Sandy Point State Park Network

Sandy Point State Park network (***abbreviated as:*** SPSPN) is a fictional American TV channel that was named after of the place of the same name. It is owned by The Walt Disney Company and TelevisaUnivision. the Network airs shows from various genres, English dubbed telenovelas, and original series.

## history

### 1950s

on May 5, 1952 SPSPN was launched as a type of promotion for the opening of the park "Sandy Point State Park". It aired mostly reruns of recently aired shows and it had a few of original series that lasted for 30 episodes long. At the same time, the network broadcasted their first original series named "Sandy Point" which was formally a daily sitcom that aired Mondays-Fridays. They also broadcasted the news at 2 pm and 11 pm, and movies during the weekend. In 1954 as the network started broadcast at 11 am, they decided to air movies from 6 am to 10 am to in place for the absent slots. In 1956 it was announced that the network was going to shut down the following year, but it was then scrapped as in 1957 the the 3 major networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) has realized how popular the small network was being that thy decided to give them some of their old broadcasted shows until 1961. That same year in September the network began broadcasting nationwide, they also launched they first talk show/news show named "Good Morning..." airing from 6 am to 10 am on weekdays only.

### 1960s

During the early and mid 60s, the network faced a problem it their programing as they did not had enough and kept rerunning the same shows. during the mid 60s their first original series "Sandy Point" has began loosing their audience, as a result of this in 1968 the network decided to convert the series into a dramedy soap opera. this transition was a bit difficult as the audience found it off that a sitcom became a soap opera. in 1968 SPSPN heard about a new genre that growing in Latin America called "Telenovelas", and once they heard about it they then decided to broadcast them into the American market. They contacted to the nearest and major producing telenovela company "Telesistema Mexicano" (now called Televisa) to dub their telenovelas in English. In 1969 it was announced that the network would no longer broadcast the news and that telenovelas would replace the 5 pm, 6pm, and 7pm time slots. So in May 1969 the first four telenovelas: "Cita Con la Gloria" (Appointment With Glory), "Corazon Salvaje" (Wild Heart), "El Corrido de Lupe reyes" (The Run of Lupe Reyes). "Cristina Guzman", "El Derecho de Nacer" (The Right to be Born), and "El Despertar" (The Awakening) aired. For the audience it was strange seeing this type of genre but they then got used to it. in July of the same year the popularity of telenovelas began to grow, attracting more people to the network. Over the years between 1969-1982 many classics have broadcasted such as: "Maria Isabel", "Rubi", "Angelitos Negros" (Black Angels), "La Gata" (The Stray Cat), "El amor tiene cara de mujer" (Love Has a Face of a Woman), "Muchacha italiana viene a casarse" (Italian girl comes to get married), "Barata de Primavera" (Cheap Spring), and "Rina". in October, SPSPN broadcasted an original drama series titled "X" which tells the story of a scientist that is trying to search for a planet that has been rumored to contain alien life. This became a success and 11 seasons and 640 30 minute (320 1 hour) episodes were produced, airing Thursdays-Mondays until 1979. this marked the beginning of the "X" franchise with other series were made such as: "Timeless", "Rings", "Storm", "Planet X", and "resurrected", and other series that were adapted.

### 1970s

in 1976 the American network ABC had privately acquired the network and wasn't announced publicly until 1980, NBC had planned to acquire the network in 1979 but it never occurred. in 1976 SPSPN had begun acquiring telenovelas from other networks like Venevision, RCN, RCTV, Caracol, Rede Tupi, and Rede Globo, later on Canal 13, SBT, Telemundo and TV Azteca would be acquired. In May, the network also acquired many animes into their 4 pm to 6pm time slot and later on at the 7 pm time slot. along with ABC, between 1976-1980 the network began growing in audience to the point it became one of the major American networks.

