Cable television in the United States
Encyclopedia
Cable television
in the United States
is a common form of television
delivery, generally by subscription. Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948, with subscription services in 1949. Data by SNL Kagan
shows that as of 2006 about 58.4% of all American
homes subscribe to basic cable television services. Most cable viewers in the US are in the suburb
s and tend to be middle class; cable television is less common in low income, inner city
, and rural
areas.
commercial broadcasting
television channel
s to remote and inaccessible areas. It also became popular in other areas which were not remote, but whose mountainous terrain caused poor reception over the air. Original television program
ming came in 1972 with government deregulation
of the industry.
While entrepreneurship
played a key role in the early development of CATV, it was not alone. Pioneering technical development was also part of what made that development possible, particularly the work of the Jerrold Electronics
laboratory under the direction of Keneth Alden Simons
. (One instrument that came out of that period, the Jerrold 704B Field strength meter
, was widely used in the cable TV industry for 20 years.)
During the television licensing freeze of 1948–1952, the demand for television increased. Since new television licenses were not being issued, the only way the demand was met was by Community Antenna Television (CATV), as early cable was known (so named because of the literal sharing of a very large receiving antenna by an entire community).
by John Walson to provide television signals to people who bought sets from his appliance store in Mahanoy City, charging $100 per hookup and $2 per month. Mahanoy City was ideally suited for CATV services, since broadcast television signals easily could be received via mountaintop antennas and retransmitted by "twin-lead" or "ladder-lead" cable to the valley community below (where broadcast reception was very poor). Walson's "first" claim is highly disputed, however, since his claimed starting date cannot be verified.
, a town in the same region as Mahanoy City, to offer television signals from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
broadcast stations to homes in Lansford for a fee. The system was featured in stories in the New York Times, Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal. The publicity of this successful early system set off a wave of cable system construction throughout the United States, and Tarlton himself became a highly sought-after consultant.
Tarlton used equipment manufactured by a new company, Jerrold Electronics
. After seeing the success of the Tarlton system in 1950, Jerrold President Milton Shapp
reorganized his company to build equipment for the now-growing cable industry. In 1952, Tarlton went to work for Jerrold, helping to construct most of the major systems built by that company in the 1950s, including the landmark system in Williamsport, Pennsylvania
. Tarlton was also responsible for training many of the major operators of cable systems in the 1950s. In 2003, Mr. Tarlton was inducted in the Cable Television Hall of Fame for his work building the first widely publicized cable television company in America.
A CATV System was developed in the late 1940s by James F. Reynolds
. The cable started in his town of Maple Dale, Pennsylvania, then moved to his hometown in Sandy Lake, further progressing east to Stoneboro and Polk
, and north to Cochranton and Meadville
. Large industrious companies then took the cable invention and began deploying it around the United States. James's company was incorporated as Reynolds TV Cable, in 1975 it was sold to Rick Reynolds. Rick sold the company at a later date.
. A year earlier he and his wife had first seen television at a broadcasters’ convention in Chicago. His wife wanted a set. In the spring of 1948, Parsons learned that radio station KRSC
in Seattle—125 miles away— was going to launch a television station that fall. He found that with a large antenna he could receive KRSC's signal on the roof of the Astoria Hotel and from there he ran coaxial cable across the street to his apartment. When the station (now KING-TV
) went on the air in November 1948, Parsons was the only one in town able to see television. Soon others in town wanted the same service, and Parsons helped them hook up to the system. He charged them a fee for his work and materials but never instituted a monthly service charge. In May 1968, Parsons was acknowledged as the father of community antenna television. Former Astoria resident Byron Roman was also involved in early cable invention and distribution. According to MSNBC
's Bob Sullivan, however, Parsons charged a $125 one-time set-up fee and a $3 a month service fee.
CableLabs works with members to determine what service requirements are to be supported by new technologies and new services. CableLabs then seeks to support those requirements through open interface specifications, written in tandem with members and suppliers. The specifications, in turn, take much of the guess work out of vendors' engineering decisions as to where cable operators are moving with many of their new businesses. These freely published specifications are available at www.cablelabs.com.
This process is designed to get products to market more quickly and at lower price points due to global economies of scale. Innovation is driven by a multiplicity of working relationships between suppliers and CableLabs staff: Visiting engineers and contributing engineers from these vendor organizations create a pool of thousands of individuals providing innovative input to the work performed at CableLabs. Development undertaken at CableLabs and endorsed by the cable industry has led to relationships among companies never before known within the cable market.
The key CableLabs technology projects– OpenCable (for interactive digital video and known as Tru2way in the retail market), DOCSIS for high speed Internet access/broadband, PacketCable for digital voice and multimedia, and Cable Information Services open the door to cable establishing a national footprint for rolling out new services. CableLabs' facilitation of intellectual property rights (IPR) discussions minimizes exposure to intellectual property risk for companies entering the marketplace.
CableLabs has approximately 160 employees with an additional on-site population of visiting engineers and consultants.
(FCC), sent a letter to a CATV pioneer in Astoria, Oregon
, L.E. Parsons, requesting he "furnish the Commission full information with respect to the nature of the system you may have developed and may be operating." He did. This is the first known involvement of the FCC in CATV. An FCC lawyer, E. Stratford Smith, determined the Commission could exercise common carrier
jurisdiction over CATV. The FCC didn't act on this opinion and Smith later changed his mind after working in the cable industry for some time and testifying in Senate
committee hearings. Senator and future Federal Communications Commissioner Kenneth A. Cox attended and participated in these hearings. He prepared a report for the Senate Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce against CATV and supporting the FCC policy of a television station in every community.
In 1959 and 1961 bills were introduced in Congress that would have determined the role of the FCC in CATV policy. The 1959 bill, which made it to the floor of the Senate, would have limited FCC jurisdiction to CATV systems within the contours, i.e. the broadcast range, of a single station. It was defeated. The 1961 bill proposed by the FCC would have given the Commission authority over CATV as CATV, and not as a common carrier or broadcaster. The Commission could then adopt rules and regulations "in the public interest" to govern CATV in any area covered both by CATV and broadcast television. No action was ever taken on this bill.
More important than Congressional action in determining Federal Communications Commission CATV policy were court cases and FCC hearings. Frontier Broadcasting Co. v. Collier was a hearing in which broadcasters tried to get the FCC to exercise common carrier authority over 288 CATV systems in 36 states. The broadcasters maintained that CATV went against the FCC's Sixth Report and Order, which advocated at least one television station in every community. In 1958, the FCC decided that CATV was not really a common carrier since the subscriber did not determine the programming. Carter Mountain Transmission Corp., a common carrier that already transmitted television signals by microwave to CATV systems in several Wyoming towns, wanted to add a second signal to two of the towns and add two signals to a previously unserved town. A television station in one town opposed this and protested to the FCC on the grounds of economic damage. A hearing examiner supported Carter Mountain but the Commission supported the television station. The case was taken to appeal, as most are, and the Federal Communications Commission won. "The fact that no broadcaster has actually gone off the air due to CATV competition at the time the government moved to expand its authority (nor have any since) did not stay the momentum for the expansion of regulatory authority. That some economic impact was merely plausible sufficed as the basis for government concern and government action." The FCC overruled a hearing examiner in favor of broadcasters again in the "San Diego Case". The CATV systems in San Diego, California
wanted to import stations from Los Angeles, some of which could be seen in San Diego; the television stations in San Diego didn't want the signals imported. The television stations won, not allowing the signals on future cable lines in San Diego and its environs. The FCC's reasoning was to protect the present and future ultra high frequency
stations in San Diego.
