American Broadcasting Company facts for kids
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| Type | Television and radio network |
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| Country | United States |
| Affiliates |
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| Headquarters |
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| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| Parent | Disney General Entertainment Content (Disney Entertainment) |
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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 |
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is a major American television network. It is a big part of the Walt Disney Company and is known for its many TV shows. ABC's main offices are in Burbank, California, right across from Walt Disney Studios. They also have offices in Manhattan, New York City, where their news division, ABC News, is located.
Since 2007, ABC has mostly focused on television. It is the youngest of the "Big Three" U.S. TV networks. People sometimes call it the Alphabet Network because its name uses the first three letters of the alphabet.
ABC started as a radio network in 1943. It took over from the NBC Blue Network, which was bought by Edward J. Noble. ABC began broadcasting on television in 1948. This was after other networks like CBS and NBC had already started. In the 1950s, ABC joined with United Paramount Theatres (UPT), a movie theater company. Leonard Goldenson, who led UPT, helped ABC become very successful by creating many popular TV shows. Later, in the 1980s, ABC merged with Capital Cities Communications. Then, in 1996, the Walt Disney Company bought the combined company.
ABC has eight stations that it owns and operates directly. It also has over 230 other TV stations across the United States that show its programs. Some ABC shows can even be watched in Canada through special TV services.
Contents
How ABC Started and Grew
In 1927, a radio network called the NBC Blue Network was created by NBC. In 1943, this network became independent and was renamed the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). This was the start of ABC as we know it today.
Later, ABC joined with United Paramount Theatres, forming a new company. This helped ABC grow its radio and television presence throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In 1982, ABC bought ESPN, a popular sports channel. In 1986, ABC merged with Capital Cities, creating a larger company called Capital Cities/ABC. Finally, in 1995, the Walt Disney Company bought this company, making ABC a part of Disney.
What Shows Does ABC Air?
The ABC television network broadcasts many hours of shows every week. It offers prime-time shows in the evenings from Monday to Sunday.
During the daytime on weekdays, ABC airs talk shows like The View and GMA3: What You Need to Know. It also has the long-running soap opera General Hospital. For news, ABC provides Good Morning America in the mornings and ABC World News Tonight in the evenings. Other news shows include This Week and Nightline. For late-night fun, there's the talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
On weekend mornings, ABC has a special block of children's shows called Litton's Weekend Adventure. These shows are made to be educational and informative for young viewers.
Daytime Shows on ABC
ABC's daytime schedule includes popular shows like The View and GMA3. The soap opera General Hospital is also a big part of ABC Daytime. It started in 1963 and is ABC's longest-running entertainment show.
In the past, ABC aired many other soap operas like All My Children and One Life to Live. They also had many game shows, such as The Dating Game, Family Feud, and The $10,000/$20,000 Pyramid.
Sports on ABC
ABC shows sports programs, usually on weekend afternoons and Saturday evenings. Since 2006, sports on ABC have been produced with ESPN, a sister cable network. This means you'll see the "ESPN on ABC" name during sports broadcasts.
ABC is the official TV home for the National Basketball Association (NBA). This includes exciting 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 the NHL All-Star Game and some Stanley Cup Finals games. During college football season, ABC often shows games on Saturdays, including Saturday Night Football. They also air selected bowl games. Since 2015, ABC has also shown some NFL games, including occasional simulcasts of ESPN's Monday Night Football.
In 2015, the annual ESPY Awards moved to ABC from ESPN. This event celebrates the best in sports. ABC will also air Super Bowl LXI in 2027, which is a big deal since they haven't shown a Super Bowl since 2006.
Special Events on ABC
ABC is known for broadcasting many special events. They have the rights to show the Academy Awards (the Oscars), Primetime Emmy Awards, American Music Awards, and the Country Music Association Awards.
For many years, ABC also showed classic Peanuts TV specials like A Charlie Brown Christmas and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. They also broadcast the annual Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade on Christmas morning.
Since 1974, ABC has usually aired Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. This special celebrates New Year's Eve with music and coverage from Times Square in New York City.
ABC's Show Collection
ABC owns many 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 their collection.
In the past, ABC created companies like Worldvision Enterprises and ABC Circle Films to produce and distribute its shows. Over time, these companies changed hands. When Disney bought ABC in 1996, ABC Circle Films became part of Disney's TV production studios, now known as ABC Signature.
ABC also owns many films from the David O. Selznick library and productions from its older movie divisions. Today, Disney–ABC Domestic Television handles distributing ABC shows in the U.S., and Disney–ABC International Television handles it worldwide.
ABC TV Stations
Since it started, ABC has had over 300 TV stations that have shown its programs. As of 2020, ABC has eight stations that it owns and operates. It also has agreements with 236 other TV stations across all 50 states, Washington D.C., and some U.S. territories. This makes ABC the largest U.S. broadcast TV network by the number of stations. About 97.72% of all homes in the United States can watch ABC.
A few states like New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Delaware don't have their own local ABC station. Instead, they get ABC programs from stations in nearby big cities. For example, northern New Jersey watches WABC-TV from New York City.
Some areas even have two different ABC stations that serve the same market. This happens in places like Tampa, Florida, and Boston, Massachusetts. This is usually because one station covers an area where the main ABC station's signal isn't strong enough.
The Sinclair Broadcast Group owns or manages the most ABC stations. The E. W. Scripps Company owns many ABC stations in larger markets like Cleveland and Phoenix. These companies, along with ABC's own stations, help bring ABC programming to most of the Western United States.
ABC Buildings and Studios
All of ABC's owned stations and affiliates have their own buildings. But ABC also has main production centers for national shows. Since the 1950s, ABC has had two main production places: The Prospect Studios in Hollywood, California, and several studios in New York City.
