Jonas James Pate (born January 15, 1970) is an American screenwriter , director and producer . He wrote and directed The Grave , Deceiver , The Take , and directed Shrink .
119-948: Pate also co-created the USA Network series Good vs Evil , the NBC series Surface , and the Netflix series Outer Banks . Jonas Pate was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina , and is the twin brother of fellow filmmaker Josh Pate . Pate's parents divorced when he was young, and the siblings were raised through elementary school with their mother and step-father in Atlanta, Georgia, and through high school with their father and step-mother in Raeford, NC. He studied philosophy at Princeton University , and graduated in 1992. In 1996, Pate started his career by writing and directing
238-402: A Notre Dame Fighting Irish football game was scheduled for USA Network due to NBC's commitments to the 2020 U.S. Open . Coverage of a primetime game against Clemson on November 7, 2020 , was also briefly moved from NBC to USA Network due to NBC News coverage of a victory speech by president-elect Joe Biden . With the shutdown of NBCSN at the end of 2021, USA Network once again became
357-505: A 24-hour schedule, programming its new daytime block with the British soap opera Coronation Street , a health-oriented show named Alive and Well , and an afternoon movie. In fall 1982, the channel began running a mix of 1960s and 1970s Hanna-Barbera cartoons each weekday evening from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. as part of the new USA Cartoon Express block, with sports programming airing after 7:00 p.m., which were rebroadcast during
476-540: A Baby . The tradition of game show reruns continued into the 1990s with the $ 25,000 and $ 100,000 Pyramids , the early 1990s revivals of The Joker's Wild and Tic-Tac-Dough , and other well-known shows such as Scrabble , Sale of the Century , Talk About , and Caesars Challenge . Additionally, two more original game shows were added in June 1994; these were Free 4 All and Quicksilver. In September 1991,
595-581: A Canadian version of USA Network on January 1, 2025. The channel will be a relaunch of Bell's Discovery Channel , following that company's loss of rights to the former Discovery, Inc. channel brands to Rogers Media. This iteration of USA Network will still be maintained by CTV Specialty Television, which is a joint venture of Bell Media and ESPN Inc. , stemming from its ownership of The Sports Network (TSN). NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and doing business as simply NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013)
714-464: A bid. Comcast won the auction with a bid of £17.28 per-share, beating Fox's bid of £15.67. Sky plc had until October 11, 2018, to formally accept this offer. Following its auction victory, Comcast began to acquire Sky shares from the open market. On September 26, 2018, Fox subsequently announced its intent to sell all of its shares in Sky plc to Comcast for £12 billion. On October 4, 2018, Fox completed
833-529: A definitive offer." On December 14, 2017, Disney officially confirmed its acquisition of the most 21st Century Fox assets , which was granted approval from the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division on June 27, 2018, and approved by stockholders from both companies one month later. On April 25, 2018, Comcast launched its takeover offer for Sky plc at £12.50 per-share, or approximately £22.1 billion. 21st Century Fox owned
952-481: A financial news service that delivered live video to personal computers. The following year, NBC announced an agreement with Microsoft to create an all-news cable television channel, MSNBC (using its subscriber base from America's Talking network). A separate joint venture with Microsoft included establishing a news website, MSNBC.com (now NBCNews.com ). In 1998, NBC partnered with Dow Jones & Co. The two companies combined their financial news channels outside
1071-579: A later date, when Shaw instead offered to carry the channel on the digital cable tiers of its Shaw Cable systems. In spite of this, the CRTC has since rejected the restructured proposal on the basis that USA's programming would be competitive with Mystery TV. Many of USA's original programs currently air on either Showcase or CTV Drama Channel . WWE programming that airs on USA also airs on Rogers Media -owned Sportsnet 360 . On October 17, 2024, NBCUniversal announced an agreement with Bell Canada to launch
1190-561: A long-established partnership with WWF/ WWE and, for many years, limited sports programming. USA would increase its sports coverage significantly in 2022, after the shutdown of NBCSN , and now serves as the main cable component of NBC Sports . As of November 2023 , USA Network is available to approximately 70,000,000 pay television households in the United States-down from its 2011 peak of 100,000,000 households. USA Network originally launched on September 22, 1977, as
1309-524: A major rebranding campaign incorporating a new logo and on-air look that launched on Wednesday, October 27, 2010. Syfy and Chiller President Dave Howe said, "We have very ambitious plans to grow this network as a brand." On December 3, 2009, after months of rumors, a deal was formally announced in which Comcast would buy a stake in NBC Universal from GE for $ 6.5 billion after the spin-off of certain businesses, pending regulatory approval. Under
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#17327834422201428-465: A multibillion-dollar purchase, renaming the merged company NBC Universal . GE retained an 80% ownership stake in the new company, while Vivendi retained a 20% stake. NBC Universal officially took over as owner of USA and its sibling cable channels (except for Newsworld International) in 2004. That year, USA premiered the sci-fi series The 4400 . In 2005, USA Network introduced a new logo and associated marketing campaign, "Characters Welcome". The slogan
1547-655: A new company, Geneon Universal Entertainment Japan. On March 16, 2009, NBC Universal-owned cable channel Sci Fi announced that it would be changing its name to Syfy , replacing a generic term with a proprietary brand name that was able to be trademarked. The re-branding and name change took place on July 7, 2009. On August 27, 2009, A&E Television Networks (A&E) merged with Lifetime Entertainment Services (Lifetime), giving NBC Universal an equal share of both Lifetime and A&E with The Walt Disney Company and Hearst . On October 20, 2010, NBC Universal-owned horror/suspense-themed cable channel Chiller announced
1666-535: A new division, NBCUniversal Hispanic Enterprises and Content. The move also created the corporate-level position of executive vice president in charge of digital ventures. In July, the company placed NBC TV Stations and Telemundo 's O&Os stations into a new division, NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations, with New England Cable News being transferred into NBC TV Stations. On April 28, 2016, NBCUniversal officially announced its intent to acquire DreamWorks Animation for $ 3.8 billion. Universal Pictures took over
