By the mid-1970s, Ted Turner had decided to expand his television station WTCG’s distribution beyond Atlanta and link it to satellites. WTCG began transmitting a national feed on December 17, 1976. Renamed WTBS in 1979, it became known as the Superstation TBS. Turner realized that the station needed a combination of original content and reruns to be successful and the variety of programming included everything from movies to series to sports. Eventually, the channel showed Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks games and the World Championship Wrestling matches.

The station was met with resistance at first from sports leagues, broadcast networks, and local stations but eventually the FCC ruled in favor of its right to exist. TBS was trailblazing as the first superstation to be offered across America. Today, TBS is largely focused on comedy and sports coverage though it continues to show a variety of content.

Clip Information:
Collection: Peabody Awards Collection Archives
Title: They Made America [No. 4, 2004-11-29], Rebels
To view full program, visit: https://kaltura.uga.edu/media/t/0_bbhvhab7