Content deleted Content added
Main logo Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
|||
| (33 intermediate revisions by 19 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{Short description|American cable television network}}
{{
{{Infobox television channel
| name =
| logo
| launch_date
| closed_date
| area
▲| country = United States
▲| area = [[Connecticut]]<br>[[Maryland]]<br>[[Massachusetts]]<br>[[Pennsylvania]]<br>[[New Jersey]]<br>[[Rhode Island]]<br>[[Virginia]]<br>[[Washington, D.C.]]
| former_names = CN8, The Comcast Network (1996–2009)<br/>Comcast Network (2009–2017)
| replaced_by
}}
'''The Comcast Network''' ('''TCN''') was an American [[cable television|cable]] [[television network]]
== History ==
The Comcast Network was first launched to around 400,000 homes on December 1, 1996, as '''CN8, The Comcast Network''' (though it was often abbreviated to simply "CN8.") This largely constituted Comcast's Philadelphia-area cable systems. CN8 carried a mix of public affairs and call-in shows upon launch, including a television simulcast of radio station [[WKXW|NJ 101.5]]'s morning show, as well as local sports. The channel was added to Comcast's Baltimore-area systems in early 1998.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CN8, The Comcast Network Debuts In Baltimore|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/1998/01/12/daily5.html|access-date=2020-11-23|website=www.bizjournals.com}}</ref>
In November 1999, Comcast purchased rival Lenfest Communications, which operated in the area under the [[Suburban Cable]] and [[Garden State Cable]] names. They had launched their own regional cable channel, ''TSM News'' (TSM standing for "Tri-State Media"), that April, with live newscasts airing from 9
In 2002, CN8 launched in [[Pittsburgh]] when Comcast acquired [[AT&T Broadband]], which would be further expanded when Comcast acquired assets from [[Adelphia Communications]] following their liquidation. (The two deals left the satellite TV companies and [[Armstrong Group of Companies|Armstrong Cable]] as the only other pay-TV options in [[Western Pennsylvania]] until the launch of [[Verizon Fios]].) However, CN8 never launched a standalone Pittsburgh feed; Comcast acquired a stake in [[Pittsburgh Cable News Channel|PCNC]] from the AT&T Broadband deal (a remnant of their predecessor [[Tele-Communications Inc.|TCI]] prior to [[AT&T Corporation|AT&T]] acquiring TCI) and to this day continues to serve as a [[Partnership#Silent partners|silent partner]] to that channel's other owner, local [[NBC]] affiliate [[WPXI]].
In May 2003, CN8 further expanded into New England. Replacing ''AT&T 3'', operated by Comcast's regional predecessor [[AT&T Broadband]], this version of CN8 largely carried the same programming as the Philadelphia-area feed, only with their newscasts replaced by new regional shows; the 7PM news was replaced by ''NiteBeat'', covering politics and analysis of regional news, hosted by [[Barry Nolan]] (formerly of [[WBZ-TV]]'s ''[[Evening Magazine (Group W)|Evening Magazine]]''), while the 10PM bulletin was substituted with ''Sports Pulse'', a regional sports highlights show. This was done to avoid redundancy with [[New England Cable News]], already partly-owned by Comcast at the time. The New England feed was available to 2.2 million viewers across the region.<ref>{{Cite web|last=March 2003|first=Simon Applebaum 31|title=CN8 Expands North Into New England|url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/cn8-expands-north-new-england-157630|access-date=2020-11-13|website=Multichannel News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Channel CN8 spreading to New England|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2003/03/24/daily7.html|access-date=2020-11-13|website=www.bizjournals.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Boston.com / News / Boston Globe / Living / Arts / Channel has its own program for success|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2003/10/23/channel_has_its_own_program_for_success/|access-date=2020-11-13|website=archive.boston.com|language=en}}</ref>▼
▲In May 2003, CN8 further expanded into New England. Replacing ''AT&T 3'', operated by Comcast's regional predecessor [[AT&T Broadband]], this version of CN8 largely carried the same programming as the Philadelphia-area feed, only with their newscasts replaced by new regional shows; the 7PM news was replaced by ''NiteBeat'', covering politics and analysis of regional news, hosted by [[Barry Nolan]] (formerly of [[WBZ-TV]]'s ''[[Evening Magazine (Group W)|Evening Magazine]]''), while the
