Prime Time Entertainment Network

American television network

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Prime Time Entertainment Network" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Television channel

Prime Time Entertainment Network

Type| Defunct broadcast television network
Country| United States
Affiliates| List of affiliates
Programming
Picture format| 480i (NTSC)
Ownership
Owner| Warner Bros. Domestic Television
BHC Communications
Parent| Prime Time Consortium
History
Launched| January 20, 1993 (1993-01-20)
Closed| October 27, 1997 (1997-10-27)
(4 years, 280 days)
Replaced by| The WB
UPN

The Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN) was an American television network that was operated by the Prime Time Consortium, a joint venture between the Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution subsidiary of Time Warner and the BHC Communications subsidiary of Chris-Craft Industries. First launched on January 20, 1993, and operating until 1997, the network mainly aired drama programs aimed at adults between the ages of 18 and 54. At its peak, PTEN's programming was carried on 177 television stations, covering 93% of the country.[1] Taking on a pay-TV network-type appearance, with its scheduling stretegy, the network and premium-TV-like nature of this network followed the Cinemax model. At the time, Cinemax was the top-rated pay TV network, having had a reputation for securing high-profile films and shows (being the exclusive premiere network of GoodFellas in 1991, and having the last seasons of SCTV in the 80s). This is significant as UPN would be the primary network of the stations that carried this network, such as WWOR and KCOP.

## History

[edit]

### Origins

[edit]

At the time of PTEN's founding, co-owner Chris-Craft Industries owned independent television stations in several large and mid-sized U.S. cities (among them its two largest stations, WWOR-TV in New York City and KCOP-TV in Los Angeles) through its BHC Communications division, which formed the nuclei of the network.[2]

PTEN was launched in 1993 as a potential fifth television network (the second since the demise of Star Television Network, launched in 1990, but shutdown the year after, in 1991), and was created in reaction to the launch of the Fox network (which debuted in October 1986, seven years before PTEN launched) as well as the successes of first-run syndicated programming during the late 1980s and early 1990s. It offered packaged nights of programming to participating television stations, beginning with a two-hour block on Wednesday evenings, with a second block (originally airing on Saturday, before moving to Monday for the 1994-95 season) being added in September 1993.[3] Originally, the station groups involved in the Prime Time Consortium helped finance PTEN's programs; however, that deal was restructured at the beginning of the network's second year.

The service sought affiliations with various television stations not affiliated with the Big Three television networks. However, close to half of PTEN's initial affiliates were stations that were already affiliated with Fox; as a result, these stations usually scheduled PTEN programming around Fox's then five-night prime time schedule (although Fox would expand its schedule to seven nights with the addition of programming on Tuesdays and Wednesdays on January 19, 1993, the day before PTEN launched). PTEN launched on January 20, 1993, with two series: the science fiction series Time Trax and the action drama Kung Fu: The Legend Continues.[2]

### Demise

[edit]

PTEN faced two obstacles created by its parent companies which would affect the network. On November 2, 1993, the Warner Bros. Entertainment division of Time Warner announced that it would form its own fifth network, The WB, as a joint venture with the Tribune Company,[4] Six days earlier, on October 27, Chris-Craft Industries announced the launch of the United Paramount Network (UPN), in a programming partnership with Paramount Television division of Viacom (which would become part-owner of the network in 1996). As a result, the core Chris-Craft independent stations (as well as those owned by Paramount) would serve as charter stations of the new network; Chris-Craft also chose to pull out of the partnership to focus on operating UPN.

The network also faced issues from some PTEN-affiliated stations that took issue with the network's barter split, which gave nine minutes of advertising time per hour to the syndicator, leaving only five minutes for the stations to sell and program locally. PTEN also ran into difficulty when the studio was forced to let stations out of their back-end commitments for several series. PTEN adopted a variable schedule for the 1995-1996 season, for affiliates to schedule around The WB and UPN's programming on the night of their choosing. With Chris-Craft pulling out of the venture, PTEN essentially became a syndication service for its remaining shows, before ceasing operations altogether in 1997. One of the two series that aired during the service's final year of operation, the science fiction drama Babylon 5, would later be revived by TNT, where it aired for a fifth and final season beginning in 1998.

