Turner Communications Group
Encyclopedia
Turner Communications Group is the previous name of Turner Broadcasting System
. The name was used from 1970 to 1979, when the company changed its name to Turner Broadcasting System. It was the parent company of WTCG which became WTBS (TBS Superstation) with the Turner name change in 1979.
In 1970, R. E. Turner, Ted Turner
then head of a successful Atlanta-based outdoor advertising firm, purchased WJRJ Atlanta, Channel 17, a small, struggling UHF station, and renamed it WTCG, for parent company Turner Communications Group. Through careful programming acquisitions, Turner guided the station to success.
On December 17, 1976 at 1:00PM, WTCG Channel 17's signal was beamed via satellite
to its four cable systems in Grand Island, Nebraska
; Newport News, Virginia
; Troy, Alabama
; and Newton, Kansas
. All four cable systems started receiving the sleepy 1948 Dana Andrews - Cesar Romero film "Deep Waters" already in progress. The movie had started 30 minutes earlier. WTCG went from being a little television station no one was watching to a major TV network that every one of the 24,000 households outside of the 675,000 in Atlanta was receiving coast-to-coast. WTCG became a so-called Superstation
and created a precedent of today's basic cable television
.
HBO had gone to satellite transmissions to distribute its signal nationally in 1975, but that was a service cable subscribers were made to pay extra to receive. Ted Turner's innovation signaled the start of the basic cable revolution.
WTCG was re-launched in 1979 as WTBS. The new call letters were purchased by equipment donation from the MIT student radio station, now WMBR
.
Turner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. is the Time Warner subsidiary managing the collection of cable networks and properties started and acquired by Robert Edward "Ted" Turner starting in the mid-1970s. The company has its headquarters in the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. TBS, Inc...
. The name was used from 1970 to 1979, when the company changed its name to Turner Broadcasting System. It was the parent company of WTCG which became WTBS (TBS Superstation) with the Turner name change in 1979.
In 1970, R. E. Turner, Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
then head of a successful Atlanta-based outdoor advertising firm, purchased WJRJ Atlanta, Channel 17, a small, struggling UHF station, and renamed it WTCG, for parent company Turner Communications Group. Through careful programming acquisitions, Turner guided the station to success.
On December 17, 1976 at 1:00PM, WTCG Channel 17's signal was beamed via satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
to its four cable systems in Grand Island, Nebraska
Grand Island, Nebraska
Grand Island is a city in and the county seat of Hall County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 48,520 at the 2010 census.Grand Island is home to the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center which is the sole agency responsible for training law enforcement officers throughout the state,...
; Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
; Troy, Alabama
Troy, Alabama
Troy is a city in Pike County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,003. Troy experienced a growth spurt of over 4,000+ people since 2000. The city is the county seat of Pike County....
; and Newton, Kansas
Newton, Kansas
Newton is a city in and the county seat of Harvey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 19,132. Newton is located north of Wichita and is included in the Wichita metropolitan statistical area...
. All four cable systems started receiving the sleepy 1948 Dana Andrews - Cesar Romero film "Deep Waters" already in progress. The movie had started 30 minutes earlier. WTCG went from being a little television station no one was watching to a major TV network that every one of the 24,000 households outside of the 675,000 in Atlanta was receiving coast-to-coast. WTCG became a so-called Superstation
Superstation
Superstation in United States television can have several meanings. In its most precise meaning, a superstation is defined by the Federal Communications Commission as "A television broadcast station, other than a network station, licensed by the FCC that is secondarily transmitted by a satellite...
and created a precedent of today's basic cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
.
HBO had gone to satellite transmissions to distribute its signal nationally in 1975, but that was a service cable subscribers were made to pay extra to receive. Ted Turner's innovation signaled the start of the basic cable revolution.
WTCG was re-launched in 1979 as WTBS. The new call letters were purchased by equipment donation from the MIT student radio station, now WMBR
WMBR
WMBR is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology student-run college radio station, licensed to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and broadcasting on 88.1 FM. It is all-volunteer and funded by listener donations and MIT funds...
.