1785-640: A number of shows for NBC, although Revue would have hits on other networks as well. This partnership continued throughout a number of name changes and changes of ownership. NBC Universal Television has its modern roots in a series of expansions undertaken by NBC. In the late 1980s, NBC began pursuing a strategy of diversification, including the formation of two NBC-owned cable-television networks: CNBC and America's Talking . NBC also had partial ownership of several regional sports channels and other cable channels such as American Movie Classics and Court TV (until 2007). In 1995, NBC began operating NBC Desktop Video,
1904-403: A programming block from Black Entertainment Television (which would eventually launch as its own network three years later, but now owned by Paramount as of 2001) and carried C-SPAN during the day. In 1981, ownership of the network changed. First, Time Inc. agreed to buy UA-Columbia's share of the network contingent upon Madison Square Garden owner Gulf + Western transferring its share of
2023-565: A revival of the mid-1970s game show Jackpot ; two more original game shows, Love Me, Love Me Not , and a revival of the short-lived 1980 series Chain Reaction , were added in September 1986. More shows were progressively added soon afterward such as The Joker's Wild , Tic-Tac-Dough , Press Your Luck , High Rollers , and Hollywood Squares (with John Davidson as its "Square-Master", or host), along with Wipeout , Face
2142-561: A significant stake in Sky and was trying to take full control of it itself, ahead of its own acquisition by The Walt Disney Company. NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke stated that purchasing Sky would roughly double its presence in English-speaking markets, and allow for synergies between the respective networks and studios of NBCUniversal and Sky. On June 5, 2018, Culture Secretary Matt Hancock cleared both 21st Century Fox and Comcast's respective offers to acquire Sky plc. Fox's offer
2261-697: A teen drama that premiered on April 15, 2020. Pate currently lives with his wife, Jennifer, and two young adult children, Lilah and Cooper, in Wilmington, North Carolina . In 2020, he was appointed by Governor Roy Cooper to the Governor’s Advisory Council on Film, Television, and Digital Streaming. His daughter, Lilah, has made several cameos on Outer Banks and several other Netflix and Amazon Prime Video series; such as The Summer I Turned Pretty . Film Television Music video USA Network USA Network (or simply USA )
2380-579: A time, the block also included the 1989–1994 episodes of the Bob Saget run of America's Funniest Home Videos . "USAM" was discontinued in 2002; by that point, the only sitcoms airing on USA were daytime and late night reruns of Martin and overnight airings of Living Single , Cheers and Wings , with drama series and movies populating much of the channel's daytime and primetime schedule. In 2000, USA Networks bought Canadian media company North American Television, Inc. (a joint partnership between
2499-506: A viable multi-platform competitor to other major children's networks (such as Nickelodeon , Cartoon Network , and Disney Channel ). On May 10, 2017, NBCUniversal announced that it had acquired Denver-based online platform Craftsy for its Cable Entertainment Group division. On November 16, 2017, NBCUniversal's parent company Comcast made a bid to acquire 21st Century Fox 's filmed entertainment, cable entertainment, and international assets, ten days after The Walt Disney Company (at
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#17327834422202618-583: A viewership foothold with its original programming; this began in the 1990s with initial hits such as Silk Stalkings , Duckman and La Femme Nikita , which were gradually followed in the following two decades by series such as Monk , Psych , Shooter , White Collar , Mr. Robot , Suits , Burn Notice and Royal Pains . In addition to its original productions, the network airs syndicated reruns of current and former network series such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit , Chicago P.D. , Law & Order: Criminal Intent (which spent
2737-415: Is also the home of the professional wrestling company WWE . WWE (formerly WWF) has had a longstanding relationship with USA Network going back to 1977 when broadcasts of Madison Square Garden events would air on USA Network. The first weekly WWE show on USA Network debuted on September 4, 1983, with WWF All American Wrestling . WWF Prime Time Wrestling broadcast on USA Network from 1985 to 1993 until it
2856-412: Is also the third-largest operator of amusement parks in the world. Since 2018, its sister company under Comcast's control, Sky Group Limited , holds its media and telecommunication assets. NBCUniversal was formed on May 11, 2004, beginning on November 8, 2004 as NBC Universal, Inc. , with the merger of General Electric (GE)'s NBC with Vivendi Universal Entertainment , after GE had acquired 80% of
2975-499: 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. It was relaunched under its current name on April 9, 1980, and in the years since then, USA steadily gained popularity through its original programming,
3094-722: Is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is a subsidiary of Comcast and is headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. NBCUniversal is primarily involved in the media and entertainment industry. The company is named for its two most significant divisions, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) – one of the United States' Big Three television networks – and
3213-585: Is available to competing cable operators. The company unveiled a new logo designed by Wolff Olins , which replaced a logo featuring the NBC peacock and an invocation of the Universal Pictures globe, with a wordmark . The company also began to stylize its name in CamelCase as "NBCUniversal" rather than "NBC Universal", to reflect the unity of its two main divisions. On January 26, 2011, Vivendi sold
3332-533: The Law & Order franchise and The District —in fact, Universal Network Television had co-produced American Dreams with NBC before the merger. Universal Television Distribution shows also brought into company include Jerry Springer and Maury . Entertainment shows produced by the new group include The Tonight Show with Jay Leno , Late Night with Jimmy Fallon , Last Call with Carson Daly , and Saturday Night Live . The formation of NBC Universal saw
3451-544: The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Power Corporation of Canada ), owner of cable television channels Trio and Newsworld International (the CBC continued to handle programming responsibilities for NWI until 2005, when eventual USA owner Vivendi sold the channel to a group led by Al Gore , who relaunched it as Current TV ). One major shock happened when USA lost the broadcasting rights of
