virginia, which was the beginning of CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network)
08:21
Pat Robertson on the difficulty he had in maintaining his television station, and getting CBN off the ground
04:15
Pat Robertson on the early programming for his first CBN station
01:59
Pat Robertson on dealing with the early equipment at his first television station
02:17
Pat Robertson on the sources for early CBN programming, and on the start of The 700 Club
02:01
Pat Robertson on the early benefactor of CBN, and on the decision not to accept advertising
02:38
Pat Robertson on boosting the power of his early television station to reach more viewers
04:52
Pat Robertson on bringing CBN to cable
07:18
Pat Robertson on the transition from CBN to The Family Channel
04:45

Thomas W. Sarnoff

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Thomas W. Sarnoff on his father, NBC founder David Sarnoff
02:40
Thomas W. Sarnoff on the vision of his father, NBC founder David Sarnoff
01:03
Thomas W. Sarnoff on David Sarnoff's legacy
00:25

Herbert S. Schlosser

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Herbert S. Schlosser on his involvement in the creation of the A&E cable network, and on the state of cable at the time
06:20

Reese Schonfeld

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Reese Schonfeld on an early proposed cable news network before CNN
03:22
Reese Schonfeld on meeting Ted Turner, and on the creation of CNN
06:29
Reese Schonfeld on staffing CNN along with Ted Turner at its inception
06:19
Reese Schonfeld on organizing CNN in secret, at first
01:07
Reese Schonfeld on Ted Turner's original idea for CNN, and on how Schonfeld developed it from there
04:59
Reese Schonfeld on CNN's innovative operating structure: "bottom/up," rather than "top/down" as network news did at that time
02:04
Reese Schonfeld on CNN's schedule when it first went on the air
03:39
Reese Schonfeld on CNN's early revenue
04:54
Reese Schonfeld on Ted Turner choosing the name "CNN," and on creating the CNN logo
02:22
Reese Schonfeld on how CNN covered breaking news around the world in its early days
06:24
Reese Schonfeld on Rome being the location of CNN's first main European base
03:24
Reese Schonfeld on hiring Ed Turner to be executive vice president of CNN
02:37
Reese Schonfeld on hiring Ted Kavanau as CNN's senior producer
03:50
Reese Schonfeld on hiring Jim Kitchell as CNN's vice president of production and operations
02:39
Reese Schonfeld on Burt Reinhardt's role in the development of CNN
08:24
Reese Schonfeld on CNN being completely computerized when it went on the air
01:22
Reese Schonfeld on the early technology used by CNN, some of which gave it a leg up on network news
14:05
Reese Schonfeld on the "open newsroom" look of the early CNN broadcasts
04:43
Reese Schonfeld on CNN getting the FCC to change the rules on live broadcasts
03:26
Reese Schonfeld on the early CNN graphics
04:50
Reese Schonfeld on CNN launch day, June 1, 1980
00:55
Reese Schonfeld on Ted Turner raising the capital to launch CNN, and on their early operating budget
10:07
Reese Schonfeld on CNN CFO Bill Bevins being at odds with Ted Turner over CNN investors, and on the potential threat of an early CNN competitor
04:40
Reese Schonfeld on striking a deal with Steve Ross at Time Warner to use one of their transponders for CNN
02:09
Reese Schonfeld on the challenges CNN faced overing its first big story, the Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom
04:52
Reese Schonfeld on Ted Turner being hands-on at CNN in the beginning regarding content
05:14
Reese Schonfeld on CNN's initial advertisers
02:13
Reese Schonfeld on CNN's initial advertisers when it first went on the air
05:08
Reese Schonfeld on finding on-air talent for the first few years of CNN, including Bernard Shaw
07:47
Reese Schonfeld on his and Ted Turner's attempt to hire Dan Rather to be the main anchor at the inception of CNN
03:34
Reese Schonfeld on hiring Bill Zimmerman, Sandy Freeman, Lou Dobbs and various others as on-air talent at the start of CNN
10:27
Reese Schonfeld on the rules for their initial CNN anchors, including Kathleen Sullivan
02:12
Reese Schonfeld on teaching then-new CNN employees about journalism with "CNN College"
06:56
Reese Schonfeld on the first stories CNN covered, including an interview with then president Jimmy Carter
03:15
Reese Schonfeld on the decision to make CNN a non-union shop
00:55
Reese Schonfeld on dealing with the FCC on satellite delivery of television
07:25
Reese Schonfeld on the creation of the Food Network
08:30
Reese Schonfeld on the creation of the Food Network
07:06
Reese Schonfeld on Emeril Lagasse's early Food Network shows
01:17
Reese Schonfeld on running Julia Child's old shows on the Food Network, and on trying to position the network for women
04:21
Reese Schonfeld on the early personalities of the Food Network
01:28
Reese Schonfeld on what made the Food Network a success
02:24
Reese Schonfeld on Scripps Howard taking over the Food Network
08:00

