Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network is an American cable and satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises proceedings of the United States federal government and other public affairs programming. C-SPAN is a private, nonprofit organization funded by its cable and satellite affiliates. It does not have advertisements on any of its television networks or radio stations, nor does it solicit donations or pledges on-air. The network operates independently; the cable industry and the U.S. Congress have no control over its programming content.
Sen. Robert Byrd (right), C-SPAN's founder Brian Lamb (left) and Paul FitzPatrick flip the switch for C-SPAN2 on June 2, 1986. FitzPatrick was C-SPAN president at the time.
C-SPAN's HDTV coverage of the beginning of the 112th Congress on January 5, 2011. The on-screen design seen here was used from April 19, 2010, to January 17, 2016.
Home page of the C-SPAN Video Library, 2013
Founder Brian Lamb (center) in 2012 with co-CEOs Rob Kennedy (left) and Susan Swain (right)
Cable television in the United States
Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948. By 1989, 53 million U.S. households received cable television subscriptions, with 60 percent of all U.S. households doing so in 1992. Most cable viewers in the U.S. reside in the suburbs and tend to be middle class; cable television is less common in low income, urban, and rural areas.
Very early Jerrold cable converter box from the late 1970s.