## Programming

[edit]

### Former programming

[edit]

#### Series

[edit]

* Babylon 5 (February 22, 1993, as a television film; January 26, 1994 - October 27, 1997, as a weekly series)
* Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (January 27, 1993 - January 1, 1997)
* Pointman (January 24, 1994, as a television film; January 26 - November 27, 1995, as a series)
* Time Trax (January 20, 1993 - December 3, 1994)

#### Films and mini-series

[edit]

* The History of Rock 'n' Roll (March 6, 1995) 10 hour documentary[5]
* Island City (March 2, 1994)
* The Wild West (March 22–26, 1993)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Susan King (January 23, 1994). "Space, 2258, in the Year 1994". Los Angeles Times. p. 4. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
2. ^ a b Jim Benson (May 28, 1993). "Warner weblet to 2-night sked". Variety. Cahners Business Information.
3. ^ Mike Freeman (May 31, 1993). "PTEN goes to two evenings, sort of". Broadcasting & Cable. Cahners Business Information. p. 16.
4. ^ Time Warner TV Network to Cover 40% of Nation, The Buffalo News, November 2, 1993.
5. ^ B, M (March 6, 1995). "Rock 'n' roll finds home on Internet" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. p. 34. Retrieved March 16, 2020.

* Mike Freeman (January 17, 1994). "Lots of action in action-adventure genre". Broadcasting & Cable.
* Mike Freeman (August 29, 1994). "Action escalates For Syndicators". Broadcasting & Cable. Cahners Business Information.
* David Tobenkin (April 24, 1995). "Fate of WB's 'Pointman' undecided". Broadcasting & Cable. Cahners Business Information.
* Lee Whiteside (April 6, 1995). "B5: Babylon 5 TV Station List/Times updated!". rec.arts.sf.tv. Google Groups. Retrieved November 27, 2006.

* v
* t
* e

Broadcast television networks in the United States

* v
* t
* e

Current English-language broadcast television networks in the United States

Major|

* ABC
* CBS
* The CW
* The CW Plus
* Fox
* MyNetworkTV
* NBC

Public|

* PBS
* Satellite Service
* Kids
* Classic Arts Showcase
* Create
* First Nations Experience
* World Channel

Specialty|

| Domestic news|

* Newsmax2
* Real America's Voice
* YTA TV

|

International news|

* CaribVision
* Deutsche Welle
* France 24
* NHK World

Weather|

* Fox Weather
* WeatherNation

Sports|

* beIN Sports Xtra
* Rev'n

Minority|

| Black|

* Bounce TV
* Dabl
* TheGrio
* Soul of the South
* 365BLK

|

Asian|

* Asia Vision
* Diya TV
* NTD
* VIETV

Korean|

* Arirang TV
* Arirang Radio
* KBS America
* MBC
* SBS

Reality and lifestyle|

* Defy
* Fave TV
* Localish
* Merit TV
* The Nest
* Nosey
* Quest

Music|

* CA Music
* The Country Network
* Heartland
* LATV

Legal & true crime|

* Court TV
* Law & Crime Network
* NBC American Crimes
* Oxygen
* True Crime Network

Classic|

* Ace TV
* Cozi TV
* Get
* MeTV
* MeTV+
* MeTV Toons
* Retro TV

Films|

* Movies!
* NOST

Comedy|

* Antenna TV
* Rewind TV
* Catchy Comedy
* Laff
* Roar

Westerns|

* Grit
* Outlaw

Drama & action|

* Action
* Charge!
* Comet
* H&I
* Start TV
* Ion
* Ion Mystery
* Ion Plus

Niche & genre|

* Buzzr
* Family Channel
* Story TV

Religious|

* CBN News
* Cornerstone
* Daystar
* RadiantTV
* SonLife
* TBN
* Inspire
* Positiv
* TCT

Home shopping|

* HSN
* Jewelry TV
* OnTV4U
* QVC
* Shop LC

* v
* t
* e

Defunct English-language broadcast television networks in the United States

Major commercial|

* DuMont
* UPN
* The WB
* Pax TV
* PTEN
* OPT
* NTA Film Network
* ON/United
* Paramount Television Network

Minor commercial|

* America One
* AIN
* Channel America
* Cheddarci
* Circlei
* Classic Reruns TV
* Digi-TV
* Hughes
* JUCE TV
* Light TV
* Mizlou
* Mutual Television Network
* N1
* NATVi
* NBC LX Home
* Omni
* PBJ
* Plum TV
* qubo
* SFM Holiday
* Star
* Smile
* TrueReal
* Theater TV
* This TV
* Tuff TV
* Twist
* UATV
* VTV
* The Works

Public|

* NET
* MHz Worldviewi
* ResearchChannel

Specialty|

| News|

* ABC News Nowi
* All News Channel
* DoD News
* Local AccuWeather Channel
* NBC Wx+/NBC+
* Newsmax TVci
* Newsy/Scripps Newsi
* TouchVision

|

Sports|

* American Sports Network
* Stadiumi
* SportsGridi
* Sportsmanc
* TVS
* Universal Sports

Home shopping|

* America's Store
* Gems TV
* Gun TV
* Ion Shop
* Shop at Home
* ValueVision / ShopNBC / evine / ShopHQ

