USA Network
_TV_channel|
name= USA Network|
logofile=Usanetwork2006logo.jpg|
logoalt=USA|
logosize=|
launch=
September 27,
1977| owner=
General Electric Co. (through
NBC Universal division) | former names= Madison Square Garden Network (until
1980)| web=
USA Network web site |
terr avail=Not Available|
sat serv 1=
DirecTV|
sat chan 1=Channel 242|
sat serv 2=
Dish Network|
sat chan 2=Channel 105|
dummy parameter=|}}
The
USA Network is a popular
American cable TV network with about 89 million household subscribers as of 2005. The network shows a variety of original and second-run programming, from syndicated TV series to edited
movies. USA also shows some
sports coverage, such as select
golf tournaments, the
U.S. Tennis Open, and annual
Westminster Kennel Club dog show. Since 2004, they have broadcast portions of the
Olympic Games, along with many other NBC Universal basic cable channels. Previously, it had a weekly
boxing show named
USA Tuesday Night Fights, which ran for 17 years. USA was also the home of
World Wrestling Entertainment (then called the World Wrestling Federation or WWF)'s flagship cable TV shows from the channel's launch until
September 2000, and again since
October 2005.
Once a minor player in
basic cable, the network has steadily been gaining popularity recently, thanks in part to breakout hits like the
detective series
Monk and the sci-fi mini-series turned regular series
The 4400. Reruns of
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and
Law & Order: Criminal Intent are also frequently shown and are popular on the network, as is another
NBC Universal property,
House.
Alan Kalter was the network's main promotional voice throughout the 1980s and much of the 1990s.
*
September 27,
1977: Originally organized as the
Madison Square Garden Network (not to be confused with the
New York City regional sports network
of that name), the channel became one of the first national television channels when it chose to use
satellite delivery as opposed to traditional
television broadcasting.
*
April 1980: The channel changed 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. (whose assets are currently owned largely by
NBC Universal and
Vivendi SA).
*
1981: Time Inc. (who eventually merged with Warner Communications to form
Time Warner) and
Paramount Pictures Corp. (then a division of
Gulf+Western; now a part of
Viacom with its television division, now named
CBS Paramount Television, part of
CBS Corporation) took minority ownership stakes in USA.
*
1987: Ownership consolidates under Paramount and MCA, each with 50 percent ownership.
*
1991:
Japanese electronic giant
Matsushita buys MCA.
*
September 24,
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 50% interest and gains complete ownership of USA and Sci Fi and sells both channels to
Barry Diller's
Home Shopping Network, which renames itself USA Networks, Inc.
*
1999: From
Universal Studios and bankrupt
Polygram, respectively, 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. (a joint partnership between the
CBC and
Power Corporation), owner of cable TV channels
Trio and
Newsworld International. (The CBC continued to program NWI)
*
2001: USA Networks sells its non-shopping TV and film assets (including the USA Network, the Sci Fi Channel, the
Trio channel, USA Films (which is rechristened as
Focus Features) 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 80% of Vivendi Universal's North American-based filmed entertainment assets, including Universal Pictures and Universal Television Group in a multibillion dollar purchase, renaming the merged company
NBC Universal.
*
2004: NBC Universal officially takes over as owner of USA and its sibling cable channels except for Newsworld International, which is bought by an investment group led by
Al Gore and
Joel Hyatt who rebrand the network with a new title, "
Current TV", in fall
2005.
Children/Teen Programming*
Calliope, children's anthology program
*
Commander USA's Groovie Movies, [1985-1989]
*
Dance Party USA, teen-oriented dance program
*
Radio 1990, a music-video and magazine show hosted by
Lisa Robinson and
Kathryn Kinney (1983-1986)
*
Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills, tween-oriented
Power Rangers clone
*
USA Action Extreme Team, action-oriented successor to the
USA Cartoon Express*
USA Cartoon Express, animation block with
USA Network Kids Club segments in-between them
*
USA High, teen-oriented sitcom from
Peter Engel, producer of
Saved by the Bell*
USA Live (1995-2000), an afternoon program that mixed court shows with live lifestyle segments, hosted by
Kathleen Murphy (1995-1998) and later by
Bertice Berry (1999-2000). This replaced the station's popular game show programming.