Daniel Schorr

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Daniel Schorr on working for CNN at the creation of the network by Ted Turner
06:00

Chet Simmons

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Chet Simmons on leaving NBC Sports, and on the creation of ESPN
07:19
Chet Simmonson leaving NBC Sports for the newly created ESPN
03:41
Chet Simmons on ESPN founders Bill and Scott Rasmussen, and the other people at the network when it started
08:54
Chet Simmons on ESPN's early scheduling process
06:26
Chet Simmons on ESPN's early primetime schedule
06:16
Chet Simmons on the amount of live coverage ESPN did in their early years, and on the number of viewers and cable system at its launch
04:44
Chet Simmons on the first moments on the air at ESPN, and on the look and sponsors of the network at the time
05:40
Chet Simmons on ESPN's schedule when they first went on the air, and the demographics of the network and early success
03:22
Chet Simmons on ESPN's early offices, equipment, technology, and location
08:55
Chet Simmons on the growth of ESPN during his tenure
04:28

Frank Stanton

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Frank Stanton on CBS getting into television, and the CBS network coverage in the early days
03:44
Frank Stanton on the FCC issuing the original licenses to television stations around the country, and CBS' failed color system
05:57
Frank Stanton on where CBS stood in relation to NBC in the earliest days of television, and on eventually surpassing them with I Love Lucy
04:23
Frank Stanton on the creation of CBS News for television, and Edward R. Murrow's reluctance to do television
05:48
Frank Stanton on the design and construction of CBS Television City in Los Angeles
04:30
Frank Stanton on the design and construction of CBS Black Rock in New York City
05:51
Frank Stanton on the design and construction of CBS Black Rock
02:07
Frank Stanton on the design and creation of the CBS eye logo
04:17
Frank Stanton on what he feels is the lack of adequate maintenance of CBS Black Rock
07:22
Frank Stanton on what CBS Black Rock meant to CBS
03:12
Frank Stanton on the creation of CBS News
04:42
Frank Stanton on CBS News' initial roster of correspondents
05:22

Ted Turner

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Ted Turner on the birth of CNN
05:20
Ted Turner on the premiere and early budget for CNN
01:53
Ted Turner on the budgetary constraints on forming CNN
01:46
Ted Turner on network resistance to CNN; on his concept for and naming CNN
03:47
Ted Turner on creating CNN II (Headline News)
05:45
Ted Turner on launching TNT
01:40
Ted Turner on purchasing Hanna-Barbera's library and creating the Cartoon Network
01:59
Ted Turner on creating TCM, Turner Classic Movies
01:05

Bill Tush

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Bill Tush on an early TV Guide article about "Superstation" WTCG
02:19
Bill Tush on WTCG being beamed via satellite and becoming a "Superstation"
01:47
Bill Tush on the advent of CNN
04:23

Dean Valentine

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Dean Valentine on being named president and chief executive of UPN a year after it launched
06:40
Dean Valentine on the steps he took as president and chief executive officer of UPN to boost ratings and battling The WB
04:37

Jac Venza

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Jac Venza on PBS' early cinema programming, including shows on the history of cinema and foreign films
05:00

Tony Verna

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Tony Verna on working with ESPN and how they've changed sports broadcasting
02:16

Av Westin

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Av Westin on the Public Broadcasting Laboratory
06:56

Lauren Zalaznick

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Lauren Zalaznick on the experience of creating and branding the Trio network
04:26
Lauren Zalaznick on programming the Trio network
07:44
Lauren Zalaznick on what she learned about programming as the head of Trio
04:55

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