USA Network
The
USA Network is a popular
cable TV network based in the United States with about 87 million household subscribers as of 2003. The network shows a variety of original and second-run programming, from syndicated TV series to
movies. USA also shows some
sports coverage, such as select
golf and
tennis tournaments. In the past, it had a weekly
boxing show named
USA Tuesday Night Fights. The show ran for approximately eight years. Once a minor player in
basic cable, the network has steadily been gaining popularity recently, almost single-handedly due to the breakout hit
detective series
Monk.
USA Network Timeline
- 1977: Originally organized in as the Madison Square Garden Network (not to be confused with the New York City regional sports network), the channel became one of the first national television channels when it chose to use satellite delivery as opposed to traditional television broadcasting.
- 1980: The channel chenged its name to USA Network after the ownership structure was reorganized under a joint operating agreement by the UA-Columbia Cablevision cable system (now known as Cablevision Systems Corporation) and MCA Inc. (currently a part of Vivendi Universal).
- 1981: Time Inc. (now Time Warner) and Paramount Pictures Corp. (now a part of Viacom) took minority ownership stakes in the USA.
- 1987: Ownership consolidates under Paramount and MCA, each with 50 percent ownership.
- 1992: USA launches a sister network, the Sci Fi Channel
- 1994: Viacom buys Paramount.
- 1995: The Seagram Company buys MCA Inc.
- 1997: Seagram buys out Viacom's interest and gains complete ownerhsip of USA and Sci Fi and sells both channels to Barry Diller's Home Shopping Network, which renames itself USA Networks, Inc.
- 1999: From bankrupt Polygram, USA Buys October Films and Gramercy Pictures, renaming them USA Films, and PolyGram Video, renaming it USA Home Video.
- 2000: USA Networks buys Canada's North American Television, Inc., owner of cable TV channels Trio and News World International.
- 2001: USA Networks sells its non-shopping TV and film assets (including the USA Network, the Sci Fi Channel, the Trio Channel, USA Films and Studios USA) to Vivendi Universal. USA and the other channels are folded into Vivendi's Univeral Television Group.
- 2003 General Electric's NBC agrees to buy Universal Television Group as part of an entertainment asset purchase from Vivendi.
USA Original Programming
- , movie
- The Dead Zone, series
- Duckman, animated series
- Monk, series
- Silk Stalkings, series
- U.S. Open Tennis Championships
- USA Up All Night, feature films hosted by Gilbert Gottfried, Caroline Schlitt, and Rhonda Shear
- Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
See Also
External Links