The National Christian Network was a religious television network in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

which formed in 1979. The channel was founded by Ray A. Kassis and located in

Cocoa, Florida Cocoa is a city in Brevard County, Florida. Its population was 19,041 at the 2020 United States census, up from 17,140 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Palm Bay, Florida, Palm Bay–Melbourne, Florida, Melbourne–Titusville, Flori ...

, where it owned studios. The programming was originated from

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

groups; at the time of launch 54 separate groups had shown interest. The network was the fourth satellite-fed Christian network to be launched, and was a competitor to the

Trinity Broadcasting Network The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN; legally Trinity Broadcasting of Texas, Inc.) is an international Christian-based broadcast television network and the world's largest religious television network. TBN solicits donations on its Web site, a ...

, the PTL Satellite Network, and the

Christian Broadcasting Network The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) is an American Christian media production and distribution organization. Founded in 1960 by Pat Robertson, it produces the long-running TV series ''The 700 Club'', co-produces the ongoing ''Superbook (198 ...

. NCN shared the same

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

transponder In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''. In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight trans ...

with the Playboy channel. This caused a great deal of trouble for NCN, not because they shared the same

at different times of the day, but rather because NCN attempted to

broker A broker is a person or entity that arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller. This may be done for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither ...

time on its channel to Christian programmers who were led to believe (falsely) that every cable company that was carrying

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

was also carrying NCN. In fact most cable operators carried the

feed only during the hours that Playboy was transmitting programming, and they blacked out the NCN portion.

Jerry Falwell Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr. (August 11, 1933 – May 15, 2007) was an American Baptist pastor, televangelist, and conservatism in the United States, conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch ...

acquired NCN in 1986, renaming it to the Liberty Broadcasting Network and moving its headquarters to

Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake is an independent city in Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, making it the second-most populous city in Virginia, the tenth largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 92nd-most populous city in the ...

. At that time the network had an estimated 3 million viewers. LBN billed itself as the first "for profit inspirational network". The Liberty Broadcasting Network was renamed to FamilyNet in June 1988, and at the same time became a for-profit entity. The network had lost about $3.2 million each year, and Falwell associate / former PTL manager Dr. Jerry Nims was brought in to head the new network. FamilyNet was acquired by the Southern Baptist Radio and Television Commission in 1991. The SBC ran the network alongside its separately programmed American Christian Television System. In 1995 FamilyNet was available to 35 million homes through broadcast stations. The church sold FamilyNet to InTouch Ministries in 2007. In 2013, Rural Media Group purchased the network, converting the channel into the Western sports service The Cowboy Channel at the start of 2018.

References

Christian television networks Defunct television networks in the United States Television channels and stations established in 1979 Television channels and stations disestablished in 1986 Jerry Falwell {{US-tv-station-stub

See also

References