In the First Report and Order by the Federal Communications Commission on CATV the FCC gave itself the power to regulate CATV. This Report and Order was designed to protect small town television stations. It did this by imposing two rules, which in slightly altered form still stand: one requires that a CATV system carry all local stations in which the CATV system is in the A (best reception) contour of the station. The second prohibits the importation of programs from a non-local station that duplicates programming on a local station if the duplication is shown either 15 days before or 15 days after its local airing. This 1965 report reasoning is as follows: 1) CATV should carry local stations because CATV supplements, not replaces, local stations and the non-carriage of local stations gives distant stations an advantage since people will not change from the cable to the antenna to see a local station; 2) non-carriage is "inherently contrary to the public interest"; 3) CATV duplication of local programming via distant signals is unfair since broadcasters and CATV do not compete for programs on an equal footing; the FCC recommends "a reasonable measure of exclusivity".
The 1966 Second Report and Order made some minor changes in the First Report and Order and added a major regulation. This was designed to protect UHF stations in large cities. The new rule disallowed the importation of distant signals into the top 100 markets, thus making CATV at that time profitable only in cities with poor reception. In 1968 the Supreme Court upheld the FCC's right to make rules and regulations concerning CATV. In its decision on United States v. Southwestern Cable, the "San Diego Case", it said "the Commission's authority over 'all interstate ... communications by wire or radio' permits the regulation of CATV systems."
of programming by April 1, 1971. The date was later suspended. In 1972, Dean Burch
steered the FCC into a new area of regulation. It lifted its restrictions on CATV in large cities, but now put the burden of more local programming
on CATV operators. In 1976, the FCC used its rule-making power to require that new systems now had to have 20 channels, and that cable providers with systems of 3500 subscribers or more had to provide Public, educational, and government access
(PEG) services with facilities and equipment necessary to use this channel capacity
.
or premium programming. Basic cable TV networks are generally transmitted without any television encryption
or other scrambling methods and thus anyone connected to the cable TV system can receive the basic channel. Basic cable networks receive at least some funding through "per-subscriber fees
," fees paid by the cable TV systems for the right to include the television network
in its channel lineup. Most basic cable TV networks also include advertising
to supplement the fees, since their programming costs typically are not covered by per-subscriber fees alone.
The first basic cable network, launched via satellite in 1976, was Ted Turner
's superstation WTCG (Turner Communications Group), Channel 17, Atlanta. Turner subsequently obtained call sign WTBS
(Turner Broadcasting Corporation), and continued to operate it as a broadcast station operating on Channel 17, Atlanta. During the 1990s, the company split the Atlanta broadcast station from the satellite-delivered cable channel, renamed the cable channel "TBS Superstation," and marketed it to the cable TV industry as a "free market superstation."
The FCC's definition of "superstation
" is a popular broadcast station whose signal has been uplinked to satellite for redistribution by local cable systems outside the station's local and regional coverage area. By that definition, "TBS Superstation" is not a superstation.
The second basic cable network was televangelist
Pat Robertson
's Christian Broadcasting Network
, CBN Cable, a christian television satellite
service he launched as a more efficient way to distribute the programming. For years, CBN Cable mixed religious broadcasting
with classic television reruns to fill out its 24-hour schedule. The network changed its name to The Family Channel in the 1980s, and after its sale to American Broadcasting Company
(ABC) and was renamed ABC Family
.
systems of the 1950s and 1960s and early cable (CATV) operators' small efforts to add extra channels to their systems that were not derived from broadcast
signals.
In more recent years, Premium cable refers to networks, such as Home Box Office
(HBO), Cinemax
, Showtime, Starz, and the Disney Channel
(prior to 1997) that scramble or encrypt their signals so that only those paying additional monthly fees to their cable TV system can legally view them (via the use of a Cable converter box
). Because their programming is commercial-free (except for promos in-between shows for the networks' own content), these Television network
command much higher fees from cable TV systems.
In 1975, HBO was the first cable network to be delivered nationwide by satellite
transmission. Prior to this, starting in 1972, it had been quietly providing pay programming to CATV systems in Pennsylvania
and New York
, using microwave
technology for transmission. HBO was also the first true premium cable (or "pay-cable") network. However, there were notable precursors to premium cable in the pay-television industry that operated during the 1950s and 1960s (with a few systems lingering until 1980).
There are several features of modern cable programming that distinguish it from broadcast television. Because cable television carries more bandwidth
than broadcast TV (10 to 20 times as many channels), there is channel capacity
for more specialty channel
s catering to particular television marketdemographics or interests. Also, because cable TV networks rely much less, or in some cases not at all, on revenue from television commercials, they can feature programming (such as specialty sports television or programming in foreign languages) that draws much smaller viewer numbers than what television networks would find acceptable. And finally, since cable TV channels cannot be viewed by those (e.g., children) without the proper equipment, the Federal Communications Commission
's (FCC) rules regarding acceptable content do not apply to cable TV networks, allowing greater freedom in the use of profanity, sex and violence.
The lack of restrictions on content has led to cable TV programs with more adult-oriented content. Premium cable networks have traditionally been the loosest with regard to content, since they require a cable converter to view, making it easier to restrict children’s access to them. Thus, one can find nudity
, strong language, and even pornography
on these networks. Basic cable, on the other hand, has not traditionally been as loose with regard to content. While there are no FCC rules that apply to content on basic cable networks, many basic cable networks self-regulate
their program content because of viewer and advertiser
expectations, particularly with regard to language and nudity. In recent years though, some basic cable networks have begun to relax their self-imposed restrictions, particularly late at night. Thus, programs like Comedy Central
’s South Park
often contain content deemed unsuitable for U.S. broadcast TV. Networks have recently aired R-rated movies, uncut, late at night. Other networks such as FX have begun to position themselves as a lighter version of premium stations by developing shows that attract such critical acclaim that sponsors will overlook controversial content for solid demographics. Turner Classic Movies
(TCM), Independent Film Channel (IFC) and Sundance Channel are commercial-free basic cable channels that are uncensored and from time to time are known to show R-rated movies on their channel (which are far more prevalent on IFC and Sundance Channel, though all three channels do not use the Motion Picture Association of America
(MPAA) ratings for any of its films, instead rating films using the TV Parental Guidelines
) and films may feature nudity, sexual content, violence and profanity.
television becomes popular, although technically, analog cable television would be sufficient if all channels were scrambled, as it is very difficult to notch out individual channels from a cable TV line without scrambling. For example, many cable providers have a "basic plan" consisting of local channels and a few national cable networks; and an "economy basic" plan consisting of local channels only. Both plans are supplied on the same cable, but the cable company can filter out the expanded channels to the "economy basic" subscribers using a low-pass filter, which filters out higher channels. Notch filters are available which can filter out a "notch" of channels (for example, channels 45-50 can be "notched" out yet the subscriber can receive channels below 45 and higher than 50). However, to do this individually for a single subscriber who wants many "notches," would be very difficult unless a scrambling system is used requiring a set-top box. These problems are alleviated with the use of digital cable, which requires a set-top converter box. This converter can be programmed remotely to allow or disallow access to channels on an individual basis. The use of IPTV
(i.e., delivery of television over an internet or IP-based network) makes it even easier, since the provisioning of channels can be fully automated.
The current cable and satellite delivery systems provide an opportunity for networks that service niche and minority audiences to reach millions of households, and potentially, millions of viewers. Since à la carte could force each channel to be sold individually, many of these networks could face a significant reduction in subscription fees and advertising revenue, potentially driving them out of business. For these reasons, cable/satellite providers and programmers are reluctant to introduce an à la carte business model. Others however believe that by allowing a less expensive entry point into the cable marketplace the à la carte option would actually increase overall sales through the addition of new subscribers. Often when programming distributors would like to sell channels à la carte they are prevented by the contract that they have with the programmer which forces an all-or-nothing approach.