In Burbank, California, besides the main headquarters, ABC has other buildings. One is called 'Burbank Center', which is home to Walt Disney Television and is the main place for channels like Disney Channel, FX, and National Geographic. In nearby Glendale, Disney/ABC also has the Grand Central Creative Campus, where other Disney companies are located, including the studios for KABC-TV.
ABC owns several buildings in New York City, mostly on West 66th Street. These buildings cover a large area and include:
- 77 West 66th Street, a tall 22-story building.
- Buildings at 147–155 Columbus Avenue, connected by glass walkways.
- 30 West 67th Street, a 15-story building.
- 56 West 66th Street, which used to be an armory for the New York National Guard.
The block of West 66th Street where the ABC News building is located was renamed Peter Jennings Way in 2006, honoring the famous news anchor.
ABC also owns the Times Square Studios at 1500 Broadway. The show Good Morning America is broadcast from this famous location.
In 2018, Disney announced it was selling some of its West 66th Street buildings in New York. They plan to build a new broadcast center in lower Manhattan.
How to Watch ABC Shows
Online and On-Demand
ABC offers several ways to watch its shows after they first air. You can use ABC on Demand, which is available through most cable TV providers. The Walt Disney Company also partly owns Hulu, so you can watch many ABC shows there too.
In 2013, ABC launched "WatchABC" (now just called the ABC app). This service lets you watch full episodes of ABC shows online or on your phone or tablet. In some areas, you can even watch live TV from local ABC stations. To watch live, you usually need to be a subscriber to a participating TV provider.
The newest episodes of ABC shows are usually available on the ABC app, Hulu, and ABC on Demand the day after they are first broadcast.
In 2021, the ABC app was updated to let users watch shows from ABC's sister networks like Freeform, FX, and National Geographic.
ABC in High Definition
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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 (HD). This is the standard HD format for Disney's TV channels in the U.S. Most ABC stations show programs in HD, but some might use a different format depending on their equipment.
ABC started broadcasting in HD on September 16, 2001. At first, only scripted prime-time shows were in HD. By January 2012, all new ABC programs were shown in HD. Even the children's programming block, Litton's Weekend Adventure, started offering shows in HD in 2011. ABC's HD programs also have 5.1 surround sound for a better audio experience.
Since 2016, ABC has used a wider screen format (16:9) for its graphics and sports broadcasts. This means that when you watch ABC, the picture fills more of your widescreen TV.
ABC's Look and Logos
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The ABC logo has changed many times since the network started in 1943. The first logo in 1946 showed a TV screen with "T" and "V" and an "ABC" microphone.
In 1962, a famous designer named Paul Rand created the ABC logo we know best today. It's the lowercase letters "abc" inside a black circle. This simple design was easy to use everywhere. Sometimes, a color version was used with red, blue, and green letters inside the black circle.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the ABC Circle logo appeared with different lighting effects, like neon or glittering lines. In 1983, for ABC's 40th anniversary, the logo was gold and had the slogan "That Special Feeling."
In 1993, the "ABC Circle" logo went back to its classic white-on-black look, but with shiny effects. It also started appearing on screen during shows, usually in the bottom corner.
In 1997, ABC used a new look with yellow and black colors. They also introduced a new four-note sound that became ABC's special audio signature, like a musical jingle. This sound has been updated over the years.
In 2007, ABC started using a new "Start Here" campaign with a glassy version of the ABC logo. This look used animated water and ribbon effects. Red ribbons were for entertainment, and blue ribbons were for ABC News.
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In 2013, ABC updated its logo again. It had a simpler glassy design and the letters looked more like Paul Rand's original. They used different colors for the logo: gold for entertainment, red for ESPN on ABC, and blue or dark gray for ABC News.
For the 2018–19 season, the dark gray version became the main ABC logo. Promotions used a circular "echo" design and the slogan "America's Network."
On August 9, 2021, ABC introduced its newest logo. It's a flat, two-dimensional design with smaller, bolder letters. The main logo is a dark blue-gray color. This rebrand also brought a new sonic logo, keeping three notes from the previous ABC audio logo.
The Circle 7 logo, also designed in 1962, is often used by ABC stations that broadcast on channel 7. This includes major stations like WABC-TV in New York City and KABC-TV in Los Angeles. This logo has become a well-known symbol of the ABC network itself.
ABC Around the World
ABC tried to expand internationally in the 1950s. They invested in TV stations in Latin America and Japan. The goal was to create a network of channels that would show ABC's programs. However, many countries wanted to control their own broadcasting, so ABC had to sell its shares in these international networks in the 1970s.
Later, in the 1990s and 2000s, Disney Media Networks helped ESPN and other Disney channels expand globally. While ABC itself mostly broadcasts in the United States, its shows are sold to other networks in different countries. In 2004, ABC launched ABC1, a free channel in the United Kingdom, but it closed in 2007.
ABC in Australia
In Australia, the Nine Network has often used ABC's image campaigns and slogans. For example, ABC's slogan "Still the One" from the 1970s was adopted by Nine and became very popular there for many years.
ABC in Canada
Most Canadians can watch at least one U.S.-based ABC station, either over the air or through cable or satellite. However, Canadian rules often require TV providers to replace an American station's signal with a Canadian one if they are showing the same program. This helps protect Canadian broadcasters.
ABC in Mexico
Like Canada, ABC programs are available in Mexico. People living near the Mexico–United States border can often pick up signals from U.S. ABC stations.
Images for kids
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Entrance of ABC's headquarters at 77 West 66th Street
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WABC-TV buildings at 147–155 Columbus Avenue and behind 157 Columbus Avenue
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ABC facilities in the former First Battery Armory of the New York National Guard
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 General Entertainment Content
