View source for CRN Digital Talk Radio Networks

{{short description|American radio programming distributor}}
{{multiple issues|
{{Onesource|date=June 2009}}
{{primary|date=November 2014}}
{{Notability|date=November 2014}}
}}
{{Infobox radio network
| name = CRN Digital Talk Radio Network
| image = 
| logo = [[File:CRN Network Logo.png|255px]]
| founded =  {{start date and age|1983}}
| founder = Michael Horn, CEO
| headquarters = [[Chatsworth, Los Angeles]]
| broadcast_area = North America via satellite radio, terrestrial radio, and cable TV systems<ref name=Nordyke>{{cite news|last1=Nordyke|first1=Kimberly|last2=AP|title=More Seacrest 'On Air'; Dobbs bows|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/more-seacrest-air-dobbs-bows-105888|access-date=20 October 2015|work=Hollywood Reporter|date=29 February 2008}}</ref>
| area = Worldwide via Internet and [[American Forces Network]]
| key_people = Jennifer Horn, VP of Sales & Marketing
| former_names = Cable Radio Network, CRN Talk
| webcast = 
*[https://crntalk.com/crn1 CRN1]
*[https://crntalk.com/crn2 CRN2]
*[https://crntalk.com/crn3 CRN3]
*[https://crntalk.com/crn4 CRN4]
*[https://crntalk.com/crn5 CRN5]
*[https://crntalk.com/crn6 CRN6]
*[https://crntalk.com/crn7 CRN7]
*[https://crntalk.com/crn8 CRN8]
| website = {{URL|crntalk.com}}
| footnotes = 
}}'''CRN Digital Talk Radio Networks''', sometimes simply referred to as ''CRN'' or ''CRN Digital Talk'', is a syndicator and distributor of radio programs and talk radio networks.

==History==
CRN was founded in 1983 as '''Cable Radio Network''' to provide commercial radio programming to local cable television systems. CRN founder Michael Horn (who, at the time, was an on-air personality at Los Angeles’ [[KFI AM]]) read an article in the trade publication ''[[Radio & Records]]'' that mentioned Los Angeles radio station [[KMET (FM)|KMET]] earned ratings points in the Phoenix market. Horn learned KMET was the audio source for a channel on a local cable system in Phoenix.

Horn brought the radio-on-television idea to [[San Fernando Valley]] cable provider King Cable, where he soon programmed a [[country music]] channel. Seeking a more mass appeal, Horn changed the channel's format to [[oldies]] music. Two other cable systems – Valley Cable and Falcon Cable – then became interested and was used on a few [[Electronic Program Guide]]s across America.

Broadcast hookups were initially conducted through phone lines before the method became cost prohibitive. Horn invested more money and switched to satellite transmission. A branding change from "Cable Radio Network" to "CRN Networks" eventually followed.

Noncommercial music channels from companies such as [[Digital Planet]] and [[DMX (music)|DMX]] eventually were picked up by cable providers. Instead of competing with them, Horn switched CRN's programming to a talk radio platform. CRN Networks then became "CRN Talk" and, in 2007, "CRN Digital Talk Radio". The company's legal name remains Cable Radio Networks, Inc.

Horn commissioned a company that worked with [[Arbitron]] (now [[Nielsen Audio]]) to determine CRN's listenership. Results indicated that CRN shared a similar-size audience as [[MSNBC]], [[Cinemax]], and [[Fox Sports]].<ref name=Kinosian>{{cite news|last1=Kinosian|first1=Mike|title=30 Candles for Horn.s CRN|url=http://www.talkers.com/2013/10/28/30-candle-horns-crn/|access-date=19 October 2015|work=TALKERS magazine|publisher=Talk Media, Inc.|date=28 October 2013}}</ref>

In 2013, CRN Digital Talk Radio Launched '''CRN Digital Magazine''', its own online magazine (no association with ''[[CRN Magazine]]'') featuring lifestyle and entertainment stories written by CRN personalities.<ref>{{cite news|title=CRN Digital Talk Radio Launches ''CRN Digital Mag''|url=http://www.talkers.com/2013/02/06/wednesday-february-6-2013/|access-date=19 October 2015|work=TALKERS magazine|publisher=Talk Media, Inc.|date=6 February 2013}}</ref>

==Programming==

CRN programs are produced both in house and in collaboration with other broadcasters.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kinosian|first1=Mike|title=30 Candles for Horn's CRN|url=http://www.talkers.com/2013/10/28/30-candle-horns-crn/|access-date=19 October 2015|work=TALKERS magazine|publisher=Talk Media, Inc.|date=28 October 2013|quote=Some transmutation of the long-standing cliché that television is simply ‘radio with pictures’ perhaps triggered Cable Radio Network not only to come to fruition but also to thrive.}}</ref>  CRN broadcasts eight audio feeds: a main feed that carries mostly in-house offerings; direct network feeds from [[Sports Byline USA]], [[Salem Radio Network|The Answer]], [[Compass Media Networks]] and others. CRN also airs a [[simulcast]] of [[XEAAA-AM]] (a female-oriented Spanish-language station based in [[Guadalajara]], Mexico); and a seventh channel that duplicates and [[timeshift channel|timeshifts]] some of the other feeds' programs. It is distributed, as its former name implies, mostly through various [[cable television]] providers, much in the way the more widely available [[Music Choice]] is distributed. However, it is also available via [[C band (IEEE)|C band]] satellite, various terrestrial stations across the nation and on the [[Internet]].