On June 14, 2007, United States Representatives Dan Lipinski
(Democrat
, Illinois
) and Jeff Fortenberry
(Republican
, Nebraska
) introduced into legislation , the Family and Consumer Choice Act of 2007, which intends to allow subscribers to choose and pay for only the cable television channels that they want to watch. Since January 2008, it is still in committee.
s and taxes are often tacked on by local, state, and federal governments.
Most cable systems divide their channel lineups ("tiers") into three or four basic channel packages. A must-carry
rule requires all cable TV systems to carry all full-power local commercial broadcasting
stations in the designated television market on their lineups, unless those stations opt to invoke retransmission consent
and demand compensation, in which case the cable provider can decline to carry the channel. Cable TV systems are also required to offer a subscription package that provides these broadcast channels at a lower rate than the standard subscription rate. The basic programming package offered by cable TV systems is usually known as "basic cable" and provides access to a large number of cable TV channels, as well as broadcast television networks (e.g., ABC
, CBS
, The CW Television Network
, Fox broadcasting, NBC
, Public Broadcast Service
(PBS), local-access television
channels, free public service channels such as C-SPAN
and NASA TV
, and several channels devoted to infomercial
s and home shopping
to defray costs. Some providers may provide a small number of national cable networks in their basic lineups. Most systems differentiate between basic cable, which has locals, home shopping channels and local-access television channels, and expanded basic (or "standard"), which carries most of the better-known national cable television networks. Most basic cable lineups have approximately 20 channels overall, while expanded basic has channel capacity
for as many as 70 channels. Under U.S. regulations, the price of basic cable can be regulated by local authorities as part of their franchise agreements, usually costing less than US$
20 per month. Standard, or expanded basic, cable is not subject to price controls. In addition to the basic cable packages, all systems offer premium channel add-on packages offering either just one premium network (e.g. HBO) or several premium networks for one price (e.g. HBO and Showtime together). Finally, most cable systems offer pay per view channels where users can watch individual movies, live programs, sports, etc. for an additional fee for single viewing at a scheduled time. (This is generally the only place where pornography
airs on American cable.) Some cable systems have begun to offer on-demand programming
, where customers can select programs from a list of offerings including recent releases of movies, concerts, sports, first-run TV shows and specials and start the program whenever they wish, as if they were watching a DVD or a VHS tape. Some of the offerings have a cost similar to renting a movie at a video store while others are free.
Starting in the late 1990s, advances in digital signal processing
(primarily Motorola's DigiCipher 2
video compression technology in North America
) have given rise to wider implementation of digital cable
services. Digital cable provides many more television channels over the same available bandwidth, by converting cable TV channels to a digital signal and then compressing the signal. Currently, most systems offer a hybrid analog/digital cable system. This means they offer a certain number of analog channels via basic cable service with additional channels being made available via digital cable service. Thus subscribers wishing to have access to digital cable channels must have a special cable converter box
, (or, more recently, a "Digital Cable Ready" TV and a CableCARD
) to receive them. Additional subscription fees are also usually required to receive these digital channels.
Digital cable channels are touted as being able to offer a higher quality picture than their analog counterparts. This is often true, with a dramatic improvement in chroma resolution (120 lines for NTSC versus 270 for digital). However digital compression has a tendency to soften the quality of the television picture, particularly of channels that are more heavily compressed. Pixelation and other artifacts are often visible.
Many cable systems operate as de facto monopolies in the United States. While exclusive franchises are currently prohibited by federal law, and relatively few franchises were ever expressly exclusive, frequently only one cable company offers cable service in a given community. Overbuilders in the US, other than telephone companies with existing infrastructure, have traditionally had severe difficulty in financial and market penetration numbers. Overbuilders have had some success in the MDU market, in which relationships are established with landlords, sometimes with contracts and exclusivity agreements for the buildings, sometimes to the anger of tenants. The rise of Direct Broadcast Satellite
systems providing the same type of programming using small satellite receivers, and of Verizon FiOS
and other recent ventures by ILECs such as U-verse
, have also provided competition to incumbent cable TV systems.
typically charges $4.69 per subscriber per monthhttp://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/pn_foes_grow_YIO92AxAE3kOE66mobOoUI?CMP=OTC-rss&FEEDNAME= for access to its main channel alone (plus another $1.13 for the rest of its English-language channels),http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/files/2010/03/cable-sub-fees.png the highest of any non-premium American cable channel and comparable to the premium channels. Other widely viewed cable channels have been able to command fees of over 50 cents per subscriber per month; channels can vary widely in fees depending on if they are included in package deals with other channels.
The fees for local broadcast stations vary depending on retransmission consent
deals, and can range from a simple barter (carrying a digital subchannel
or low-power sister station) to as high as $1.00 per subscriber per month. If a full-power local broadcast station does not have the clout to demand a retransmission consent fee but still wants to be carried on cable television, it can invoke must-carry
and force cable operators to carry the channel; using must-carry, however, requires the station not collect any fees for the right to be carried on cable. Many cable channels do not charge subscriber fees, and in the case of infomercial
, home shopping
, and low-power channels not covered under must-carry, may even pay the cable provider for carriage.
Top 10 Largest Cable Companies by subscribershttp://www.ncta.com/Stats/TopMSOs.aspx
Top 10 Ad-Supported Cable Networks among Viewers—Summer 2009 Prime time
http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/08/mostwatched-summer-ever-royal-pains-tops-new-cable.html
Top 10 Ad-Supported Cable Networks among Viewers—Summer 2009 Total Dayhttp://www.thrfeed.com/2009/08/mostwatched-summer-ever-royal-pains-tops-new-cable.html
s in USA.http://www.officialusa.com/stateguides/media/television/cablecompanies.html
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is a common form of television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
delivery, generally by subscription. Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948, with subscription services in 1949. Data by SNL Kagan
SNL Financial
SNL Financial LC is a financial information firm headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia. SNL collects, standardizes and publishes corporate, financial, market and M&A data, plus news and analysis, on more than 4,000 public companies and over 50,000 private companies in these industries:...
shows that as of 2006 about 58.4% of all American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
homes subscribe to basic cable television services. Most cable viewers in the US are in the suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s and tend to be middle class; cable television is less common in low income, inner city
Inner city
The inner city is the central area of a major city or metropolis. In the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland, the term is often applied to the lower-income residential districts in the city centre and nearby areas...
, and rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
areas.
Early history
Cable television in the United States in its first twenty-four years was used almost exclusively to relay over-the-airTerrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
commercial broadcasting
Commercial broadcasting
Commercial broadcasting is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship...
television channel
Television channel
A television channel is a physical or virtual channel over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the broadcast or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with carrier frequencies of 55.25 MHz for NTSC analog video and...
s to remote and inaccessible areas. It also became popular in other areas which were not remote, but whose mountainous terrain caused poor reception over the air. Original television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
ming came in 1972 with government deregulation
Deregulation
Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
of the industry.
While entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur, which can be defined as "one who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods". This may result in new organizations or may be part of revitalizing mature organizations in response...
played a key role in the early development of CATV, it was not alone. Pioneering technical development was also part of what made that development possible, particularly the work of the Jerrold Electronics
Jerrold Electronics
Jerrold Electronics was a provider of cable television equipment, including subscriber converter boxes, distribution network equipment , and headend equipment in the United States.-History:...
laboratory under the direction of Keneth Alden Simons
Keneth Alden Simons
Keneth Alden Simons was an American electrical engineer best known for his pioneering contributions to the technical development of cable television in the United States, for the most part as chief engineer for the Jerrold Electronics Corporation...
. (One instrument that came out of that period, the Jerrold 704B Field strength meter
Field strength meter
In telecommunications, field strength meter is a measuring device which measures the electric field caused by a transmitter.-The relation between the electric field and the transmitted power:...
