Trinity Broadcasting Network

==History==
The Trinity Broadcasting Network was co-founded as the '''Trinity Broadcasting Systems''' in 1973 by [[Paul Crouch]], an [[Assemblies of God]] minister, and his spouse [[Jan Crouch]].<ref>Mark Ward Sr., ''The Electronic Church in the Digital Age: Cultural Impacts of Evangelical Mass Media [2 volumes]: Cultural Impacts of Evangelical Mass Media'', ABC-CLIO, USA, 2015, page  206</ref> TBN began its broadcasting activities by renting time on the [[Independent station (North America)|independent station]] KBSA (now [[UniMás]] [[owned-and-operated station]] [[KFTR-DT]]) in [[Ontario, California]]. After that station was sold, he began buying two hours a day of programming time on KLXA-TV in [[Fontana, California]], in early 1974. That station was put up for sale shortly afterward. Paul Crouch then placed a bid to buy the station for $1 million and raised $100,000 for a [[down payment]]. After many struggles, the Crouches managed to raise the down payment and took over the station outright, with the station becoming [[KTBN-TV]] in 1977 and its [[city of license]] being reassigned to TBN's original homebase, [[Santa Ana, California|Santa Ana]], in 1983.

Initially, the station ran Christian programs for about six hours a day, expanding its programming to 12 hours a day by 1975, and began selling time to other Christian organizations to supplement its local programming. The station eventually instituted a 24-hour schedule in 1978.

[[File:TBN logo 1982-1992.jpg|thumb|left|TBN logo used from 1982 to 1992]]
The fledgling network was so weak in its first days, that, according to Crouch in his autobiography, ''Hello World!'', it almost went bankrupt after just two days on the air. TBN began national distribution through [[cable television]] providers in 1978. The ministry, which became known as the Trinity Broadcasting Network, gained national distribution via [[communications satellite]] in 1982. The network was a member of the [[National Religious Broadcasters]] association until 1990.

In 1977, the ministry purchased [[KPAZ-TV]] in [[Phoenix, Arizona]], becoming its second television station property. During the 1980s and 1990s, TBN purchased additional independent television stations and signed on new stations around the United States; the purchase of the existing stations was done in order to gain cable carriage, due to the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC)'s [[must-carry]] rules. TBN's availability eventually expanded to 95% of American households by early 2005.<ref>{{cite web|title=TV's Religious Revival|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA527238.html|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|year=2005|access-date=June 19, 2008}}</ref>