Television network
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A television network is a distribution network for television content whereby a central operation provides programming for many television stations. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small number of broadcast networks, but with the advent of cable television the cost of creating a television network has been reduced and there has been a huge increase in the number of networks with most of the newer networks catering to a small group (eg. CNN, CNBC, Fox News etc). Many early television networks (e.g NBC) evolved from earlier radio networks.
Within the industry, a tiering is sometimes created among groups of networks based on whether their programming is simultaneously originated from a central point (eg. CNBC), and whether the network master control has the technical and administrative capability to take over the programming of their affiliates in real-time when it deems this necessary— the most common example being breaking national news events.
In countries where most networks broadcast identical, centrally originated content from all their stations and where most individual stations are therefore nothing more than large "repeater stations," the terms television network, television channel and television station have become interchangeable in everyday language, with only professionals in TV-related occupations continuing to make a difference between them. This applies to most countries outside North America.
A related concept is that of a television system (not to be confused with broadcast television system), which refers to a group of television stations owned by a common entity and sharing common schedule patterns and on-air branding, but where each station in the group is considered to be independent, such as Citytv in Canada.
