Satcom 1 was an American communications satellite operated by RCA Americom and launched on December 13, 1975. U.S. military MILSTAR communications satellite A communications satellite (sometimes abbreviated to comsat) is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purposes of telecommunications. ... RCA, formerly an initialism for the Radio Corporation of America, is now a trademark used by two companies for products descended from that common ancestor: Thomson SA, which manufactures consumer electronics like RCA-branded televisions, DVD players, video cassette recorders, direct broadcast satellite decoders, camcorders, audio equipment, telephones, and related... December 13 is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ...

The satellite was used as the launching ground for many cable TV services including TBS Superstation and the ABC Family channel (then the CBN Cable Network). The Weather Channel also was launched on Satcom 1 in 1982. TBS Superstation is a popular American cable TV network that shows sports and variety programming. ... ABC Family is a cable television network currently owned by Disney/ABC. The network was founded by Pat Robertson as CBN Cable and then the name was changed to CBN Family Channel and when the network was spun off from the Christian Broadcasting Network to a new company called International... The Weather Channel (TWC) is a cable television and now satellite television network that revolutionized the reporting of weather and weather-related news by being on 24 hours a day. ...

A notable legal battle involved Ted Turner suing RCA to get a Satcom 1 transponder in 1980 for the launch of CNN on June 1, 1980. CNN had been scheduled for a Satcom 3 transponder but that satellite had been destroyed upon launch on December 7, 1979. Robert Edward Ted Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American media mogul and philanthropist. ... CNN or Cable News Network is a cable television network that was founded in 1980 by Ted Turner & Reese Schonfeld [1] [2] (although he currently is not recognized in CNNs official history). ... American communications satellite, launched on December 7, 1979. ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1979 is a common year starting on Monday. ...

The domestic communication satellite spurred the cable television industry to unprecedented heights with the assistance of a company known as Home Box Office (HBO). Cable television networks relay signals to ground-based stations using satellites. This allowed cable television to enter into the suburban and metropolitan markets, thus allowing HBO to accumulate 1.6 million subscribers by the end of 1977.

The satellite was retired in 1983 and replaced by Satcom 1R. 1983 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Satcom 1R was an American communications satellite and replacement for Satcom 1 launched by RCA in 1983. ...