Network Creation

Peter Arnett on being hired as a reporter for CNN in its early days

Peter Arnett on meeting Ted Turner soon after he was hired to be on CNN

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

George Bodenheimer on ESPN's business model

George Bodenheimer on the culture of ESPN

George Bodenheimer on the reasoning behind launching ESPN2

George Bodenheimer on extending the ESPN brand with the radio network and ESPN.com

Josie Carey on being hired by WQED before the station went on the air

Josie Carey on the creation of Pittsburgh public station WQED, and on meeting Fred Rogers

Marcy Carsey on investing in the Oxygen network

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

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

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

James Day on initial funding efforts of KQED

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)

Roy E. Disney on the formative years of the Disney company

Jerry Falwell on his purchase of the Liberty Broadcasting Cable Network

Richard Frank on the failed Paramount Television Service

Leonard H. Goldenson his deal with Edward J. Noble (head of Lifesavers) to purchase NBC's Blue network, which became ABC

Leonard H. Goldenson on convincing Paramount's board members to buy ABC

Leonard H. Goldenson on acquiring ESPN and starting A&E

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

Herb Granath on the start of the Lifetime cable channel

Herb Granath on the growth of ESPN and the launch of ESPN 2

Herb Granath on the birth of The History Channel

Herb Granath on the birth and management of CBS cable

Herb Granath on the birth of ESPN

Herb Granath on the formation of Eurosport

Herb Granath on becoming Co-Chairman of the Hallmark Network

Herb Granath on the most important component of creating a new cable network

Donald Hall on the formation of Hallmark Entertainment and The Hallmark Channel

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

Doug Herzog on helping to create Comedy Central's identity, and on the creation of The Daily Show

Doug Herzog on the evolving standards of Comedy Central, and on South Park and The Daily Show

Robert Johnson on starting BET

Robert Johnson on John Malone's role in creating BET

Robert Johnson on the early business plan and promotional activity of BET

Robert Johnson on coming up with the name BET

Kay Koplovitz on realizing in 1973 that cable television would offer opportunities and joining UA-Columbia

Kay Koplovitz on HBO's early years in the 1970s

Kay Koplovitz on launching Madison Square Garden Sports Network , the first basic cable network

Kay Koplovitz on changing the name of her network Madison Square Garden Sports Network to USA in 1979

Kay Koplovitz on the creation of the Sci-Fi Channel (now SyFy)

Brian Lamb on the inception of C-SPAN

Brian Lamb on coming up with the idea for C-SPAN

Brian Lamb on his initial pitch for C-SPAN

Brian Lamb on putting C-SPAN together and the politics involved in C-SPAN's development

Brian Lamb on C-SPAN's first day of broadcast and early lack of programming

Brian Lamb on the creation of C-SPAN 2 and getting the Senate televised and C-SPAN 3

Margaret Loesch on creating the Fox Kids for the Fox Network

Margaret Loesch on programming The Hub and The Hatchery

James L. Loper on getting public television station KCET on the air

James L. Loper on developing instructional television

James L. Loper on the beginnings of the PBS Network of stations

James L. Loper on PBS programming and the mission of PBS

James L. Loper on obstacles to creating PBS and dealing with Washington D.C.

Wink Martindale on the advent of Game Show Network

Michael Moye on the pilot, initial testing, and network notes for Married...With Children

Michael Moye on Married...With Children 's place on the new FOX network

Michael Moye on FOX executives hating Married...With Children

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

Jeff Probst on the FX cable channel

Ward Quaal on WGN becoming a superstation

Martha Quinn on her fellow original MTV VJs

Martha Quinn on the early visual style of MTV

Martha Quinn on the state of music videos when MTV launched

Martha Quinn on the early production schedule at MTV

Martha Quinn on the wardrobe at MTV, and on the early rules for on-air conduct

Martha Quinn on how MTV influenced the 1980s, and on Bruce Springsteen making videos

Martha Quinn on how music videos were chosen in the early years of MTV, and on the first video played on MTV, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles

Sumner Redstone on his then-plans for UPN

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

Pat Robertson on buying WTOV, a local television station in Portsmouth, Virginia, which was the beginning of CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network)

Pat Robertson on the difficulty he had in maintaining his television station, and getting CBN off the ground

Pat Robertson on the early programming for his first CBN station

Pat Robertson on dealing with the early equipment at his first television station

Pat Robertson on the sources for early CBN programming, and on the start of The 700 Club

Pat Robertson on the early benefactor of CBN, and on the decision not to accept advertising

Pat Robertson on boosting the power of his early television station to reach more viewers

Pat Robertson on bringing CBN to cable

Pat Robertson on the transition from CBN to The Family Channel

Haim Saban on negotiations with Rupert Murdoch which led to the creation of Fox Kids Worldwide

Thomas W. Sarnoff on his father, NBC founder David Sarnoff

Thomas W. Sarnoff on the vision of his father, NBC founder David Sarnoff

Thomas W. Sarnoff on David Sarnoff's legacy

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

Reese Schonfeld on an early proposed cable news network before CNN

Reese Schonfeld on meeting Ted Turner, and on the creation of CNN

Reese Schonfeld on staffing CNN along with Ted Turner at its inception

Reese Schonfeld on organizing CNN in secret, at first

Reese Schonfeld on Ted Turner's original idea for CNN, and on how Schonfeld developed it from there

