History YMMV / Network

* MemeticMutation: Beale's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGiX5tbLKiY "mad as Hell" speech]], both in-universe and in RealLife as well.

** This is also a source of FridgeHorror both in the film and in real life. Beale, in the midst of a mental breakdown, is being exploited by those around him for the sake of ratings, [[spoiler:and he is ultimately murdered because his ratings slip.]] While he hasn’t explicitly stated this, Glenn Beck has obliquely hinted in recent years that he was suffering from psychological disorders during his tenure at Creator/{{HLN}} and Creator/FoxNewsChannel, which leads to the inevitable question of whether he was also being exploited at the time.

** Max makes a joke early on about besting Creator/{{Disney}} if UBS ever aired Howard’s “Execution of the Week”. Such a notion today (or for much of the company’s existence) would be highly laughable, but at the time of the film’s release, Disney was smack dab in the middle of its decades-long DorkAge (especially regarding [[Creator/WaltDisneyPictures its live-action output]]), so even a joking notion like Max’s would have been easier to imagine then.

* EvilIsSexy: Diana is arguably the most morally bankrupt person in the entire cast, but she's still played by the stunning Creator/FayeDunaway.

* HilariousInHindsight: The parent company of UBS, Communications Corporation of America, is depicted as a media conglomerate large enough to be able to operate a major television network (albeit one that played second fiddle to the real-life “Big Three” networks) that would be bought by a Saudi-backed investment corporation. Fast forward 13 years after the film’s release to the founding of a real-life broadcasting company of the same name that would go on to own several major network affiliates (primarily concentrated, with a few exceptions, in Texas and Louisiana); the real-life CCA would be plagued by financial problems throughout much of the 2000s and early 2010s (filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2006), ultimately selling its stations to the much larger Nexstar Media Group in 2014.

* HilariousInHindsight: The parent company of UBS, Communications Corporation of America, is depicted as a media conglomerate large enough to be able to operate a major television network (albeit one that played second fiddle to the real-life “Big Three” networks) that would be bought by a Saudi-backed investment corporation. Fast forward 13 years after the film’s release to the founding of a real-life broadcasting company of the same name as UBS’s owners that would go on to own several major network affiliates (primarily concentrated, with a few exceptions, in Texas and Louisiana); the real-life CCA would be plagued by financial problems throughout much of the 2000s and early 2010s (filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2006), ultimately selling its stations to the much larger Nexstar Media Group in 2014.

* HilariousInHindsight: The parent company of UBS, Communications Corporation of America, is depicted as a media conglomerate large enough to be able to operate a major television network (albeit one that played second fiddle to the real-life “Big Three” networks). Fast forward 13 years after the film’s release, the fictional company’s name was repurposed for a real-life broadcasting company that owned several major network affiliates (primarily concentrated, with a few exceptions, in Texas and Louisiana); the real-life CCA, in contrast, would eventually be plagued by financial problems throughout much of the 2000s and early 2010s (filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2006), ultimately selling its stations to the much larger Nexstar Media Group in 2014.

* HilariousInHindsight: The parent company of UBS, Communications Corporation of America, is depicted as a media conglomerate large enough to be able to operate a major television network (albeit one that played second fiddle to the real-life “Big Three” networks). Fast forward 13 years after the film’s release, the fictional company’s name was repurposed for a real-life broadcasting company that owned several major network affiliates (primarily concentrated, with a few exceptions, in Texas and Louisiana); the real-life CCA, in contrast, would eventually be plagued by financial problems that hampered the company for years (filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2006), ultimately selling its stations to the much larger Nexstar Media Group in 2014.

* HilariousInHindsight: The parent company of UBS, Communications Corporation of America, is depicted as a media conglomerate large enough to be able to operate a major television network (albeit one that played second fiddle to the real-life “Big Three” networks). Fast forward 13 years after the film’s release, the fictional company’s name was repurposed for a real-life broadcasting company that owned several major network affiliates (primarily concentrated, with a few exceptions, in Texas and Louisiana); the real-life CCA, in contrast, would eventually be plagued by financial problems (filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2006), and would later sell its stations (which were primarily concentrated in Texas and Louisiana) to Nexstar Media Group in 2014.

* NamesTheSame: The name of the parent company of the fictional UBS, Communications Corporation of America, was later repurposed by a real-life television broadcasting company that was founded 13 years after the film’s release. Unlike the fictional CCA, itself large enough to own a major network (albeit one that played second fiddle to the real-life “Big Three” networks), the real-world broadcaster was later plagued by financial problems and went bankrupt in 2006; the company would sell its stations (which were primarily concentrated in Texas and Louisiana) to Nexstar Media Group in 2014.

** Max makes a joke early on about besting UsefulNotes/{{Disney}} if UBS ever aired Howard’s “Execution of the Week”. Such a notion today (or for much of the company’s existence) would be highly laughable, but at the time of the film’s release, Disney was smack dab in the middle of its DorkAge (especially regarding its live-action output), so even a joking notion like Max’s would have been easier to imagine.

** Max makes a joke early on about besting Disney if it ever aired Howard’s “Execution of the Week”. Such a notion today (or for much of the company’s existence) would be highly laughable, but at the time of the film’s release, Disney was smack dab in the middle of its DorkAge (especially regarding its live-action output), so even a joking notion like Max’s would have been easier to imagine.

* ValuesResonance: This film's satirical take on news channels only grows more relevant with every passing year - still ringing every bit as true in the 21st century (if not moreso) as in 1976. With the rise of social media and the spread of sites and accounts using misinformation for engagement, the film's criticism of sensationalism and manipulation is as strong as ever even outside of the context of news channels.

* ValuesResonance: This film's satirical take on news channels only grows more relevant with every passing year - still ringing every bit as true in the 21st century (if not moreso) as in 1976.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: ** Arthur Jensen’s speech: is it exaggerated deliberately to emulate Howard’s style in order to convince Howard to switch sides? Or is he truly so fanatical a believer in his own philosophy that Howard had indeed pressed his BerserkButton?