American Broadcasting Company facts for kids
Current "ABC Circle" logo, which is a revision of the 1962 logo, used since 2021
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| Type | Television and radio network |
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| Country | United States |
| Broadcast area | United States also available in Canada in areas near the Canada–United States border |
| Affiliates |
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| Headquarters |
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| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Disney Television Group |
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| Key people |
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| Sister channels |
List
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| History | |
| Founded | May 15, 1943 |
| Launched |
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| Founder |
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| Replaced | Blue Network |
| Former names | NBC Blue Network |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Affiliated Streaming Service(s) | Disney+ ESPN+ Hulu |
| DirecTV Stream | Channel 396 (ABC HD East) Channel 397 (ABC HD West) |
| Service(s) | DirecTV Stream, FuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, YouTube TV |
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is a major American television and radio network. It is a main part of the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company. ABC's main offices are in Burbank, California. They are right across from Walt Disney Studios. The network also has offices in Manhattan, New York City, which is home to its news division, ABC News.
ABC started as a radio network in 1943. It took over from the NBC Blue Network. In 1948, ABC began broadcasting on television. This was after other networks like CBS and NBC had already started. In the 1950s, ABC joined with United Paramount Theatres (UPT). This helped the network become very successful.
ABC is the youngest of the "Big Three" American TV networks. It is sometimes called the Alphabet Network because its name uses the first three letters of the alphabet.
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History of ABC
In 1927, NBC had a radio network called the NBC Blue Network. In 1943, this network became independent and was renamed the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). ABC later joined with United Paramount Theatres, forming American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres.
After growing in radio and television during the 1960s and 1970s, ABC bought a large part of the sports channel ESPN in 1982. In 1986, ABC merged with Capital Cities Communications, creating Capital Cities/ABC. Finally, the Walt Disney Company bought this company in 1996.
What to Watch on ABC
ABC offers many hours of TV shows each week. This includes prime-time shows from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday. On Sundays, prime-time runs from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. (Eastern and Pacific Time).
Daytime Shows
ABC's daytime schedule includes popular talk shows like The View and GMA: The Third Hour. It also features the long-running soap opera General Hospital. General Hospital started in 1963 and is ABC's longest-running entertainment show.
Past popular soap operas on ABC included All My Children and One Life to Live. ABC Daytime also aired many game shows over the years. These included The Dating Game, Family Feud, and The $10,000/$20,000 Pyramid.
News and Late Night
ABC News provides news programs throughout the day. Good Morning America airs in the mornings on weekdays and Saturdays. ABC World News Tonight is the network's nightly news program. On Sunday mornings, you can watch the political talk show This Week.
For late nights, ABC has the talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!. It also airs the newsmagazine Nightline.
Sports on ABC
ABC broadcasts sports events, mostly on weekend afternoons and Saturday evenings. Since 2006, sports telecasts on ABC are produced with its sister cable network ESPN. These are shown under the brand ESPN on ABC.
ABC is the main TV home for the National Basketball Association (NBA). This includes Christmas Day games, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon games, and all games of the NBA Finals. ABC also broadcasts the National Hockey League (NHL), including regular season games, the NHL All-Star Game, and the Stanley Cup Finals.
During college football season, ABC often shows games on Saturdays, including Saturday Night Football. ABC also airs selected bowl games. Since 2015, ABC has also shown NFL games, making it the only major network to carry games from all four major sports leagues: MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL.
ABC also airs college basketball games, Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) games, the X Games, and the Little League World Series. The annual ESPY Awards also moved to ABC from ESPN in 2015. ABC will air Super Bowl LXI in 2027 and Super Bowl LXV in 2031.
Special Events
ABC holds the rights to broadcast major awards shows. These include the Academy Awards, Primetime Emmy Awards, and the Country Music Association Awards. ABC also aired the Miss America competition for many years.
From 2001 to 2020, ABC was the home for most of the Peanuts TV specials. These included A Charlie Brown Christmas and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. ABC also broadcasts the annual Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade on Christmas morning.
Since 1974, ABC has aired Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. This special features music performances and coverage of the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square, New York.
ABC's TV Shows Library
ABC owns most of the TV shows and movies it has made since the 1970s. For example, America's Funniest Home Videos and General Hospital are part of its library.
When the FCC made new rules in 1970, ABC created two companies: Worldvision Enterprises for selling shows to other networks, and ABC Circle Films for making shows. Later, ABC Circle Films became part of Disney's Touchstone Television, which is now called ABC Signature.
ABC Stations Across the U.S.
ABC has had over 300 TV stations carry its programs over the years. As of 2020, ABC has eight stations that it owns and operates itself. It also has agreements with more than 230 other TV stations across the United States and its territories. This makes ABC the largest U.S. broadcast TV network by the number of stations.
Some ABC stations can also be seen in Canada. This happens through pay-TV providers or over-the-air near the Canada–United States border.
ABC Buildings and Studios
ABC has main production facilities in Burbank, California, and New York City. The Burbank facilities include the 'Burbank Center' and ABC Riverside. These are also home to other Disney channels like Disney Channel, Freeform, and National Geographic.