, was widely used in the cable TV industry for 20 years.)
During the television licensing freeze of 1948–1952, the demand for television increased. Since new television licenses were not being issued, the only way the demand was met was by Community Antenna Television (CATV), as early cable was known (so named because of the literal sharing of a very large receiving antenna by an entire community).
John Walson
Many people believe that the first system was started in Mahanoy City, PennsylvaniaMahanoy City, Pennsylvania
Mahanoy City is a borough located north by west of Reading and 13 miles southwest of Hazleton, in northern Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania or the southern Coal Region. The name "Mahanoy" is believed to be a variation of the Native American word 'Maghonioy', or "the salt deposits"...
by John Walson to provide television signals to people who bought sets from his appliance store in Mahanoy City, charging $100 per hookup and $2 per month. Mahanoy City was ideally suited for CATV services, since broadcast television signals easily could be received via mountaintop antennas and retransmitted by "twin-lead" or "ladder-lead" cable to the valley community below (where broadcast reception was very poor). Walson's "first" claim is highly disputed, however, since his claimed starting date cannot be verified.
Robert Tarlton
In 1950, Robert Tarlton developed the first commercial cable television system in the United States. Mr. Tarlton organized a group of fellow television set retailers in Lansford, PennsylvaniaLansford, Pennsylvania
Lansford is a borough in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, located northwest of Allentown and 9 miles south of Hazleton. Settled in 1845, Lansford was incorporated in 1876. In 1900, 4,888 people lived in Lansford; in 1910, 8,321 people inhabited it, and in 1940, 8,710 residents called Lansford home....
, a town in the same region as Mahanoy City, to offer television signals from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
broadcast stations to homes in Lansford for a fee. The system was featured in stories in the New York Times, Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal. The publicity of this successful early system set off a wave of cable system construction throughout the United States, and Tarlton himself became a highly sought-after consultant.
Tarlton used equipment manufactured by a new company, Jerrold Electronics
Jerrold Electronics
Jerrold Electronics was a provider of cable television equipment, including subscriber converter boxes, distribution network equipment , and headend equipment in the United States.-History:...
. After seeing the success of the Tarlton system in 1950, Jerrold President Milton Shapp
Milton Shapp
Milton Jerrold Shapp was the 40th Governor of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1971 to 1979 and was the first Jewish governor of Pennsylvania.- Early life :...
reorganized his company to build equipment for the now-growing cable industry. In 1952, Tarlton went to work for Jerrold, helping to construct most of the major systems built by that company in the 1950s, including the landmark system in Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. In 2009, the population was estimated at 29,304...
. Tarlton was also responsible for training many of the major operators of cable systems in the 1950s. In 2003, Mr. Tarlton was inducted in the Cable Television Hall of Fame for his work building the first widely publicized cable television company in America.
A CATV System was developed in the late 1940s by James F. Reynolds
James F. Reynolds
James F. Reynolds was an American businessman, musician and pastor. He is best known for starting the first commercial cable TV system in the United States.-Biography:Born in Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania to Myron M...
. The cable started in his town of Maple Dale, Pennsylvania, then moved to his hometown in Sandy Lake, further progressing east to Stoneboro and Polk
Polk, Pennsylvania
Polk is a borough in Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,031 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Polk is located at ....
, and north to Cochranton and Meadville
Meadville, Pennsylvania
Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is generally considered part of the Pittsburgh Tri-State and is within 40 miles of Erie, Pennsylvania. It was the first permanent settlement in northwest Pennsylvania...
. Large industrious companies then took the cable invention and began deploying it around the United States. James's company was incorporated as Reynolds TV Cable, in 1975 it was sold to Rick Reynolds. Rick sold the company at a later date.
James Y. Davidson
Even though Eastern Pennsylvania, particularly the counties of Schuylkill and Carbon in the anthracite coal region, is known for having several of the earliest CATV systems, there were other CATV entrepreneurs scattered throughout the United States. One was James Y. ("Jimmy") Davidson of Tuckerman, Arkansas.Ed Parsons
Leroy E. "Ed" Parsons is known for building the first system in the U.S. that used coaxial cable, amplifiers, and a community antenna to deliver television signals to an area that otherwise would not have been able to receive broadcast television signals. In 1948, Parsons owned a radio station in Astoria, OregonAstoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
. A year earlier he and his wife had first seen television at a broadcasters’ convention in Chicago. His wife wanted a set. In the spring of 1948, Parsons learned that radio station KRSC
KRSC (AM)
KRSC is a radio station licensed to Othello, Washington, USA. The station is currently owned by Centro Familiar Cristiano....
in Seattle—125 miles away— was going to launch a television station that fall. He found that with a large antenna he could receive KRSC's signal on the roof of the Astoria Hotel and from there he ran coaxial cable across the street to his apartment. When the station (now KING-TV
KING-TV
KING-TV, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Seattle, Washington, affiliated with the NBC network. Owned by Belo Corporation, it broadcasts on UHF digital channel 48. Its offices and broadcasting center are located just east of Seattle Center...
) went on the air in November 1948, Parsons was the only one in town able to see television. Soon others in town wanted the same service, and Parsons helped them hook up to the system. He charged them a fee for his work and materials but never instituted a monthly service charge. In May 1968, Parsons was acknowledged as the father of community antenna television. Former Astoria resident Byron Roman was also involved in early cable invention and distribution. According to MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
's Bob Sullivan, however, Parsons charged a $125 one-time set-up fee and a $3 a month service fee.
Cable television technology
Founded in 1988 by cable television operating companies, Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. (CableLabs) is a non-profit research and development consortium that has cable operators as its members. System operators from around the world are eligible to be members. Members dues are based on revenue generated from the cable services and businesses they sell to consumers. The CableLabs Board of Directors is composed of the Chief Executive Officers of member companies, thus affording business and strategic insight into the technology development process.CableLabs works with members to determine what service requirements are to be supported by new technologies and new services. CableLabs then seeks to support those requirements through open interface specifications, written in tandem with members and suppliers. The specifications, in turn, take much of the guess work out of vendors' engineering decisions as to where cable operators are moving with many of their new businesses. These freely published specifications are available at www.cablelabs.com.
This process is designed to get products to market more quickly and at lower price points due to global economies of scale. Innovation is driven by a multiplicity of working relationships between suppliers and CableLabs staff: Visiting engineers and contributing engineers from these vendor organizations create a pool of thousands of individuals providing innovative input to the work performed at CableLabs. Development undertaken at CableLabs and endorsed by the cable industry has led to relationships among companies never before known within the cable market.
The key CableLabs technology projects– OpenCable (for interactive digital video and known as Tru2way in the retail market), DOCSIS for high speed Internet access/broadband, PacketCable for digital voice and multimedia, and Cable Information Services open the door to cable establishing a national footprint for rolling out new services. CableLabs' facilitation of intellectual property rights (IPR) discussions minimizes exposure to intellectual property risk for companies entering the marketplace.
CableLabs has approximately 160 employees with an additional on-site population of visiting engineers and consultants.
Policy history
On August 1, 1949 T.J. Slowie, a secretary of the Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC), sent a letter to a CATV pioneer in Astoria, Oregon
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
, L.E. Parsons, requesting he "furnish the Commission full information with respect to the nature of the system you may have developed and may be operating." He did. This is the first known involvement of the FCC in CATV. An FCC lawyer, E. Stratford Smith, determined the Commission could exercise common carrier
Common carrier
A common carrier in common-law countries is a person or company that transports goods or people for any person or company and that is responsible for any possible loss of the goods during transport...
jurisdiction over CATV. The FCC didn't act on this opinion and Smith later changed his mind after working in the cable industry for some time and testifying in Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
committee hearings. Senator and future Federal Communications Commissioner Kenneth A. Cox attended and participated in these hearings. He prepared a report for the Senate Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce against CATV and supporting the FCC policy of a television station in every community.