That same year, Philadelphia news veteran [[Larry Kane]] joined CN8 as a consultant, and had his own show, ''Larry Kane: Voice of Reason''. However, due to low viewership, CN8 ended their newscasts in 2006.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Fernandez |first1=Bob |last2=Klein |first2=Michael |title=Comcast to ax CN8 name, restructure cable channel|url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/business/homepage/20081105_Comcast_to_ax_CN8_name__restructure_cable_channel.html|access-date=2020-11-23|website=inquirer.com|language=en-US}}</ref> By 2008, CN8 staffed approximately 450 employees and was reaching over 9 million viewers in 20 television markets along the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cn8.tv/channel/article.asp?lChannelID=603&lArticleID=4306&subhead=netwrk|title=Network Overview|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080912193317/http://www.cn8.tv/channel/article.asp?lChannelID=603&lArticleID=4306&subhead=netwrk|archive-date=12 September 2008|access-date=9 April 2020}}</ref> The CN8 brand was discontinued on January 6, 2009, as part of a larger restructuring of the network in order to respond to low [[Nielsen ratings|ratings]] as well as closing down in the [[New England]] market, where its primary market was [[Boston]]. CN8 New England programming largely migrated to NECN.▼
▲That same year, Philadelphia news veteran [[Larry Kane]] joined CN8 as a consultant, and had his own show, ''Larry Kane: Voice of Reason''. However, due to low viewership, CN8 ended their newscasts in 2006.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Fernandez |first1=Bob |last2=Klein |first2=Michael |title=Comcast to ax CN8 name, restructure cable channel|url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/business/homepage/20081105_Comcast_to_ax_CN8_name__restructure_cable_channel.html|access-date=2020-11-23|website=inquirer.com|language=en-US}}</ref> By 2008, CN8 was staffed by approximately 450 employees and was reaching
On August 23, 2017, [[NBC Sports Regional Networks]] announced that the TCN branding would be dropped on October 2, 2017; TCN Philadelphia was rebranded as NBC Sports Philadelphia +, and TCN Mid-Atlantic was to be rebranded as NBC Sports Washington +. The rebranding was concurrent with the renaming of the Comcast SportsNet networks under the NBC Sports brand.<ref name="nbcs-tcnrebrand">{{cite press release|date=August 23, 2017|title=NBC SPORTS REGIONAL NETWORKS TO ALIGN CSN & TCN PROPERTIES UNDER ‘NBC SPORTS’ BRAND|url=http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2017/08/23/nbc-sports-regional-networks-to-align-csn-tcn-properties-under-nbc-sports-brand/|type=Press release|location=Stamford, Conn.|publisher=[[NBC Sports Group]]|access-date=August 24, 2017}}</ref> It is not clear what network, if any, replaced the channel in the Pittsburgh market.▼
▲On August 23, 2017, [[NBC Sports Regional Networks]] announced that the TCN branding would be dropped on October 2, 2017; TCN Philadelphia was rebranded as NBC Sports Philadelphia +, and TCN Mid-Atlantic was to be rebranded as NBC Sports Washington +. The rebranding was concurrent with the renaming of the Comcast SportsNet networks under the NBC Sports brand.<ref name="nbcs-tcnrebrand">{{cite press release|date=August 23, 2017|title=NBC SPORTS REGIONAL NETWORKS TO ALIGN CSN & TCN PROPERTIES UNDER
== Programs ==
Line 34 ⟶ 36:
|-
|Backstage with Barry Nolan<ref name=":0" />
|-
|Christina Cooks!<ref name=":0" />
|-
|CN8 Candlepin Challenge<ref name=":0" />
|-
|CN8 News<ref name=":0" />
|-
|CN8 Presents: Comcast in Concert<ref name=":0" />
|-
|CN8 Sports<ref name=":0" />
|-
|Gymnastics 360 with [[Shannon Miller]]<ref name=":0" />
|-
|It's Your Call with Lynn Doyle<ref name=":0" />
Line 44 ⟶ 54:
|-
|Let's Cook with Paul Dillon<ref name=":0" />
|-
|Lou Tilley's Sports Connection<ref name=":0" />
|-
|Money Matters Today<ref name=":0" />
|-
|[[Nancy Kerrigan]]'s World of Skating<ref name=":0" />
|-
|Nitebeat<ref name=":0" />
|-
|[[One on One with Steve Adubato]]<ref name=":0" />
|-
|Out of Bounds<ref name=":0" />
|-
|Real Life with Mary Amoroso<ref name=":0" />
|-
|Seeking Solutions with Suzanne<ref name=":0" />
|-
|Sports Pulse<ref name=":0" />
|-
|Your Morning<ref name=":0" />
Line 61 ⟶ 79:
|Roll Call<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cn8.tv/channel/channelhome.asp?lChannelID=1012|title=CN8 Shows|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512024032/http://www.cn8.tv/channel/channelhome.asp?lChannelID=1012|archive-date=12 May 2008|access-date=9 April 2020}}</ref>
|}
==See also==
Line 95 ⟶ 108:
[[Category:NBCUniversal networks]]
[[Category:NBC Sports Regional Networks]]
[[Category:Television stations in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1996]]
| |||