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The Central Television Network (Central or CEN) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the Central Networks Corporation division of the namesake Central International Media Inc. and is one of the company's two flagship subsidiaries, along with TVL. Central is headquartered on Sunset Bronson Studios on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The network maintains secondary offices at the Daily News Building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, which houses its broadcast center; corporate operations of owner CIMI at the Maison de Télévision Central in Montreal; and the Central News Communications Center in Washington, D.C. Along with CBS, Central is sometimes referred to as the Eye Network, after the company's trademark symbol of an eye (which has been in use since 1966). Central is also referred to as the Centralist Network.
Central launched in 1955 as a single radio station in Montreal opened by James Franklin, subsequently expanding to television in 1957, becoming the first private independent television station in Canada. In the 1960s, Central expanded its reach throughout North America and started producing television series and programs in the United States, subsequently moving television operations by 1977. In the 1980s, the network's corporate parent, Central Television Corporation, merged with Capitol States Communications, owner of several television and radio stations and print publications, to form Capitol States/Central Inc., which in turn became Central International Media Inc. in 2000.
Central has eighty-seven owned-and-operated stations and more than 500 affiliated television stations throughout the United States and its territories, Canada, Boem, Laurentia, Roflica and Florga. It also has a stake on its former Philippine operations via CIMI, with coverage nationwide.
Central News provides news and feature content for select radio stations owned by JD Broadcasting Properties, as many of its stations are former Central Newsradio properties.
History
Formation
Central traces back to 1955, when James Franklin opened his own radio station in Montreal, CJAD 704 (now 800). Within years since its first broadcasts, the huge triumph of the station and its growing number of listeners made clear the move to modern facilities in University Street (now known as Robert-Bourassa Boulevard).
Franklin went on to learning technical work on television and later applied for a license to the Canadian Radio and Telecommmunications Commission (CRTC) in 1956. The license was approved early 1957. On October 5, 1957, the company launched its first television station, CHCT-TV 3, being the first private independent television station in Canada, and later the first private television network in the country. The first program of the network is a live coverage of a hockey match between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The launch effectively ended the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) monopoly on television in Canada.
Transition to color, expansion
By the early 1960s, Central had expanded its footprint across Canada by opening stations, the first of which being CHAN-TV in Ottawa in 1959. It reached the West Coast by that same year with CICT-TV.
In August 1964, Central began its color test broadcasts. The first show to be shot fully-colored was their own English adaptation of the known Quebec téléroman (telenovel) show La famille Plouffe (The Plouffe Family), which was based from Roger Lemelin's novel Les Plouffes. The network became the country's first fully-colored television network by 1966. The network also broadcast the opening of Expo '67. Central's investment to color television made broadcasting virtually its entire programming lineup in color by the late 1960s, the same time CBS has done transitioning; dubbing Central as America's Full-Color Network.
With the formation of Central Television News (CTN) in 1963, Central made a name for itself in news coverage with iWitness and News at Seven. It sought to become a global leader in television news.
Plans for an expansion into neighboring countries (United States, Boem, Laurentia) were first planned in mid-1965 when Mount Royal Telecasters, Franklin's founded company, bought five independent stations in major markets in the United States to form as network owned-and-operated stations for Central in the United States, which was eventually finalized in September 1966, which prompted Central to finally expand to the United States, and in the process, becoming the second "fourth network".
Soap operas and detective series presented Central as having a "philosophy of counterprogramming against its competitors", offering a strong lineup of programs that contrasted with those seen on its rival networks.
Due to pressure from film studios which wished to increase their production, the major networks began airing theatrically released films. Central launched Sunday Night at the Cinema in 1967, in full color. Despite an increase in viewership share to 33% (from 15% in 1963), Central remained in third place by revenues; the company had total revenue of $15.5 million, a third of that pulled in by CBS for the same period.