In 1959 and 1961 bills were introduced in Congress that would have determined the role of the FCC in CATV policy. The 1959 bill, which made it to the floor of the Senate, would have limited FCC jurisdiction to CATV systems within the contours, i.e. the broadcast range, of a single station. It was defeated. The 1961 bill proposed by the FCC would have given the Commission authority over CATV as CATV, and not as a common carrier or broadcaster. The Commission could then adopt rules and regulations "in the public interest" to govern CATV in any area covered both by CATV and broadcast television. No action was ever taken on this bill.
More important than Congressional action in determining Federal Communications Commission CATV policy were court cases and FCC hearings. Frontier Broadcasting Co. v. Collier was a hearing in which broadcasters tried to get the FCC to exercise common carrier authority over 288 CATV systems in 36 states. The broadcasters maintained that CATV went against the FCC's Sixth Report and Order, which advocated at least one television station in every community. In 1958, the FCC decided that CATV was not really a common carrier since the subscriber did not determine the programming. Carter Mountain Transmission Corp., a common carrier that already transmitted television signals by microwave to CATV systems in several Wyoming towns, wanted to add a second signal to two of the towns and add two signals to a previously unserved town. A television station in one town opposed this and protested to the FCC on the grounds of economic damage. A hearing examiner supported Carter Mountain but the Commission supported the television station. The case was taken to appeal, as most are, and the Federal Communications Commission won. "The fact that no broadcaster has actually gone off the air due to CATV competition at the time the government moved to expand its authority (nor have any since) did not stay the momentum for the expansion of regulatory authority. That some economic impact was merely plausible sufficed as the basis for government concern and government action." The FCC overruled a hearing examiner in favor of broadcasters again in the "San Diego Case". The CATV systems in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
wanted to import stations from Los Angeles, some of which could be seen in San Diego; the television stations in San Diego didn't want the signals imported. The television stations won, not allowing the signals on future cable lines in San Diego and its environs. The FCC's reasoning was to protect the present and future ultra high frequency
Ultra high frequency
Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...
stations in San Diego.
In the First Report and Order by the Federal Communications Commission on CATV the FCC gave itself the power to regulate CATV. This Report and Order was designed to protect small town television stations. It did this by imposing two rules, which in slightly altered form still stand: one requires that a CATV system carry all local stations in which the CATV system is in the A (best reception) contour of the station. The second prohibits the importation of programs from a non-local station that duplicates programming on a local station if the duplication is shown either 15 days before or 15 days after its local airing. This 1965 report reasoning is as follows: 1) CATV should carry local stations because CATV supplements, not replaces, local stations and the non-carriage of local stations gives distant stations an advantage since people will not change from the cable to the antenna to see a local station; 2) non-carriage is "inherently contrary to the public interest"; 3) CATV duplication of local programming via distant signals is unfair since broadcasters and CATV do not compete for programs on an equal footing; the FCC recommends "a reasonable measure of exclusivity".
The 1966 Second Report and Order made some minor changes in the First Report and Order and added a major regulation. This was designed to protect UHF stations in large cities. The new rule disallowed the importation of distant signals into the top 100 markets, thus making CATV at that time profitable only in cities with poor reception. In 1968 the Supreme Court upheld the FCC's right to make rules and regulations concerning CATV. In its decision on United States v. Southwestern Cable, the "San Diego Case", it said "the Commission's authority over 'all interstate ... communications by wire or radio' permits the regulation of CATV systems."
Public-access television
In 1969 the FCC issued rules requiring all CATV systems with over 3500 subscribers to have facilities for local originationLocal origination
In broadcasting, local origination may refer to:*community radio*community television*local insertion*local programming*public-access television...
of programming by April 1, 1971. The date was later suspended. In 1972, Dean Burch
Dean Burch
Dean Burch served as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from October 31, 1969 to March 8, 1974, and as chairman of the Republican National Convention....
steered the FCC into a new area of regulation. It lifted its restrictions on CATV in large cities, but now put the burden of more local programming
Local programming
The term Local Programme, Local Programming, Local Content or Local Television refers to a television programme made by a television station or independent television producer for broadcast only within the station's transmission area or television market...
on CATV operators. In 1976, the FCC used its rule-making power to require that new systems now had to have 20 channels, and that cable providers with systems of 3500 subscribers or more had to provide Public, educational, and government access
Public, educational, and government access
Public, educational, and government access television, refers to three different cable television specialty channels...
(PEG) services with facilities and equipment necessary to use this channel capacity
Channel capacity
In electrical engineering, computer science and information theory, channel capacity is the tightest upper bound on the amount of information that can be reliably transmitted over a communications channel...
.
Basic cable
Cable television programming is often divided between basic and Pay TVPay TV
Pay television, premium television, or premium channels refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by both analog and digital cable and satellite, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and internet television...
or premium programming. Basic cable TV networks are generally transmitted without any television encryption
Television encryption
Television encryption, often referred to as "scrambling", is encryption used to control access to pay television services, usually cable or satellite television services.-History:...
or other scrambling methods and thus anyone connected to the cable TV system can receive the basic channel. Basic cable networks receive at least some funding through "per-subscriber fees
Subscription business model
The subscription business model is a business model where a customer must pay a subscription price to have access to the product/service. The model was pioneered by magazines and newspapers, but is now used by many businesses and websites....
," fees paid by the cable TV systems for the right to include the television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
in its channel lineup. Most basic cable TV networks also include advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
to supplement the fees, since their programming costs typically are not covered by per-subscriber fees alone.
The first basic cable network, launched via satellite in 1976, was Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
's superstation WTCG (Turner Communications Group), Channel 17, Atlanta. Turner subsequently obtained call sign WTBS
TBS (TV channel)
TBS , stylized in the logo as tbs, is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally known as WTCG, a UHF terrestrial television station that broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia, during the late 1970s...
(Turner Broadcasting Corporation), and continued to operate it as a broadcast station operating on Channel 17, Atlanta. During the 1990s, the company split the Atlanta broadcast station from the satellite-delivered cable channel, renamed the cable channel "TBS Superstation," and marketed it to the cable TV industry as a "free market superstation."
The FCC's definition of "superstation
Superstation
Superstation in United States television can have several meanings. In its most precise meaning, a superstation is defined by the Federal Communications Commission as "A television broadcast station, other than a network station, licensed by the FCC that is secondarily transmitted by a satellite...
" is a popular broadcast station whose signal has been uplinked to satellite for redistribution by local cable systems outside the station's local and regional coverage area. By that definition, "TBS Superstation" is not a superstation.
The second basic cable network was televangelist
Televangelism
Televangelism is the use of television to communicate the Christian faith. The word is a portmanteau of television and evangelism and was coined by Time magazine. A “televangelist” is a Christian minister who devotes a large portion of his ministry to television broadcasting...
Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
's Christian Broadcasting Network
Christian Broadcasting Network
The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is a fundamentalist Christian television broadcasting network in the United States. Its headquarters and main studios are in Virginia Beach, Virginia.-Background:...
, CBN Cable, a christian television satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
service he launched as a more efficient way to distribute the programming. For years, CBN Cable mixed religious broadcasting
Religious broadcasting
Religious broadcasting refers to broadcasting by religious organizations, usually with a religious message. Many religious organizations have long recorded content such as sermons and lectures, and have moved into distributing content on their Internet websites.While this article emphasises...
with classic television reruns to fill out its 24-hour schedule. The network changed its name to The Family Channel in the 1980s, and after its sale to American Broadcasting Company
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
(ABC) and was renamed ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
.
