C-SPAN

C-SPAN, which originally stood for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, was the first cable television network dedicated to 24 hour-a-day coverage to national government and public affairs. C-SPAN often will show live sessions of the U.S. House of Representatives while in progress.

C-SPAN first went on the air in 1979. C-SPAN 2, a spinoff network, covers live sessions of the U.S. Senate and went on the air in 1986.