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Television networks compete fiercely for viewers' attention, with famous TV channels like HBO, BBC, and CNN dominating the global media landscape.
This is their history.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was founded in 1922 and has since become one of the world's largest and most influential public service broadcasters.
Known for its commitment to impartiality and its iconic programs like Doctor Who and Top of the Pops. In its early days, the BBC engaged in some surprising practices, including having MI5 secretly vet job applicants for political views from the 1930s to 1990s.
The also banned the music of "enemy" composers during World War II, censored 99 German, 38 Austrian and 38 Italian composers from its airwaves.'
NBC, founded in 1926 as a radio network before expanding into television, has a rich history as one of America's major broadcast networks and is known for iconic shows like The Tonight Show, Saturday Night Live, and Friends.
In 1975, then-president Herbert Schlosser tasked Dick Ebersol with creating a show to fill the Saturday night slot after Johnny Carson wanted to stop doing weekend editions of The Tonight Show, leading to the creation of Saturday Night Live—which remains on air to this day and has become a cultural institution.
CBS, founded in 1927 as a radio network, evolved into one of America's "Big Three" television networks and pioneered many firsts in broadcasting, including airing the first NFL game in high-definition in 1998.
CBS was once partly owned by its eventual rival Paramount Pictures in the 1930s, only to later merge with Viacom (which owned Paramount) in 2000, split again in 2005, and finally re-merge in 2019 to form ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global).
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) began in 1943 as the successor to the NBC Blue Network, and became a major television network in 1948.
ABC was acquired by a movie theater chain (United Paramount Theatres) in 1953, and later became part of the Walt Disney Company in 1996, transforming from a radio network offspring into a key asset of one of the world's largest entertainment conglomerates.
CNN, founded in 1980 by Ted Turner as the first 24-hour all-news television channel, revolutionized the media landscape and became a global powerhouse in news broadcasting.
CNN once experimented with a "Checkout Channel" in grocery stores in the early 1990s.
And in 2016 they launched a drone-based news gathering operation called CNN AIR (Aerial Imagery and Reporting).
HBO revolutionized television as the first subscription TV service in the U.S., launching in 1972 with a hockey game and the film "Sometimes a Great Notion" as its inaugural broadcasts.
In its early years, HBO aired some truly eclectic programming, including championship rodeo events, North American Soccer League matches, and even World TeamTennis—a level of sports variety that would be unthinkable for the premium cable giant today.
MTV launched on August 1, 1981 with the iconic "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles as its first music video, revolutionizing the music industry and youth culture.
MTV's programming shifted dramatically over the decades, going from 24/7 music videos to reality shows and scripted series, with one report indicating that in June 2020, the show "Ridiculousness" aired for a staggering 113 out of the network's 168 weekly hours.
PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) was established in 1969 as a non-commercial, educational television network in the United States, taking over many functions of its predecessor, National Educational Television.
PBS was once embroiled in a major lawsuit with former Monkees guitarist Michael Nesmith's company Pacific Arts over video distribution rights, resulting in a jury awarding Nesmith and his company nearly $49 million, including punitive damages.
Fox News was launched in 1996 by media mogul Rupert Murdoch as a conservative alternative to other news networks, quickly becoming the most-watched cable news channel in the U.S.
In 2023, Fox News settled a defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million after promoting false claims about the 2020 election, despite internal communications showing that Fox executives and hosts privately doubted these claims while continuing to air them publicly.
ESPN, founded in 1979 as a 24-hour sports network, revolutionized sports broadcasting and grew to become a media powerhouse worth an estimated $40 billion.
ESPN's success can be partly attributed to its early partnership with Anheuser-Busch, which invested $1 million to be the exclusive beer advertised on the network, helping to build ESPN's credibility when many doubted the viability of a dedicated sports channel.
The Discovery Channel, launched in 1985, began as an educational network focused on science and nature documentaries but gradually shifted towards more reality-based programming and pseudo-scientific entertainment by the 2010s.
In 2010, a man armed with a handgun entered Discovery Communications headquarters, fired at least one shot, and held several employees hostage before being fatally shot by police.
Nickelodeon, launched in 1979 as the first cable channel for children.
It has evolved from a commercial-free educational channel into a global entertainment powerhouse with numerous international channels, theme park attractions, and hit franchises like SpongeBob SquarePants.
Nickelodeon even once partnered with Norwegian Cruise Line to create "Nickelodeon at Sea," featuring character meet-and-greets and slime-based activities on cruise ships.
The History Channel, launched in 1995, began as a network focused on historical documentaries but later pivoted to include more reality TV and pseudo-scientific programming—earning it criticism from historians and scientists.
The channel became jokingly known as "The Hitler Channel" in the 1990s due to its extensive coverage of World War II, and later drew controversy for airing shows about ancient aliens and UFOs—leading skeptic Brian Dunning to rank it as the second-worst anti-science website in 2015.
NHK, Japan's public broadcaster, was founded in 1926 and modeled after the BBC, evolving from radio to become a pioneer in television broadcasting and high-definition technology.
It maintains a controversial mandatory license fee system for all households with TVs, which led to the formation of a single-issue political party dedicated to protesting this fee and even gaining representation in Japan's upper house of parliament.
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