TNT (American TV network)
| Headquarters |  Atlanta, Georgia |
|---|---|
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Turner Broadcasting, Inc. (a Time Warner company) |
Turner Network Television, usually referred to as TNT, is an American cable TV network created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner.
History
Before 1988
Before the name was applied to a current network, TNT was the name of a syndication service. In 1982, TNT produced two exhibition football games that were organized by the NFL Players Association during the 1982 NFL strike. The union had hoped to establish a new football league with those games, to help fans cope with the lack of National Football League games. But neither game drew well, either in attendance or TV ratings, and no further games were played.[1]
In 1986, TNT syndicated the first Goodwill Games from Moscow, USSR to many stations across the country.
Both events were carried by, among other stations, KTLA in Los Angeles.
Current network
TNT as a cable service was launched with a showing of the 1939 classic movie. Gone with the Wind, on October 3, 1988. It was chosen because, it was said, it was Turner's favorite movie.
TNT was, at least initially, a vehicle for older movies and television shows, but slowly began to add original programming and newer reruns. When TNT began broadcasting MGM films, it caused a controversy when they began "colorizing" many black and white classics.
In 1990, it obtained partial rights to the National Football League, which it retained until 1997. The package consisted of three or four preseason games annually and of regular-season telecasts of the first half of each season.
Starting in 1995, TNT was also the home of WCW Monday Nitro, the flagship show of the now defunct World Championship Wrestling, once regularly the highest rated weekly program on cable. The program defeated Monday Night Raw, the flagship show of the then-World Wrestling Federation, for 83 straight weeks until 1998.
It was also known for its late night programming, such as "Monstervision", which showcased b-movies (including a Godzilla marathon at the end of every month), with occasional guest hosts Pen and Teller. "Monstervision" eventually found a permanent host in cult personality and drive in movie afficionado Joe Bob Briggs, who usually appeared outside his trailer home (actually a none too convincing set). Every Saturday night, from 1995 to 2000, he would host a pair of horror films (such as Friday the 13th Part 2 and Wes Craven's New Nightmare) provide a running commentary, trivia, off-color jokes and a drive-in total (a tongue-in-cheek check list of the featured movie's most exploitative elements, such as number of bare breasts, dead bodies, etc.). Also included in his host segments were jokes at the expense of Turner Network Television's Standards and Practices department for heavy censorship of the featured movies. This running joke culminated in a Friday the 13th (series) all-night marathon during Halloween of 1998, where it was implied that Ted Turner was out to kill him.
During 2001, TNT had its then most successful original series, Witchblade, which ran for two seasons, ending its run in 2002. The series starred Yancy Butler.
On June 12, 2001, TNT relaunched itself, with a new logo and tagline, "We Know Drama." It now focuses on sports and high-action movies with lots of drama and energy, and the "Primetime in the Daytime" weekday lineup featuring reruns of network TV dramas such as Law & Order, Charmed, NYPD Blue, ER, Without a Trace, Alias, Judging Amy, Las Vegas and Cold Case. It is in direct contrast to sister network TBS, which shows more comedy related programming.
In 2004, TNT became the first Turner Network to begin broadcasting in High Definition.
Programming
Sports
TNT Sports mainly consists of National Basketball Association games and NASCAR races. The NBA on TNT (with studio hosts Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley) dates back to 1988 and has aired, either by itself or in combination with a similar package on TBS, ever since. NASCAR came to TNT in 2001, carried over from TBS by their shared parent company. From 2001 to 2006, the race package was split with NBC; as of 2007, it stands alone, with six races telecast annually. Currently, TNT has the cable rights to the first two rounds of two of golf's major championships, The British Open and The PGA Championship.
TNT may also air some Major League Baseball playoff games starting in October 2007 if there is a conflict with the TBS coverage (e.g. two games in different Division Series are both scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Eastern time on a Saturday, the start of one game running at the same time as the finish of another, or the unlikely event of two different one-game playoffs to break ties).
TNT inherited the telecast of the 2001 UAW-GM Quality 500 NASCAR race at Lowe's Motor Speedway from NBC.
Turner Classic Movies
TCM is still operating and broadcasts MGM and Warner Brothers films like the old TNT used to. There is now also a TCM 2 which broadcasts films from MGM and Warner Brothers also.
International
A British, Australian, Spanish and Indian version of TNT was launched in the 1990s but was exclusively dedicated to movies, mainly from the MGM and Warner Brothers archives. The European and Asian versions of the channel eventually derived into Turner Classic Movies.
TNT came back to the Spanish market in summer 2007, when it launched exclusively on pay tv platform Digital+ and becoming the 6th Turner network available in Spain after Turner Classic Movies, Turner Classic Movies Clásico (launched alongside the new TNT), Cartoon Network, Boomerang and CNN+, a joint-venture between Turner Broadcasting and the Spanish Sogecable.
A version in Turkey is set to launch in March 2008.[2]
See also
External links
References
- ^ America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions, "1982 Washington Redskins." Footage from the program from NBC News is clearly labeled, "COURTESY TNT."
- ^ Will TNT be on Digiturk?, Medyatava