Reese Schonfeld on CNN's innovative operating structure: "bottom/up," rather than "top/down" as network news did at that time

Reese Schonfeld on CNN's schedule when it first went on the air

Reese Schonfeld on CNN's early revenue

Reese Schonfeld on Ted Turner choosing the name "CNN," and on creating the CNN logo

Reese Schonfeld on how CNN covered breaking news around the world in its early days

Reese Schonfeld on Rome being the location of CNN's first main European base

Reese Schonfeld on hiring Ed Turner to be executive vice president of CNN

Reese Schonfeld on hiring Ted Kavanau as CNN's senior producer

Reese Schonfeld on hiring Jim Kitchell as CNN's vice president of production and operations

Reese Schonfeld on Burt Reinhardt's role in the development of CNN

Reese Schonfeld on CNN being completely computerized when it went on the air

Reese Schonfeld on the early technology used by CNN, some of which gave it a leg up on network news

Reese Schonfeld on the "open newsroom" look of the early CNN broadcasts

Reese Schonfeld on CNN getting the FCC to change the rules on live broadcasts

Reese Schonfeld on the early CNN graphics

Reese Schonfeld on CNN launch day, June 1, 1980

Reese Schonfeld on Ted Turner raising the capital to launch CNN, and on their early operating budget

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

Reese Schonfeld on striking a deal with Steve Ross at Time Warner to use one of their transponders for CNN

Reese Schonfeld on the challenges CNN faced overing its first big story, the Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom

Reese Schonfeld on Ted Turner being hands-on at CNN in the beginning regarding content

Reese Schonfeld on CNN's initial advertisers

Reese Schonfeld on CNN's initial advertisers when it first went on the air

Reese Schonfeld on finding on-air talent for the first few years of CNN, including Bernard Shaw

Reese Schonfeld on his and Ted Turner's attempt to hire Dan Rather to be the main anchor at the inception of CNN

Reese Schonfeld on hiring Bill Zimmerman, Sandy Freeman, Lou Dobbs and various others as on-air talent at the start of CNN

Reese Schonfeld on the rules for their initial CNN anchors, including Kathleen Sullivan

Reese Schonfeld on teaching then-new CNN employees about journalism with "CNN College"

Reese Schonfeld on the first stories CNN covered, including an interview with then president Jimmy Carter

Reese Schonfeld on the decision to make CNN a non-union shop

Reese Schonfeld on dealing with the FCC on satellite delivery of television

Reese Schonfeld on the creation of the Food Network

Reese Schonfeld on the creation of the Food Network

Reese Schonfeld on Emeril Lagasse's early Food Network shows

Reese Schonfeld on running Julia Child's old shows on the Food Network, and on trying to position the network for women

Reese Schonfeld on the early personalities of the Food Network

Reese Schonfeld on what made the Food Network a success

Reese Schonfeld on Scripps Howard taking over the Food Network

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

Chet Simmons on leaving NBC Sports, and on the creation of ESPN

Chet Simmonson leaving NBC Sports for the newly created ESPN

Chet Simmons on ESPN founders Bill and Scott Rasmussen, and the other people at the network when it started

Chet Simmons on ESPN's early scheduling process

Chet Simmons on ESPN's early primetime schedule

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

Chet Simmons on the first moments on the air at ESPN, and on the look and sponsors of the network at the time

Chet Simmons on ESPN's schedule when they first went on the air, and the demographics of the network and early success

Chet Simmons on ESPN's early offices, equipment, technology, and location

Chet Simmons on the growth of ESPN during his tenure

Frank Stanton on CBS getting into television, and the CBS network coverage in the early days

Frank Stanton on the FCC issuing the original licenses to television stations around the country, and CBS' failed color system

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

Frank Stanton on the creation of CBS News for television, and Edward R. Murrow's reluctance to do television

Frank Stanton on the design and construction of CBS Television City in Los Angeles

Frank Stanton on the design and construction of CBS Black Rock in New York City

Frank Stanton on the design and construction of CBS Black Rock

Frank Stanton on the design and creation of the CBS eye logo

Frank Stanton on what he feels is the lack of adequate maintenance of CBS Black Rock

Frank Stanton on what CBS Black Rock meant to CBS

Frank Stanton on the creation of CBS News

Frank Stanton on CBS News' initial roster of correspondents

Ted Turner on the birth of CNN

Ted Turner on the premiere and early budget for CNN

Ted Turner on the budgetary constraints on forming CNN

Ted Turner on network resistance to CNN; on his concept for and naming CNN

Ted Turner on creating CNN II (Headline News)

Ted Turner on launching TNT

Ted Turner on purchasing Hanna-Barbera's library and creating the Cartoon Network

Ted Turner on creating TCM, Turner Classic Movies

Bill Tush on an early TV Guide article about "Superstation" WTCG

Bill Tush on WTCG being beamed via satellite and becoming a "Superstation"

Bill Tush on the advent of CNN

Dean Valentine on being named president and chief executive of UPN a year after it launched

Dean Valentine on the steps he took as president and chief executive officer of UPN to boost ratings and battling The WB

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

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

Av Westin on the Public Broadcasting Laboratory

Brian Williams on the creation of MSNBC and covering 9/11

Lauren Zalaznick on the experience of creating and branding the Trio network

Lauren Zalaznick on programming the Trio network

Lauren Zalaznick on what she learned about programming as the head of Trio