Following the US expansion, Central got its first affiliate, WATU in Roscoe, Michigan; with other affilates either signing on, adding secondary Central programming or switching to Central full-time at the same period. BCEN became Boem's first full-time local Central outlet in 1967 after being relegated to off-hours by BCDN, then followed with Laurentia with the buyout of LAMI (now LCEN) in 1968. In the late 1960s the Central network became a serious contender to ABC, NBC, and CBS, in large part due to the diverse range of programming that met the expectations of the public. With an almost 500% increase in advertising revenues between 1967 and 1975, the network had reached between 75-80% of the U.S. population; dubbing Central as America's Fastest-Growing Network by 1976.
Central expanded to the Philippine shores in August 1972, but was closed just only after being more than a month on the air, due to then-president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declaring Proclamation No. 1081, which declared martial law. It was subsequently revived back in 1973 but under joint custody of the National Media Production Center Inc. and eventually local investors; prompting the parent company's exit in the Philippines.
- For more history on Central's presence in the Philippines, see Pilipinas Central#History.
Central's television and production operations were moved to the United States in 1977, at Sunset Bronson Studios on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles; which also became the home of its West Coast flagship KCEN-TV.
Merger with Capitol States, NewsWorld, and reprogramming Friday nights
Central dominated the American television landscape during the 1980s (by 1980, the four major networks represented 90% of domestic prime-time television viewership). Several flagship series premiered on the network during the early 1980s, such as Mystery on the Brick House. The network was also propelled during the early 1980s by the continued successes of its airing of various programming from the United Kingdom, namely Fawlty Towers, Coronation Street and Emmerdale Farm.
In December 1984, Alex Laffan, CEO of Capitol States Communications, contacted Franklin about a proposal to merge their respective companies. On March 16, 1985, Central's executive committee accepted the merger offer, which was formally announced on March 18 with Capitol States purchasing Central and its related properties for $3.5 billion and $118 for each of Central's shares as well as a guarantee of 10% (or $3) for a total of $121 per share. The merger shocked the entertainment industry, as Capitol States was some 4 times smaller than Central was at the time. To finance the purchase, Capitol States borrowed $2.1 billion from a consortium of banks, which sold certain assets that Capitol States could not acquire or retain due to FCC ownership rules for a combined $900 million. The remaining $500 million was loaned by Warren Buffett, who promised that his company Berkshire Hathaway would purchase $3 million in shares, at $172.50. Due to an FCC ban on same-market ownership of television and radio stations by a single company (although the deal would have otherwise complied with new ownership rules implemented by the FCC in January 1985, that allowed broadcasters to own a maximum of 12 television stations), Central and Capitol States respectively decided to sell WDRM to Gannett, WTRB-TV to the E. W. Scripps Company, and Tampa independent station WTFS to Triumph Broadcasting (although Capitol States/Central originally intended to seek a cross-ownership waiver to retain WDRQ and WTRB). The deal was, at the time, the largest non-oil merger in world business history. This records surpassed later that year by the merger of General Electric and RCA (the latter company then being the parent company of NBC).
The merger between Central and Capitol States received federal approval on September 5, 1985. After the merger was finalized on January 3, 1986, combined company Capitol States/Central, Inc. added television stations to its growing portfolio. It also initiated several changes in its management. The Capitol States-Central Inc. company was renamed into Central International Media Inc. in January 2000.
After nearly a decade of ratings trouble, NBC had regained the ratings lead among the Big Four networks in 1984 on the success of series such as The Cosby Show, Cheers, and Miami Vice. In the mid-1980s, to counteract NBC, Central decided to refocus itself on comedies, including: Absolutely, Alexei Sayle’s Stuff, 'Allo 'Allo!, Anyone for Dennis, French Fields, For the Love of Ada, Further Up Pompeii, Mann's Best Friends, Watching, and The Worker. After the initial successes of its comedies, Central revamped its Friday night schedule in the late 1980s, revolving around family-friendly comedies, culminating in the point where it launched the "Fri-YAY" block in 1989.
In late 1988, Capitol States/Central Inc. founder and CEO James Franklin announced in a media conference speech plans to start a new television news service, named NewsWorld, under a joint venture with then-Sky Television; to compete with CNN.
In 1990, Capitol States/Central reported revenues of $465 million. Now at a strong second place, Central entered the 1990s with more major successes, including Wood and Walters, Codename: Verano, A Very Beautiful Life, and You've Been Framed!; Central's version to ABC's America's Funniest Home Videos. In 1993, the FCC repealed the Financial Interest and Syndication Rules, allowing networks to hold interests in television production studios.
