The way TV is organized in America seems to be totally different from the European style. I never really grasped the entire system, but I gathered a few things (correct me where I’m wrong):
TV stations in America are always privately owned enterprises making money by airing commercials (there seem to be a few commercial-free stations funded by donations), unlike Europe where there are ad-funded private stations but also nonprofit corporations run under public law that get their money from mandatory TV fees paid by viewers.
There are few nationwide stations. Most stations are local and serve only one city with its vicinity.
The local stations buy much of the contents they air from national syndicates producing and marketing shows and making money by selling them to the local stations.
Correct so far? That’s how I think the system works. Now I have a couple of questions:
Many TV stations bear a name that consists of four letters. Any reason for that, and any reason why so many station names start with K (at least I’ve come to notice that)?
How do TV managers handle the various time zones? I understand that a local station in Los Angeles will air its highlights when it’s prime time in California without giving a dam about the time in New York. But what about big expensive shows that are popular throughout the nation? Do they record those and air them at different times in different parts of the country so everybody can see them at his prime time, or do they get aired live and some regions are unlucky enough to see them at uncomfortable times of the day?
Almost correct. Public television is broadcast by non-profit corporations funded by donations plus sizable funding from federal, state, and local governments. This money is from the general fund – there is no fee of the type they charge in Europe.
Up until the cable age, this was always true, everywhere. A station is a single broadcaster, and they seldom have a reach of more than one metroplitan region. The networks, OTOH, are nationwide, and broadcast nationally through a grid of owned-and-operated stations, plus independent stations contracted to run the network broadcasts. With cable and satellites, a single station can send its feed out to the entire country, but in most cases, the country doesn’t want to see it.
Until recently, networks paid stations to run their shows. Syndicates do sell local stations older shows, and those not picked up by the networks, but producers prefer to sell directly to networks. All broadcast media make money by selling advertising.
West of the Mississippi river = K; East of the Miss. = W. Call signs almost always have three or four letters.
Yes, they are aired at different times in different parts of the country. Live shows are timed to be minimally inconvenient across the country, or they are shown when it’s convenient for New York and taped for braodcast on the West Coast.
East Coast (NY) and West Coast (CA) will see prime time shows in their prime time, generally 8p-11p.
The middle part of the country will see it an hour eariler, (7p-10p).
Local stations are generally affiliated with a network. The networks, ABC, NBC, CBS, UPN, WB, and Fox will air their programming, generally news programs in the morning, soap operas in the afternoon, and news and prime time programming at night. In between that time, the local affiliates will fill with syndicated programming. These are shows that are sold directly to the local stations.
So, no matter where you are, on an NBC affiliate you will see Friends on Thursdays in primetime. But an NBC affiliate in one city may show Oprah in the afternoon, while another one shows Jerry Springer.
There are also some channels that you will only see if you get cable or satellite. Some of these have no advertising (HBO) while some do (CNN.) In the states, you have to pay extra if you want the cable channels with no advertising.