There are five major commercial broadcasting networks in the United States:
ABC, CBS, CW, FOX and NBC. PBS is the national public broadcasting network that offers some local programming. You may be able to receive these channels without having a cable hook-up or satellite dish. You will receive those channels and possibly hundreds of others – such as CNN, ESPN and HBO – by subscribing to a cable or satellite television service. Some rural areas may not have cable service available.
To find cable and satellite TV service providers in your area, select Television from the Categories list on the right sidebar and search by region, county or zip code.
Basic cable or satellite packages may cost less then $50 a month while access to a more extensive channel lineup could cost up to a couple hundred dollars. You may also have to pay a monthly charge for equipment rental and a one-time installation fee.
Most daily and Sunday newspapers provide TV listings as do web sites such as
TV Guide Online. Digital cable and satellite television services provide on-screen TV lisitings.
Many cable television companies also offer telephone service and, along with satellite providers, broadband Internet access. Often times these services – television, telephone and broadband – may be bundled in packages to save money.
U.S. television stations in all markets are airing programming in both digital (DTV) and analog formats. Beginning on February 17, 2009, TV stations will drop the analog channels and broadcast exclusively in DTV.
Receiving DTV signals over-the-air (i.e. without a cable box or satellite dish) will require a special DTV receiver once analog broadcasting is stopped. Even with a converter, an analog television set will not display the full picture quality of DTV. Cable and direct satellite subscribers will eventually need a new DTV receiver but not another set-top box.
For more information on DTV and the switch from analog to digital go to
www.dtv.gov. This web site is a service of the Federal Communications Commission.
The American transmission standard is 525 lines rather than the 625-line PAL standard used in most of Europe. So although some television units are equipped with a dual standard switch, most European models will not work in North America.