3570-713: The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), to carry the USA Network in Canada as a foreign service that would be eligible for carriage by domestic cable and satellite providers (and to automatically allow all English-language general interest cable networks from the United States into Canada). However, because of programming rights issues with other Canadian specialty channels , certain programs would be subjected to blackout restrictions, including WWE Raw . In September 2007,
3689-757: The Fox Broadcasting Company , the Fox News Channel , Fox Television Stations , Fox Business Network , Fox Sports 1 and 2 , Fox Deportes , and the Big Ten Network , all of which were spun off into the "New Fox" company (later known as the Fox Corporation ) run by the Murdoch family . However, on December 11, 2017, Comcast officially dropped the bid, saying that "We never got the level of engagement needed to make
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3808-529: The Madison Square Garden Network . The network carried Major League Baseball games on Thursday nights from 1979 to 1983, and the NHL on USA ran from 1979 to 1985. College Football on USA ran from 1980 to 1986, and its telecast of the 1981 Liberty Bowl was the first college bowl game to be exclusively broadcast on cable television. The NBA on USA also aired from 1979 to 1984,
3927-488: The Panel on Takeovers and Mergers ordered that a blind auction be held "in order to provide an orderly framework for the resolution of this competitive situation". In this process, Fox, followed by Comcast, made new cash-only bids for Sky. After these first two rounds of bidding, there would be a third round where both companies could make new offers. However, the third round of bidding would only be binding if both companies make
4046-602: The Tennis Channel in 2009. The PGA Tour on USA covered the opening two rounds of the Masters Tournament from 1982 to 2007, Ryder Cup matches from 1989 to 2010, and various other events. The USA Network aired most games of the NFL-run World League of American Football (later NFL Europe/Europa) in its first two seasons of operation in 1991 and 1992; one innovation introduced for
4165-523: The bilingual Mun2 Television for $ 1.98 billion. That same year NBC acquired the cable channel Bravo . In 2004, amid a major financial crisis caused by over-expansion, Universal Studios' parent company, Vivendi Universal Entertainment (a division of the French company Vivendi Universal, now Vivendi ), decided to sell an 80% stake of itself to NBC 's parent company, General Electric (GE). The sale and resulting merger formed NBC Universal. The new company
4284-452: The major Hollywood film studio Universal Studios . It also has a significant presence in broadcasting through a portfolio of domestic and international properties, including USA , Syfy , Bravo , E! , Telemundo (Spanish), Universal Kids , the streaming service Peacock and ownership stakes in Snap and Vox Media . Via its Universal Destinations & Experiences division, NBCUniversal
4403-461: The science fiction series Surface , which aired until 2006. As his filmography was already fleshing out, he took on several directing jobs on television series like Battlestar Galactica (2005), Bionic Woman (2007), Friday Night Lights (2007-2010), Chuck (2008), The Philanthropist (2009), Caprica (2010), Undercovers (2010), The Event (2010-2011), and Prime Suspect (2011). He continued his film career by writing
4522-491: The screenplay for The Take (2007). In 2009, he directed the independent film Shrink . Pate is the director and executive producer on the Battlestar Galactica prequel entitled Blood & Chrome . He has also signed on to direct the independent crime drama film Way Down South , written by himself and his brother. Pate is the co-creator and executive producer of Outer Banks for Netflix ,
4641-548: The thriller film called The Grave with his brother Josh . After a screening at the Sundance Film Festival , it received a wide range of positive reviews. The following year, they collaborated on the movie Deceiver . He subsequently co-created the fantasy action television show Good vs Evil (1999) alongside his brother. From 2003 to 2004, he served as co-executive producer on L.A. Dragnet , for which he also wrote an episode. In 2005, he co-created
4760-407: The "Characters Welcome" tagline in the lead-up to the rebranding, whose associated programming shift was led by the premieres of Mr. Robot and Colony . Variety reported that the new programming strategy was designed to appeal to themes of "authenticity, resiliency, bravery and innovation". The Washington Post felt that the re-branding symbolically marked the end of USA's "blue sky" era, as
4879-546: The 13th: The Series , War of the Worlds and Tales from the Crypt . NBC Universal also stated that, aside from the content in their own vaults, Chiller will feature content from other studios as well. In 2009, Chiller unveiled a new slogan, "scary good". This replaced the channel's previous slogan "Dare To Watch". On June 14, 2007, NBC Universal Television Studio was renamed Universal Media Studios . The company explained that
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4998-432: The 1985–1986 season, the channel had four hours of original and exclusive shows. One original series from the 1985–1986 season was the comedy Check It Out! . USA, wanting to become the flagship cable channel and compete directly with the broadcast networks, committed to 26 half-hours of part exclusive off-broadcast network and part original programming for the 1986–1987 season at an increase of $ 30 million. In one case,
5117-615: The 2015–16 season. USA also participates in NBC Sports' broader effort of carrying all ten Survival Sunday matches across its numerous channels during the final matchday of the Premier League season. Starting in 2015, USA Network was similarly incorporated into NBC's coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs . In 2016, USA aired three NASCAR races as overflow during the 2016 Summer Olympics . In September 2020 ,
5236-487: The ANC connection, USA also aired the financial news program First Business (then produced by CONUS) at 6:30am weekday mornings for a time (the network had previously carried Wall Street Journal -produced financial news updates and a late-night report in the 1980s ). The ANC-produced updates continued through 2000 (ANC was suffering heavily around this time due to competition with other cable news channels such as CNN and
5355-495: The CRTC refused Shaw's request to carry USA Network in Canada on the basis that the channel carried too much programming that overlapped with the English language digital cable specialty channel Mystery TV (which is then owned by Canwest – later Shaw Media – and formerly, Groupe TVA ). However, on September 20, the CRTC stated that it would reconsider their denial of the eligible foreign carriage proposal for USA Network at
