Satellite Program Network

Satellite Program Network (SPN) was a satellite and cable TV network which broadcast in the United States from 1979 to 1990. SPN was created by Ed Taylor, an associate of Ted Turner and the head of the Southern Satellite Systems company. In 1985, SPN was acquired by Satellite Syndicated Systems.

In the 1980s, Satellite Syndicated Systems changed its name to Tempo Enterprises, and SPN and SPN International were changed to Tempo Television and TEMPO International, respectively. Tempo Television was a 24-hour national cable network serving all contiguous states, including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The network, which began in 1979, was the second-oldest cable-only network.

Using a counter-programming philosophy, Tempo Television fulfilled viewer needs by dividing its program schedule into various dayparts including international programming, finance, sports, leisure and classic films.

Market studies clearly indicated that this unique programming approach attracted and retained upscale audiences who were looking for entertainment that was informative and substantially different from the standard options.

Among the programs broadcast on SPN were Video Concert Hall, an early music video show (before the launch of MTV); News from Home, a program for Canadians in the US, hosted by early CNN news anchor Don Miller; The Shopping Game, a Nicholson-Muir game show produced in Nashville and hosted by Art James; The Susan Noon Show, featuring celebrity interviews; Nutrition Dialogue, hosted by Dr. Betty Kamen; Sewing with Nancy; and Moscow Meridian, a current-affairs program produced by Soviet authorities and hosted by Vladimir Posner. Reruns of old situation comedies and movies, mostly from low-budget studios, rounded out the schedule.

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