(This is the latest chapter in the book-in-progress, “Television, and How It Got That Way.” For the full book (so far) in order, click “The Book” under “categories.”)
For a brief, pleasant time, the cable universe seemed logical.
A few networks tried to do everything. Those were the early arrivals — TBS in 1976, USA in ’77 — plus TNT in 1988.
The others settled for handy niches. Cable was like a magazine rack or a radio dial, filled with specialized choices.
You could find channels for rock music (shown here) and country music and classical arts; for young kids and old movies; for religion and Playboy; for news and weather and sports; for food and travel and learning and more.
And then? Well, everything got jumbled.
MTV and CMT seemed to forget the “M.” A&E ignored the “A,” TLC scuttled the “L,” IFC dismissed the “I.” Others – Bravo, AMC, Nashville Network – shed their entire purpose.
Some seemed to keep zipping through a revolving door The Christian Broadcast Network became The Family Channel, then Fox Family, then ABC Family, then Freeform. The Nashville Network became the National Network, then Spike, then the Paramount Network.
Cable TV became many things, but not logical and not steady.
Why the changes? A few of them were similar to the earliest TV days.
Back then, most TV stations (and most viewers) were in cities. Networks did well with Sid Caesar’s ethnic accents, Ed Sullivan’s Broadway numbers or the golden-age dramas.
But as TV spread out, cowboy shows soared. Much later, it was “Beverly Hillbillies,” “Green Acres” and “Petticoat Junction.”
For cable?
— At first, some people assumed this would mainly be for upper-income homes. Bravo (1980), CBS Cable (1981) and Arts & Entertainment (1984) all focused on the arts.
— Others noted that cable was popping up in places that needed better reception (small towns) or where cable lines were easy to install (suburbs). The Nashville Network and Country Music Television started almost simultaneously in 1983; they were eventually joined by Great American Country (1995) and RFD-TV (2000).
But those trends were temporary, vanishing as cable grew. The number of cable homes went from 16 million in 1980 to 41 million in ’87, 50 million in ’90 62 million in ’95 and a peak of 93.4 million in 2018.
Some channels did manage to stay steady. That was true of the pay-extra channels (HBO, Showtime and such), the news channels and some others — ESPN (1979), the Weather Channel (1982) and the practical ones owned by Scripps, including Food (1993), HGTV (1994) and DIY (1995).
But for others? Changes kept bubbling, for two strong reasons:
1) Deals. Each time a network is sold, the new owners have fresh debts to worry about; they also have the iffy notion that they can improve things.
2) Human nature. Some people just change things a lot; some are quite foolish.
And that takes us to the prime example: CBS.
In most ways, CBS has been terribly clever.
From Edward R. Murrow to “60 Minutes,” it has had great news people. It has soared in daytime and in late-night. It fueled the first golden ages of drama and comedy.
And in modern times, it found a workable formula of dramas that wrap up a story each hour. That’s paid off; the 2024-25 season (when CBS had the top seven shows in the Nielsen ratings) was the 17th consecutive one in which CBS finished in first place.
But when it comes to cable, these clever folks kept getting it wrong.
At an early point, their research team announced that only 10 cable networks would survive. One, of course, would be the arts network, CBS Cable.
In truth? CBS Cable was one of the first channels to fold. That was back in 1982; it only lasted 14 months.
Much later, CBS tried again with Eye on People, in 1997. This one did better; it lasted almost two years.
In between those failures, CBS took the alternate route: Its affiliated companies simply bought control of:
— The MTV networks, in 1986. That included MTV, VH1, BET and Nickelodeon.
— The Nashville Network and CMT, in 1997.
— And the TV Guide Network, in 2013.
Before and after those deals, channels discarded their original purpose. MTV and VH1 drifted away from music videos (except for odd hours). The Nashville Network and CMT drifted from country.
Eventually, those two had only a couple strong reminders of their music roots — the “MTV Video Music Awards” and the “CMT Music Awards.” Then both of those became simulcast on CBS.
By then, an identity crisis had set in. The Nashville Network tried to keep its initials and become The National Network. Later, it announced that it was Spike and was “the first channel for men” — a fact that may have surprised some ESPN or Playboy Channel viewers. Then it took the name of CBS’ parent company, becoming the Paramount Network.
Also changing was the TV Guide Network. It became Pop.
As luck would have it, the P-networks each had one great idea.
For Paramount, it was “Yellowstone.” A sharply crafted drama by writer-director-producer Taylor Sheridan, it put Kevin Costner amid the sprawling beauty of Montana and the sprawling greed of family and neighbors. It jumped to No. 1 overall, drawing more viewers than the big networks.
For Pop, it was “Schitt’s Creek,” a droll Canadian co-production. In 2020, it won nine Emmys, including best comedy and all four acting categories.
These were the kind of shows someone can build on. CBS didn’t.
The “Schitt’s Creek” success came after its final season had ended. The Pop people started efforts at other interesting comedies — “Florida Girls” and (after Netflix dropped it) the Latina reboot of Norman Lear’s “One Day at a Time.” But that was hampered by the pandemic … and then by CBS’ decision to have no more scripted shows on Pop.
And Paramount? Fresh from “Yellowstone,” it had a TV version of the movie “Heathers.” A dark comedy set in high school, the series had lots of dark and little comedy; it was mostly repulsive. It was delayed twice because of school shootings, then quietly aired in one Halloween-week burst.
Sheridan continued to make terrific series, but most were diverted to the Paramount+ streamer. The Paramount Network was mostly a one-hit wonder.
That revolving-door approach hasn’t been confined to CBS networks, of course. Other cable examples include:
— Bravo, which began as an arts network. Later, it was stuffed with “real housewives,” prone (as housewives really are?) to shouting insults and tipping tables.
— TLC. The “L” used to stand for “learning.” Laterm the channel gave us polygamous marriages, hurry-up marriages (after 90-day courtships) and 600-pound people. Also, “MILF Manor” and “I Love a Mama’s Boy.”
— IFC and Sundance. Both were going to focus on independent movies. Now they have reruns and standard films … sort of like the reruns and films on other channels.
— A&E. Originally, that was “Arts & Entertainment,” strong on the arts. It gave us “Jane Eyre,” “Pride and Prejudice” and “Tess of the D’Ubervilles.” Later, there was little “A” and lots of efforts at “E.” There was “Duck Dynasty” and “Dog the Bounty Hunter” and documentaries about wrestlers and Playboy.
— The Christian Broadcast Network. It was sold twice (first to Fox, then to ABC) and changed its name four times. It eventually became Freeform, with strong potential, especially from such shows as “Good Trouble,” “The Bold Type,” “Alone Together” and the sometimes-brilliant “Cruel Summer.” But by mid-2023, ABC had quashed all of Freeform’s scripted shows.
— AMC, which used to be American Movie Classics. A competitor to Turner Classic Movies, it was showing films from the safe old days. Now it’s the home of zombies and witches.
Then again, it’s also the home of “Dark Winds” and the former home of “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad,” “Better Call Saul” and more.
That’s where this story diverts. Sometimes (really), a cable-network shift cane be a good thing. AMC, FX, HBO and others became pieces of the second golden age of drama.