 Lamb shared his idea with several cable executives, who helped him launch the network.Among them were Bob Rosencrans, who provided $25,000 of initial funding in 1979, and John D. Evans, who provided the wiring and access to the headend needed for the distribution of the C-SPAN signal.According to a report from commentator Jeff Greenfield on Nightline in 1980, C-SPAN was launched to provide televised coverage of U.S. political events in its entirety, thus helping viewers maintaining a thorough view of politics and especially presidential campaigns, unlike television newscasts which "does not really inform us about what the candidates mean to do with the power they ask of us."