Cable Television

remember the 1952 Sixth Report and Order?

left gaps in TV coverage
a solution?

Community Antenna Television (CATV)

1949-50 hilly areas in Pennsylvania, Oregon

put an antenna on a hilltop, run coaxial cable to homes

who would do this?
 
1950s - CATV was only a local concern

didn't produce programming

a retransmission service

local governments get involved

need to regulate where cables could run

franchising

how many systems did a community want?

early systems were small, 5-6 channels
 
1950 - 14 systems
1952 - 70 systems
1953 - around 65,000 subscribers
 
broadcaster response?
 

CATV operators not content to be just retransmitters

importing distant signals

local origination

special events

also, found niches in TV markets
 
broadcaster response?

broadcasters push for FCC to regulate CATV
 
1959 - first FCC inquiry into CATV

didn't use spectrum, thus no broadcasting, thus no regulation

(other than licensing microwave relays)
 
1961-1965 the number of cable systems doubles
 
very few multiple systems operators (MSOs)
 

by early 1960s, continued pressure by broadcasters gets FCC to reconsider

FCC begins creating cable regulations
 
1968 Southwestern case bolsters FCC authority

cable is ancillary to broadcasting
 
by 1972

syndication exclusivity - no duplication of programming from distant signals within 15 days before/after local station broadcast

must carry - top 100 markets

limits on signal importation (cable operators have to show no negative impact on broadcasters)

local origination

local access

mandated channels (PEG) public, education, government
 
impact on cable operators?

many sell out to bigger companies
 
the rise of the MSOs
 
is this what broadcasters wanted?
 

slow growth for cable in the 1970s
 
late 70s through the 1980s

a deregulatory philosophy emerges
 
1984 Cable Act
 
a regulatory - deregulatory cycle
often in response to increasing costs/more channels, services
 
1992 Cable Act
 
How did cable become like we know it today?

1. The development of satellites
1957 - Sputnik
1962 Telstar (NASA and AT&T) (military uses)

relays the first television pictures
1962 COMSAT and 1964 Intelsat (role of ITU)
1972 - FCC open skies policy
1974 - first private satellites go up (commercial uses)
 

2. deregulation of TVROs (TV Receive Only antennas)
1979 commercial purchases of TVROs are deregulated

superstations
 
3. pay services
1972 Home Box Office (HBO)

a regional service

satellites open up distribution
 
4. original programming
1979 - ESPN
1980 - CNN
1981 - MTV
 
cable is differentiating itself from the traditional over-the-air networks
 

Impacts
On broadcast television
1979 - 90% of households watch the over-the-air networks during primetime
1988 - 70%
1998 - 60%
2008 - 50%
2021 - 27%
 
rise of streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Apple TV etc.)
2021 - 28%
cable share
2021 - 37%
 
On UHF
UHF and VHF are now both on cable
same quality signal, same audience reach
UHF licenses are claimed
1990 - 550 UHF, 549 VHF
 

On networks
1980s and 1990s are turbulent times at the Big Three (ABC, NBC, CBS)

all three are sold
but, the rise of UHF creates more stations for networks to affiliate with

1986 - FOX
then, later a 5th, 6th and 7th over-the air TV network

UPN, WB, Pax
all three have had troubles (UPN/WB merger - The CW)
 

Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS)
cable isn't the only way to distribute multichannel programming
cable is wired, can it be done wireless?
 
1979 - TVROs deregulated
 
1980 - homes begin to buy satellite dishes

slow diffusion - costs, reception, scrambling
 
1982 - FCC authorizes commercial DBS
 
1984 - first DBS service is operational

doesn't survive
 
1986 - Challenger disaster

Note: DBS doing better in Europe and Asia, why?
 
a key problem - access to programming

1992 Cable Act
growth of DBS
 
 

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