I've also decided to add this to my earlier mini essays over
promotion and relegation in American sports leauges and
transportation. There's also going to be no Fox in this timeline.
* * * * *
Independent stations remain in most television markets to this day. Up until the mid-Nineties, most independent stations ran syndicated series, movies, and special news programs from such stations as BBC or CNN or even their own local news, and local sports. It was the lower-tier sports leagues that kept the independent stations going and keeping a small margin of profits over the years. Some independent stations, such as WNYW of New York, WGN of Chicago, and KTTV of Los Angeles, had small studios that produced original series.
But begging in the mid-Nineties, several studios were established began producing television series, mini-series, and made-for-TV-movies made exclusively for independent stations. Such hit shows as the crime drama Police Beat, political satire Executive Privilege, science fiction Beyond the Stars, and comedies What's the Problem? were produced by such studios. The Independent News Agency (INA) was founded in 1999 to bring national news directly to independent stations. This led to a boom of independent stations across the country, opening up potential markets for future sports teams.
Another interesting idea that hit independent stations was professional wrestling, which had languished for years on cable networks as TWT (Time Warner Television) but found a new home on independent stations. A new type of show called reality shows also found homes on independent stations. Some stations still produce their own material, but most still get their material either from syndicated series or from independent studios. Talk shows and soap operas similarly have found an increased market in independent stations.
Despite being labeled 'independent' stations, many independent stations are owned by larger corporations that have formed several "mini-networks". Notable examples include SBC (Sinclair Broadcasting Corporation), CTV (Cox Television), My Network TV, and TBS (Taft Broadcasting Services). Those four "mini-networks" only own somewhere between ten and twenty independent stations each out of nearly 300 independent stations. Compare that to NBC, who owns over 200 affiliates.
In recent years, there have been calls by several "mini-networks" to merge to form one larger television network. However, only a few independent stations are willing to cooperate. And independent stations still continue to show lower-tier sporting games, a long-time stable of their programming.