Premium cable
The origins of premium cable lie in two areas: early pay TVPay TV
Pay television, premium television, or premium channels refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by both analog and digital cable and satellite, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and internet television...
systems of the 1950s and 1960s and early cable (CATV) operators' small efforts to add extra channels to their systems that were not derived from broadcast
Broadcast
Broadcast or Broadcasting may refer to:* Broadcasting, the transmission of audio and video signals* Broadcast, an individual television program or radio program* Broadcast , an English electronic music band...
signals.
In more recent years, Premium cable refers to networks, such as Home Box Office
Home Box Office
HBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States, making it the second largest premium network in America . In addition to its U.S...
(HBO), Cinemax
Cinemax
Cinemax, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Max", is a collection of premium television networks that broadcasts primarily feature films, along with softcore erotica, original action series, documentaries and special behind-the-scenes features. Cinemax is operated by Home Box Office, Inc., a...
, Showtime, Starz, and the Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
(prior to 1997) that scramble or encrypt their signals so that only those paying additional monthly fees to their cable TV system can legally view them (via the use of a Cable converter box
Cable converter box
A cable converter box or television converter box is an electronic tuning device that transposes/converts any of the available channels from a cable television service to an analog RF signal on a single channel, usually VHF channel 3 or 4. The device allows a television set that is not “cable...
). Because their programming is commercial-free (except for promos in-between shows for the networks' own content), these Television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
command much higher fees from cable TV systems.
In 1975, HBO was the first cable network to be delivered nationwide by satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
transmission. Prior to this, starting in 1972, it had been quietly providing pay programming to CATV systems in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, using microwave
Microwave
Microwaves, a subset of radio waves, have wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF , and various sources use different boundaries...
technology for transmission. HBO was also the first true premium cable (or "pay-cable") network. However, there were notable precursors to premium cable in the pay-television industry that operated during the 1950s and 1960s (with a few systems lingering until 1980).
There are several features of modern cable programming that distinguish it from broadcast television. Because cable television carries more bandwidth
Bandwidth
Bandwidth is the difference between the upper and lower frequencies in a contiguous set of frequencies. It is typically measured in hertz, and may sometimes refer to passband bandwidth, sometimes to baseband bandwidth, depending on context...
than broadcast TV (10 to 20 times as many channels), there is channel capacity
Channel capacity
In electrical engineering, computer science and information theory, channel capacity is the tightest upper bound on the amount of information that can be reliably transmitted over a communications channel...
for more specialty channel
Specialty channel
A specialty channel can be a commercial broadcasting or non-commercial television channel which consists of television programming focused on a single genre, subject or targeted television market at a specific demographic....
s catering to particular television marketdemographics or interests. Also, because cable TV networks rely much less, or in some cases not at all, on revenue from television commercials, they can feature programming (such as specialty sports television or programming in foreign languages) that draws much smaller viewer numbers than what television networks would find acceptable. And finally, since cable TV channels cannot be viewed by those (e.g., children) without the proper equipment, the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
's (FCC) rules regarding acceptable content do not apply to cable TV networks, allowing greater freedom in the use of profanity, sex and violence.
The lack of restrictions on content has led to cable TV programs with more adult-oriented content. Premium cable networks have traditionally been the loosest with regard to content, since they require a cable converter to view, making it easier to restrict children’s access to them. Thus, one can find nudity
Nudity
Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
, strong language, and even pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
on these networks. Basic cable, on the other hand, has not traditionally been as loose with regard to content. While there are no FCC rules that apply to content on basic cable networks, many basic cable networks self-regulate
Self-policing
Self-policing, a form of self-regulation, is the process whereby an organization is asked, or volunteers, to monitor its own adherence to legal, ethical, or safety standards, rather than have an outside, independent agency such as a governmental entity monitor and enforce those standards.-To the...
their program content because of viewer and advertiser
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
expectations, particularly with regard to language and nudity. In recent years though, some basic cable networks have begun to relax their self-imposed restrictions, particularly late at night. Thus, programs like Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
’s South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
often contain content deemed unsuitable for U.S. broadcast TV. Networks have recently aired R-rated movies, uncut, late at night. Other networks such as FX have begun to position themselves as a lighter version of premium stations by developing shows that attract such critical acclaim that sponsors will overlook controversial content for solid demographics. Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
(TCM), Independent Film Channel (IFC) and Sundance Channel are commercial-free basic cable channels that are uncensored and from time to time are known to show R-rated movies on their channel (which are far more prevalent on IFC and Sundance Channel, though all three channels do not use the Motion Picture Association of America
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
(MPAA) ratings for any of its films, instead rating films using the TV Parental Guidelines
TV Parental Guidelines
The TV Parental Guidelines system was first proposed on December 19, 1996 by the United States Congress, the television industry and the Federal Communications Commission , and went into effect by January 1, 1997 on most major U.S...
) and films may feature nudity, sexual content, violence and profanity.
A la carte cable
There has been a recent push to create laws that force cable providers to allow consumers to purchase individual cable TV channels "à la carte," i.e. to allow them to pick and choose which channels they would like to have available in their homes. This is not likely to occur until digital cableDigital cable
Digital cable is a generic term for any type of cable television distribution using digital video compression or distribution. The technology was originally developed by Motorola.-Background:...
television becomes popular, although technically, analog cable television would be sufficient if all channels were scrambled, as it is very difficult to notch out individual channels from a cable TV line without scrambling. For example, many cable providers have a "basic plan" consisting of local channels and a few national cable networks; and an "economy basic" plan consisting of local channels only. Both plans are supplied on the same cable, but the cable company can filter out the expanded channels to the "economy basic" subscribers using a low-pass filter, which filters out higher channels. Notch filters are available which can filter out a "notch" of channels (for example, channels 45-50 can be "notched" out yet the subscriber can receive channels below 45 and higher than 50). However, to do this individually for a single subscriber who wants many "notches," would be very difficult unless a scrambling system is used requiring a set-top box. These problems are alleviated with the use of digital cable, which requires a set-top converter box. This converter can be programmed remotely to allow or disallow access to channels on an individual basis. The use of IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
(i.e., delivery of television over an internet or IP-based network) makes it even easier, since the provisioning of channels can be fully automated.
The current cable and satellite delivery systems provide an opportunity for networks that service niche and minority audiences to reach millions of households, and potentially, millions of viewers. Since à la carte could force each channel to be sold individually, many of these networks could face a significant reduction in subscription fees and advertising revenue, potentially driving them out of business. For these reasons, cable/satellite providers and programmers are reluctant to introduce an à la carte business model. Others however believe that by allowing a less expensive entry point into the cable marketplace the à la carte option would actually increase overall sales through the addition of new subscribers. Often when programming distributors would like to sell channels à la carte they are prevented by the contract that they have with the programmer which forces an all-or-nothing approach.
On June 14, 2007, United States Representatives Dan Lipinski
Dan Lipinski
Daniel William Lipinski is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Democratic Party.The district includes much of the southwest side of Chicago, along with such suburbs as Oak Lawn and Brookfield....
(Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
) and Jeff Fortenberry
Jeff Fortenberry
Jeffrey Lane "Jeff" Fortenberry, born December 27, 1960) is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district is based in Lincoln and includes most of the eastern third of the state outside the immediate Omaha area.-Early life, education and...
(Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
) introduced into legislation , the Family and Consumer Choice Act of 2007, which intends to allow subscribers to choose and pay for only the cable television channels that they want to watch. Since January 2008, it is still in committee.