Music|

* Bohemia Visual Musici
* The Box
* MTV2c
* Tr3sc
* Retro Jams
* TheCoolTV
* The Tube

c \- Now cable-only, i \- Now internet-only

* v
* t
* e

Spanish-language broadcast television networks in the United States

Major domestic|

* Estrella TV
* Telemundo
* Univision
* UniMas

Minor domestic|

* América TeVé
* Nuestra Visión
* Novelisima
* LATV
* Mega TV
* TeleXitos
* Visión Latina

Major imported|

* FORO
* Canal 6/Multimedios
* Milenio Televisión
* Mexicanal
* Canal Once
* Canal 22
* Telemax
* Teleritmo

Religious|

* Almavision
* Canal de La Fe
* 3ABN Latino
* Enlace
* Esperanza TV
* ESNE
* EWTN en Español
* Tele Vida Abundante

Specialty|

* Cine Mexicano
* Tele N
* MiCasa Network
* Mira TV
* ¡Sorpresa!
* TeLe-Romántica

Defunct|

* América CV
* Azteca América
* Hispanic Television Network
* Inmigrante TV
* LAT TV
* MundoMax
* Soi TV
* Tr3s
* TuVisión
* VasalloVision

* v
* t
* e

Religious broadcast television networks in the United States

TBN Networks|

* TBN
* TBN Inspire
* Positiv
* Enlace (Spanish language)
* Salsa
* TBN Francophone (French language)

English|

* Al Karma TV
* Adventist Review TV
* Amazing Facts TV
* BYU TV
* CatholicTV
* CFN
* CBN
* CTN
* Cornerstone
* Daystar
* EICB TV
* EWTN
* FBC
* GEB
* GLC
* GOD
* Hope
* IQRA TV
* It Is Written TV
* LLBN
* SBN
* 3ABN
* 3ABN Dare to Dream Network
* 3ABN International (with 3ABN Australia)
* 3ABN Kids Network
* 3ABN Praise Him Music Network
* 3ABN Proclaim! Network
* PTL
* RadiantTV
* SafeTV
* TLN)
* TCT
* UBN
* The Walk TV
* Word
* WHT

Spanish|

* Aliento Vision
* Almavisión
* Aviva TV
* CTNi
* Daystar Español
* Esperanza TV
* ESNE
* Familia TV
* Fe-TV
* HCCN
* Iglesia JEMIR
* Red AdVenir
* Tele Vida Abundante
* 3ABN Latino Network
* Tvida Vision
* Visión Latina

French|

* 3ABN Français Network

Defunct|

* The Inspiration Network
* JUCE TV
* Kids & Teens TV
* Sky Angel
* Smile
* Worship

* v
* t
* e

Additional resources on North American television

North America|

* List of local television stations in North America
* DTV transition
* North American TV mini-template

Canada|

* Canadian networks
* List of Canadian television networks
* List of Canadian television channels
* List of Canadian specialty channels
* Local Canadian TV stations
* List of United States stations available in Canada
* 2001 Vancouver TV realignment
* 2007 Canada broadcast TV realignment

Mexico|

* Mexican networks
* Local Mexican TV stations

United States|

* American networks
* List of American cable and satellite networks
* List of American over-the-air networks
* Local American TV stations (W)
* Local American TV stations (K)
* Spanish-language TV networks
* 1989 South Florida television affiliation switch
* 1994–1996 U.S. TV realignment
* 2006 U.S. TV realignment
* List of Canadian television stations available in the United States

* v
* t
* e

Digital television in North America

Terrestrial|

| Digital broadcasting|

* ATSC tuners
* Digital subchannels
* Virtual channels
* Distributed transmission system
* Datacasting
* Guide Plus
* National Datacast
* UpdateLogic
* Metropolitan Television Alliance
* Grand Alliance

|

Digital switchover|

* All-Channel Receiver Act
* SAFER Act
* Digital channel election
* Set-top boxes
* Digital television adapter
* U.S. Converter Box Coupon Program
* legislation
* Analog passthrough
* DVD recorders
* Digital video recorders

Digital standards|

* ATSC standards
* ATSC
* ATSC-M/H
* 8VSB
* A-VSB
* E-VSB
* PSIP
* PMCP
* full list
* Standard-definition TV
* 480i
* 576i
* Enhanced-definition TV
* 480p
* 576p
* High-definition TV
* 720p
* 1080i
* 1080p
* Ultra high-definition TV
* 2160p
* Serial digital interface
* Smart antennas
* CEA-909

Digital networks|

* Digital multicast television network
* see Template:American broadcast television
* Template:Canadian television networks

National deployment|

* List by country
* Canada
* Mexico
* United States
* HDTV
* transition
* wireless spectrum auction

