Terrestrial televisionTerrestrial television or over-the-air television (OTA) is a type of television broadcasting in which the signal transmission occurs via radio waves from the terrestrial (Earth-based) transmitter of a TV station to a TV receiver having an antenna. The term terrestrial is more common in Europe and Latin America, while in Canada and the United States it is called over-the-air or simply broadcast.
Communications satelliteA communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. Communications satellites are used for television, telephone, radio, internet, and military applications. Many communications satellites are in geostationary orbit above the equator, so that the satellite appears stationary at the same point in the sky; therefore the satellite dish antennas of ground stations can be aimed permanently at that spot and do not have to move to track the satellite.
Radio broadcastingRadio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio station, while in satellite radio the radio waves are broadcast by a satellite in Earth orbit. To receive the content the listener must have a broadcast radio receiver (radio). Stations are often affiliated with a radio network that provides content in a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast, or both.
Television stationA television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth's surface to any number of tuned receivers simultaneously. Most often the term "television station" refers to a station which broadcasts structured content to an audience or it refers to the organization that operates the station.
Cable television in the United StatesCable television first became available in the United States in 1948. By 1989, 53 million U.S. households received cable television subscriptions, with 60 percent of all U.S. households doing so in 1992. Most cable viewers in the U.S. reside in the suburbs and tend to be middle class; cable television is less common in low income, urban, and rural areas. According to reports released by the Federal Communications Commission, traditional cable television subscriptions in the US peaked around the year 2000, at 68.
Broadcast programmingBroadcast programming is the practice of organizing or ordering (scheduling) of broadcast media shows, typically radio and television, in a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or season-long schedule. Modern broadcasters use broadcast automation to regularly change the scheduling of their shows to build an audience for a new show, retain that audience, or compete with other broadcasters' shows. Most broadcast television shows are presented weekly in prime time or daily in other dayparts, though exceptions are not rare.
Prime timePrime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to broadcast their season's nightly programming. The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example (in the United States), from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. (Eastern and Pacific Time) or 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (Central and Mountain Time).
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network that is the flagship property of the CBS Entertainment Group division of Paramount Global. Headquartered at the CBS Building in New York City, it has major production facilities and operations at the CBS Broadcast Center and the headquarters of owner Paramount at One Astor Plaza (both also in that city) and Television City and the CBS Studio Center in Los Angeles.
Public broadcastingPublic broadcasting, sometimes public service broadcasting, is not subject to political interference or commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing. Common mediums include AM and FM radio, shortwave radio, television and the Internet. Public broadcasting may be nationally or locally operated, depending on the country and the station. In some countries a single organization runs public broadcasting.
Multichannel television in the United StatesMultichannel television in the United States has been available since at least 1948. The United States is served by multichannel television through cable television systems, direct-broadcast satellite providers, and various other wireline video providers; among the largest television providers in the U.S. are DirecTV, Altice USA, Charter Communications (through its Spectrum division, which also includes the former Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks systems), Comcast (through its Xfinity division), Dish Network, and Verizon Communications (through its FiOS division).
