The Vanderbilt Television News Archive offers limited access to historical news content through a lending service for U.S.-based users. Loans are delivered digitally through this website automatically after checkout, and includes the option to download the content. Access to borrowed items automatically expire from your account after 14 days. To comply with the terms of the copyright law, collection materials are considered a loan.
Public Research
Due to the nature of archived television material, immediate public video access is prohibited. However, we have several ways to access our collection:
- Remote Loan Requests (fees apply): View or download items remotely through our loan request process, for a fee. Prices are listed below. After creating an account and logging in, click “Add Clip” to add an item to your basket, then proceed to checkout. For step-by-step instructions on creating a loan request, please visit our tutorial.
- Visit (free) the TVNA in Nashville, Tennessee and view archived videos. For more information, see the Visit page.
- Visit (free) the Moving Image Research Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
Academic Research
Students, faculty and staff at Vanderbilt University, along with colleges and universities that sponsor the Television News Archive can borrow items for free; however, additional viewing limits apply. Visit the Sponsorship page for more details.
Terms of Use
Copyright Public Law 94-553 includes provisions effective January 1, 1978, regarding copyright of audiovisual works and archiving of television news broadcasts. We do not sell the videos nor license their content. Duplicating or republishing all or a portion of borrowed content may be a violation of copyright laws. Because of the stipulations in copyright legislation, all transactions of the Vanderbilt University Television News Archive are loans from a library.
Pricing for Loan Requests
There are no fees to access the collection in person at the Television News Archive in Nashville, Tennessee. Users affiliated with sponsoring institutions can access a limited number of recordings per month for free. For public users located in the U.S. wishing to view and borrow content remotely, the following processing fees are collected before checkout:
- $20 for news and commercial segments.
- $30 for specials with a runtime less than 20 minutes.
- $60 for specials over 20 minutes and full evening news broadcasts.
Video Quality Details
We currently loan H.264 MP4 video formats, typically 720 x 480-pixel dimensions, with an overall average bitrate of 4000kb/s.
All videos include the date, broadcast network, and timecode burned into the upper third of every frame. This time-date-line ensures the provenance of the source material and cannot be removed.
From 1968 to 1979 the TV News Archive holdings are only available in black and white because of the format used for recording.
Research Support
The TVNA staff are happy to help you navigate the database, refine search strategies, and offer our insight into possible alternative sources of historical footage. Archive staff will provide researchers with approximately 30-minutes of research support, including reviewing specific video assets to answer specific questions. If your research question exceeds our services, we recommend visiting the archive in person, or exploring independent research services.
Advanced Data Analysis and Consultation Services
The McGee Applied Research Center for Narrative Studies offers data analysis and consultation services utilizing TV News Archive transcripts, descriptive metadata including topics and controlled vocabularies. Schedule a free consultation to determine pricing and possible outputs by contacting the McGee Center.