Ark Galactapedia

SSN/CAtv is a Human Spectrum network that provides news, political analysis, commentary programs, news magazines, and talk shows. It was founded in 2458 as a result of a merger between former news channels Sheridan Special News Television (SSNtv) and Communications Alliance (CA). It was the first news network to broadcast to all United Empire of Earth (UEE) planetary systems. While it currently has hundreds of affiliates and satellite offices, it primarily broadcasts out of Terra (Terra III).

SSNtv was the first network originating from Earth (Sol III) to broadcast to Mars (Sol IV) and was the dominant news network among Humans until the discovery of the Croshaw system in 2271. As Human territory expanded to other planetary systems, SSNtv's reach narrowed due to limitations in communication technology. Content delivery delays of several days to several weeks were common between systems. Rival network CA was established on Reisse (Rhetor III) in 2398 to combat this gap. Thanks to the Rhetor system's cutting-edge communications network, CA’s reach expanded more quickly than SSNtv's, and the network began to struggle. In 2458, SSNtv accepted a merger proposal from CA and SSN/CAtv was born.

SSN/CAtv initially transmitted a continuous stream of news, hosted by a rotating cast of anchors. It gradually increased its focus on politics, purchasing Showdown! in 2522 as its keystone debate program. This shift in content brought high profits with it, enabling the network to open a new headquarters on Cestulus (Davien II) in 2525. In 2529, SSN/CAtv provided on-the-ground coverage of the Unified Currency Riot in Jata, Cestulus, including its quelling by the United Planets of Earth (UPE) military. After first contact with the Xi'an in 2530 and discovery of the Tevarin in 2541, the network’s content began to gradually lean pro-war and anti-alien.

Upon the ascension of Ivar Messer I to the office of Prime Citizen in 2546, SSN/CAtv’s content took a hard pro-government shift. The host and crew of Showdown! were fired and replaced after they aired a special episode urging people to act against Messer's consolidation of power. Deacon Messer II became one of the network's prime shareholders in 2601. After this point, SSN/CAtv became one of the cornerstones of the United Empire of Earth's (UEE) propaganda machine.

In 2630, SSN/CAtv relocated to an expansive headquarters on Terra. The network slowly began to allow some UEE-critical content to air, while still maintaining a pro-Messer stance in the majority of its programming. For example, SSN/CAtv played a pivotal role in discrediting Terran Senator Assan Kieren's reputation during his call for Terran sovereignty in 2638, but it also allowed its pundit and debate programs to feature anti-military and pro-secession guests.

During the power struggle between Astrid Messer VII and Samuel Messer VIII, reporters on multiple shows stepped too far out of line, harshly criticizing the Messers for their infighting. In 2699, Astrid Messer VII retaliated by conducting mass arrests and censoring over half the network’s programming into cancellation. Samuel Messer VIII rescinded the mass censorship upon taking office in 2701, but ordered that all content aired henceforth on the network had to be approved by the Imperator's office. Those imprisoned by Astrid Messer VII were not pardoned, and were forced to serve out the remainder of their sentences.

Anonymous SSN/CAtv insiders began organizing with anti-Messer activists as early as 2702. They aided the resistance in two key ways: they allowed the rebels to pass along encrypted messages via the network's communications arrays, and fed them information uncensored by the Messer government. Once such piece of information was footage from the Massacre of Garron II. On 11 April 2792, technicians responsible for the network feed allowed footage of the Massacre, along with a message from the resistance group Tide, to interrupt a broadcast of SSN/CAtv Nightly News. This broadcast was the inciting incident of the revolution that would eventually depose the Messer regime.

SSN/CAtv hosts a wide variety of news and news-related content. Some of their flagship programs include pure news shows Empire Report and SSN/CAtv Nightly News, the pundit-centered debate program Showdown! and the UEE-critical talk show Plain Truth. It has satellite offices on most recognized planets in the UEE.