1979 03 19 c span june 2 1986 1986 06 02 c span2 january 22 2001 2001 01 22 c span3 owned by national cable satellite corporation picture format 1080i hdtv downgraded to letterboxed 480i for sdtv feed slogan created by cable . offered as a public service . country united states language english broadcast area nationwide headquarters capitol hill washington d.c. sister channel s c span2 c span3 c span radio website www.c span.org availability terrestrial wcsp fm hd c span radio 90.1 fm hd radio washington d.c. baltimore selective tv inc. alexandria minnesota k50db d 50.3 satellite directv 350 c span sd 351 c span2 sd dish network 210 c span sd 211 c span2 sd c band amc10 at 135.0 w 201 c span 202 c span2 203 c span3 101 c span sd 102 c span2 sd 103 c span3 sd 501 radio sd 2 amc11 at 131.0 w 7 c span analog sd cable verizon fios 109 c span sd 110 c span2 sd 111 c span3 sd wave broadband 16 c span 99 c span2 available on most other u.s. cable systems consult your local cable provider for channel availability satellite radio xm 120 1 iptv at & t u verse 230 c span sd 231 c span2 sd 232 c span3 sd google fiber 131 c span 132 c span2 133 c span3 cable one 78 sd southern fibernet 1131 c span 1132 c span2 1133 c span3 131 c span sd 132 c span2 sd 133 c span3 sd streaming media available to current cable satellite subscribers c span live and on demand c span si sp n an acronym for cable satellite public affairs network is an american cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a public service . c span televises many proceedings of the united states federal government as well as other public affairs programming . the c span network includes three television channels c span c span2 and c span3 one radio station wcsp fm and a group of websites that provide streaming media and archives of c span programs . c span s television channels are available to approximately 100 million cable and satellite households within the united states while wcsp fm also called c span radio is broadcast on fm radio in washington d.c. and is available throughout the u.s. on xm satellite radio via internet streaming and through apps for ios blackberry and android devices . the network televises u.s. political events particularly live and gavel to gavel coverage of the u.s. congress as well as occasional proceedings of the canadian australian and british parliaments and major events worldwide . its coverage of political and policy events is unedited thereby providing viewers or listeners with unfiltered information about politics and government . non political coverage includes historical programming programs dedicated to non fiction books and interview programs with noteworthy individuals associated with public policy . c span is a private nonprofit organization funded by a 6 per subscriber affiliate fee paid by its cable and satellite affiliates and does not have advertisements on any of its networks radio stations or websites nor does it ever solicit donations or pledges . the network operates independently and neither the cable industry nor congress has control of the content of its programming . contents 1 history 1.1 development 1.2 anniversaries 1.3 scope and limitations of coverage 1.4 expansion and technology 2 programming 2.1 senate and house of representatives 2.2 public affairs 2.3 c span and c span2 flagship programs 2.4 c span3 2.5 special programming 2.6 radio broadcasts 2.7 availability online 3 organization and operations 4 availability 5 public and media opinion 6 must carry 7 other services 8 see also 9 references 10 external links history edit development edit brian lamb c span s chairman and former chief executive officer first conceived the concept of c span in 1975 while working as the washington d.c. bureau chief of the cable industry trade magazine cablevision . 3 it was a time of rapid growth in the number of cable television channels available in the united states 4 and lamb envisioned a cable industry financed nonprofit network for televising sessions of the u.s. congress and other public affairs event and policy discussions . 5 6 lamb shared his idea with several cable executives who helped him launch the network . among them were bob rosencrans who provided 25 000 of initial funding in 1979 4 7 and john d. evans who provided the wiring and access to the headend needed for the distribution of the c span signal . 8 9 c span was launched on march 19 1979 10 in time for the first televised session made available by the house of representatives beginning with a speech by then tennessee representative al gore . 11 12 upon its debut only 3.5 million homes were wired for c span 13 and the network had just three employees . 14 the second c span channel c span2 followed on june 2 1986 when the u.s. senate permitted itself to be televised . 15 16 c span3 the most recent expansion channel began full time operations on january 22 2001 17 and shows other public policy and government related live events on weekdays along with weekend historical programming . 5 c span3 is the successor of a digital channel called c span extra which was launched in the washington d.c. area in 1997 and televised live and recorded political events from 9 00 a.m. to 6 00 p.m. eastern time monday through friday . 17 18 c span radio began operations on october 9 1997 covering similar events as the television networks and often simulcasting their programming . 19 the station broadcasts on wcsp 90.1 fm in washington d.c. is also available on xm satellite radio channel 120 and is streamed live at c span.org . 