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About ATVN

Astound TV Network signed on the air in the mid-1960s on the cable TV channel lineup of Twin County Trans- Video Inc. (Twin County Cable). Since then the networks has be known by numerous names, including TV4, Cable 4, C-Tec4, RCN4, RCN –TV, and now Astound TV Network, or ATVN.

ATVN FIRSTS

  • High school football, basketball, baseball games and more on a regular basis
  • Friday night coverage of high school football and Tuesday/Friday night coverage of high school basketball. Additional coverage included PIAA basketball playoffs and state championship games.
  • A local one-hour news report, TV 4 News: The Pulse of the Lehigh Valley, aired weekdays in the late 1960s through 1973.
  • High School Bowl – a local version of the GE College Bowl which was airing on national TV
  • Coverage of local election night returns
  • Children’s programming: Jolly Jingles in Alphabet Land and Polly’s Treehouse
  • Community Spotlight, which still airs today
  • Professional baseball – Allentown Ambassadors of the independent Northeast league from Bicentennial Park in Allentown
  • Live coverage of the Christmas decoration lighting ceremonies in Allentown
  • Halloween Parade coverage from Allentown, Bethlehem, Catasauqua and Northampton
  • With promoter Jerry Fried, provided and installed the lighting for the half-mile Nazareth Speedway dirt track (home of Mario Andretti). Held exclusive broadcast rights to Nazareth’s weekly Sunday racing events until 1988, when the track closed.
  • Mandarin Chef hosted by Charles Tang, dedicated to culinary delights “fit for the Emperor”
  • The Jolly Joe Timmer Show, hosted by local polka musician and showman Joe Timmer, aired from 1973- 2015, making it, for a time, the longest running show on American cable television.
  • The first cable TV company in the Lehigh Valley to provide live sports and community remote coverage via a “portable” microwave transmitter/receiver system
  • The first use of a handheld “minicam” camera at local events
  • During the 1980s, obtained the exclusive rights to District XI sports events and coverage was expanded to include soccer, tennis, field hockey and volleyball.
  • In 1985, the Dream Come True Telethon became a yearly televised event. The program continues to air, celebrating its’ 36th annual telethon in December 2021. Since its beginnings, over $1 million dollars have been raised to help terminally and chronically ill children of the Lehigh Valley receive a wish of their choice. 

PARTNERSHIPS 

The Lafayette Sports Network (LSN): Since 1997 ATVN has televised Lafayette College basketball games, leading to the development of the Lafayette Sports Network.  The schedule has grown to include all home Lafayette football games and a selected number of away games.  All men’s and women’s league basketball games and a selection of away events are now televised.                   

Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN): For many years, ATVN has worked with PCN to produce selected events for statewide distribution. Productions include: PIAA Baseball finals; East/West Football Game in Altoona, PA; District XI Wrestling Finals; selected area high school football games.