The Fourth Network

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The Fourth Network

4thnetwork.jpg

Hardcover
Author Daniel M. Kimmel
Country United States
Language English
Genre Non-fiction, journalism, television
Published 2004
Media type Print (hardcover, paperback)
ISBN 1-566-63572-1

The Fourth Network: How Fox Broke the Rules and Reinvented Television (ISBN   1-566-63572-1) is a non-fiction book about the history of the Fox television network. It was written by Daniel M. Kimmel and published in 2004. The Fourth Network details the history of Fox up until the 1999-2000 broadcast season, with events happening afterward included in an epilogue.

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.

Fox Broadcasting Company American television network

The Fox Broadcasting Company is an American commercial terrestrial television network that is a flagship property of Fox Corporation, a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox. The network is headquartered at the 20th Century Fox studio in Los Angeles, with additional major offices and production facilities at the Fox Television Center also in Los Angeles and the Fox Broadcasting Center in New York City.

Contents

Many times throughout the book Kimmel makes a point of how Fox, during its first 20 years of existence, radically changed the standards by which network television stations in America operate, such as putting an emphasis on looking at demographics in show ratings as opposed to overall viewership, and working with cable television suppliers in order to attain a broader audience.

Cable television television content transmitted via signals on coaxial cable

Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fiber-optic cables. This contrasts with broadcast television, in which the television signal is transmitted over the air by radio waves and received by a television antenna attached to the television; or satellite television, in which the television signal is transmitted by a communications satellite orbiting the Earth and received by a satellite dish on the roof. FM radio programming, high-speed Internet, telephone services, and similar non-television services may also be provided through these cables. Analog television was standard in the 20th century, but since the 2000s, cable systems have been upgraded to digital cable operation.

While much of the book, which is laden with interviews of former network executives, deals with the network's prime time programming, some material is left to the network's other endeavors, both successful and unsuccessful, such as Fox's stunning acquisition of the rights to NFL games, the start-up of the Fox Kids Saturday morning cartoon block, as well Fox's failed attempts at a morning show and late-night talk shows.

The prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television programming.

National Football League Professional American football league

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The NFL is one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America, and the highest professional level of American football in the world. The NFL's 17-week regular season runs from early September to late December, with each team playing 16 games and having one bye week. Following the conclusion of the regular season, six teams from each conference advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament culminating in the Super Bowl, which is usually held in the first Sunday in February, and is played between the champions of the NFC and AFC.

Fox Kids Fox Broadcasting Companys American childrens programming division

Fox Kids was an American children's programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channels. Originally a joint venture between the Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox) and its affiliated stations, it was later owned by Fox Kids Worldwide.

Reception

In 2005, the book won the Goddard Book Award from the Cable Center for best book of 2004. [1] Publishers Weekly called the book "a solid but rather dry account of the birth of a network and its impact on TV". [2]

<i>Publishers Weekly</i>

Publishers Weekly (PW) is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of Book Publishing and Bookselling". With 51 issues a year, the emphasis today is on book reviews.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Past Goddard Book Award Winners CableCenter.org
  2. ↑ The Fourth Network. Amazon.com
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