Cable|

| Digital cable|

* Digital-cable-ready TV
* QAM tuners
* Interactive-digital-cable-ready TV
* OpenCable Application Platform
* Encryption
* Must-carry

|

Subscription TV|

* AllVid
* CableCARD
* Downloadable Conditional Access System
* Tru2way

Satellite TV|

* DVB-S
* Dish Network
* GlobeCast World TV
* Free-to-air receiver
* Bell Satellite TV/Telus Satellite TV
* Dish México
* DigiCipher 2
* 4DTV
* Shaw Direct
* Claro Puerto Rico
* Digital Satellite Service/DVB-S2
* DirecTV
* Vrio/Sky Brazil
* Sky Mexico

IPTV|

* U-verse TV
* Bell Fibe TV
* FibreOP
* Telus Optik TV

Technical issues|

* 14:9 aspect ratio
* Active Format Description
* Broadcast flag
* Channel protection ratios
* HDTV blur
* Hierarchical modulation
* Pirate decryption
* Standards conversion
* Video on demand

* v
* t
* e

The WB

Original programming|

| Main|

* Full list
* The WB 100+
* Kids' WB (1995–2006)
* programs
* specials
* The WB Daytime (2006)

|

1990s debuts|

* 7th Heaven (1996–2006)
* Alright Already (1997–98)
* Angel (1999–2004)
* The Army Show (1998)
* Brotherly Love (1996–97)
* Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2001)
* Charmed (1998–2006)
* Cleghorne! (1995)
* Dawson's Creek (1998–2003)
* Felicity (1998–2002)
* First Time Out (1995)
* For Your Love (1998–2002)
* Hyperion Bay (1998–99)
* Invasion America (1998)
* Jack & Jill (1999–2001)
* The Jamie Foxx Show (1996–2001)
* Katie Joplin (1999)
* Kelly Kelly (1998)
* Kirk (1995–96)
* Life with Roger (1996–97)
* Mission Hill (1999–2000)
* Movie Stars (1999–2000)
* Muscle (1995)
* Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher (1996–98)
* The Parent 'Hood (1995–99)
* Popular (1999–2001)
* Rescue 77 (1999)
* Roswell (1999–2001)
* Safe Harbor (1999)
* Savannah (1996–97)
* Sister, Sister (1995–99)
* Smart Guy (1997–99)
* The Steve Harvey Show (1996–2002)
* Three (1998)
* The Tom Show (1997–98)
* The Wayans Bros. (1995–99)
* Unhappily Ever After (1995–99)
* You're the One (1998)
* Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane (1999–2000)

2000s debuts|

* All About the Andersons (2003–04)
* Baby Blues (2000)
* Beauty and the Geek (2005–06)
* The Bedford Diaries (2006)
* Birds of Prey (2002–03)
* Black Sash (2003)
* Blue Collar TV (2004–06)
* Brutally Normal (2000)
* D.C. (2000)
* Dead Last (2001)
* Do Over (2002)
* Drew Carey's Green Screen Show (2004)
* Everwood (2002–06)
* Family Affair (2002–03)
* Gilmore Girls (2000–06)
* Glory Days (2002)
* Greetings from Tucson (2002–03)
* Grosse Pointe (2000–01)
* Grounded for Life (2003–05)
* The Help (2004)
* High School Reunion (2003–05)
* Hype (2000–01)
* Jack & Bobby (2004–05)
* The Jamie Kennedy Experiment (2002–04)
* Just Legal (2005–2006)
* Like Family (2003–04)
* Living with Fran (2005–06)
* Maybe It's Me (2001–02)
* Modern Men (2006)
* The Mountain (2004–05)
* My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star (2002)
* Nikki (2000–02)
* The Oblongs (2001)
* Off Centre (2001–02)
* The O'Keefes (2003)
* On the Spot (2003)
* One Tree Hill (2003–06)
* Pepper Dennis (2006)
* The PJs (2000–01)
* Popstars USA (2001–03)
* Raising Dad (2001–02)
* Reba (2001–06)
* Related (2005–06)
* Run of the House (2003–04)
* Sabrina the Teenage Witch (2000–03)
* Smallville (2001–06)
* The Starlet (2005)
* Steve Harvey's Big Time Challenge (2003–05)
* Studio 7 (2004)
* Summerland (2004–05)
* Supernatural (2005–06)
* Superstar USA (2004)
* The Surreal Life (2003–04)
* Survival of the Richest (2006)
* Tarzan (2003)
* Twins (2005–06)
* What I Like About You (2002–06)
* Young Americans (2000)

Affiliates|

* Affiliate list
* Tribune Broadcasting
* The WB 100+ Station Group

Related networks|

* Prime Time Entertainment Network
* The CW
* MyNetworkTV

Miscellaneous topics|

* History of The WB
* Financial Interest and Syndication Rules
* Michigan J. Frog
* Season Finale: The Unexpected Rise and Fall of The WB and UPN (2007)
* Warner Bros. Television

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template