Television broadcasting

A television network, also known as a television broadcaster, is a kind of telecommunications network that is used for the distribution of television programme material. In this type of network, a central operator supplies programmes to a number of television stations or pay television providers. Up until the middle of the 1980s, the majority of nations throughout the world's television programming was controlled by a very limited number of terrestrial networks. A great many of the early television networks, such as NBC, the ABC, or the BBC, originated as radio networks in their infancy.

The terms "television network," "television channel" (a numeric identifier or radio frequency), and "television station" have become mostly interchangeable in everyday language in countries where most networks broadcast identical, centrally originated content to all of their stations and where most individual television transmitters therefore operate only as large "repeater stations." However, professionals in television-related occupations continue to make a differentiation between the three terms. A tiering system may be implemented in the industry for groups of networks depending on whether or not their programming is simultaneously originated from a centralised location and whether or not the network master control possesses the technical and administrative capability to take over the programming of their affiliates in real time when it deems this to be necessary – the most common instance of this occurring is during national breaking news events.

Particularly in North America, many television networks that are made available to the public through direct-broadcast satellite providers and cable television are referred to as "channels." This is due to the fact that they are somewhat distinct from traditional networks in the sense that has been defined above, as they are singular operations. These networks do not have any affiliates or component stations, but rather they are made available to the general public through cable and satellite television providers. In Canada, people often refer to these networks as "specialty channels," although in the United States, they are more generally known as "cable networks."

The whole of a network's programming could be created in-house, or it might not. In the event that this is not the case, production companies like Warner Bros. Television, Universal Television, Sony Pictures Television, and TriStar Television are able to distribute their content to the various networks. It is not uncommon for one production company to have programmes that are broadcast on two or more competing networks. In a similar vein, several television networks may supplement their programming schedules by importing television shows from other countries or by broadcasting previously recorded shows.