Christian Broadcasting Network
Encyclopedia
The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is a fundamentalist Christian television
broadcasting network in the United States. Its headquarters and main studios are in Virginia Beach, Virginia
.
Pat Robertson
in 1961 using a religious variety program format that has been successfully used in religious broadcasting
ever since. One of the mainstays of the network is The 700 Club
, the longest-running program in the variety format. The network's journalistic branch, CBN News, provides news updates to The 700 Club and produces religious news programs such as CBN NewsWatch and Christian World News, and also airs a special hour of prime time
election coverage hosted by Robertson during presidential and mid-term elections in the United States, seen on ABC Family
. The hour long talk-show 700 Club Interactive is also seen on ABC Family. CBN also operates online channels on its website, such as the CBN News Channel.
CBN Asia
manages Operation Blessing International Relief and Development Corporation (OBI), an international relief and missionary
effort, and has international programming, producing local programs including Solusi in Indonesia
and From Heart to Heart in Thailand
; CBN India produces five weekly series. There are versions of The 700 Club aimed at Latin American (Club 700 Hoy) and British audiences (The 700 Club With Paul and Fiona) http://www.cbneurope.com/about/staff.asp. CBN has broadcast programs in over 70 languages.
On April 29, 1977, CBN launched a cable network, CBN Satellite Service. It was later revamped with a mix of both religious and secular programming, and renamed CBN Cable Network. CBN Cable Network was eventually renamed The Family Channel, which was later sold under that name to Fox
and was then known as the Fox Family Channel. Fox later sold it to Disney, which renamed it ABC Family
. The terms of the original sale stipulated that The 700 Club and another show would continue to be shown on the Family Channel and that the word "Family" would remain in the channel's name in perpetuity.
CBN is now a production company
for The 700 Club, and the other syndicated
shows CBN NewsWatch, Christian World News, 700 Club Interactive, and One Cubed. CBN and Regent University
jointly produced the film First Landing. http://firstlandingthemovie.com The current news director is Rob Allman.
Some of CBN's programs are also aired on Sky Angel
, Trinity Broadcasting Network
, Cornerstone Television
, FamilyNet
, LeSEA Broadcasting
and Middle East Television
(which was founded and owned by CBN, until sold in the early 2000s to LeSEA
), all Evangelical Christian
networks. Those secular commercial stations which continue to air The 700 Club in syndication (along with ABC Family) air CBN's yearly telethon in the last week of January.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
broadcasting network in the United States. Its headquarters and main studios are in Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
.
Background
CBN was founded by televangelistTelevangelism
Televangelism is the use of television to communicate the Christian faith. The word is a portmanteau of television and evangelism and was coined by Time magazine. A “televangelist” is a Christian minister who devotes a large portion of his ministry to television broadcasting...
Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
in 1961 using a religious variety program format that has been successfully used in religious broadcasting
Religious broadcasting
Religious broadcasting refers to broadcasting by religious organizations, usually with a religious message. Many religious organizations have long recorded content such as sermons and lectures, and have moved into distributing content on their Internet websites.While this article emphasises...
ever since. One of the mainstays of the network is The 700 Club
The 700 Club
The 700 Club is the flagship news talk show of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing in syndication throughout the United States and Canada. In production since 1966, it is currently hosted by Pat Robertson, Terry Meeuwsen, Kristi Watts, and Gordon P. Robertson, two of whom will host on any...
, the longest-running program in the variety format. The network's journalistic branch, CBN News, provides news updates to The 700 Club and produces religious news programs such as CBN NewsWatch and Christian World News, and also airs a special hour of prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
election coverage hosted by Robertson during presidential and mid-term elections in the United States, seen on ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
. The hour long talk-show 700 Club Interactive is also seen on ABC Family. CBN also operates online channels on its website, such as the CBN News Channel.