In April 1996, Central acquired French-language network Télévision Laurentienne from Télé-Métropole for $1.1 billion. The deal was finalized in 1997.
New century, new programs; divisional restructuring
Capitol States/Central Inc. was renamed to Central International Media Inc. at the turn of the new millennium on January 1, 2000. Central ended the 2000–01 season as the most-watched network, ahead of ABC and NBC. The network also began producing more original television programs, in addition to airing programs from the ITV network and also beginning producing more CTN programs.
Separation of the radio network
Between May and September 2005, rumors circulated that CIMI was considering a sale of Central Radio, with Clear Channel Communications and Westwood One (which had earlier purchased NBC's radio division) as potential buyers. On October 19, 2005, Central announced the restructuring of the group into six divisions: Entertainment Communications, Communications Resources, Kids Communications, News Communications, Corporate Communications, and International Communications. The Central Networks Corporation was also reorgranized to manage programming on the network, including its owned-and-operated stations and co-owned channels.
On February 6, 2007, CIMI announced an agreement with JD Broadcasting Properties to acquire the Central Radio Network.
Current state
Central became the first television network in the United States to fully broadcast in high definition in January 2006, with the help of the then-experimental equipment of network owned-and-operated station WTVD. By 2017, Central switched most of its programs' production to 4K UHDTV cameras, and became the first television network in North America to broadcast fully in 4K.
Despite declining ratings by the late 2000s, with the long-standing success of Agatha Christie's Poirot, Central gained major improvements by the turn of the 2010s.
Following the Comcast acquisition in 2017, Sky News divested its share with NewsWorld, making the news channel 100% owned by CIMI. The channel rebranded to NWLD by 2021.
Central acquired multiple partnerships throughout the 2010s, starting with Netflix to air its streaming-exclusive series to Central since 2018. It also had partnered with The Walt Disney Company (owner of rival ABC) to air Disney Channel programming to Central during Saturday mornings.
Shortly after the February 2020 sweeps period, production of most of Central's programming was temporarily suspended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; as a result, Trailer Fools (which was initially renewed for a second season) was canceled after a single season due to production delays.
Programming
- Main article: List of programs broadcast by Central
As of 2013, Central provides 87+1⁄2 hours of regularly scheduled network programming each week. The network provides 22 hours of primetime programming to affiliated stations Monday through Saturday from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. and Sunday from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time (7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Sunday in Central/Mountain time).
The network also provides daytime programming from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific weekdays (subtract 1 hour for all other time zones), including a half-hour break for local news and features the newsmagazine AM Magazine, talk show The Mewni Lounge, and soap operas from ITV, namely Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
Central News and Central Public Affairs programming includes Waking Up With Central from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. weekdays and one hour weekend editions; nightly editions of Central Newsnight (whose weekend editions are occasionally subject to abbreviation or preemption due to sports telecasts overrunning into the program's timeslot); the Sunday political talk show Up to the Point; early morning news program Central Morning News; and the newsmagazines Reporter's Notebook, The Correspondents, and Celine Galipeau Reports. On weeknights, Central airs the talk shows Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Not In Bed with Trevor Noah.
Sports Central programming is also provided most weekend afternoons. Due to the unpredictable length of sporting events, Central occasionally delays scheduled primetime programs to allow the programs to air in their entirety, a practice most commonly seen with the NFL on Central or NHL on Central. In addition to rights to sports events from major sports organizations such as the NFL and NHL, Central broadcasts Upfront, a sports anthology series that fills certain weekend afternoon time slots before (or in some cases, in place of) a major sporting event.
Children's programming
- Main article: Kids Central
Central children's programming, running under the Kids Central block, has mostly focused on animated series, including airing various Disney Channel programming (that is owned by Central's rival network, ABC's parent company, The Walt Disney Company). In addition, Central has a deal with Netflix to air many of its animated children's programming, most notably Hilda.
Programming library
Central owns nearly all of its in-house television and theatrical productions made since the 1970s. Worldwide video rights are currently owned by various companies.
