Is it possible for each state to have several statewide television networks (similar to ABC, CBS, FO

AltHispano

Let me get this straight. For example, in a hypothetical alternative story called "Viva la Televisión," the United States has four national television networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX, but each state also has several very similar state television networks with "power" similar to the national ones:

* California: California Broadcasting Company, Pacific Broadcasting Company
* Texas: Texas Broadcasting System, Star Broadcasting Company, Texas One
* Alaska: Alaska Broadcasting System, Alaska Television Network

and in the other 47 states..

Is this possible?
Maybe there are some kind of associations, franchises, etc.
 

nezza

Realistically you could have each state having 4 networks which are regional "offices" of the big 4 e.g

California

ABC California
CBS California
NBC California
FOX California

This works in much the same way as the BBC (eg BBC Yorkshire). Each channel would show the same programmes across the USA but with specifically created slots for local news etc.
I don't know what you mean by "power".
 

1940LaSalle

I wonder how practical that might be in small states in highly populated areas (Rhode Island; Connecticut). Certainly some states would want it (Delaware, for example, gets short shrift from the Philadelphia TV stations, and I doubt Baltimore's stations even think of Delaware)--and it could also lead to some further grousing about bias: in New Jersey you'd almost need two regional offices-one for northern NJ and the other for southern NJ. Otherwise, the single offices would of course be located in northern NJ and would maybe throw a bone once in a long while to anything south of Princeton-Toms River if someone were feeling charitable. Same would easily apply to California, Texas, Florida, and a host of other states. Long story short: tough to imagine this happening.
 

Mark E.

The issue is you have a limited number of broadcast channels and the labor required to operate a station was quite intense in the fifties and sixties. A VHF station will reach 65 miles; UHF 45-50 with outdoor antennas. If you establish state networks, there would be substantial duplication which is currently rare. St. Joseph, MO and Manchester, NH are exceptions, as their single stations duplicate those of nearby Kansas City and Boston. When the FCC allocated channels, they did so by range and population, not state lines.

TV broadcast ranges are circles on maps. New Jersey is quite a populous state, yet it is well covered by the New York and Philadelphia markets. The FOX network did not begin until 1986 and only because deregulation removed the limit on advertising time that could be sold. Thirty years before that, the Dumont network went extinct for several reasons: limited number of channels, difficulty to network over an area as large as the US (it took to many phone lines), economics of supporting channels that relied solely on advertising for revenue. Now, some states did, and do, support PBS networks that don't have the traditional advertising.


TV.PNG
 
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Guajolote

Guajolote

nezza said:
This works in much the same way as the BBC (eg BBC Yorkshire).
Click to expand...

A better model in British television would be the ITV Network (before the intercompany takeovers in the 90s) that was operated as a network of individual regional franchise holders that were also production companies. The most popular shows were fully-networked in the same timeslot (like Coronation Street), but up until the late-80s each company was far more of a law unto itself.

For example here are the ITV listings for January 14th 1980:
19800114.jpg


Whereas these are the BBC regional variations for the same day (without the main schedule). All of England is in lockstep apart from a news show at 5:55pm and the variations beyond that are for the other countries in the UK.
bbc19800114.jpg
 
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