Cable television fees and programming lineups
Cable TV systems impose a monthly fee depending on the number and perceived quality of the channels offered. Cable TV subscribers are offered various packages of channels one can subscribe to. The cost of each package depends on the type of channels offered (basic vs. premium) and the quantity. These fees cover the fees paid to individual cable channels for the right to carry their programming, as well as the cost of operating and maintaining the cable TV system so that their signals can reach subscribers homes. Additional cable television franchise feeCable television franchise fee
A cable television franchise fee in the United States, the stems from a community's basic right to charge for use of the property it owns. The cable television franchise fees represent part of the compensation a community receives in exchange for the cable operator's occupation and the right-of-way...
s and taxes are often tacked on by local, state, and federal governments.
Most cable systems divide their channel lineups ("tiers") into three or four basic channel packages. A must-carry
Must-carry
In cable television, governments apply a must-carry regulation stating that locally-licensed television stations must be carried on a cable provider's system.- Canada :...
rule requires all cable TV systems to carry all full-power local commercial broadcasting
Commercial broadcasting
Commercial broadcasting is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship...
stations in the designated television market on their lineups, unless those stations opt to invoke retransmission consent
Retransmission consent
Retransmission consent is an option granted to US television stations as part of the law that granted such stations the option to elect must-carry rights. Under retransmission consent, a full-power US television station may elect to negotiate with a cable system operator for carriage of its...
and demand compensation, in which case the cable provider can decline to carry the channel. Cable TV systems are also required to offer a subscription package that provides these broadcast channels at a lower rate than the standard subscription rate. The basic programming package offered by cable TV systems is usually known as "basic cable" and provides access to a large number of cable TV channels, as well as broadcast television networks (e.g., ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
, Fox broadcasting, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, Public Broadcast Service
Public Broadcast Service
The Public Broadcast Service is a government-owned educational radio and television broadcast service located in Barbados. Public Broadcast Service owns a radio station, 91.1FM and its television programming will be introduced in 2009....
(PBS), local-access television
Local-access television
Local-access television can refer to:Public, educational, and government access television: refers to three different cable television specialty channels...
channels, free public service channels such as C-SPAN
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
and NASA TV
NASA TV
NASA TV is the television service of the United States government agency NASA. NASA TV is broadcast by satellite with a simulcast over the Internet. Local cable television systems across the U.S. and amateur television repeaters may carry NASA TV at their discretion, as NASA-created content is...
, and several channels devoted to infomercial
Infomercial
Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...
s and home shopping
Home shopping
Home shopping commonly refers to the electronic retailing/home shopping channels industry, which includes such billion dollar television-based and e-commerce companies as HSN, QVC, eBay, ShopNBC, Buy.com, and Amazon.com, as well as traditional mail order and brick and mortar retailers as Hammacher...
to defray costs. Some providers may provide a small number of national cable networks in their basic lineups. Most systems differentiate between basic cable, which has locals, home shopping channels and local-access television channels, and expanded basic (or "standard"), which carries most of the better-known national cable television networks. Most basic cable lineups have approximately 20 channels overall, while expanded basic has channel capacity
Channel capacity
In electrical engineering, computer science and information theory, channel capacity is the tightest upper bound on the amount of information that can be reliably transmitted over a communications channel...
for as many as 70 channels. Under U.S. regulations, the price of basic cable can be regulated by local authorities as part of their franchise agreements, usually costing less than US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
20 per month. Standard, or expanded basic, cable is not subject to price controls. In addition to the basic cable packages, all systems offer premium channel add-on packages offering either just one premium network (e.g. HBO) or several premium networks for one price (e.g. HBO and Showtime together). Finally, most cable systems offer pay per view channels where users can watch individual movies, live programs, sports, etc. for an additional fee for single viewing at a scheduled time. (This is generally the only place where pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
airs on American cable.) Some cable systems have begun to offer on-demand programming
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
, where customers can select programs from a list of offerings including recent releases of movies, concerts, sports, first-run TV shows and specials and start the program whenever they wish, as if they were watching a DVD or a VHS tape. Some of the offerings have a cost similar to renting a movie at a video store while others are free.
Starting in the late 1990s, advances in digital signal processing
Digital signal processing
Digital signal processing is concerned with the representation of discrete time signals by a sequence of numbers or symbols and the processing of these signals. Digital signal processing and analog signal processing are subfields of signal processing...
(primarily Motorola's DigiCipher 2
DigiCipher 2
DigiCipher 2, or simply DCII, is a proprietary standard format of digital signal transmission and encryption with MPEG-2 signal video compression used on many communications satellite television and audio signals...
video compression technology in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
) have given rise to wider implementation of digital cable
Digital cable
Digital cable is a generic term for any type of cable television distribution using digital video compression or distribution. The technology was originally developed by Motorola.-Background:...
services. Digital cable provides many more television channels over the same available bandwidth, by converting cable TV channels to a digital signal and then compressing the signal. Currently, most systems offer a hybrid analog/digital cable system. This means they offer a certain number of analog channels via basic cable service with additional channels being made available via digital cable service. Thus subscribers wishing to have access to digital cable channels must have a special cable converter box
Cable converter box
A cable converter box or television converter box is an electronic tuning device that transposes/converts any of the available channels from a cable television service to an analog RF signal on a single channel, usually VHF channel 3 or 4. The device allows a television set that is not “cable...
, (or, more recently, a "Digital Cable Ready" TV and a CableCARD
CableCARD
CableCARD is a special-use PCMCIA card that allows consumers in the United States to view and record digital cable television channels on digital video recorders, personal computers and television sets without the use of other equipment such as a set top box provided by a cable television company...
) to receive them. Additional subscription fees are also usually required to receive these digital channels.
Digital cable channels are touted as being able to offer a higher quality picture than their analog counterparts. This is often true, with a dramatic improvement in chroma resolution (120 lines for NTSC versus 270 for digital). However digital compression has a tendency to soften the quality of the television picture, particularly of channels that are more heavily compressed. Pixelation and other artifacts are often visible.
Many cable systems operate as de facto monopolies in the United States. While exclusive franchises are currently prohibited by federal law, and relatively few franchises were ever expressly exclusive, frequently only one cable company offers cable service in a given community. Overbuilders in the US, other than telephone companies with existing infrastructure, have traditionally had severe difficulty in financial and market penetration numbers. Overbuilders have had some success in the MDU market, in which relationships are established with landlords, sometimes with contracts and exclusivity agreements for the buildings, sometimes to the anger of tenants. The rise of Direct Broadcast Satellite
Direct broadcast satellite
Direct broadcast satellite is a term used to refer to satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception.A designation broader than DBS would be direct-to-home signals, or DTH. This has initially distinguished the transmissions directly intended for home viewers from cable television...
systems providing the same type of programming using small satellite receivers, and of Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service which operates over a fiber-optic communications network. It is offered in some areas of the United States by Verizon Communications. Verizon was one of the first major U.S...
and other recent ventures by ILECs such as U-verse
U-Verse
AT&T U-verse is a registered service mark under which AT&T offers Internet access, television, and telephone services in various parts of the United States. It began in 2008 to serve mostly residences and small businesses in urban and suburban areas.-Services:...
, have also provided competition to incumbent cable TV systems.
Subscriber fees
To support themselves, some cable channels charge "subscriber fees" in addition to airing commercials. These fees are collected directly from the cable service provider, who passes the cost onto the customer. The fee the cable service provider must pay to a cable TV channel can vary depending on whether it is a basic or premium channel and the perceived popularity of that channel. Because cable service providers are not required to carry all cable channels, they may negotiate the fee they will pay for carrying a channel. Typically, more popular cable channels command higher fees. For example, ESPNESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
typically charges $4.69 per subscriber per monthhttp://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/pn_foes_grow_YIO92AxAE3kOE66mobOoUI?CMP=OTC-rss&FEEDNAME= for access to its main channel alone (plus another $1.13 for the rest of its English-language channels),http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/files/2010/03/cable-sub-fees.png the highest of any non-premium American cable channel and comparable to the premium channels. Other widely viewed cable channels have been able to command fees of over 50 cents per subscriber per month; channels can vary widely in fees depending on if they are included in package deals with other channels.