5474-473: The IDs showed people in the control room, while a studio that was being set-up by a crew was the backdrop for the "Tonight" menu that displayed the evening's schedule. Opening sequences leading into movie telecasts showed people running through the "USA Studios Film Vault". The new look coincided with a shift in focus, more towards off-network reruns and original programming; game shows and court shows were dropped from
5593-696: 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
5712-678: The Music , and Name That Tune . In June 1987, the channel debuted another original game show, Bumper Stumpers (all four USA original game shows in this era were taped in Canada). When it began, the game-show block ran for an hour, but it expanded significantly the following year. By 1989, the network ran game shows Monday through Fridays from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. eastern. USA also aired late night reruns of Procter & Gamble soap operas The Edge Of Night from August 5, 1985, to January 19, 1989, along with Search For Tomorrow from 1987 until
5831-480: The NBC Universal TV networks on Apple's iTunes Store . In January 2006, NBC Universal launched a new cable channel, Sleuth . The channel's programming dedicated to mystery/crime genre. Sleuth Network's initial slogan was "Mystery. Crime. All The Time." In early 2008, the channel unveiled a new slogan, "Get Clued In." On August 15, 2011, Sleuth rebranded as Cloo , in order to be able to trademark and own
5950-713: The NBCUniversal programming library and the company's various television networks as well as use it to upsell its free/subscription hybrid service Peacock , akin to ViacomCBS 's utilization of Pluto TV to offer content from its cable networks following the former Viacom 's purchase of the rival streamer in the Spring of 2019. In February 2020, it was reported that Comcast (via NBCUniversal) had entered talks into acquiring Vudu from Walmart . On April 20, 2020, Fandango (owned by NBCUniversal and WarnerMedia ) announced that they would be acquiring Vudu. The acquisition
6069-645: The Panasonic/Viant joint venture for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition of the service—which will continue to operate as an independent business, albeit within Comcast's cable television division—stems mainly from Xumo's partnerships with smart TV manufacturers (including LG, Panasonic, and Vizio ), which would allow Comcast to use Xumo's placement to market or showcase Xfinity and other Comcast services as well as use its technology to develop additional streaming platforms. The company plans to add content from
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#17327834422206188-528: The Sci-Fi Channel to Seagram for $ 1.7 billion. In turn, Seagram sold a controlling interest in the networks to Barry Diller – who was previously head of Paramount Pictures when the company owned part of the network in the early 1980s and who was also credited with putting together the 1981 agreement which resulted in joint Paramount-Time-MCA ownership of the network – in February 1998, which led to
6307-617: The Sky takeover Comcast has begun the process of integrating some of NBCUniversal's international operations with parts of Sky. Among other moves, NBCUniversal's pay television channels in the United Kingdom will be folded with Sky's, and Sky Deutschland will become the parent company of NBCU's German networks. On January 14, 2019, NBCUniversal announced that it will launch an over-the-top streaming service to compete with Netflix , CBS All Access , Amazon Prime Video , Hulu , Apple TV+ , HBO Max , and Disney+ . A reorganization of
6426-567: The United States, plus the English channels Diva TV , Movies 24 , Hallmark Channel and KidsCo . Later that fall, the company also acquired the Oxygen network in a separate $ 925 million deal. The sale was completed one month later. In the summer of 2008, NBC Universal, Blackstone Group and Bain Capital announced their intentions to buy The Weather Channel from Landmark Communications . The deal closed on September 12, 2008. Shortly after
6545-594: The United States. The new networks included NBC Europe , CNBC Europe , NBC Asia, CNBC Asia , NBC Africa, and CNBC Africa . In 1999, NBC took a 32% stake in the Paxson group, operator of PAX TV . Five years later, NBC decided to sell its interest in PAX TV and end its relationship with PAX owner, Paxson Communications . In 2001, NBC acquired the US Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo , that includes
6664-513: The WWF to Viacom in June 2000; Raw (which had been retitled Raw is War ) was moved to TNN in September of that year. In May 2002, USA Networks sold its non-shopping television and film assets (including USA Network, the Sci-Fi Channel, Trio, USA Films (which was rechristened as Focus Features ) and Studios USA ) to Vivendi Universal for $ 10.3 billion. USA and the other channels were folded into Vivendi's Universal Television Group. In July 2002,
6783-672: The acquisition completed, NBC announced that their existing TV weather network, NBC Weather Plus, would be shut down by December 31, 2008. In July 2008, Universal Cable Productions split off from Universal Media Studios and moved into NBCUniversal's NBCU Cable Entertainment division. The summer of 2008 marked NBC Universal's first venture into the United Kingdom by acquiring English television production company Carnival Films . On November 12, 2008, NBC Universal acquired 80.1% of Geneon Entertainment from Dentsu in Japan, merging it with Universal Pictures International Entertainment to form
6902-477: 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. On April 9, 1980, the channel changed its name to USA Network. It also added a children's program called Calliope to its schedule and some talk shows in an effort to appeal to women. The new network also offered
7021-456: The agreement, NBC Universal would be controlled with a 51% stake by Comcast and GE would retain the remaining 49%. The deal includes a provision under which Comcast must contribute $ 7.5 billion in programming including regional sports networks and cable channels such as Golf Channel , Versus , PBS Kids Sprout and E! Entertainment Television . GE used some of the funds, $ 5.8 billion, to buy out Vivendi's 20% minority stake in NBC Universal. Under
7140-491: The block was reduced to three hours, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Eastern. However, an additional hour was added in March 1993. In November 1994, the game show block was cut back to only two hours, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. On September 24, 1992, USA launched a sister network, the Sci-Fi Channel (now Syfy ), focusing on science fiction series and films. In January 1993, the channel began showing WWF Monday Night Raw , which
