The beginnings were modest, as TBN launched on May 28, 1973, with one small, part-time station airing a few hours of homemade Christian programming each day throughout the Los Angeles area. But God breathed life into this humble start, and soon people from all walks of life and circumstances were tuning in. Lives were changed, the word spread, and before long folks across America and beyond were asking for this miracle of Christian television. Within just a few years TBN was expanding to cities across the U.S., and then to nations and locales around the world, where millions experienced the message of hope and grace through Jesus for the first time through innovative, life-transforming Christian programming.
Initially, the station ran Christian programs for about six hours a day, expanding its programming to 12 hours a day by 1975, and began selling time to other Christian organizations to supplement its local programming. The station eventually instituted a 24-hour schedule in 1978.
TBN produces a variety of original Christian programs, such as gospel music concerts, live coverage of major Christian events, talk shows, health/fitness/nutrition programs with Christian family doctors, children’s programs, contemporary Christian music videos, marriage enrichment series, holiday specials, Christian dramas, and full-length, family-oriented movies.
TBN owns 35 full-power television stations serving larger metropolitan areas in the United States; at its peak, the network also owned 252 low-power television stations, which are mixed among stations serving medium-sized cities and rural translator stations in order to maximize the network’s reach as much as is permissible. TBN also has several hundred affiliate stations throughout the United States, although just 61 of these are full-power UHF or VHF stations; the rest are low-powered stations, requiring a viewer to be within several miles of the transmitter to receive the signal.
Worldwide, TBN’s channels are broadcast on 70 satellites and over 18,000 television and cable affiliates. The TBN networks are also streamed live on the internet globally; the network also provides select archived shows on demand, through the website and select IPTV services
According to en.wikipedia.org; tbn.org. Source of photos: internet
