Television in the United States Gray Television, whose 131 stations cover mostly smaller metropolitan areas reaching only 10% of the population. The five major U.S. broadcast television networks are the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), CBS (formerly known as the Columbia Broadcasting System), the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), the Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox) and the CW Television Network. The first and elder three (which are colloquially known as the "Big Three") began as radio networks: NBC and CBS respectively began operations in 1924 and 1927, while ABC was spun off from NBC to Edward J. Noble in 1943 as the Blue Network during FCC inquiries over
Broadcasting Company of America RCA's chairman of the board Owen D. Young and president James G. Harbord announced the formation of the National Broadcasting Company, Inc., to begin operations upon RCA's acquisition of WEAF on November 15. WEAF would go on to be the "key station" for the NBC radio "Red Network", which sometimes would still be referred to as the WEAF chain. The leased lines that figured so importantly in the acquisition of BCA would form the backbone for both NBC Red and its sister Blue Network for the next fifteen years. Broadcasting Company of America The Broadcasting Company of America (BCA) was