Stations
- Main article: List of Central affiliates by images
Since its inception, the network has had over 500+ television stations that have carried programming from the network at various times throughout its history, including its first two owned-and-operated and affiliated stations, founding O&O CFCF-DT and inaugural affiliate WATU. As of 2020, Central has 106 owned-and-operated stations, and current and pending affiliation agreements with additional television stations across its entire coverage area worldwide; which makes it one of the largest multinational networks with affiliates.
Currently, Delaware is the only U.S. state where Central does not have a locally licensed affiliate (the state is served by WPVI-TV in the northern third and WMDV in Salisbury, Maryland). Central maintains affiliations with low-power stations (broadcasting either in analog or digital) in a few markets, such as Phenac City, Orre (WPHN-CD) and Palm Springs, California (KSBB-LD). In some markets, including the former two mentioned, these stations also maintain digital simulcasts on a subchannel of a co-owned/co-managed full-power television station.
Not counting owned-and-operated stations, Tegna is the largest operator of Central affiliates by numerical total, owning or providing services to 44 full, primary Central affiliates, including a digital subchannel of WALT in Walton, Vermont.
Visual identity
The network's original logo was an circle-shaped letter "C", italicized. Contained within the C were the initials "ENTRAL". The present-day Eye device was conceived by Maxwell Merrill in 1965. The Eye device made its broadcast debut on November 7, 1966. The following season, James Franklin insisted on keeping the Eye device and using it as much as possible. French animator Catherine Challet would go on to oversaw all print and on-air graphics for Central for much of the 1970s, with Robert Abel and Associates succeeding over in 1979.
The Central eye has since become a widely recognized symbol. While the logo has been used in different ways, the Eye device itself has never been redesigned. The logo is alternately known as the "Eyemark".
Recent logos have been themed for different holidays during the year (such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day, and New Year's Day), as well as an American flag-themed logo following the September 11 attacks. The logo has been adapted for color television and high definition as technology has advanced. As Central launched other television channels, the logo branding was adopted to other networks including NWLD and Sports Central Network.
The logo's first appearance as an on-screen bug was in the 1993–94 television season, appearing only during the opening sequences of programs, and then staying on-screen throughout the duration of programs as a separate translucent bug beginning with the 1994–95 season. Some Central affiliates also ran the sequence through the network feed in the event of technical difficulties with inserting local advertising (a placeholder logo graphic remains in use, although from the fall of 2009–10 season to the spring of the 2023–24 season, the animation used has changed to match the network's imaging of the current timeframe).
.svg "Central logo (2023).svg (2 KB)"){kind=logo}
Slogan history
- Welcome to Central (1966, signalling their entrance and expansion to the United States)
- America's Full-Color Network (1969–1974)
- Discover Central (1974–1976)
- America's Fastest-Growing Network (1976–1979, referring to its continuous expansion in America, including Laurentia)
- Comin' On (1979–1980)
- The Leader (1980–1982)
- Lighting Up America (1982–1984)
- Spirit of Central (1984–1988; 1992–1993)
- The One to Watch (1989–1990)
- The Best Shows (1990–1992)
- This Is Central (1993–1996)
- Bringing 21st Century Television to America (1993–1995)
- Making It Here (1996–1998)
- Making Watching Worthwhile (1998–2000)
- Setting The Standard (2000–2003)
- Reaching Out to You (2003–2005)
- Best of Both Worlds (2006–2011)
- Here Just For You (2011–2015)
- Good Times Always (2015–2021)
- Let's Get Together (2021–2024)
- It's Where You Belong (2024–present)
Station IDs
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| Notes: 1Pilipinas Central is owned by Philippines Central, Inc. with a majority 75% stake, Central/CIMI has a 25% stake including brand licensing.  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Divisions, brands and services | Central Now • Central Public Affairs • Central Television Productions • Central News • Gary England Weather Central • Kids Central • Kids Central Now • Sports Central • TVL Nouvelles et Actualités • TVL Sports • TVL (streaming service) • TVL Studios | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Notes: 1Pilipinas Central is owned by Philippines Central, Inc. with a majority 75% stake, Central/CIMI has a 25% stake including brand licensing.  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||