TBS (American TV channel)

TBS
TypeBasic cable network
CountryUnited States
Broadcast areaUnited States
HeadquartersNew York City, U.S.
Programming
Language(s)
  • English
  • Spanish (with SAP audio track)
Picture format
Ownership
OwnerWarner Bros. Discovery
ParentWarner Bros. Discovery Networks
Sister channels
History
Launched
  • September 1, 1967;
    57 years ago
     (1967-09-01) (Atlanta television station WJRJ-TV)
  • December 17, 1976;
    47 years ago
     (1976-12-17)
  • (pay TV network)
  • October 1, 2007;
    17 years ago
     (2007-10-01)
  • (basic cable network)
FounderTed Turner
Former names
  • WJRJ-TV (1967–1970)
  • WTCG-TV (1970–1979)
  • SuperStation WTBS
    (1979–1987)
  • SuperStation TBS
    (1987–1989)
  • TBS Superstation
    (1989–1991)
  • TBS
    (original use, 1991–1996)
  • TBS Superstation
    (1996–2004)
Links
Websitewww.tbs.com
Availability
Streaming media
Affiliated Streaming ServiceMax
Service(s)DirecTV Stream, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, YouTube TV

TBS (originally an initialism of Turner Broadcasting System), stylized as tbs, is an American basic cable television network owned by the Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery.[1] It carries a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy, along with some sports events through TNT Sports, including Major League Baseball, Stanley Cup playoffs, and the NCAA men's basketball tournament. As of September 2018, TBS was received by approximately 90.391 million households that subscribe to a pay television service throughout the United States.[2] By June 2023, this number has dropped to 71.3 million households.[3]

TBS was originally established on December 17, 1976, as the national feed of Turner's Atlanta, Georgia, independent television station, WTCG. The decision to begin offering WTCG via satellite transmission to cable and satellite subscribers throughout the United States expanded the small station into the first nationally distributed "superstation." With the assignment of WTBS as the broadcast station's callsign in 1979, the national feed became known as SuperStation WTBS, and later SuperStation TBS, TBS Superstation, or simply TBS. The channel broadcast a variety of programming during this era, including films, syndicated series, and sports (including Atlanta Braves baseball, basketball games involving the Atlanta Hawks and other NBA teams, and professional wrestling including Georgia Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions and later World Championship Wrestling).

WTBS maintained a nearly identical program schedule as the national feed, aside from FCC-mandated public affairs and educational programming that only aired on the local signal. By the early 2000s, TBS had begun to focus more intensively on comedic programming, including sitcoms and other series. On October 1, 2007, TBS was converted by Turner into a conventional basic cable network, at which time it began to be carried within the Atlanta market on area cable providers alongside its existing local carriage on satellite providers DirecTV and Dish Network. The former parent station in Atlanta was concurrently relaunched as WPCH-TV (branded as "Peachtree TV", which Turner sold to the Meredith Corporation in 2017, and later acquired by Gray Television in 2021) and reformatted as a traditional independent station with a separate schedule exclusively catering to the Atlanta market.

  1. ^ "WarnerMedia Organization Update". August 7, 2020. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  2. ^ Andrew Bucholtz (September 10, 2018). "Nielsen coverage estimates for September see gains at ESPN networks, NBCSN, and NBA TV, drops at MLBN and NFLN (Cable Network Coverage Area Household Universe Estimates: September 2018)". Awful Announcing. NESN Digital. Archived from the original on September 18, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  3. ^ "How many homes the sports networks are available in". June 4, 2023.