Editing EWTN (section)

== Development ==
Mother Angelica made her profession of [[Religious vows|vows]] in 1953. In 1962 she established Our Lady of the Angels monastery. During the 1970s, she was an in-demand lecturer and produced pamphlets and audio and video tapes. She had been a guest on local station [[WIAT|WBMG]] (currently WIAT, Channel 42), and on shows on the [[Christian Broadcasting Network]] and the [[Trinity Broadcasting Network]]. After she gave an interview on then-Christian station [[WCPX-TV|WCFC]] (Channel 38) in [[Chicago]], she decided she wanted her own network. "I walked in, and it was just a little studio, and I remember standing in the doorway and thinking, 'It doesn't take much to reach the masses'. I just stood there and said to the Lord, 'Lord, I've got to have one of these'".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEFD71F3FF93BA35753C1A96F948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all |title=Scandals Aside, TV Preachers Thrive |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |first=Peter |last=Applebome |date=October 8, 1989}}</ref>

Mother Angelica purchased satellite space and EWTN began broadcasting on August 15, 1981, with four hours of daily programming, which included her own show, ''Mother Angelica Live'' (aired bi-weekly), a Sunday Mass, and reruns of older Catholic programs such as Archbishop [[Fulton J. Sheen]]'s ''[[Life Is Worth Living]]''. The remainder of the time was filled with shows produced by dioceses across the country, shows from [[Protestantism|Protestant]] sources which Mother Angelica determined were in concert with [[Catholic theology|Catholic teachings]], and children's shows such as ''[[Joy Junction]]'' and ''The Sunshine Factory''. About one-third of programming time consisted of secular content, such as re-runs of ''[[The Bill Cosby Show]]'', [[public domain]] films, and cooking and [[Western (genre)|western]]-themed shows. EWTN eventually increased its broadcast schedule to six hours per day and then to eight hours per day by 1986. Secular content was gradually reduced from 1986 to 1988, and [[Satellite television|satellite distribution]] was expanded late in 1987, after which EWTN acquired a far more desirable satellite channel and began broadcasting around the clock. At this point, EWTN began broadcasting the praying of the rosary on a daily basis and added a number of educational shows. In-house production of original programming gradually increased. The Mass became televised daily in 1991 from a chapel on the monastery grounds. Most shows from non-Catholic sources were eliminated and a more theological image gradually developed.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}

From 1982 to 1994, the network had competition from another Catholic broadcaster, the [[Catholic Telecommunications Network of America]]. The network was sponsored by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops which poured $30 million into the venture before it failed.<ref name="RICHTEL-nyt-1998">{{cite news |last1=Richtel  |first1=Matt |title=For Bishops, Net Is Tool {{snd}}Both Useful and Worrisome |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/04/cyber/articles/08catholic.html |access-date=October 30, 2021 |agency=New York Times |date=April 8, 1998}}</ref>

In 2000, "in the midst of an [[apostolic visitation]] by San Juan Archbishop [[Roberto González Nieves]]" to investigate Mother Angelica's authority over the station and monastery, Mother Angelica gave control of EWTN to a board of lay people.<ref name="Dulle-30.9.2021"/>

As of 2011, the network's chairman of the board and chief executive officer is Michael P. Warsaw.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.ewtn.com/media/ourManagement.htm |title= Press Room |work= EWTN |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110522131958/http://www.ewtn.com/media/ourManagement.htm |archive-date= May 22, 2011}}</ref>

As of 2019, EWTN programming was available through "more than 6,000 TV affiliates as well as on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire and YouTube". In addition to its Irondale campus, the network maintains a [[Washington, D.C.]], facility for its news division, along with a [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] broadcast facility on the campus of the [[Christ Cathedral (Garden Grove, California)|Christ Cathedral]] in [[Garden Grove, California]].