Editing USA Network (section)

===Madison Square Garden Sports Network (1977–1980)===
USA Network was launched on September 22, 1977, as the Madison Square Garden Sports Network<ref>{{cite web |url=http://koplovitz.com/the-usa-story/ |title=The USA Story |last=Koplovitz |first=Kay |date=January 5, 2015 |website=Koplovitz.com |access-date=November 2, 2019}}</ref> (not to be confused with the [[New York City]]-area [[regional sports network]] now known as the [[MSG Network]]). The network was founded by cable provider [[UA-Columbia Cablevision]] and the [[Madison Square Garden|Madison Square Garden Corp.]] From its first two decades, the network was run by chairwoman and CEO [[Kay Koplovitz]].<ref name="garden">{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Les |title=Garden Cable Network Is Going Beyond Sports |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/07/archives/garden-cable-network-is-going-beyond-sports-branching-out-from.html |access-date=August 5, 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=April 7, 1978}}</ref> The channel was one of the first national cable television channels, utilizing [[Communications satellite|satellite]] delivery as opposed to the then-industry standard [[microwave relay]] to distribute its programming to cable systems. Unlike other cable networks at the time, it also was the first to rely greatly on advertising revenue.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-10-fi-37857-story.html|title=USA Networks CEO Kay Koplovitz Resigns|first=Sallie|last=Hofmeister|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=April 10, 1998|accessdate=April 5, 2022}}</ref> At launch the network mostly broadcast sporting events from Madison Square Garden to a national audience (sharing programming with the aforementioned MSG Network). The network quickly added a mix of college and less well-known professional sports held at other venues, similar to those found during the early years of [[ESPN]]. In 1978, children's programming was also added to the lineup.<ref name="garden"/>