CBN Asia
CBN Asia
CBN Asia or Christian Broadcasting Networks Asia is a non-stock, non-profit corporation established in the Philippines in 1994. Its vision, mission and ministries are inspired by those of Christian Broadcasting Network , founded in the United states by televangelist Pat Robertson in 1961 and which...
manages Operation Blessing International Relief and Development Corporation (OBI), an international relief and missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
effort, and has international programming, producing local programs including Solusi in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and From Heart to Heart in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
; CBN India produces five weekly series. There are versions of The 700 Club aimed at Latin American (Club 700 Hoy) and British audiences (The 700 Club With Paul and Fiona) http://www.cbneurope.com/about/staff.asp. CBN has broadcast programs in over 70 languages.
On April 29, 1977, CBN launched a cable network, CBN Satellite Service. It was later revamped with a mix of both religious and secular programming, and renamed CBN Cable Network. CBN Cable Network was eventually renamed The Family Channel, which was later sold under that name to Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
and was then known as the Fox Family Channel. Fox later sold it to Disney, which renamed it ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
. The terms of the original sale stipulated that The 700 Club and another show would continue to be shown on the Family Channel and that the word "Family" would remain in the channel's name in perpetuity.
CBN is now a production company
Production company
A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.- Tasks and functions :...
for The 700 Club, and the other syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
shows CBN NewsWatch, Christian World News, 700 Club Interactive, and One Cubed. CBN and Regent University
Regent University
Regent University is a private coeducational interdenominational Christian university located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. The school was founded by the American televangelist Pat Robertson in 1978 as Christian Broadcasting Network University. A satellite campus located in...
jointly produced the film First Landing. http://firstlandingthemovie.com The current news director is Rob Allman.
Some of CBN's programs are also aired on Sky Angel
Sky Angel
Sky Angel U.S. LLC. describes itself as a "Christian-owned and operated multi-channel television service specializing in Christian and family-friendly TV and radio programming." It is one of the first niche-oriented television providers in the United States....
, Trinity Broadcasting Network
Trinity Broadcasting Network
The Trinity Broadcasting Network is a major American Christian television network. TBN is based in Costa Mesa, California, with auxiliary studio facilities in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New...
, Cornerstone Television
Cornerstone Television
The Cornerstone TeleVision Network is a non-commercial Christian broadcast and satellite television network based in Wall, Pennsylvania, United States. Its founder and CEO is Russ Bixler...
, FamilyNet
FamilyNet
FamilyNet is a broadcast television network owned by ComStar Media Fund and based in Atlanta, Georgia. The network was founded in 1979 as the National Christian Network, and took the name FamilyNet in 1988 under the ownership of Jerry Falwell. The channel was acquired by InTouch Ministries in...
, LeSEA Broadcasting
LeSEA
LeSEA Broadcasting , also known as World Harvest Television, is an American Christian television network with over 40 affiliate stations in a number of U.S...
and Middle East Television
Middle East Television
Middle East Television is a Christian-based satellite television broadcasting network located in Limassol, Cyprus. Programming on METV includes a mixture of Christian programming, plus non-religious entertainment programs like The Red Green Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Lone Ranger and NFL...
(which was founded and owned by CBN, until sold in the early 2000s to LeSEA
LeSEA
LeSEA Broadcasting , also known as World Harvest Television, is an American Christian television network with over 40 affiliate stations in a number of U.S...
), all Evangelical Christian
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
networks. Those secular commercial stations which continue to air The 700 Club in syndication (along with ABC Family) air CBN's yearly telethon in the last week of January.
Former broadcast stations
At one time, CBN owned a number of radio and television stations, including the following:- WYAH-TV (channel 27) in Portsmouth, VirginiaPortsmouth, VirginiaPortsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...
was CBN's first station and the group's flagship outlet, purchased by Robertson in 1960. WYAH began operations under CBN ownership in October 1961 and was owned by CBN until 1989. It is currently WGNTWGNTWGNT, channel 27 , is a television station licensed to Portsmouth, Virginia, USA. WGNT is the CW Television Network affiliate for the Hampton Roads television market and is owned by Local TV, which also operates WTKR , Hampton Roads' CBS affiliate...
, affiliated with the CW Television Network and owned by Local TVLocal TVLocal TV LLC is a limited liability corporation, owned by Oak Hill Capital Partners , which operates 18 local network-affiliated television stations in the United States.-History:...
