# What are your Top Five TV Networks?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-top-five-tv-networks/683998
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [March 18, 2014, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-top-five-tv-networks/683998 "2014-03-18T14:42:53Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2014, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-top-five-tv-networks/683998/1 "2014-03-18T14:42:53Z")
Please, as hard as it may be, limit the list to five. You don’t have to stretch to get to five, but pretend your set will be limited to only 5 networks year round.
That “year round” part forces me to eliminate ESPN, HBO and Showtime, so I’m already down to these:
CBS
FX
PBS
TCM
and I’ll stop there because the rest of them are touch and go for me.
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### Author:  [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-top-five-tv-networks/683998/2 "2014-03-18T14:59:23Z")
TCM
The Weather Channel (which, thanks to DirecTV’s greed, I no longer get)
BBCAmerica
EncoreWestern
Comedy Central
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### Author:  [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2014, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-top-five-tv-networks/683998/3 "2014-03-18T15:15:37Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#):
>
> TCM
> The Weather Channel (which, thanks to DirecTV’s greed, I no longer get)
> BBCAmerica
> EncoreWestern
> Comedy Central
I like your list. I almost went with the Weather Channel for my #5, but didn’t because when weather is an issue, I go with local stations, the best of which is an ABC affiliate, and except for _Nashville_ I rarely watch anything on ABC. Same goes for NBC.
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### Author:  [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2014, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-top-five-tv-networks/683998/4 "2014-03-21T18:40:41Z")
CBC
HBO
Netflicks (heh)
HGTV
Food Network
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### Author:  [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2014, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-top-five-tv-networks/683998/5 "2014-03-21T18:52:14Z")
The Weather Channel
Discovery
Movies!
BBC America
ABC
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### Author:  [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-top-five-tv-networks/683998/6 "2014-03-21T18:53:24Z")
The Tennis Channel
MLB TV
Sportsnet LA
PBS
The local CBS affiliate that plays Jeopardy
Yes, my TV watching is very circumscribed.
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### Author:  [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-top-five-tv-networks/683998/7 "2014-03-21T21:37:43Z")
TCM
NBC (Jeopardy)
PBS
MSNBC (whatever it’s called now)
Edit: Forgot Comedy Central for Stewart/Colbert
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### Author:  [@pinkteddyx64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkteddyx64)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-top-five-tv-networks/683998/8 "2014-03-21T21:47:55Z")
bbc1
bbc two
bbc three
bbc 4
and xxxgay on chanel 930 🆒
:eek:😃
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2014, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-top-five-tv-networks/683998/9 "2014-03-21T22:13:37Z")
What gets watched most in our house in reality:
Animal Planet
MeTV
History Channel\*
Discovery\*
CBS
If I cared to take over the remote:
PBS
BBC America
TLC
Comedy Central
MeTV
\*although it’s almost never history or science shows. My husband likes Pawn Stars, American Pickers and Deadliest Catch, Mountain Men and all those similar stupid shows about manly men living manly lifestyles that involve wearing lots of plaid and eschewing safety protocols.
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### Author:  [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2014, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-top-five-tv-networks/683998/10 "2014-03-21T23:30:16Z")
CBS (The Price is Right, SEC/Florida Gators football)
Fox (The Simpsons, including reruns on the local affiliate)
MTV (Kesha’s show)
ESPN
WGN (this one is debatable, because it’s mostly for Cubs games, and I haven’t had any reason to watch them for several years now.)
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### Author:  [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2014, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-top-five-tv-networks/683998/11 "2014-03-21T23:45:17Z")
HGTV
Food Network
Create (PBS hobbies, food, travel etc.)
The local FOX affiliate for Seahawks games
I don’t really watch much else, TLC on occasion for Hoarders (horrified fascination) and Discovery for Deadliest Catch. That’s it.
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### Author:  [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2014, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-top-five-tv-networks/683998/12 "2014-03-22T00:13:38Z")
CBS
Comedy Central
PBS
Bravo
CNBC
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### Author:  [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2014, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-top-five-tv-networks/683998/13 "2014-03-22T00:46:31Z")
CBS (Jeopardy)
local sports channel (MLB baseball)
Cartoon Network (often cartoons are the best thing on TV. I used to watch Discovery, History and so on before they jumped the shark)
CNN (mainly Wolf Blitzer Situation Room, avoid the personalities such as Anderson Cooper)
MeTV (watch occasionally although the selection of shows is rather limited)
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### Author:  [@Bellhorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bellhorn)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2014, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-top-five-tv-networks/683998/14 "2014-03-22T00:48:12Z")
TCM
NESN (carries Red Sox games in the summer/Bruins games in the winter)
MSNBC
PBS
MLB
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### Author:  [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2014, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-top-five-tv-networks/683998/15 "2014-03-22T00:53:16Z")
Comedy Central (Stewart/Colbert/@midnight)
CNN (National news)
Local Fox (morning news, Sunday animation, Cosmos)
Local CBS (BBT, HIMYM for another week, 2BG)
Fifth channel is hard. I’ve been watching a lot of Dr. Who recently, which I never saw before. So I’d probably go with BBC America.