USA Network

USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports cable television channels, before being relaunched under its current name on April 9, 1980. Since then, USA steadily gained popularity through its original programming, a long-established partnership with WWF/WWE and, for many years, limited sports programming that increased significantly in 2022 after the shutdown of NBCSN. USA Network is commercially available to about 90.4 million households (98% of households with pay television) in the US. History Madison Square Garden Sports Network (1977–1980) USA Network originally launched on September 22, 1977, as the Madison Square Garden Sports Network (not to be confused with the New York City-area regional sports network of the same name now simply known as the MSG Network). The network was founded by cable provider UA-Columbia Cablevision and the Madison Square Garden Corp. From its beginning (and for the next two decades) the network was run by chairwoman and CEO Kay Koplovitz. The channel was one of the first national cable television channels, utilizing satellite delivery as opposed to the then-industry standard microwave relay to distribute its programming to cable systems. Unlike other cable networks at the time, it also was the first to rely greatly on advertising revenue. At launch the network mostly broadcast sporting events from Madison Square Garden to a national audience (sharing programming with the aforementioned MSG Network). The network quickly added a mix of college and less well-known professional sports held at other venues, similar to those found during the early years of ESPN. In 1978, children's programming was also added to the lineup.