7259-495: The business news channel Bloomberg Information TV Monday thru Saturday from 5:00 to 7:00 a.m. Eastern; in 2004, the Bloomberg simulcast moved to E! , where it ran until 2007 (USA was actually the second television network to simulcast Bloomberg's programming, the now-defunct American Independent Network also carried a simulcast of the channel during the mid-1990s). Bloomberg purchased the airtime from USA. In October 1995,
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#17327834422207378-647: The channel debuted Monk , a comedy-drama police procedural that starred Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk , a former San Francisco police inspector-turned-consultant who suffers from various obsessive-compulsive behaviors that include the ability to pay attention to detail when solving crimes. It became one of USA Network's first breakout hit series, and ran for eight seasons until it ended on December 4, 2009. In 2003, General Electric (GE) agreed to merge NBC and its sibling companies with Vivendi Universal 's North American-based filmed entertainment assets, including Universal Pictures and Universal Television Group in
7497-503: The channel had been increasingly producing more "intense" series with darker themes. NBCUniversal marketing executive Alexandra Shapiro explained that the "Characters Welcome" campaign and associated programming was reflective of the "weirdly optimistic" mood of the network's key demographic at the time. In August 2016, NBCUniversal acquired the television rights to the Harry Potter film franchise from 2018 through 2025, including
7616-486: The channel picked up Airwolf for 58 off-network episodes, while commissioning 24 new episodes without the original cast. One tradition on USA was an afternoon lineup of game show reruns mixed in with several original low-budget productions that aired over the years. It began in October 1984 with reruns of The Gong Show and Make Me Laugh . In September 1985, the network began airing its first original game show,
7735-604: The company's investments in The Weather Channel and TiVo . The cable division also used to operate NBC Weather Plus until 2008. It also owned a 50% stake in Canal+ and also owned a 15% stake in A+E Networks until 2012. In the early 1990s, NBC began its expansion throughout Europe by creating CNBC Europe and its long-time successful NBC Europe Superstation by broadcasting NBC Giga throughout Germany and
7854-490: The creation of USA Networks, Inc. ; the company also merged the cable channels with Diller's existing television properties including the Home Shopping Network and its broadcasting unit Silver King Broadcasting (which was restructured as USA Broadcasting , and eventually sold its stations to Univision Communications in 2001 to form the nucleus of Telefutura/UniMás ). In July 1995, USA began simulcasting
7973-504: The deal was valued around $ 250 million over the length of the agreement, making it one of the highest-valued film franchise deals. To launch the new rights, Syfy and USA both aired Harry Potter marathons over the July 13–15, 2018 weekend, airing all eight films (including directors' cuts of the first six) with limited commercial interruption. Amid the growth of streaming services (including NBCUniversal's newly launched Peacock ) and
8092-434: The decline of traditional cable television, USA Network began to cut back on scripted programming, in favor of reality shows, television events (including scripted miniseries ), and live programming—the latter including WWE programs and sporting events. In 2020, the network cancelled Dare Me , The Purge , The Sinner , and Treadstone . With the announcement that NBCSN would shut down on December 31, 2021, it
8211-560: The defunct Trio , Cloo (formerly Sleuth) as well as 50% stakes in Canal+ and StudioCanal . Universal Music Group was not included in the deal and is not part of NBC Universal. On August 2, 2004, the television divisions of NBC and Universal Television were combined to form NBC Universal Television . NBC Studios series brought into the company include the NBC dramas Las Vegas (with DreamWorks Television ), Crossing Jordan , and American Dreams . Universal Network Television brought
8330-623: The distribution for DreamWorks Animation films after their deal with 20th Century Fox expired. The sale was approved by board members, but was subject to regulatory approval. On June 21, 2016, the acquisition was approved by the United States Department of Justice . On August 22, 2016, the deal was completed, and DreamWorks Animation is now a wholly owned subsidiary of NBCUniversal and was integrated into Universal Pictures . This gave Universal Pictures distribution to both DreamWorks Animation and Illumination films beginning in 2019. On February 28, 2017, NBCUniversal announced that it would acquire
8449-474: The drama's seventh season in the fall of 2007; episodes would then be re-aired later in the season on NBC, most likely to shore up any programming holes created by the cancellation of a failed new series. Although this is not the first time a broadcast series has moved to cable (USA had acquired first-run rights to the revival of Alfred Hitchcock Presents from NBC in 1987 , while The Paper Chase had moved beforehand from CBS to Showtime in 1983), it marked
8568-492: The establishment of NBC Universal Cable , which oversees the distribution, marketing, and advertisement sales for thirteen channels (Bravo, Bravo HD+ (eventually renamed Universal HD ), Chiller , CNBC, CNBC World, MSNBC, NBC Universo, Syfy , ShopNBC (which became ShopHQ after NBCUniversal sold its stake in the network), Telemundo, Cloo , USA Network , and the Olympic Games on cable). NBC Universal Cable also manages
8687-611: The final four seasons of its run as a first-run program on USA) and NCIS . The network also broadcasts a variety of films from the Universal Pictures library and select films from other movie studios (such as Sony Pictures Entertainment , Paramount Pictures , Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Warner Bros. Entertainment ), airing primarily as part of its overnight and weekend schedule, and occasionally during primetime on nights when original programming or marathons of its acquired programs are not scheduled. USA Network
8806-459: The first time that a series which moved its first-run episodes from broadcast to cable television would continue to air episodes on a broadcast network while it was still a first-run program. On December 7, 2007, it was announced that USA Network would continue broadcasting first-run episodes of Raw through at least 2010. The June 1, 2008, premiere of In Plain Sight , starring Mary McCormack ,
8925-508: The first time that the NBA had a cable television partner. For 17 years from 1981 to 1998, USA aired a weekly boxing show, USA Tuesday Night Fights , which showcased bouts featuring up-and-coming boxers. Tennis on USA aired professional tournaments in the United States from 1984 to 2008, and was the longtime cable home of the US Open before its cable television rights moved to ESPN2 and
