Christian Broadcasting Network
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Type | Religious broadcasting |
|---|---|
| Country | United States of America |
| Availability | seen internationally; some shows carried by Trinity Broadcasting Network, FamilyNet, LeSEA and Sky Angel |
| Website | www.cbn.org |
The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is a Christian television broadcasting network in the United States. Its headquarters and main studios are in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
CBN was founded by evangelist Pat Robertson in 1961. He devised for it a religious variety program format that has been successfully used in religious broadcasting ever since. One of the mainstays of the network is The 700 Club, the longest-running program using that same variety format. Other programs include religious news programs such as CBN NewsWatch and Christian World News, and the talk-show Living the Life, hosted by 700 Club co-host Terry Meeuwsen and seen on ABC Family.
CBN also manages Operation Blessing, an international relief and missionary effort.
CBN also has international programming, producing local programs, from Solusi (Indonesia) to From Heart to Heart (Thailand). CBN India alone produces five weekly series. CBN has versions of the The 700 Club aimed at Latin American (Club 700 Hoy) and British audiences (The 700 Club With Paul and Fiona) [1]. Altogether CBN has broadcast programs in over 70 languages.
Originally a full fledged network, CBN was later renamed The Family Channel. Eventually "FAM" was sold to Fox and known as the "Fox Family Channel". Fox later sold it to Disney, which renamed it "ABC Family". CBN exists now as a production company for The 700 Club, and other syndicated shows such as One Cubed, Newswatch and Living the Life.
Some of CBN's programs are also aired on Sky Angel, Trinity Broadcasting Network, Cornerstone Television, FamilyNet, LeSEA Broadcasting and Middle East Television (which was founded and owned by CBN, until sold in the early 2000s to LeSEA), all Evangelical Christian networks.
