[1] The channel's format consisted of 18-minute-long rotating newscasts with the remaining time in each half-hour block allocated for a regional news summary; this lent credence to SNC's slogan, "Give us 18 minutes, we'll give you the world," which was derived through Group W's experience in all-news radio.

[2][3] The regional summaries were sectioned by "zones", and often originated from either ABC affiliates (such as KOMO-TV in Seattle) or Group W stations (such as KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh).

[4] CNN founder Ted Turner subsequently announced plans to launch a spin-off service, CNN2 (later renamed CNN Headline News shortly after SNC's launch; it is now named HLN), which originally maintained a format similar to that being planned by the Satellite News Channel – albeit with newscasts running in 30-minute intervals – as a preemptive strike against the ABC/Group W venture.

CNN2 made its launch on January 1, 1982, on participating cable systems across the county as well as through a sneak preview block on sister channel Superstation WTBS.

[citation needed][5] The network utilized footage from ABC News for its reports and maintained seven newsgathering and reporting crews based in Washington, D.C. At launch, Satellite News Channel compensated participating cable operators to carry the channel, contrary to the standard of the period in which cable channels charged a nominal fee per subscriber for carriage.

[5] The network and its satellite transponder space was eventually purchased by CNN's corporate parent, the Turner Broadcasting System.

For a brief time after SNC shut down, its theme music was used by fellow Connecticut cable network ESPN.