9044-624: The first-run teen sitcom USA High and reruns of Saved by the Bell: The New Class from 1997 to 2001, USA has not aired children's programming since that time), and replaced it with a block called "USAM", which advertised itself as "Primetime Comedy in the Morning". The block mainly featured sitcoms originally aired on network television that were cancelled before making it to 100 episodes (such as The Jeff Foxworthy Show , Hearts Afire and Something So Right ); however, for
9163-767: The following seven years, but ownership of NBCUniversal remained split at 51–49% for two years, until the February 12, 2013 announcement that Comcast intended to complete the $ 16.7 billion purchase early, all at once. The sale was completed on March 19, 2013. The corporation on July 19, 2012, formed the NBCUniversal News Group with the NBC News, CNBC, and MSNBC divisions. In February 2013, NBCUniversal merged its two cable divisions, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment & Cable Studios and NBCUniversal Entertainment & Digital Networks and Integrated Media, into one unit while moving out Telemundo and Mun2 to
9282-539: The inaugural season of the revived USFL , and is one of the broadcast partners of the SuperMotocross World Championship and its Supercross and Motocross feeder series. High-definition simulcasts of USA Network sports coverage, and reruns of original programs produced in the format, were originally carried by Universal HD . In 2007, USA Network launched a HD feed. In February 2007, Shaw Communications submitted an application to
9401-470: The introduction of a new logo (incorporating a star ridged into the "U" of the now-serifed "USA" logotype, replacing the Futura-typeface logo that had been in use since the network's start under the USA Network name in 1980), and a three-note jingle. Network IDs, feature presentation intros for movies and promo graphics were based around a behind-the-scenes look at the fictional "USA Studios"; some of
9520-459: The latter of whom had replaced original co-host Caroline Schlitt in 1991. Though this program was discontinued on March 7, 1998, late-night movie telecasts on USA continued to be branded under the "Up All Night" banner until 2002. Short news updates, branded as USA Updates, were broadcast early on, from 1989 until 2000. These segments were first produced out of KYW-TV in Philadelphia , as
9639-509: The main cable outlet of NBC Sports in 2022, with sports properties such as the Premier League, NASCAR, and the Olympics (including U.S. Olympic trials) moving to USA at this time. The U.S. Open , U.S. Women's Open , The Open Championship , and the Women's Open would move their early-round telecasts from Golf Channel to USA beginning in 2022. USA Network also carried eight games as part of
9758-613: The main film series and their spin-offs (with the first, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them , to have its cable premiere in 2019), and other content. On cable, the films are to primarily be aired by USA Network and Syfy, and the deal also includes the ability for Universal Parks & Resorts to offer "exclusive content and events" related to the franchise (Universal Parks had already been involved in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter attractions). The deal succeeded one with Freeform ; The Wall Street Journal reported
9877-639: The major direct reporting division was made. Bonnie Hammer was appointed chairman of NBCUniversal Direct-to-Consumer and Digital Enterprises via the streaming services and the Digital Enterprises unit. Her former unit, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group, was given to Mark Lazarus as chairman, NBCUniversal Broadcast, Cable, Sports and News . Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman Jeff Shell added NBC Entertainment, Telemundo and international channels as chairman of NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment. On September 17, 2019, NBCUniversal announced
9996-741: The name, as NBCUniversal cannot so with the name Clue (as Hasbro owns the rights to it with their board game Clue ). NBCUniversal also explained that another reason for the name change was the word "Sleuth" is too common for search engines (a Google search brings up over 9,530,000 results). One year later after Sleuth's debut, NBC Universal announced that the company would launch a horror-themed cable channel, Chiller , on March 1, 2007. At launch Chiller would be available exclusively on DirecTV . The network would feature films like Psycho and The Shining and TV series that include Twin Peaks , Alfred Hitchcock Presents , Freddy's Nightmares , Friday
10115-415: The network dropped the entire game show block; it was replaced with a block called USA Live , which carried reruns of Love Connection and The People's Court , with live hosted wraparound segments between shows; that block was dropped by 1997 (some of the game shows that USA had aired can still be seen on GSN and Buzzr ). On June 17, 1996, the network unveiled a new on-air appearance, which included
10234-402: The network is a major provider of content to Peacock. The new company will be held by Comcast shareholders and have the same share structure (with Brian L. Roberts and his family holding a 33% voting share, as with Comcast). Questions have been raised over how the spin-off will impact the synergies between the networks and legacy divisions being retained by NBCUniversal (including in particular,
10353-510: The network to its Paramount Pictures division. Shortly thereafter MCA Inc. also bought into the network with the three companies all owning equal shares. The three partners had a non-compete clause that would prevent them from owning other basic cable networks independently from the USA joint venture; however, it was acknowledged that Time also owned powerful USA Network rival Home Box Office . The said clause would cause Time Inc. to drop out of
10472-561: The network's WLAF telecasts was the in-helmet camera. Upon the 2004 purchase of Vivendi Universal by NBC, USA's sports division was immediately merged into NBC Sports . Since 2004 , the network has broadcast select events from the Olympic Games , as part of an expansion of NBCUniversal's broadcast rights to the Summer and Winter Olympics that allowed several of the company's cable channels rights to telecast Olympic events live (some of which are later re-aired on tape delay on NBC as part of
10591-538: The network's primetime and late night Olympic coverage). USA Network also carried games from the International Ice Hockey Federation in 2006 and 2010. During the 2014 Winter Olympics , USA aired Premier League soccer matches in lieu of sister channel NBCSN , due to that channel's full devotion to carrying coverage of Olympic events. After ratings success with those matches, USA began to air mid-afternoon Saturday games weekly during
