USA Network

**USA Network** (commonly referred to as simply **USA,** stylized as **usa** since 2005) is an American pay television channel that is owned by NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It was originally launched in 1977 as **Madison Square Garden Sports Network**, one of the first national sports cable television channels, before being relaunched as USA Network in 1980. Once a minor player in basic-tier pay television, USA has steadily gained popularity due to its original programming; it is one of 4 major subscription-television networks (with TBS, TNT and FX) that also broadcasts syndicated reruns of current and former "network television" (i.e., terrestrial) series and theatrically-released feature films, as well as limited sports programming and WWE.

As of January 2016, USA Network is available to 94.3 million households in the US.

## Programming

*Main article: List of programs broadcast by USA Network*
USA Network has achieved a viewership foothold with its original programming; this began in the 1990s with initial hits such as *Silk Stalkings* and *La Femme Nikita*, which were gradually followed in the following two decades by series such as *Monk*, *Psych*, *Shooter*, *White Collar*, *Covert Affairs*, *Mr. Robot*, *Suits*, *Burn Notice* and *Royal Pains*. Most of its original series are scripted dramas, some of which incorporate comedic elements.

In addition to its original productions, the network airs syndicated reruns of current and former network series such as *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit*, *Law & Order: Criminal Intent* (which spent the final four seasons of its run as a first-run program on USA) and *NCIS*. The network also broadcasts a variety of films from the Universal Pictures library and select films from other movie studios (such as Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Warner Bros. Entertainment), airing primarily as part of its overnight and weekend schedule, and occasionally during primetime on nights when original programming or marathons of its acquired programs are not scheduled.

From 1984 to 2016, the network was the longtime home of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. USA is also the home of WWE's flagship cable program *Raw*; the series originally aired on the channel from its debut in January 1993 (when the promotion was known as the World Wrestling Federation) until the series moved to TNN (later Spike TV, now the Paramount Network) in September 2000, before returning to the channel in October 2005. As of 2016, it is also the home of WWE's secondary weekly show, *SmackDown* (moved from sister channel Syfy).

### Sports programming

USA Network has a longstanding history with sports, dating back to its existence as the Madison Square Garden Network. The network carried Major League Baseball games on Thursday nights from 1979 to 1983, and the *NHL on USA* ran from 1979 to 1985. *College Football on USA* ran from 1980 to 1986, and its telecast of the 1981 Liberty Bowl was the first college bowl game to be exclusively broadcast on cable television. The *NBA on USA* also aired from 1979 to 1984, the first time that the NBA had a cable television partner. Professional wrestling company WWE has had a longstanding relationship with the network; WWF Prime Time Wrestling broadcast on USA from 1985-1993 until it was superseded by *WWE Raw* from 1993-2000, and again since 2005. *WWE SmackDown* also started airing on the network in January 2016; it is scheduled to be moved to Fox in October 2019.

For 17 years from 1981 to 1998, USA aired a weekly boxing show, *USA Tuesday Night Fights*, which showcased bouts featuring up-and-coming boxers. *Tennis on USA* aired professional tournaments in the United States from 1984 to 2008, and was the longtime cable home of the US Open before its cable television rights moved to ESPN2 and the Tennis Channel in 2009. The *PGA Tour on USA* covered the opening two rounds of the Masters Tournament from 1982 to 2007, Ryder Cup matches from 1989 to 2010, and various other events.

The USA Network aired most games of the World League of American Football (later NFL Europe) in its first two seasons of operation in 1991 and 1992; one innovation introduced for the network's WLAF telecasts was the helmet camera.

Upon the 2004 purchase of Vivendi Universal by NBC, USA's sports division was immediately merged into NBC Sports. Since 2004, the network has broadcast select events from the Olympic Games, as part of an expansion of NBCUniversal's broadcast rights to the Summer and Winter Olympics that allowed several of the company's cable channels rights to telecast Olympic events live (some of which are later re-aired on tape delay on NBC as part of the network's primetime and late night Olympic coverage). USA Network also carried games from the International Ice Hockey Federation in 2006 and 2010.

During the 2014 Winter Olympics, USA aired English Premier League soccer matches in lieu of sister channel NBCSN, due to that channel's full devotion to carrying coverage of Olympic events. After ratings success with those matches, USA began to air mid-afternoon Saturday games weekly during the 2015–16 season. USA also participates in NBC Sports' broader effort of carrying all ten Survival Sunday matches across its numerous channels the second week of May each year. Starting in 2015, USA Network became used as an overflow feed for coverage of NHL playoff games that cannot be aired by either NBCSN or CNBC. In 2016, USA aired three NASCAR races (the Sprint Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International and two Xfinity Series races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Bristol Motor Speedway) due to NBC broadcasting the 2016 Summer Olympics.

## High definition

USA Network operates a high definition simulcast feed of the channel, that broadcasts in the 1080i resolution format, and is available on nearly all pay-TV providers.

## International

### Canada

In February 2007, Shaw Communications submitted an application to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), to carry the USA Network in Canada as a foreign service that would be eligible for carriage by domestic cable and satellite providers (and to automatically allow all English-language general interest cable networks from the United States into Canada). However, because of programming rights issues with other Canadian specialty channels, certain programs would be subjected to blackout restrictions, including *WWE Raw*.

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 (which is then owned by Canwest – later Shaw Media – and formerly, Groupe TVA). 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. In spite of this, the CRTC has since rejected the restructured proposal on the basis that USA's programming would be competitive with Mystery TV.

Many of USA's original programs currently air on either Showcase or Bravo. WWE programming that airs on USA also airs on Rogers Media-owned Sportsnet 360.

### South America

Regional versions of USA Network previously operated in certain South American countries (such as Argentina and Brazil); in September 2004, most of these services were renamed under the Universal Channel banner to take advantage of the more well-known brand, and to reduce the awkwardness of a channel branded with the initials of another nation.

## External links

* Official website

Template:USA Network Shows

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