Our History | C-SPAN.org (2024)

C‑SPAN is a public service.

We are a non-profit created in 1979 by a then-new industry called cable television. Today, we remain true to our founding principles, providing gavel-to-gavel coverage of the workings of the U.S. Congress, both the House of Representatives and Senate, without editing, commentary or analysis.

Over the years, we've grown to be so much more than simply one television channel. You can find C‑SPAN on three television channels, online, on radio, in newsletters, through podcasts, on social platforms including X, Instagram , Facebook , TikTok , Threads and YouTube and on a mobile app, C‑SPAN Now. In addition to Congress, we've grown to cover a wide variety of public policy and political events from campaign stops to press briefings and panel discussions to author interviews. In so doing, we promote open and transparent dialogue between the public and their elected and appointed officials – and those campaigning for office.

Underpinning this impartial, balanced coverage is the fact that no government or taxpayer dollars support C‑SPAN,as we continue to be primarily funded as a public service from your cable or satellite provider. We have recently begun to diversify our revenue streams by placing limited advertising on our digital platforms and by taking donations from viewers .

C‑SPAN began with only four employees: Brian Lamb, Jana Dabrowski Fay, Don Houle and Brian Lockman. Those four transmitted the first television feed from the U.S. House of Representatives to C‑SPAN viewers on March 19, 1979, the first day the House allowed television coverage of its floor debates. That televised congressional session began with a one-minute speech by then-Congressman Al Gore and reached just 3 million American homes.

For C‑SPAN founder Brian Lamb the televised House feed was only the beginning. C‑SPAN added what became its signature call-in programs the following year to provide a direct conduit between the public and the nation's political leaders. That direct viewer-to-leader dialogue of current events continues each day on the Washington Journal.

In 1982, the network expanded from eight to 16, and then 24 hours, enabling it to add a wider variety of public affairs programming to viewers while maintaining its commitment to carry the proceedings of the U.S. House.

In 1986, the U.S. Senate voted to televise its debates, and C‑SPAN launched a second channel, C‑SPAN2,to provide unfiltered, gavel-to-gavel access to that body.

When the House and Senate are in session, C‑SPAN voluntarily commits to covering both bodies live and in their entirety - there is no contract with Congress to carry its proceedings.

In 2001, C‑SPAN3 was launched to provide access to additional public affairs events,particularly live coverage of key congressional hearings.

Beginning in 1998, weekends on C‑SPAN2 became Book TV which covers non-fiction book and author events. In 2011, weekends on C‑SPAN3 became American History TV to offer historical lectures, oral histories and special history series. Today, both continue each weekend on C‑SPAN2.

C‑SPAN also extensively covers the president and the executive branch, including regular coverage of the daily White House and Department of State briefings. Coverage of the Supreme Court has been more challenging. Beginning in 1988, with a letter to then-Chief Justice William Rehnquist, C‑SPAN has consistently called for the Supreme Court to allow cameras to cover its approximately 75 hours of annual oral arguments. To date, the court has refused this request, however starting in 2020, they have provided a live audio feed of their oral arguments which we provide to our audience. The network has televised more than 100 oral arguments before federal courts as well as many state supreme courts.

In 1993, C‑SPAN created the C‑SPAN Bus, a 45-foot interactive learning center to travel across the nation visiting schools and community events in partnership with C‑SPAN's cable providers.Bus visitors engage with C‑SPAN representatives and interactive tools to learn about our unique public affairs programming and online resources. In 2021, after 26 years on the road and multiple visits to all 50 states, the C‑SPAN Bus was retired.

In 1997, we added C‑SPAN Radio,available in the Washington, D.C., area and via a mobile app.

In 2010, C‑SPAN launched the Video Library.All C‑SPAN content, since 1987, is archived on our website and is free for public use – now with nearly 300,000 hours of searchable and shareable content - and growing every day.

In 2021, C‑SPAN launched our free mobile app, C‑SPAN Now, featuring the day's biggest political events. Users are able to watch live and on demand videos or the most recent government events on C‑SPAN. In 2023, C‑SPAN launched our connected-TV app, C‑SPAN Select, available in Comcast/Xfinity and Charter/Spectrum service areas.

Our deep multi-platform presence – television, audio, social platforms, mobile and connected-TV apps and our website – makes C‑SPAN the go-to resource for political journalists, Capitol Hill staff, members of Congress and the interested public. In the current media marketplace, there's no other place quite like C‑SPAN, and perhaps none more trusted. C‑SPAN’s highly motivated viewers know they are getting a unique product, one with a special place in the news media.

C‑SPAN is the recipient of dozens of national awards and citations, including three George Foster Peabody Awards: one for institutional excellence in 1993, one in the historical documentary category for its 1999American Presidentsseries, and one in 2011 for the C‑SPAN online Video Library.

Forty-five years ago, C‑SPAN first put the U.S. House of Representatives on television, opening a window for viewers to get an unfiltered view of government. While Washington may have changed, we haven't. Our unblinking eye on Congress and public debate continues. The window is still open, giving the world a front-row-seat to democracy – allowing you to make up your own mind.