History of USA Network in Timeline
USA Network is an American basic cable television channel. Launched on September 22, 1977, as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, it was one of the first national sports cable channels. It is currently owned by Versant and has evolved to feature a variety of programming, including drama, comedy, and reality television, alongside its sports coverage.
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September 22, 1977: Launch as Madison Square Garden Sports Network
On September 22, 1977, the USA Network was launched as the Madison Square Garden Sports Network. It was one of the first national sports cable television channels.
1977: Madison Square Garden events aired on USA Network
In 1977, broadcasts of Madison Square Garden events would air on USA Network, marking the beginning of a long-standing relationship between WWE (formerly WWF) and USA Network.
1978: Addition of Children's Programming
In 1978, children's programming was added to the USA Network's lineup.
April 9, 1980: Relaunch under the name USA Network
On April 9, 1980, Madison Square Garden Sports Network was relaunched under the name USA Network.
1981: Ownership Change
In 1981, Time Inc., Gulf + Western's Paramount Pictures division, and MCA Inc. all acquired equal shares of the USA Network.
April 1, 1982: C-SPAN Ends Satellite Sharing; USA Goes 24/7
On April 1, 1982, C-SPAN stopped sharing satellite space with USA. USA began operating on a 24-hour schedule, adding new daytime programming.
1982: Introduction of USA Cartoon Express
In the fall of 1982, USA Network began running 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 and movies airing at other times.
August 1983: Increased Relationship with Madison Square Garden Network
In August 1983, Paramount head Barry Diller focused on increasing the USA Network's relationship with the Madison Square Garden Network, including a deal making USA a source for MSG programming.
September 4, 1983: WWF All American Wrestling Debut
On September 4, 1983, the first weekly WWE show on USA Network debuted with WWF All American Wrestling.
October 1984: Start of Game Show Reruns
In October 1984, USA Network started an afternoon lineup of game show reruns with The Gong Show and Make Me Laugh.
1984: Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show home on USA Network
From 1984, USA Network was the longtime home of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
1984: Shift Away From Sports
In 1984, USA's programming focus began shifting away from sports and towards general entertainment programs, including some less common network drama series, situation comedies and cartoons.
August 5, 1985: The Edge of Night Airing
From August 5, 1985, USA also aired late night reruns of Procter & Gamble soap operas The Edge Of Night.
September 1985: Original Game Show Premiere: Jackpot
In September 1985, USA Network premiered its first original game show, a revival of the mid-1970s game show Jackpot.
1985: WWF Prime Time Wrestling Broadcast
From 1985, WWF Prime Time Wrestling broadcast on USA Network.
1985: Original Programming
In 1985, the channel had four hours of original and exclusive shows.
September 1986: Original Game Show Additions
In September 1986, two more original game shows, Love Me, Love Me Not, and a revival of the 1980 series Chain Reaction, were added to the USA Network lineup.
1986: Shift Away From Sports
By 1986, USA's programming focus continued to shift away from sports and towards general entertainment programs, including some less common network drama series, situation comedies and cartoons. However, the network still focused on airing World Wrestling Federation programs.
1986: Original Programming Expansion
In 1986, 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 at an increase of $30 million.
June 1987: Original Game Show Debut: Bumper Stumpers
In June 1987, USA Network debuted another original game show, Bumper Stumpers.
1987: Airwolf Pick-Up
In 1987, USA picked up Airwolf for 58 off-network episodes and commissioned 24 new episodes without the original cast.
January 1989: Debut of USA Up All Night
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.
January 19, 1989: End of The Edge of Night Reruns
On January 19, 1989, USA stopped airing late night reruns of The Edge Of Night.
October 1989: Purchase of Touchstone Pictures Film Package
In October 1989, USA became 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 for $50 million to $60 million. These films included such titles as Dead Poets Society, Good Morning, Vietnam, and Three Men and a Baby.
