Satellite Program Network

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Not to be confused with ESPN.

Satellite Program Network (SPN) was a satellite and cable

television network that broadcast in the United States from 1979 to 1989. Following a name change to Tempo Television in 1986, it was bought by NBC and relaunched as CNBC
in 1989.

History

SPN was created by Ed Taylor, an associate of Ted Turner and the head of the Southern Satellite Systems company. The network, which began in 1979, was the second-oldest cable-only network. In 1985, SPN was acquired by Satellite Syndicated Systems.[1]

Among the programs broadcast on SPN were

situation comedies and movies, mostly from low-budget
studios, rounded out the schedule.

In 1984, the

Division I-AA playoffs, including that season's championship game,[2] following a Supreme Court ruling (NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma) that halted the NCAA's practice of negotiating television contracts for its members.[3]

Tempo Television

In March 1986, Satellite Syndicated Systems changed its name to Tempo Enterprises, and SPN and SPN International were changed to Tempo Television and TEMPO International, respectively.[4][5] Tempo Television was a 24-hour national cable network serving all contiguous states, Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

Using a counter-programming philosophy, Tempo Television fulfilled viewer needs by dividing its program schedule into various dayparts including international programming, finance, sports, leisure and classic films. Market studies clearly indicated that this unique programming approach attracted and retained upscale audiences who were looking for entertainment that was informative and substantially different from the standard options.[citation needed]

A Canadian regulatory description of the channel in 1988 said that Tempo's "schedule consists of outdoors, travel, general information and entertainment programming and classic feature films that are in the public domain."

business news channel CNBC.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Satellite Syndicated Systems reports earnings for Qtr to June 30." The New York Times. August 6, 1985. [1] Archived 2023-04-02 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Geise, George (December 15, 1984). "Bobcats ready for I-AA championship shootout". Great Falls Tribune. Great Falls, Montana. p. 1-B. Archived from the original on November 18, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Nance, Roscoe (December 1, 1984). "I-AA playoffs spell trouble M-O-N-E-Y". The Clarion-Ledger. Jackson, Mississippi. p. 2D. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "(TV column)". Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. March 10, 1986. p. C4. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "(notice)". Chicago Tribune. March 23, 1986. p. 13. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Public Notice CRTC 1988-58: Revised List of Part II Eligible Satellite Services and List of Part III Non-Canadian Eligible Satellite Services". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. April 13, 1988. Archived from the original on October 1, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
  7. ^ "NBC buy latest as Hollywood goes cable". Battle Creek Enquirer. Battle Creek, Michigan. AP. May 3, 1988. p. 8A. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "The Media Business: NBC to Buy Cable Service". The New York Times. May 3, 1988. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  9. ^ Winfrey, Lee (April 18, 1989). "A pretty big baby just one day old". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 1-E. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

Further reading

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