USA Late Night Series
*
Night Flight, (
1981 -
1988) - late-night anthology with music videos, short films and miscellaneous programming
*
USA Up All Night, schlock-y feature films hosted by
Gilbert Gottfried,
Caroline Schlitt, and
Rhonda Shear (c. 1988-1999).
USA Original Series
*
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (newer version bought when NBC cancelled it) black & white intros were colorized and storylines were remade.
*
The Big Easy, short-lived series based on the film.
*
Campus Cops, comedy series
*
Check it Out!, USA's first original co-production with Canada's
CTV, a supermarket-based sitcom starring
Don Adams*
Duckman, adult-oriented animated comedy series starring
Jason Alexander*
G vs E*
Kojak, a revamped version of the 1970s detective series that debuted in March 2005.
*
Monk, a comedic mystery series that has become USA's signature show
*
Nashville Star, a
country music singing competition in the mold of
American Idol (
2003-present).
*
La Femme Nikita, a dramatic series based on the French film that inspired the U.S. film
Point of No Return*
Pacific Blue,
Baywatch-like drama
*
Psych, (debuted July 6th, 2006; it's a series about a man who fakes being a psychic yet convinces the police that he is one)
*
Silk Stalkings, a Canadian mystery series
*
The 4400 (In Association with
Sky Television), a sci-fi miniseries that debuted in July 2004. It returned as a regular weekly series on June 5, 2005.
*
The Dead Zone, mystery/paranormal series
*
Weird Science, a fantasy-oriented comedy series based on the 1980s film of the same name
World Wrestling Entertainment Programming
*
All American Wrestling, WWF's Sunday-afternoon showcase series hosted by
"Mean" Gene Okerlund and co-hosted by the likes of
Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and
Hillbilly Jim.
*
Monday Night RAW, WWE's
prime time wrestling program
**
WWE A.M. RAW, a program showing recaps from the previous week's
RAW.
**
Sunday Night HEAT, once a major show, now a B-show for
RAW, now airing on wwe.com
*
Prime Time Wrestling, WWF's weekly prime time airing of certain matches from the
syndicated WWF Superstars and
WWF Wrestling Spotlight series, hosted by
Gorilla Monsoon and
Bobby "The Brain" Heenan; precursor to
Monday Night RAW.
*
Tuesday Night Titans, WWF's weekly interview series hosted by
Vince McMahon and
Lord Alfred Hayes, a precursor to
Prime time Wrestling.
Programming Staples
*
PGA Tour Golf on most Thursdays and Fridays
*
US Open tennis championship
*
Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show*
World League of American Football Coverage featuring helmets rigged with cameras.
Historical Programming Notes
* For many years, USA had a popular afternoon game show block, with shows such as
The $25,000 Pyramid and
Press Your Luck (both can now be seen on
GSN). It also had original games shows, such as Canada's Global Television Network's
Bumper Stumpers,
The New Chain Reaction,
Jackpot,
Quicksilver, and
Free 4 All. Also it rerun episodes of the defunct
soap opera The Edge of Night (from the episodes from
1981 until
1984) from
1985 until
1989.
* At one point, USA shared channel time/space with two upstart cable nets,
C-SPAN and
Black Entertainment Television. Later, it simulcast
Bloomberg TV in the early-morning hours.
* 1980s: It's a Great Place to Stay
* 1990-1994: America's Favorite Cable Network
* 1994-1997: The Remote Stops Here
* 1997-1999: The Cure for the Common Show
* 1999-2001: You Are Here
* 2005-present: Characters Welcome
** The slogan incorporates the use of television spots featuring USA original characters interacting with each other or the world (with humorous effect)
Image:Usanetworkoldlogo.gif|USA Network logo from 1980-1996Image:Usanetwork1995logo.gif|USA Network logo from 1996-1999Image:Logo_USA.gif|USA Network logo from 1999-2002Image:Usanetworklogo.gif|USA Network from 2002-2005Image:Usanetwork2006logo.jpg|Present USA Network logo*
Official Site*
Vintage USA Network Group