1989: Launch of USA Updates
In 1989, USA Network launched short news updates, branded as USA Updates.
September 1991: Game Show Block Reduction
In September 1991, the USA Network game show block was reduced to three hours, running from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Eastern.
1991: Rhonda Shear Joins Up All Night
In 1991, Rhonda Shear replaced Caroline Schlitt as co-host of USA Up All Night.
September 24, 1992: Launch of Sci-Fi Channel
On September 24, 1992, USA launched a sister network, the Sci-Fi Channel (now Syfy), which focuses on science fiction series and films.
1992: Steve Bell Leaves KYW
In 1992, Steve Bell left KYW as KYW's news operations were heavily revamped.
January 1993: WWF Monday Night Raw on USA
In January 1993, USA began showing WWF Monday Night Raw, the first weekly WWF program on USA to air in front of a live audience.
January 1993: Raw debut on USA Network
In January 1993, WWE's flagship cable program Raw debuted on USA Network (when the promotion was known as the World Wrestling Federation).
March 1993: Game Show Block Hour Added
In March 1993, an additional hour was added to USA's game show block.
September 1993: New On-Air Look
In September 1993, USA adopted a new on-air look centering on the slogan 'The Remote Stops Here'.
1993: Production of USA Updates Taken Over
By 1993, production of USA Updates had been taken over by the All News Channel.
June 1994: Addition of Original Game Shows
In June 1994, USA added two more original game shows: Free 4 All and Quicksilver.
November 1994: Further Reduction of Game Show Block
In November 1994, the USA Network game show block was cut back to only two hours, running from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
1994: Paramount Sold to Viacom
In 1994, Paramount Pictures parent Paramount Communications was sold to Viacom.
July 1995: Simulcasting of Bloomberg Information TV Begins
In July 1995, USA began simulcasting the business news channel Bloomberg Information TV Monday thru Saturday from 5:00 to 7:00 a.m. Eastern.
October 1995: End of Game Show Block, Launch of USA Live
In October 1995, USA dropped the entire game show block, replacing it with a block called USA Live, which carried reruns of Love Connection and The People's Court, with live hosted wraparound segments between shows.
April 1996: Viacom Launches TV Land
In April 1996, Viacom launched a new classic television network called TV Land.
1997: USA Live Discontinued
By 1997, the USA Live block on USA Network was dropped.
February 1998: Creation of USA Networks, Inc.
In February 1998, Seagram sold a controlling interest in USA and the Sci-Fi Channel to Barry Diller, leading to the creation of USA Networks, Inc.
March 7, 1998: Discontinuation of USA Up All Night
On March 7, 1998, USA discontinued the program USA Up All Night, though late-night movies continued to be branded under the same banner until 2002.
September 2000: Raw moved to TNN
In September 2000, WWE's flagship program Raw moved from USA Network to TNN.
2000: End of USA Updates
In 2000, USA Network discontinued the USA Updates news segments.
2001: Paramount Ownership of BET
As of 2001, Black Entertainment Television, which had previously aired programming blocks on USA, was owned by Paramount.
2001: Sale of Stations to Univision
In 2001, USA Broadcasting sold its stations to Univision Communications to form the nucleus of Telefutura/UniMás.
2002: End of 'Up All Night' Branding
In 2002, the 'Up All Night' brand was discontinued for late-night movie telecasts on USA.
2002: ANC Shut Down
In 2002, the All News Channel ended up shutting down due to competition.
September 2004: USA Network Latin America renamed Universal Channel
In September 2004, regional versions of USA Network in certain Latin American countries were renamed under the Universal Channel banner.
2004: Bloomberg Simulcast Moves to E!
In 2004, the Bloomberg simulcast that previously aired on USA Network moved to E!.
2004: Sports division merged into NBC Sports
In 2004, upon NBC's purchase of Vivendi Universal, USA's sports division was immediately merged into NBC Sports. The network began broadcasting select events from the Olympic Games as part of NBCUniversal's expanded broadcast rights.