10710-544: The overnight hours. Weekends featured a mix of movies, some older drama series and talk shows during the morning hours, and sports during the afternoons and evenings. Overnights consisted of old low-budget films and film shorts, and music videos as part of a show called Night Flight . Between 1984 and 1986, USA's programming focus began shifting away from sports, and shifted towards general entertainment programs not found on broadcast stations, including some less common network drama series, situation comedies and cartoons. For
10829-514: The past few years. In April 2015, it was announced that WWE SmackDown would move to USA from sister network Syfy . In April 2016, USA Network unveiled a new branding campaign and slogan, "We the Bold". The campaign was designed to reflect the channel's current focus on "rich, captivating stories about unlikely heroes who defy the status quo, push boundaries and are willing to risk everything for what they believe in". USA had quietly discontinued
10948-404: The reason for the name change was because "the new name fully describes the company's mission to be the premier content provider for television and digital platforms, spanning all television dayparts and creative genres." In August 2007, NBC Universal purchased Sparrowhawk Media Group and renamed it NBC Universal Global Networks. This acquisition gave NBC Universal all Hallmark channels outside
11067-449: The remaining 20% of NBC Universal to GE, giving GE complete control of the company ahead of the completion of the sale of 51% of the company to Comcast on January 28, 2011. Comcast and GE formed the joint venture holding company NBCUniversal, LLC. NBC Universal, Inc. became a wholly owned subsidiary of the holding company and adopted the name, NBCUniversal Media, LLC , on January 29, 2011. Comcast had planned to buy out GE's 49% stake over
11186-531: The remaining 49% stake in the Universal Studios Japan theme park that it did not own. On May 1, 2017, NBCUniversal announced that Sprout would be relaunched as Universal Kids on September 9, 2017. Universal Pictures' acquisition of DreamWorks Animation in 2016 would also be leveraged by Universal Kids to bolster its programming. Industry observers felt that the integration of DreamWorks IP with Universal Kids would help NBCUniversal establish
11305-667: The rest of the European Union. NBC Europe helped to develop the Leipzig -based Games Convention , the largest European video game exposition with more than 100,000 visitors each year. In 2005, NBC Universal joined HANA, the High-Definition Audio-Video Network Alliance to help establish standards in consumer electronics interoperability. Later that year, NBC Universal announced a partnership with Apple Computer to offer shows from all
11424-515: The rights for SmackDown to Fox beginning in October 2019. In August 2019, WWE announced that its tertiary weekly program WWE NXT would return to USA Network on September 18, 2019, airing on Wednesday nights in a two-hour live format. From 1984 to 2016, USA Network was the longtime home of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show . USA Network has a longstanding history with sports, dating back to its existence as
11543-471: The sale of their shares, giving Comcast a 76.8% controlling stake at the time. On October 12, 2018, Comcast announced it will compulsorily acquire the rest of Sky after its bid gained acceptances from 95.3% of the broadcaster's shareholders with the company being delisted by early 2019. Sky was delisted on November 7, 2018, after Comcast acquired all remaining shares. While NBCUniversal and Sky still operate mainly as separate entities within Comcast, following
11662-538: The schedule, while cartoons were phased out. USA Studios also became the branding for USA-produced programming at this point. This logo was replaced in July 1999 in favor of a 'USA flag'-styled logo (whose design was slightly modified in 2002). In September 1996, USA replaced the USA Cartoon Express with the action-oriented children's block, USA Action Extreme Team ; the channel discontinued its animation block outright in September 1998 (other than airing
11781-684: The service would be called Peacock and is expected to launch in July 2020. NBCUniversal Content Studios was formed in October 2019 with Hammer as chairman and George Cheeks as vice chairman, who was co-chairman of NBC Entertainment. This new unit consists of Universal Television and Universal Content Productions. Hammer was replaced as chairman of the Direct-to-Consumer and Digital Enterprises unit by Comcast executive Matt Strauss, while Paul Telegdy would become sole chairman of NBC Entertainment and continue reporting to Shell. On February 25, 2020, Comcast announced it would purchase Xumo from
11900-555: The spin-off seeks to separate the networks from businesses such as the NBC broadcast network and its divisions, Peacock, Universal Pictures, and Universal Destinations & Experiences , while providing them with the ability to make their own further investments and acquisitions. "SpinCo" will include networks such as USA Network , CNBC , E! , Golf Channel , MSNBC , Oxygen , and Syfy , as well as digital properties Fandango Media and SportsEngine. NBCUniversal will retain Bravo , as
12019-627: The station had already produced a number of syndicated news services (including the Group W Newsfeed) and Steve Bell , the former newsreader on Good Morning America , was employed as a primary anchor at the station. By 1993, production of USA Updates had been taken over by the All News Channel (operated as a joint venture of Hubbard Broadcasting 's and Viacom 's CONUS Communications); Bell had left KYW in 1992, when KYW's news operations were heavily revamped in response to falling ratings. Via
12138-487: The subsidiary, giving Vivendi a 20% share of the new company. In 2011, Comcast attained 51% and thereby the control of the newly reformed NBCUniversal, by purchasing shares from GE , while GE bought out Vivendi . Since 2013, the company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast, which bought the remainder of the company from GE. NBC and Universal Television had a partnership dating back to 1950, when Universal Television's earliest ancestor, Revue Studios , produced
12257-439: The summer of 1989. In January 1989, USA debuted USA Up All Night , a showcase of low-budget feature films that aired as part of its weekend overnight schedule. Up All Night became a cult favorite among viewers for the comedic wraparound segments that were usually shown during breaks leading into (and sometimes, out of) commercials and between films that were hosted by comedian Gilbert Gottfried and model/actress Rhonda Shear ,
12376-494: The terms of the deal, Comcast reserves the right to buy out GE's share at certain times, and GE reserves the right to force the sale of their stake within the first seven years. Vivendi completed the initial transaction on September 27, 2010, selling a $ 2 billion stake to GE (approximately 7.66%). U.S. regulators approved the proposed sale on January 18, 2011, with conditions. Comcast would have to give up NBC control over online video site Hulu and ensure NBC Universal programming
