American culture

About the major broadcast networks

The first three broadcast networks, ABC, NBC and CBS have been losing market share in recent years, but still maintain a significant hold over advertiser dollars and eyeballs - no single cable show has the reach of a CSI and a Friends. Big events, such as the Super Bowl and the Summer Olympics, run on the broadcast networks as do most major syndication successes, such as The Oprah Winfrey Show and Jeopardy!

PBS is the only government-supported broadcaster in the U.S. It is known for offering the gravitas-heavy The News Hour with Jim Lehrer children's education programs like Sesame Street, shows distributed by American Public Television, and redistributed British series and miniseries, particularly in the Masterpiece Theatre strand. PBS tends to be well-respected, if not particularly highly rated.

Fox and WB target a younger audience. Fox is owned by Rupert Murdoch and specializes in flashy, sexy programming, at the moment exemplified by The O.C., while the WB is home to sexy-angsty-superpowered teen shows such as Smallville and Gilmore Girls.