1 it was formerly available on sirius satellite radio from 2002 to 2006 . 20 lamb semi retired in march 2012 coinciding with the channel s 33rd anniversary and gave executive control of the network to his two lieutenants rob kennedy and susan swain . 21 anniversaries edit c span celebrated its 10th anniversary in 1989 with a three hour retrospective featuring lamb recalling the development of the network . 15 the 15th anniversary was commemorated in an unconventional manner as the network facilitated a series of re enactments of the seven historic lincoln douglas debates of 1858 which were televised from august to october 1994 and have been rebroadcast from time to time ever since . 22 five years later the series american presidents life portraits which won a peabody award served as a year long observation of c span s 20th anniversary . 23 24 sen. robert byrd right c span s founder brian lamb left and paul fitzpatrick flip the switch for c span2 on june 2 1986 . fitzpatrick was c span president at the time . in 2004 c span celebrated its 25th anniversary by which time the flagship network was viewed in 86 million homes c span2 was in 70 million homes and c span3 was in eight million homes . 4 on the anniversary date c span repeated the first televised hour of floor debate in the house of representatives from 1979 and throughout the month 25th anniversary features included then and now segments with journalists who had appeared on c span during its early years . 11 also included in the 25th anniversary was an essay contest for viewers to write in about how c span has influenced their life regarding community service . for example one essay contest winner wrote about how c span s non fiction book programming serves as a resource in his charitable mission to record non fiction audio books for people who are blind . 25 to commemorate 25 years of taking viewer telephone calls in 2005 c span had a 25 hour call in marathon from 8 00 p.m. eastern time on friday october 7 concluding at 9 00 p.m. eastern time on saturday october 8 . the network also had a viewer essay contest the winner of which was invited to host an hour of the broadcast from c span s capitol hill studios . 26 scope and limitations of coverage edit c span continues to expand its coverage of government proceedings with a history of requests to government officials for greater access especially to the u.s. supreme court . 27 in december 2009 lamb wrote to leaders in the house and senate requesting that negotiations for health care reform be televised by c span . 28 committee meetings on health care were broadcast subsequently by c span and may be viewed on the c span website . 29 in november 2010 lamb wrote to incoming house speaker john boehner requesting changes to restrictions on cameras in the house . 30 in particular c span asked to add some of its own robotically operated cameras to the existing government controlled cameras in the house chamber . in february 2011 boehner denied the request . 31 a previous request to speaker designate nancy pelosi in 2006 to add c span s cameras in the house chamber to record floor proceedings was also denied . 31 although c span uses the congressional chamber feed cables the cameras are owned and controlled by each respective body of congress . 32 requests by c span for camera access to non government events such as the annual dinner by the gridiron club have also been denied . 33 on june 22 and into june 23 2016 c span took video footage of the house floor from individual house representatives via streaming services periscope and facebook live during a sit in by house democrats asking for a vote on gun control measures after the 2016 orlando nightclub shooting . this needed to be done because as the sit in was done out of formal session and while the house was in official recess the existing house cameras could not be utilized for coverage of the event by rule . 34 35 although the use of electronic devices to create the periscope feeds by house democrats violated house rules that prohibit their use on the floor 36 c span did not state why it chose to broadcast those feeds . the network ran disclaimers on air and on their official social media feeds noting the restrictions . 37 expansion and technology edit since the late 1990s c span has significantly expanded its online presence . in january 1997 c span began real time streaming of c span and c span2 on its website the first time that congress had been live streamed online . 17 to cover the democratic and republican conventions and the presidential debates of 2008 c span created two standalone websites the convention hub and the debate hub . 38 in addition to real time streams of c span s television networks online c span.org features further live programming such as committee hearings and speeches that are broadcast later in the day after the house and senate have left . 39 c span began promoting audience interaction early in its history by the regular incorporation of viewer telephone calls in its programming . it has since expanded into social media . in march 2009 17 viewers began submitting questions live via twitter to guests on c span s morning call in show washington journal . 40 the network also has a facebook page to which it added occasional live streaming in january 2011 . the live stream is intended to show selected well publicized events of congress . 41 in june 2010 c span joined with the website foursquare to provide users of the application with access to geotagged c span content at various locations in washington d.c. 42 in 2010 c span began a