A Brits Guide To US TV
Friday, August 22nd, 2008
You may think you know a fair amount about American TV, but the way US television works is very different to the UK. American TV is a labyrinthine system that’s often so complex you wonder how they actually make any shows at all. Its eccentricities have a big effect on the shows when they arrive in the UK, so we’ve produced this guide which explains, among other things, why some shows have bizarre gimmick episodes, why TV seasons start in the US in the autumn but we don’t get them until the new year, and why you can say ‘fuck’ in ‘The Sopranos’ but not on ‘CSI’.
THE NETWORKS
These are the big boys, such as NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox, who produce most of the programmes we get over here. However the important thing to remember is that these aren’t TV channels as we would think of them, and they actually only provide programming during certain parts of the day (mainly in the mornings and evening). The laws in America mean that every part of US has its own separate over-the-air TV stations (think ITV when it really was a lot of separate companies), and the rules state that nobody can own television stations that broadcast over the air to more than 39.5% of American households. So while a network might own stations in many of the major US markets, such as LA and New York, it legally can’t own stations that reach all parts of the country.
As a result, if a network wants to broadcast everywhere in the US, it needs a series of affiliates, which are local stations owned by other companies, but which enter into deals with one of the networks to show their programmes. While most of the time this means the whole country gets access to the same programmes from the same networks, it does mean that in some areas there aren’t enough stations to air all the networks, and technically local affiliates can’t be forced to show a programme they don’t like (which occasionally happens with controversial programmes, such as when 66 ABC affiliates refused to air Saving Private Ryan in 2004, because they were worried they’d be fined because of all the swearing).
Another important thing to remember is that until relatively recently, the networks weren’t allowed to make the programmes they broadcast (barring news and a couple of other things), and even today, NBC might be owned by the same company who owns Universal, but many of its programmes as made by other companies, such as Paramount producing ‘Medium’ and Fox making ‘My Name Is Earl’. As a result, when a TV show comes to DVD, you might think it’d be shown in the US on the network affiliated to the studio distributing the disc (and all networks are now in the same overall company as a major studio, barring CBS, although it is tied to Paramount), but it could originally have been shown on any network.
So who are the networks and what programmes do they show:
The American broadcasting company started in 1943 from what was originally the NBC Blue radio network. It’s currently owned by The Walt Disney Company.
Shows Include: Lost, Desperate Housewives, Boston Legal, Dancing With The Stars, Grey’s Anatomy, Pushing Daisies, Ugly Betty
Formed in 1926 as a radio network, NBC is now owned by General Electric, who also own Universal Studios.
Shows Include: 30 Rock, America’s Got Talent, Chuck, ER, Heroes, Law & Order, Medium, My Name Is Earl, The Office, Saturday Night Live
Originally a collection of radio stations formed in 1928, CBS is owned by CBS Corportion, which is tied to Viacom and Paramount.
Shows Include: Cold Case, Criminal Minds, CSI, The Ghost Whisperer, NCIS, Numb3rs, Without A Trace, The Unit, Two And A Half Men
Fox Broadcasting Company was formed in 1986 (Aussie owner Rupert Murdoch had to become an American citizen to do this, as US rules bar foreign nationals from owning major TV interests). It was initially known for cheap programming, but has steadily grown in quality and popularity.
Shows Include: 24, American Dad, American Idol, Bones, Cops, Family Guy, House, king Of The Hill, Prison Break, The Simpsons, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Formed in 2006 when two wannabe networks, The WB and UPN, merged. It’s half owned by CBS and half by Warner Bros. Despite its youth oriented programming, it’s easily the least popular network and not available in all parts of the US.
Show Include: Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, Smallville, Reaper, Supernatural, Everybody Hates Chris
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