TBS

On December 17, 1976, Ted Turner beamed the signal of his Atlanta UHF station WTCG via satellite to cable systems nationwide, creating the first superstation and igniting the cable television revolution. That feed became TBS, a channel that reshaped how America watched TV. Today, TBS is a basic cable mainstay owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, blending a comedy-heavy lineup of sitcom reruns and original series with major live sports through its TNT Sports unit. As of June 2023, the channel reaches about 71.3 million households, down from 90 million in 2018, yet it remains one of the top-rated cable networks among adults 18-49.

TBS's early schedule mixed movies, syndicated shows, and sports: Atlanta Braves baseball, Atlanta Hawks basketball, and professional wrestling from Georgia Championship Wrestling and later World Championship Wrestling. In 1979, the station changed call letters to WTBS, and the national feed became known as SuperStation WTBS. For decades, the local Atlanta broadcast and the national cable feed ran nearly identical programming, differing only in local ads and FCC-required content. That changed on October 1, 2007, when Turner converted TBS into a standard cable network. The local over-the-air station was spun off as WPCH-TV (Peachtree TV), later sold to Meredith Corporation in 2017 and acquired by Gray Media in 2021.

TBS shifted its focus toward comedy in the early 2000s, adding off-network sitcoms like Seinfeld, Friends, and The Big Bang Theory, and launching original comedies such as Conan, The Last O.G., and Miracle Workers. The network also produces game shows like The Cube and The Quiz with Balls (hosted by Jay Pharoah). On the sports side, TBS has been a key broadcaster of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament since 2011, the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2021, and MLB Division Series and League Championship Series since 2007. In 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery grouped TBS and TNT under the TNT Sports umbrella for sports programming. A new multi-year deal in 2024 extended TBS's NCAA tournament rights through 2032.[edit]