Cable Television

Benjamin J. Bates

Cable Television started the multichannel revolution that, with the introduction of CNN in 1980, transformed television news from a nightly half hour to the perpetually present and highly competitive realm of cable news. However, that was a much later culmination of a history of policy and technological changes. Cable television first arose in the United States in the decade after World War II, as the major broadcast networks and much of the country turned to television. Difficulties (chiefly interstation interference and an underestimation of the demand for licenses) with the FCC's initial channel allocation scheme led to a “Freeze” from 1948 to 1952, during which no new television licenses were awarded. Coverage by those stations on the air was spotty, and many communities found their reception blocked by geographic features, or hindered by distance. With demand for television growing, the gap was filled by the pioneering entrepreneurs who built the ...

Users without subscription are not able to see the full content on this title. Please, subscribe or login to access all content on this website.