stadium attendance during the 1974 and 1975 seasons, after the excitement of Hank Aaron hitting his then-record-breaking 715th home run (on April 8, 1974) wore off. During the 1970s, Turner syndicated live games to stations (mostly major network affiliates, as the region had few independent stations) throughout Georgia and adjoining states, including Turner-owned WRET (now WCNC-TV) in Charlotte, North Carolina, as WSB-TV had previously done. Usually, the Sunday afternoon game and one game that aired during prime time were provided to these stations, with mid-week game telecasts airing mainly during the summer, when the major networks were airing reruns, a normal practice among the other MLB teams during that era. Also by the mid-1970s, WTCG had already become available on many cable systems in Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina via microwave relay transmission by the mid-1970s, giving the team even further television exposure to its loyal fanbase in the South. A landmark event for WTCG occurred on December 17, 1976, when Turner uplinked the station's signal to the Satcom 1 satellite for distribution to cable providers throughout the United States; as a result, Braves telecasts began airing nationally with the 1977 season. When WTCG reached a significant penetration of Southern U.S. households with cable television service around 1978-1979, Turner discontinued syndicating the team's game broadcasts, making the Braves the first team not to provide live coverage of its games to broadcast television stations outside of those within the team's home market. Turner once famously tried to get Andy Messersmith to use his #17 jersey to promote Superstation WTBS during its early years; the back of the jersey read, "CHANNEL 17." Major League Baseball immediately stopped this plan as, according to MLB rules, team jerseys are not allowed to incorporate advertisements other than that of the jersey's manufacturer. 1980s and early 1990s During the 1980s and 1990s, the Braves game telecasts on TBS received high ratings, usually garnering around a 2.0 or sometimes an even higher ratings share. Around this time, the station referred to the franchise as "America's team" in a promotional campaign. WTBS petitioned for the rights to produce a locally originated broadcast of the 1982 National League Championship Series, in which the Braves played against the St. Louis Cardinals. Following a decision from the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, Major League Baseball blocked it from carrying the series on the grounds that as a cable