April 1988
Research indicates that the public is dissatisfied with news coverage of state government proceedings and would support and watch a public affairs channel devoted to covering the state legislature.

October 1989
The California Channel is created by the Center for Governmental Studies based on a report by Tracy Westen and Beth Givens, in cooperation with the USC Annenberg School of Communications.

August 1990
Test of televising began with coverage of the State Assembly for 7.5 hours a day, 5 days per week (Monday through Friday), for the last four weeks of the 1990 legislative session. Carried on 30 systems to 1.6 million homes.

February 1991
Broadcasting began February 4, 1991. Assembly floor sessions and committee hearings were broadcast from 10am to 3pm on Mondays and Thursdays. The channel was available in 1.5 million cable homes in California.

June 1991
Coverage of the State Assembly was extended to 35 hours a week beginning on June 3, 1991. The channel began broadcasting Assembly proceedings from 9am until 4pm Monday through Friday.

July 1991
The channel cut hours back to 10am through 3pm Mondays and Thursdays for the Legislature's summer recess beginning on July 19th. During the recess the channel broadcast various programs on current statewide issues including: a legislative hearing on the Sacramento River/Cantera Toxic spill, a roundtable discussion on health care costs, a debate on Proposition 140, seminars on health care, Assembly budget debates, a keynote address of the National Health Foundation, and interviews with state public officials.

August 1991
The Legislature reconvened for the conclusion of the 1991 session and began with debates on Proposition 140 on August 19, 1991. Programming hours remained at 10am to 3pm Mondays and Thursdays. The channel was available in two million cable homes statewide.

September 1991
The channel broadcast oral arguments before the California Supreme Court on the constitutionality of Proposition 140 on September 12, 1991. The channel was available in two million cable homes in California on Mondays and Thursdays from 10am until 3pm.

January 1992
The channel broadcast oral arguments before the California Supreme Court on the Master's Reapportionment Plan on January 16, 1992. The channel was available from 10am until 3pm in two million cable homes in the state.

February 1992
Coverage of the state Senate was added to the current programming mix of Assembly floor sessions and committee hearings.

May 1992
The channel expanded programming hours to 20 hours per week and began broadcasting from 12pm to 4pm Monday through Friday on May 18, 1992. The channel was carried by cable systems to 2.5 million homes in the state.

June 1992
A donation of satellite time from TCI, Inc. allowed the channel to expand hours beginning June 16, 1992. The expanded hours allowed the channel to provide coverage of the extended budget battle as the legislature debated billion dollar budget deficits and emergency relief efforts in the aftermath of the Oakland Hills fire, the Ferndale earthquake, and the Los Angeles Riots. New programming hours were 9am until 4pm Monday through Friday for the remainder of 1992.

January 1993
The channel began televising the 1993 legislative session on January 4, 1993 from 11am to 4pm Monday through Friday. Programming hours did not change during 1993. The channel was available in over 2.8 million homes throughout the state.

October 1993
The California Cable Television Industry assumed responsibility for the governance and financial viability of the channel. The non-cable founding board members resigned and cable television industry representatives were elected to fill the vacated board seats.

March 1994
The channel expanded programming hours to offer legislative and public affairs programming from 9am through 3:45pm Monday through Friday. The channel was available on 82 cable systems serving 3.2 million homes in the state.

August 1994
The Legislature launched The Legischool Project. The Project is a bi-partisan collaboration of the Legislature and California State University consisting of a video library, classroom lesson plans, and town hall meetings. It is designed to educate high school students about government and heighten their awareness of civic issues and responsibility. The California Channel agreed to broadcast the town hall meetings live.

January 1995
Programming hours remained 9am through 3:45pm Monday through Friday for the 1995 legislative session. The channel was available to 90 cable systems serving 3.9 million cable subscribers in the state.

March 1995
The California Channel served as sole "gavel-to-gavel" distributor of hearings on the Orange County Fiscal Crisis which took place in the first quarter of 1995. The channel also served as a valuable resource and provided coverage of these hearings to a number of news organizations and other agencies both inside and outside of California, including many firms on New York City's Wall Street.

April 1995
The California State Assembly began providing two microwave feeds for televising their floor sessions and committee hearings. The California Channel was now receiving two Senate feeds and two Assembly feeds, allowing for greater parity in programming.

December 1995
The California Channel was available on 94 cable systems serving 4.4 million cable subscribers.

January 1996
The California Channel served as the state's primary news source for live coverage of the Governor's 1996 State of the State Address and the legislative response. The channel purchased additional satellite time and expanded hours for purposes of broadcasting the event live. Normal broadcast hours continued to be 9am through 3:45pm Monday through Friday.

May 1996
The California Channel was available to 99 cable systems serving 4.5 million cable subscribers.

June 1996
The California Channel launched an Internet Web Page featuring information about the channel's operations, funding history, editorial endorsements, mission statement and weekly programming schedule.

November 1996
The California Channel was available to 104 cable systems serving 4.6 million cable subscribers

March 1997
The California Channel began delivering its satellite signal in a compressed, digital format, utilizing Scientific Atlanta's PowerVu System.

June 1997
The California Channel provided extended coverage of the Legislative Budget Deliberations with expanded broadcast hours of 9am to 8pm. The network was available to 4.8 million homes.

August 1997
On August 6th, The California Channel transmitted the first ever live broadcast from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as they heard oral arguments regarding California's Proposition 140, the 1990 Legislative Term Limit Law.

August 1997
The California Channel was presented a special Diamond Award for Programming Excellency by the Southern California Cable and Telecommunications Association.

August 1997
The California Channel was recognized by the South Bay Producers Guild with their Media Arts Award for Outstanding Service to Community and Communication. California State Senator Ralph Dills joined with the South Bay Producers Guild in recognizing and presenting the network with this award.

November 1997
On November 20th, The California Channel, in partnership with C-SPAN, transmits the first ever live broadcast of an En Banc hearing of a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, as the 9th Circuit Court heard arguments in Rand v. Rowland and in Bates v. Jones

March 1998
The California Channel announces Cable's Free Airtime for Candidates program. The Channel, in partnership with The League of Women Voters of California and the California Voter Foundation will produce five minute one-on-one interviews with all bona fide general election candidates for statewide office.

April 1998
The California Channel began delivering legislative hearings over the internet through RealVideo.

September 1998
The California Channel began distribution of Cable's Free Airtime for Candidates. The network, in partnership with The League of Women Voters of California and the California Voter Foundation produced one-on-one interviews with all bona fide candidates for the General Election for the following offices: Governor; Lieutenant Governor; Attorney General; Controller; Treasurer; Secretary of State; Insurance Commissioner; Superintendent of Public Instruction; U.S. Senate and California Supreme Court.