, who also owns CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate WTKRWTKRWTKR is the CBS affiliate television station serving the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, officially known as the Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News DMA. The station is licensed to Norfolk and broadcasts on channel 40 . Its transmitter is located in Suffolk, Virginia...
in the same market.
- WHAE-TV (channel 46) in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
was CBN's second television station, launched by the ministry in June 1971. CBN changed the station's call letters to WANX-TV in 1977, and sold the outlet in 1984 to the Tribune CompanyTribune CompanyThe Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida...
, who renamed the station WGNX. Today it operates as WGCL-TVWGCL-TVWGCL-TV, virtual channel 46.1 is the CBS-affiliated television station serving the Atlanta, Georgia area. Its city of license is Atlanta, and the station is owned by Meredith Corporation, making it the largest-market CBS station not owned by the network...
, a CBS affiliate owned by the Meredith CorporationMeredith CorporationThe Meredith Corporation is a media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The company has two divisions, National Media and Local Media.-History:...
.
- In January 1973 CBN purchased KBFI-TV (channel 33) in Dallas, TexasDallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
and changed its calls to KXTX-TVKXTX-TVKXTX-TV, digital channel 40 , is the Telemundo owned-and-operated station in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas Designated Market Area...
. Four months later, a station license trade resulted in CBN moving KXTX-TV to channel 39. KXTX was CBN's last station property when it was sold to LIN Broadcasting in 2000. Currently KXTX is owned by NBC UniversalNBC UniversalNBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
and is an affiliate of the co-owned Spanish-language network TelemundoTelemundoTelemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
.
- WXNE-TV (channel 25) in Boston was CBN's fourth station, commencing operations in October 1977. CBN sold WXNE to the News CorporationNews CorporationNews Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
in January 1987 and it was converted into WFXTWFXTWFXT is a television station owned and operated by the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in Boston, Massachusetts. The station's studio and office facility is in Dedham, Massachusetts, and its transmitter is located in Needham, Massachusetts...
, an owned-and-operated stationOwned-and-operated stationIn the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
of the Fox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
.
- CBN planned to build a station on channel 63 in Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, VirginiaRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, with the call sign WRNX. The station never made it to air under CBN ownership, as its construction permit was sold in 1983 to a Christian broadcaster and signed on that year. That station was eventually sold and in 1986 became WVRN with a secular schedule. The station itself operated for only five years.
- CBN operated WXRI (now WMOV-FMWMOV-FMWMOV-FM is a Rhythmic AC formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, serving Hampton Roads. WMOV-FM is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications.-Simulcast:The station used to simulcast the format on WKSA...
), a Christian-formatted FM radio station in Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk, VirginiaNorfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, from 1962 until 1989.
- From 1969 to 1982 CBN also owned a simulcast network of five FM radio stationsRural Radio NetworkThe Rural Radio Network was an interconnected group of six commercial FM radio stations spread across upstate New York and operated from Ithaca, NY -- the first all-radio, no-wireline network in the world...
in upstate New York originally set up in 1948 by a farming cooperative as the Rural Radio NetworkRural Radio NetworkThe Rural Radio Network was an interconnected group of six commercial FM radio stations spread across upstate New York and operated from Ithaca, NY -- the first all-radio, no-wireline network in the world...
, known as CBN Northeast. These stations included WBIV in Wethersfield, New YorkWethersfield, New YorkWethersfield is a town in Wyoming County, New York, United States. The population was 891 at the 2000 census.The Town of Wethersfield is centrally located in the county.- History :...
, WEIV in Ithaca, New YorkIthaca, New YorkThe city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
, WJIV in Cherry Valley, New YorkCherry Valley, New YorkCherry Valley, New York is the name of two locations in Otsego County, New York:*Cherry Valley , New York*Cherry Valley , New York...
, WMIV in South Bristol, New YorkSouth Bristol, New YorkSouth Bristol is a town in Ontario County, New York, USA. The population was 1,645 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from its separation from the Town of Bristol.The Town of South Bristol is in the southwest part of the county...
, and WOIV in DeRuyter, New YorkDeRuyter, New YorkDeRuyter, New York may refer to either:*DeRuyter , New York, located in Madison County*DeRuyter , New York, located within the Town of DeRuyter...