12495-546: The then-similarly formatted Headline News , and ended up shutting down in 2002); USA Network has not carried any news programming since the news updates were removed. USA was the first basic cable channel to pre-empt the syndicated television market by purchasing a package of 26 films from Disney 's Touchstone Pictures library in October 1989. To obtain the package, it spent an estimated $ 50 million to $ 60 million, with films including such box office hits as Dead Poets Society , Good Morning, Vietnam , and Three Men and
12614-486: The time, owners of rival network ABC , cable sports channel ESPN and theme parks Disneyland and Walt Disney World ) was reported to be negotiating with Fox for the same assets. The deal contained key assets such as the 20th Century Fox film and television studios , 30% stake in Hulu , television assets FX Networks , National Geographic Channel , and international television operations such as Star India , while excluding
12733-414: The venture in 1987, as the company attempted (but failed) to buy CNN from Ted Turner and run it independently from USA. MCA and Paramount subsequently became the sole owners of the channel (being a 50/50 joint venture between the two companies). C-SPAN finally stopped sharing satellite space with USA on April 1, 1982, after having launched its own 24-hour feed two months earlier. USA began operating on
12852-462: Was 80% owned by GE, and 20% owned by Vivendi. The joint venture encompassed Vivendi's US film interests (such as Universal Pictures ), NBC Universal Television Studio , NBC Universal Television Distribution , production and distribution units, Universal Studios Home Video , Universal Studios Consumer Products Group, Back Lot Music (formerly NBC Records), as well as five theme parks, cable television channels including USA Network , Sci-Fi Channel ,
12971-646: Was USA's highest-rated series premiere since the 2006 debut of Psych , with 5.3 million viewers. In early 2009, USA Network acquired the network television rights for 24 recent and upcoming Universal Pictures films, including Duplicity , Funny People , Frost/Nixon , Land of the Lost , Milk , and State of Play . In 2011, control and majority ownership of then-parent NBC Universal passed from General Electric to Comcast . Comcast would buy out GE's remaining ownership in NBCU two years later. USA Network
13090-451: Was completed on July 6, 2020. Following Jeff Shell's exit in 2023, NBCUniversal announced that corporate management will be led by a leadership team while Michael J. Cavanagh continues to oversee Comcast as a whole. On November 20, 2024, Comcast announced that it will spin off most of its cable networks and selected digital properties into a new publicly-traded company ("SpinCo"), with NBCUniversal Media Group chairman Mark Lazarus as CEO;
13209-568: Was considered the key piece of the NBC-Comcast merger; Wunderlich Securities analyst Matthew Harrigan projected that USA contributed $ 9.5 billion to NBCUniversal's $ 44.8 billion value, with NBC contributing only $ 408 million. In 2014, the channel had dropped 18% in viewership and out of first place among the major cable channels. USA has been a key NBCUniversal asset accounting for one-third of advertising revenue for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group and $ 1 billion in annual earnings over
13328-693: Was contingent on the divestiture of Sky News. On June 15, 2018, the European Commission gave antitrust clearance to Comcast's offer to purchase Sky, citing that in terms of their current assets in Europe, there would be limited impact on competition. Comcast included a 10-year commitment to the operations and funding of Sky News. On July 11, 2018, Fox increased its bid for Sky to £14.00 per-share, valuing it at £24.5 billion. Comcast subsequently counterbid just hours later with an offer at £14.75 per-share, valued at £26 billion. On September 20, 2018,
13447-404: Was designed to help emphasize the wide range of programming the network offered, and to help USA Network establish itself more prominently as a brand. The launch of the campaign featured promos themed around the daily lives of characters from the network's programs. To contrast itself from the "grittier" offerings of other mainstream cable networks, USA Network's original programming during this era
13566-609: Was marked by a focus on comedic and "optimistic" action and drama series, referred to as a "blue sky" approach. Notable examples of this programming strategy included Psych (2006), Burn Notice (2007), and Royal Pains (2009). In October 2005, Raw returned to USA Network after Viacom did not renew its broadcasting agreement with the WWE. On May 13, 2007 (in advance of NBC's 2007–08 fall upfronts presentation), NBC Universal announced that new episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent would be moved to USA Network beginning with
13685-429: 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
13804-463: Was sold to the original iteration of Viacom ; the following year, MCA was acquired by Seagram . In April 1996, Viacom, which also owned MTV Networks , launched a new classic television network called TV Land . MCA subsequently sued Viacom for breach of contract , claiming that it had violated the non-compete clause in its joint venture agreement with MCA. A judge presiding over the case sided with MCA, and Viacom subsequently sold its stake in USA and
13923-429: Was subsequently revealed that USA and Peacock would collectively assume its remaining sports broadcasts. In December 2023, Deadline Hollywood reported that USA Network was considering a return to original scripted series in the vein of the "blue sky" era, citing the recent resurgence in the popularity of Suits (which concluded in 2019) after the series was acquired by Netflix that year. USA Network has achieved
14042-613: Was superseded by WWE's flagship cable program Raw . The series originally aired on USA Network from its debut in January 1993 (when the promotion was known as the World Wrestling Federation) until the series moved to TNN in September 2000, before returning to USA Network in October 2005. On January 7, 2016, WWE's second flagship program SmackDown moved to USA Network from Syfy . In 2018, USA Network renewed its rights to Raw for five additional years, but lost
14161-445: Was the first weekly WWF program on USA to air in front of a live audience. In September 1993, USA adopted a new on-air look centering on the slogan "The Remote Stops Here", with flat graphics suggesting a television camera's in-lens symbols and music consisting of electric guitar and synthesized noises, though the movie presentation openers were retained from the previous design. In 1994, Paramount Pictures parent Paramount Communications
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