### 1980s

in 1982 Sandy Point State Park Network held their first primetime Emmy awards and that same year they also changed the theme of "Sandy Point" from a dramedy soap opera to a drama soap opera and changing from light themes to dark themes such as when they killed off one of the main characters of the soap opera. 1983 was a huge year for Sandy Point State Park Network when it broadcasted the telenovela "The Rich Also Cry" (Los Ricos Tambien Lloran) starring Verónica Castro and Rogelio Guerra. The telenovela became a massive hit with the majority of the population of America watching the telenovela when it ran. this would not be the only time that this type of event happened, as this happened with the telenovelas: "Colorina" (Readhead), "El Hogar Que Yo Robé" (The Home I Robbed), "El Dercho de Nacer" (The Right to be Born), "Vivir un Poco" (To Live a Little), "Cuna de Lobos" (Cradle of Wolves), "Quinceañera" (Sweet 15), "Amor en Silencio" (Silent Love), "Cadenas de Amargura" (Chains of Bitterness), "Marimar", "La Usurpadora" (Deceptions), "El Privilegio de Amar" (The Right to Love), "La Mentira" (Twisted Lies), "Tres Mujeres" (Three Women), and "Rebelde" (Rebel). At the same time they also broadcasted their first daytime Emmy awards. during this year the network broadcasted the telenovela "El Diario de Anne Frank" (The Diary of Anne Frank) which it is unknown how many episodes it had as it hasn't been officially registered on the archives of the network or rebroadcasted. It is said that a spin off of "Sandy Point" titled "Point Lookout" replaced the telenovela but it was then quickly cancelled by the network as the spinoff was a massive flop and supposedly ended on march 15. it is unknown when did it began it's broadcast or how many episodes does it have as. Although it replaced the Telenovela "El Diario de Anne Frank" some say that the telenovela ended in march 15. 1987 was the beginning of the gold era of the network as many series from the network became successful and classics, and they also broadcasted their first Academy awards and they are still broadcasting the Academy awards yearly. The network also gained the rights to broadcast the NFL on thanksgiving for certain times. In 1989 Sandy Point State Park Network broadcasted their first adult animated series "The Simpsons". It broadcasted both on Fox and on SPSPN.

### 1990s

In 1994 SPSPN gained the rights to broadcast the 94 FIFA World Cup and later, as a result they decided to create special episodes on their only original soap opera "Sandy Point" for the world cup with celebrity guest stars appearing. that same year they broadcasted the sitcom "Friends" which was a huge success lasted for 10 season ending in 2004. Near the end of the 90s SPSPN broadcasted "South Park" and "Family Guy".

### 2000s

in 2000 SPSPN got the rights to broadcast the super bowl every 4 years. In 2001 it was announced that in August WWE Raw and WWE Smackdown will be moving from TNN and UPN to Sandy Point State Park Network. In August 6 and August 10 both Raw and Smackdown moved to the network. In 2002 SPSPN teamed with NBC to broadcast the Olympics with the network broadcasting daytime while NBC broadcasting in primetime. Sandy Point State Park Network broadcasting both the winter and Summer Olympics was controversial as they had already had broadcasting rights to the Super bowl, NFL on Thanksgiving, Oscars, Emmys, the World Cup, Raw, and Smackdown. in 2003 the network announced that they will be rebranding their name from "Sandy Point State Park Network" to "Sandy point State Park TV". The 2006 Winter Olympics affected the network as it had received less viewership than the NBC broadcast as it had impacted the transmission of their daytime program especially with the telenovela "Under Your Skin" (Bajo el Mismo Piel) as it caused it to stop its run two times with with winter Olympics and the World Cup. The telenovela was gaining popularity until it's first stop, and once it had returned it had a moderate viewership, but when it was stopped again for the World Cup it became a massive flop when it returned on the air. Because of this Sandy Point State Park TV made the decision to no longer broadcast the winter Olympics and broadcast the daytime programs at a later time during the summer Olympics and FIFA World Cups. in 2007 WWE Smackdown returned to the network for one year after moving out in 2005 to the CW. In 2009 due to demands, Sandy Point State Park TV reverted it's name back to "Sandy Point State Park Network".

### 2020s

In 2020 SPSPN had suspended recording of their original series until August as a result of the global pandemic.