. This station group was split up following CBN's sale of the licenses to separate owners.
Programs
- The 700 ClubThe 700 ClubThe 700 Club is the flagship news talk show of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing in syndication throughout the United States and Canada. In production since 1966, it is currently hosted by Pat Robertson, Terry Meeuwsen, Kristi Watts, and Gordon P. Robertson, two of whom will host on any...
is a news/magazine television program transmitted daily since 1966—one of the longest runs of any program—with Pat Robertson, Terry Meeuwsen, and Gordon Robertson. Broadcasts information and interviews to an average daily audience of one million viewers, both on cable and through syndication. - CBN NewsWatch is produced by CBN News, is a half-hour daily news program reporting national and international news from a conservative, Christian perspective. Broadcast nationally on several Christian cable and satellite outlets.
- Christian World News is a half-hour weekly conservative news program, produced by CBN News. Broadcast nationally on the Trinity Broadcasting NetworkTrinity Broadcasting NetworkThe Trinity Broadcasting Network is a major American Christian television network. TBN is based in Costa Mesa, California, with auxiliary studio facilities in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New...
. - Club 700 Hoy is a half hour Spanish-language weekly television program broadcast throughout Latin America, and in the United States on the US Hispanic network, Azteca America. Produced in a magazine style format. It is a morning show about popular opinion on current issues, and claims to provide answers to life's problems. It presents interviews, informative features, and reality stories about people, places, and music.
- One Cubed USA and One Cubed International are programs about youth culture, action sports, and music videos. It claims a mission statement "to reach this generation to express the unconditional love and salvation that God freely offered to everyone in this world. In everything that is One Cubed, we want to bring glory to God, never compromising and never settling, and always striving to be used by Him to the best of our abilities".
Personalities
- Pat RobertsonPat RobertsonMarion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
, co-host of The 700 Club. - Terry Meeuwsen, co-host of The 700 Club.
- Gordon RobertsonGordon P. RobertsonGordon Perry Robertson is the CEO of the Christian Broadcasting Network. He is a frequent co-host on The 700 Club, often filling in for his father, Pat Robertson....
, co-host of The 700 Club and The 700 Club Interactive. - Kristi Watts, co-host of The 700 Club.
- Lee WebbLee Webb (newscaster)Lee Webb is the anchor of The 700 Club, the flagship program of The Christian Broadcasting Network , and Newswatch, a half-hour daily news program also on CBN. He was born in Pompano Beach, Florida.-Career:...
, anchor of The 700 Club and CBN NewsWatch. - Wendy Griffith, co-anchor of CBN NewsWatch and Christian World News, and fill-in anchor of The 700 Club.
- George Thomas, co-anchor of Christian World News and CBN News foreign correspondent.
- David BrodyDavid Brody (correspondent)David Brody is an American journalist, and White House Correspondent for the Christian Broadcasting Network.- Early career :Brody graduated from Ithaca College in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications...
, CBN News White House correspondent and host of The Brody File. - Jennifer Wishon, CBN News Capitol Hill correspondent.
- Dale Hurd, CBN News foreign correspondent.
- Lorie Johnson, CBN News medical correspondent.
- Erick Stakelbeck, CBN News terrorism analyst.
- Heather Sells, CBN News Channel anchor and reporter.
- Mark Martin, CBN News Channel anchor and reporter.
- Charlene Israel, CBN News Channel anchor and reporter.
- Efrem Graham, CBN News Channel anchor and reporter.
- John Waage, CBN News political director.
- Gary Lane, CBN News senior international reporter.
- Chuck HoltonChuck HoltonChuck Holton is an American war correspondent for the Christian Broadcasting Network, published author, and motivational speaker. He has also been a freelance cameraman for Fox news, following Oliver North on his travels.-Early life and military career:...
, CBN News Military Correspondent.
External links
- Official website
- CBN India—CBN's outreach in India
- CBN Asia's (Philippines) Official Homepage
- CBN Latin America's Official Homepage - In Spanish
- CBN Europe's Official Homepage
- CBN Indonesia's Official Homepage - In Indonesian
- CBN Hong Kong's Official Homepage - In Chinese