The fees for local broadcast stations vary depending on retransmission consent
Retransmission consent
Retransmission consent is an option granted to US television stations as part of the law that granted such stations the option to elect must-carry rights. Under retransmission consent, a full-power US television station may elect to negotiate with a cable system operator for carriage of its...
deals, and can range from a simple barter (carrying a digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
or low-power sister station) to as high as $1.00 per subscriber per month. If a full-power local broadcast station does not have the clout to demand a retransmission consent fee but still wants to be carried on cable television, it can invoke must-carry
Must-carry
In cable television, governments apply a must-carry regulation stating that locally-licensed television stations must be carried on a cable provider's system.- Canada :...
and force cable operators to carry the channel; using must-carry, however, requires the station not collect any fees for the right to be carried on cable. Many cable channels do not charge subscriber fees, and in the case of infomercial
Infomercial
Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...
, home shopping
Home shopping
Home shopping commonly refers to the electronic retailing/home shopping channels industry, which includes such billion dollar television-based and e-commerce companies as HSN, QVC, eBay, ShopNBC, Buy.com, and Amazon.com, as well as traditional mail order and brick and mortar retailers as Hammacher...
, and low-power channels not covered under must-carry, may even pay the cable provider for carriage.
Top 10 Largest Cable Companies by subscribershttp://www.ncta.com/Stats/TopMSOs.aspx
- 1. ComcastComcastComcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
Corporation 22,763,000 - 2. Time Warner CableTime Warner CableTime Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
, Inc. 12,357,000 - 3. Cox CommunicationsCox CommunicationsCox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television, telecommunications and wireless services in the United States...
, Inc. 4,899,000 - 4. Charter CommunicationsCharter CommunicationsCharter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications...
, Inc. 4,497,000 - 5. Cablevision Systems Corporation 3,306,000
- 6. Bright House NetworksBright House NetworksBright House Networks is a cable television company, the seventh largest cable operator and the sixth largest traditional multiple system operator in the United States owned by Advance/Newhouse, headquartered in Syracuse, New York...
LLC 2,171,000 - 8. Suddenlink CommunicationsSuddenlink CommunicationsSuddenlink Communications, formerly Cebridge Connections, is a top-10 cable broadband services provider in the United States with approximately 1.4 million subscribers. Suddenlink operates in 18 states in primarily medium-sized communities. With its corporate headquarters in St. Louis, MO,...
1,217,000 - 7. MediacomMediacomMediacom is a cable television and communications provider in the United States. Founded in July 1995, it serves primarily smaller markets in the Midwest and Southern United States. Formerly a publicly traded firm, it went private in a $600.0 million transaction in March 2011 and is, as of 2011,...
Communications Corporation 1,175,000 - 9. Insight Communications Company, Inc. 693,000
- 10. Cable OneCable OneCable ONE is a United States cable service provider and subsidiary of The Washington Post Company, functioning as its own self-contained corporation within its parent company. The company's name and current focus dates back to 1997; prior to that time the company was known as Post-Newsweek Cable...
, Inc. 647,000
Top 10 Ad-Supported Cable Networks among Viewers—Summer 2009 Prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/08/mostwatched-summer-ever-royal-pains-tops-new-cable.html
- 1. USAUSA NetworkUSA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
3,571,000 - 2. TNT 2,435,000
- 3. Fox NewsFox News ChannelFox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
2,157,000 - 4. Nick at NiteNick at NiteNick at Nite is the nighttime Cable network that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon on Sundays from 8.p.m.-7.am., Monday through Fridays from 9 p.m.-7 a.m. and Saturdays from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. . Though it shares channel space with Nickelodeon, A.C. Nielsen Co...
1,780,000 - 5. TBSTBS (TV channel)TBS , stylized in the logo as tbs, is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally known as WTCG, a UHF terrestrial television station that broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia, during the late 1970s...
1,592,000 - 6. ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
1,410,000 - 7. ABC FamilyABC FamilyABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
1,400,000 - 8. DiscoveryDiscovery ChannelDiscovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
1,353,000 - 9. FX 1,318,000
- 10. HGTVHGTVHGTV , is a cable-television network operating in the United States and Canada, broadcasting a variety of home and garden improvement, maintenance, renovation, craft and remodeling shows...
1,265,000
Top 10 Ad-Supported Cable Networks among Viewers—Summer 2009 Total Dayhttp://www.thrfeed.com/2009/08/mostwatched-summer-ever-royal-pains-tops-new-cable.html
- 1. NickelodeonNickelodeon (TV channel)Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
2,274,000 - 2. Nick at NiteNick at NiteNick at Nite is the nighttime Cable network that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon on Sundays from 8.p.m.-7.am., Monday through Fridays from 9 p.m.-7 a.m. and Saturdays from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. . Though it shares channel space with Nickelodeon, A.C. Nielsen Co...
1,606,000 - 3. USAUSA NetworkUSA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
1,558,000 - 4. TNT 1,304,000
- 5. Adult SwimAdult SwimAdult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
1,194,000 - 6. Fox NewsFox News ChannelFox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
1,154,000 - 7. Cartoon NetworkCartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
1,051,000 - 8. TBSTBS (TV channel)TBS , stylized in the logo as tbs, is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally known as WTCG, a UHF terrestrial television station that broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia, during the late 1970s...
878,000 - 9. ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
764,000 - 10. DiscoveryDiscovery ChannelDiscovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
754,000
List of Cable Companies / Cable MSOs in USA
Following is the list of cable companies / cable MSOMSO
MSO is an abbreviation that may stand for:Orchestras* Madison Symphony Orchestra, of Madison, Wisconsin, USA* Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia* Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA...
s in USA.http://www.officialusa.com/stateguides/media/television/cablecompanies.html
- 1. Adelphia
- 2.Armstrong Group of Companies
- 3. AT&T
- 4. Atlantic Broadband
- 5 Blue Ridge Communications
- 6 Bresnan Communications
- 7 Bright House Networks
- 8 Broadstripe
- 9 Buckeye Cable System
- 10 Cableone
- 11 Cablevision Systems
- 12 Cebridge Connection
- 13 Charter Communications
- 14 Comcast Cable Communications
- 15 Cox Communications
- 16 Galaxy Communications
- 17 General Communications
- 18 GCI
- 19 Insight Communications
- 20 Knology Holdings
- 21 Mediacom LLC
- 22 Midcontinent Media Inc.
- 23 RCN Corp.
- 24 Road Runner
- 25 Service Electric Cable Television
- 26 Tele-Media Corporation
- 27 Time Warner Cable
- 28 U.S. Cable Corp.
- 29 WideOpenWest
See also
- Communications in the United StatesCommunications in the United StatesThe primary regulator of communications in the United States is the Federal Communications Commission. It closely regulates all of the industries mentioned below with the exception of newspapers and the Internet service provider industry.- Press :...
- List of United States cable and satellite television networks
- List of United States over-the-air television networks
- North American cable television frequenciesNorth American cable television frequenciesIn North American cable TV networks, the radio frequencies used to carry signals to the customer are allocated to standardarized channel numbers listed in the CEA standard 542. Cable channel frequencies are generally different from off-air broadcast frequencies...
- Significantly viewed
- Simultaneous substitutionSimultaneous substitutionSimultaneous substitution is a practice mandated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requiring Canadian cable, direct broadcast satellite and multichannel multipoint distribution service television distribution companies to substitute the signal of a foreign or...