In New York City, ABC used to have several buildings on West 66th Street. The main building was at 77 West 66th Street. The block of West 66th Street where ABC News is located was renamed Peter Jennings Way in 2006.
ABC also owns the Times Square Studios at 1500 Broadway. Good Morning America was broadcast from this location until June 2025. In July 2018, Disney announced it was selling its West 66th Street campuses (except one building). It bought new property in lower Manhattan to build a new broadcast center. This new building, called 7 Hudson Square, opened in 2024. Many ABC shows and news operations moved there from January to June 2025.
How to Watch ABC Online
ABC offers several ways to watch its shows after they first air. These include a traditional video-on-demand (VOD) service called ABC on Demand. The Walt Disney Company also partly owns Hulu, which offers full episodes of most ABC shows.
In 2013, ABC launched "WatchABC," which was a new way to stream shows online and through a mobile app. This service allowed people to watch full episodes and even live streams of local ABC stations in some areas. In 2016, ABC relaunched its streaming platforms, dropping the "WatchABC" name. They added a library of classic ABC shows and new short online series.
The latest episodes of ABC shows are usually available on the ABC app, Hulu, and ABC on Demand the day after they are broadcast. In 2021, the ABC app was updated to let users watch shows from ABC's sister networks like Freeform, FX, and National Geographic.
In August 2024, Disney announced it would stop offering the mobile and digital media player apps for ABC and its sister networks by September 23, 2024. Viewers can still access content through their websites or through Disney+ and Hulu.
ABC HD
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| Programming | |
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| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 720p (4:3/16:9) |
| History | |
| Launched | September 16, 2001 |
| Closed | March 24, 2017 |
ABC broadcasts its main signal in 720p high-definition. This is the standard quality for Disney's American TV channels. ABC began broadcasting in high definition on September 16, 2001. Its scripted prime-time shows were the first to be shown in HD. By January 2012, all new ABC programs were presented in HD.
Since September 2016, ABC has used a widescreen format for its graphics and shows. This means that its programs are displayed in a wider format, whether in high definition or standard definition.
ABC's Look and Logos
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The ABC logo has changed many times since 1943. The first logo in 1946 showed a TV screen with "T" and "V" and an "ABC" microphone. In 1953, a new logo looked like a circular shield with "ABC" and an eagle. In 1957, ABC used a small lowercase "abc" inside a large lowercase "a".
In 1962, designer Paul Rand created the famous "ABC Circle" logo. This logo has the lowercase letters "abc" inside a black circle. This simple design was easy to use and copy. A color version was also made around 1963, with red, blue, and green letters inside a black circle.
Through the 1970s and 1980s, the logo was shown with different lighting effects. In 1983, for ABC's 40th anniversary, the logo appeared in gold with the slogan "That Special Feeling." In 1993, the "ABC Circle" logo returned to its classic white-on-black look, but with shiny effects.
In 2007, ABC started using a new "glassy" version of its logo with the slogan "Start Here." This design emphasized that ABC content was available on many platforms.
In 2013, ABC updated its logo again. It had a simpler, less shiny design. A special font called ABC Modern was created for advertising. The logo was used in different colors like gold, red, steel blue, and dark grey. By 2018, the dark grey version became the main logo.
On August 9, 2021, ABC introduced its most recent logo. It has a flat, two-dimensional design with smaller, bolder letters. The main logo is dark blue-gray, but red and outlined versions are also used. This update also brought a new sound logo, keeping three of the four notes from ABC's previous audio logo.
The Circle 7 logo, designed in 1962, is also well-known. It is used by ABC stations that broadcast on channel 7, like WABC-TV in New York City and KABC-TV in Los Angeles. This logo has become a symbol of the ABC network itself.
ABC Around the World
ABC tried to expand internationally in the 1950s. It invested in stations in Latin America and Japan. However, many countries later wanted to control their own broadcasting. So, ABC had to sell its interests in international networks in the 1970s.
Later, in the 1990s and 2000s, Disney Media Networks expanded other channels like Disney Channel. In 2004, ABC launched ABC1, a free channel in the United Kingdom. But it did not get enough viewers and closed in 2007.
ABC in Australia
In Australia, the Nine Network has had strong ties with ABC. It has used many of ABC's image campaigns and slogans since the 1970s. For example, "Still the One", ABC's slogan from 1977, was adopted by Nine in 1978 and became its main slogan for many years.
ABC in Canada and Mexico
Most Canadians can watch at least one U.S.-based ABC station. This is either over-the-air near the border or through cable or satellite. Similarly, ABC programs are available in Mexico in areas close to the Mexico–United States border.
See also
In Spanish: American Broadcasting Company para niños
- ABC Family Worldwide
- ABC Kids
- ABC Productions
- Children's programming on the American Broadcasting Company
- Disney Television Studios
- Lists of ABC television affiliates
- List of United States over-the-air television networks
- Litton's Weekend Adventure
- Disney Entertainment Television
