# Americans: Please explain the concept of a TV network to me **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 9, 2015, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-please-explain-the-concept-of-a-tv-network-to-me/712257 "2015-02-09T21:13:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-please-explain-the-concept-of-a-tv-network-to-me/712257/61 "2015-02-12T18:49:04Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > This may seem like an extremely basic question to an American, but from a European perspective it appears somewhat odd. European countries have a large number of TV stations, some of them public - either tax-funded or funded by means of a TV fee which the population pays directly to the TV station -, and some of them private, earning their revenue from advertising. The concept of TV networks is not present, however, and stations typically broadcast the same programming schedule everywhere in their area of distribution. This concept, BTW, isn’t completely alien to European media. In the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia for instance, [Radio NRW](http://radionrw.de/) provides programming for 45 local stations that also produce their own (local) content. This is radio, though, not TV. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-please-explain-the-concept-of-a-tv-network-to-me/712257/62 "2015-02-12T20:57:47Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I don’t know about that. I’m not a TV professional and I don’t consider PBS a network. In my definition a network is not just a group of stations that show some of the same programs at various times - it’s a group of stations that for the most part show the same program on a particular day at one time per time zone. [snip] Basically, if I can travel across the country and know that the morning news and prime-time schedule will be the same as my home station’s, it’s a network. This. I’ve learned to skip articles in newspapers and magazines about a new show that’s coming to PBS, new series of _Mystery_, etc. because my local PBS station never shows them anywhere near the supposed premier date. So, by any normal definition, PBS is not a network. I’m not sure that the OP’s question about time zones has been answered completely. Networks send programs to affiliates in two batches. The first one goes to the Eastern and Central time zones. Given that 8:00 EST is 7:00 CST, prime time in New York or Boston or Savannah runs from 8:00 to 11:00 P.M., which is 7:00 to 10:00 P.M. in Chicago and Omaha and Gulfport. The exact same three-hour block of programming is sent out a second time from 8:00–11:00 P.M. Pacific time, which is, I guess, 9:00–midnight Mountain time. Is that right? Do people in Salt Lake City watch their local news at midnight? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-please-explain-the-concept-of-a-tv-network-to-me/712257/63 "2015-02-12T21:09:03Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > The exact same three-hour block of programming is sent out a second time from 8:00–11:00 P.M. Pacific time, which is, I guess, 9:00–midnight Mountain time. > > Is that right? Do people in Salt Lake City watch their local news at midnight? The Mountain issue has always confused me but I think it works like this: Feed 1 goes out at 8 pm Eastern and is shown live in Eastern (8 pm) and Central (7 pm). At 9 pm Eastern, a recording of Feed 1 is shown in Mountain (7 pm). Feed 2 goes out at 11 pm Eastern and is shown live in Pacific (8 pm). ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-please-explain-the-concept-of-a-tv-network-to-me/712257/64 "2015-02-12T23:27:01Z")
In [Salt Lake City](http://www.kutv.com/entertainment/features/tv-listings/#.VN02ifnF9n0), [Denver](http://www.denverpost.com/tvlistings#f=grid&st=1423782000) and [Colorado Springs](http://www.kktv.com/station/misc/8343052.html), prime time is 7-10 p.m. But in [Phoenix](http://tvlistings.aol.com/listings/az/phoenix/over-the-air/85044), [El Paso](http://tvlistings.aol.com/listings/tx/el-paso/over-the-air/88550) and [Albuquerque](http://tvlistings.aol.com/listings/nm/albuquerque/over-the-air/87105) it’s 8-11 p.m. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-please-explain-the-concept-of-a-tv-network-to-me/712257.md?page=3)