Some of CRN’s first talk offerings included “Polka Parade” with Dick Sinclair and television and radio personality [[George Putnam (newsman)|George Putnam]]’s “Talk Back” (which became a CRN exclusive). Former [[Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]] co-host [[Ed McMahon]] also hosted his weekly ''Lifestyles Live'' program on CRN.<ref name=Wagoner>{{cite news|last1=Wagoner|first1=Richard|title=Television has some radio exclusives, including polka|url=http://www.presstelegram.com/article/ZZ/20080424/NEWS/804249919/|access-date=3 March 2017|work=Long Beach PressTelegram|publisher=Long Beach Press Telegram|date=24 April 2008|quote=For example, former "Tonight Show" announcer and co-host Ed McMahon has a show featuring commentary and "information on living the good life." Even longtime commentator and "Talk Back" originator George Putnam is still doing a daily show at age 92. Putnam is a CRN exclusive. "When we started CRN 25 years ago, we wanted to try a program that no one else would think of carrying," said CRN president Mike Horn. "We found Dick Sinclair of the old 'Polka Parade' that once aired on KFI (640 AM) and KTLA Channel 5. He has been on the air as one of our only music programs since our beginning, and is a fan favorite." "Polka Parade" airs from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturdays.}}</ref>

Don Ecker’s “UFOs Tonight”,<ref name=Harris>{{cite news|last1=Harris|first1=Scott|title=Close Encounters of the Call-In Kind|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-09-21-me-37430-story.html|access-date=3 March 2017|work=Los Angeles Times newspaper|publisher=Los Angeles Times.|date=21 September 1993|quote=Life-sized cardboard cutouts of Capt. Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy greet visitors who descend the stairs to the studios of Cable Radio Network. Every Sunday night, from the basement of a Sunland shopping center, a program called "UFOs Tonight" is beamed up and out across America. The host is Don Ecker, the self-assured, well-versed research director of an obscure journal called UFO magazine.}}</ref> and the [[pro wrestling]] themed “Squared Circle” hosted by James "Shadowe" Boone<ref name=Folmar>{{cite news|last1=Folmar|first1=Kate|title=School of Hard Knocks|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-nov-17-me-54833-story.html|access-date=3 March 2017|work=Los Angeles Times newspaper|date=17 November 1997|quote=Such techniques are the mainstay of professional wrestling schools. There are perhaps 10 to 20 "legitimate schools"--such as the one in Simi Valley--across the nation, estimates James "Shadowe" Boone, semiretired grappler in the San Fernando Valley. He hosts the country's biggest talk radio show about wrestling, called "Squared Circle," on the Cable Radio Network.}}</ref> were also CRN original programs.

CRN Digital Talk Radio announced in June 2015 it would become the home for [[libertarian]] radio and television personality [[Larry Elder]]’s show.<ref name="NTS Elder">{{cite web|title=Larry Elder Goes Nationwide With CRN|url=http://www.ntsmediaonline.com/?p=79010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170304193003/http://www.ntsmediaonline.com/?p=79010|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 4, 2017|website=NTS Media Online|access-date=3 March 2017}}</ref> Less than two months later, [[Salem Radio Network]] announced it would add Elder’s program to its own national syndication lineup.<ref name="Elder / All Access">{{cite web|title=Larry Elder To Host Evenings On Salem Radio Network|url=http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/150855/larry-elder-to-host-evenings-on-salem-radio-networ|website=All Access Music Group|access-date=3 March 2017}}</ref>

Actor [[Robert Conrad]] hosted his own CRN program until his death on February 8, 2020, and [[Barry Farber]] hosted his own show until his death later that year. There are also several food and wine lifestyle programs, such as the "What's Cookin'" franchise.<ref>{{cite news|title=CRN Digital Talk Radio Launches ''CRN Digital Mag''|url=http://www.talkers.com/2013/02/06/wednesday-february-6-2013/|access-date=19 October 2015|work=TALKERS magazine|publisher=Talk Media, Inc.|date=6 February 2013}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.crntalk.com/ CRN Home Page]
* [http://www.crndigitalmag.com/ CRN Digital Magazine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150822205337/http://www.crndigitalmag.com/ |date=2015-08-22 }}

{{American broadcast radio}}

[[Category:Radio stations established in 1983]]
[[Category:Mass media companies established in 1983]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1983]]
[[Category:1983 establishments in California]]
[[Category:Broadcasting companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Companies based in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Chatsworth, Los Angeles]]
[[Category:American Forces Network]]
[[Category:American radio networks]]
[[Category:Cable radio]]