October 2005: Raw returns to USA Network
In October 2005, WWE's flagship program Raw returned to USA Network.
September 2007: CRTC reconsider USA Network application
In September 2007, 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. However, on September 20, the CRTC stated that it would reconsider their denial of the eligible foreign carriage proposal for USA Network at a later date, when Shaw instead offered to carry the channel on the digital cable tiers of its Shaw Cable systems.
2007: Bloomberg Simulcast Ends on E!
In 2007, the Bloomberg simulcast ended on E!.
2011: Peak Household Reach
In 2011, USA Network reached its peak of 100 million households.
2014: Premier League soccer matches aired during Winter Olympics
During the 2014 Winter Olympics, USA Network aired Premier League soccer matches in place of NBCSN due to NBCSN's full commitment to Olympic coverage.
2015: Weekly Premier League games and Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage
Starting in 2015, USA Network began airing mid-afternoon Saturday Premier League games weekly and participated in NBC's coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
January 7, 2016: SmackDown moved to USA Network
On January 7, 2016, WWE's SmackDown moved to USA Network from Syfy.
2016: NASCAR races aired during Summer Olympics
In 2016, USA Network aired three NASCAR races as overflow coverage during the 2016 Summer Olympics.
2016: Final Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show home on USA Network
To 2016, USA Network was the longtime home of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
2018: Rights to Raw renewed
In 2018, USA Network renewed its rights to Raw for five additional years.
August 2019: WWE NXT return to USA Network announced
In August 2019, WWE announced that its tertiary weekly program WWE NXT would return to USA Network on September 18, 2019.
September 18, 2019: WWE NXT airs live on USA Network
On September 18, 2019, WWE NXT returned to USA Network, airing on Wednesday nights in a two-hour live format.
October 2019: Rights to SmackDown lost to Fox
In October 2019, USA Network lost the rights for SmackDown to Fox.
September 2020: Notre Dame Fighting Irish game on USA Network
In September 2020, a Notre Dame Fighting Irish football game was scheduled for USA Network due to NBC's commitments to the 2020 U.S. Open.
2022: Increased Sports Coverage
In 2022, USA significantly increased its sports coverage after the initial shutdown of NBCSN.
2022: USA Network becomes main cable outlet of NBC Sports
In 2022, with the shutdown of NBCSN, USA Network became the main cable outlet of NBC Sports, acquiring sports properties such as the Premier League, NASCAR, and the Olympics. Early-round telecasts of the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open, The Open Championship, and the Women's Open moved from Golf Channel to USA Network. USA Network also carried eight games as part of the inaugural season of the revived USFL.
September 2023: SmackDown returns to USA Network in 2024
In September 2023, it was announced that SmackDown would return to USA in 2024 under a five-year deal with NBCUniversal.
October 1, 2023: USA Network relaunched in Latin America
On October 1, 2023, USA Network was relaunched in Latin America, replacing Syfy in the region.
November 2023: NXT to move to The CW
In November 2023, it was announced that NXT would move to The CW.
November 2023: Availability in Pay Television Households
As of November 2023, USA Network is available to approximately 70 million pay television households in the United States.
January 2024: Raw move to Netflix announced
In January 2024, it was announced that Raw would move to Netflix in 2025.
October 17, 2024: NBCUniversal and Bell Media announce Canadian version of USA Network
On October 17, 2024, NBCUniversal announced an agreement with Bell Media to launch a Canadian version of USA Network on January 1, 2025.
January 1, 2025: Canadian version of USA Network launched
On January 1, 2025, a Canadian version of USA Network was launched. The channel is a relaunch of Bell's Discovery Channel, following that company's loss of rights to the former Discovery, Inc. channel brands to Rogers Communications.
2025: NBCSN Relaunch
In 2025, NBCSN was relaunched after an initial shutdown, with USA serving as the main cable component of NBC Sports until then.
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