American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company, or ABC, is a major group for television and radio.

It is known as one of the "Big Three" television networks in the United States. People sometimes call it the Alphabet Network. This is because its initials are the first three letters of the English alphabet. Today, ABC is part of the Disney Entertainment Television division. It is owned by the Walt Disney Company. ABC helps bring news, sports, and stories to millions of people every day.

ABC works by using many different stations to send shows to homes. It has eight stations that it owns and operates directly. It also has more than 230 affiliated stations across the United States and its territories.

Some of these stations can even be seen in Canada. The network provides about 89 hours of programming every single week. It offers many hours of prime-time shows from Monday through Sunday. It also has daytime shows like the soap opera General Hospital. This show has been on the air since 1963.

This network has a long and changing history. It actually began as a radio network in 1943. It grew from an older group called the NBC Blue Network. A man named Edward J. Noble purchased that network first. ABC later started showing programs on television in 1948. In the mid-1950s, ABC joined with United Paramount Theatres. A leader named Leonard Goldenson helped the network become profitable. He did this by helping to create many successful television series.

Many big changes happened to the company over the years. In 1982, the company bought an 80 percent interest in the sports channel ESPN. Later, in 1986, ABC merged with Capital Cities Communications. This created a new company called Capital Cities/ABC Inc. Finally, the Walt Disney Company bought the whole company in 1996.

ABC is now based in Burbank, California. Its main headquarters sits on Riverside Drive. It is located right across the street from Walt Disney Studios.

ABC is a very important place for watching big events. It is the only major network that shows all four big sports. These sports are baseball, football, basketball, and hockey. You can watch the NBA on Christmas Day or the NHL Stanley Cup Finals.

The network also shows special awards like the Academy Awards. For many years, it was the home for Peanuts specials like A Charlie Brown Christmas. It even shows the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade every year. It is a huge part of how people watch the world.