ly are not loyal to a network per se, but are interested in maintaining relationships with networks whose shows draw the appropriate demographics and numbers for the advertiser's products.
It is a complicated relationship made the more difficult because there are not only the three networks who put programming on the air, but also cable channels which are nationwide, and a variety of local stations competing with syndicated shows. Warner Brothers and Paramount have both begun to mount assaults on the four national networks with their own entries into prime time "network" capabilities. Most often, these shows are on a fifth channel in the local market.
The network must also compete with an increasing number of cable channels, several of which are owned by the same company. Turner Broadcasting, for example, owns the highly successful and influential CNN, CNN Headline News, TNT and Turner cable channels, and competes on an international basis in this area. In addition to cable competition, NBC must also compete with video sales and rentals, which can take a significant share of the audience.
In the early 1990s, the government determined that the networks were not monopolies, a decision which allowed them to serve as producers for their own programs and to sell these programs as reruns to local stations as well as on the international market. There is some concern that increasing the ability of the networks to put their own programming on the air means that they will purchase fewer products from outside sources, such as studios, resulting in monopolistic behavior. However, given the amount of competition that the networks face, and the increasing number of outlets in the form of cable channels and independent stations that are available, this fear is probably unfounded.
One of the most important competitive factors is that of the Fox network, and specifically, of its leader, Rupert Murdoch. When Murdoch initially bid fo...