HTN Communications

HTN Communications, better known as Hughes Television Network (HTN) and formerly Sports Network, is the longest-tenured provider of sports television and radio distribution services in North America. Created by Richard Eugene Bailey in 1956, the company is now in the business of providing video and audio services to sports networks.

HTN limited itself to broadcasting sports events, including the NAHL Memorial Cup Finals, PBA Bowling and special programming, including the Muppets special The Frog Prince, and provided facilities links to a loose network of stations, who were usually independents or affiliates of ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW, ABN, RKO, DuMont, RDN, UPN or The WB.

Sports Network, Inc.
Originally working as chief network coordinator at ABC in 1954, Richard Eugene Bailey conceived of a cost-effective means of broadcasting away Major League Baseball games to their home cities. The idea came from the BBDO advertising agency, who appealed to Bailey on behalf of advertisers, Schaefer Beer and Lucky Strike cigarettes, to save money on their broadcast of Brooklyn Dodgers games; Bailey came up with the concept of "streamlining transmission operations." This innovation for covering away games became the basis for the Sports Network.

Bailey capitalized his company with $1,000. In December 1956, Bailey met with sponsors, ad agencies and the baseball teams' representatives at Chicago's Hotel Knickerbocker to get SNI off the ground. In 1956, the first operational year, the network had 300 television and 1,200 radio broadcasts of major league baseball games.

In the fall 1956, SNI started showing Cleveland Browns football games. In later years, they acquired rights to Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conference basketball. SNI's coverage of the 1963 NCAA final, where Loyola University Chicago upset the University of Cincinnati, was a ratings smash, with a larger audience than CBS' hit westerns Have Gun - Will Travel and Gunsmoke.

By the early sixties, the Browns (still on SNI) were the only NFL team not signed to a major TV network. At the insistence of new commissioner Pete Rozelle, the Browns dropped SNI when the entire league signed a collective television contract with CBS in 1962.

Hughes Television Network
After Howard Hughes failed to purchase a controlling interest in ABC in 1968, Hughes' Hughes Tool Company purchased the Sports Network and was renamed the Hughes Television Network, with Dick Bailey continuing as president. On a staggered schedule in May 1971, The Frog Prince was show on HTN with 150 stations including WCBS-TV and sponsored by RJR Foods. Paramount Pictures purchased the Network including its satellite time in planning for Paramount Programming Service in 1976. Paramount sold HTN to Madison Square Garden in 1979. In 1986, Joseph M. Cohen, a Madison Square Garden executive, led an investment group in purchasing HTN from Madison Square Garden. IDB Communications purchased the company in 1989.

In March, 1991, HTN purchased fiber optic transmission services from Vyvx NVN to supplement its existing satellite network. In 1995, HTN was purchased by Globecast.

In 2003, Cohen acquired the Network again.

Variety Television Network
In 2009, it was announced that HTN Communications would be the new owners of the Variety Television Network (VTV) (also referred to as the Variety Channel). Variety Television Network was a digital subchannel operated by Newport Television (formerly Clear Channel Communications's broadcast television station division) on various US DTV stations. each station broadcast a similar programming schedule except for some local programming. The network broadcast classic TV show re-runs, auto showcase programming and various home improvement programs.

Program offerings included A Place in the Sun, American Latino, The Andy Griffith Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, Bonanza, Dragnet,FreeRide, Latination, The Lone Ranger, The Lucy Show, One Step Beyond and Sherlock Holmes.

Syndication
In 2015, HTN Communications acquired the rights to air syndicated games from the North American Hockey League after Lady Luck Sports announced that they will be focusing their attention on building their partnership with UPN (including running UPN Sports). HTN also acquired syndication rights to all Conference USA men's basketball games.