Development Of Cable Television Research Articles

From gay liberation to backlash: producing pride and New York’s LGBTQ public culture on The Emerald City

Abstract This article explores how The Emerald City (1977–1979), an LGBTQ public access cable television show, represented the evolving sociopolitical and geographic contexts of New York City in the 1970s and mediated the concept “gay pride.” Tracing its emplacement in New York alongside the development of cable television, this article discusses how the series played a role in producing dominant queer cultural imaginations of the city. Combining analysis of the show’s episodes with archival research and interviews with The Emerald City co-producer Steven Bie, this article argues both for the potential of public access to produce liberatory affective experiences of pride, as well as its role in idealizing a gay imaginary of New York limited by racialized and classed hierarchies. This article demonstrates how public access in the US provided opportunities for marginalized producers to experiment with creating gay television, as well as the structural constraints that limited its political promise.

Federal Jurisdiction Over Internet and Broadband: A Commentary on Technology and Content Regulation

Ever since the growth of federal administrative agencies during the New Deal, these institutions’ powers and jurisdiction have been defined mainly by their enabling act. With the development of a host of new technologies during the last 50 years, however, agencies increasingly have found themselves trapped between a lack of clear statutory mandates and Congress’ refusal to supply one by way of amendment.This situation has been particularly troublesome in the media-telecommunications area. It began with the development of cable television, which fell into neither of the Federal Communications Commission’s two major regulatory powers: common carriage and broadcasting. Because of an increasing fear that cable would destroy the advertising economy of broadcasting, the FCC convinced the Supreme Court to imply “reasonably ancillary powers” from the agency’s other powers. Though the basis for this judicial acknowledgement of new jurisdiction was never clear, it basically filled the regulatory hiatus from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, when Congress eventually passed new legislation.Though ancillary jurisdiction today largely is a study in legal history, it may inadvertently have provided a basis for FCC power over Internet, broadband, and other forms of cybermedia. Though only one Supreme Court decision and a few lower court cases have invoked it, the almost forgotten notion of ancillary jurisdiction yet may have viability today.

The Evolution of Cable Regulatory Policies and Their Impact: A Comparison of South Korea and Israel

This study compares policy history and the development of cable television in South Korea and Israel. Tracking the evolution of cable policy in each country, it assesses effects on the market and draws conclusions that may be applied in other countries. The study adopts a model created by McQuali, de Mateo, and Tapper (1992) and the industrial organization model as its descriptive tools. The study focuses on market performance in two countries that made a transition from an old order of government planning to a new order of increased market autonomy, with similar goals in mind and in response to similar pressures, while employing different market structures. Although the policies adopted and their outcomes differed in terms of competition structure, market conduct, and performance, similar outcomes patterns were observed. These differences and similarities can help explain success and failure in regulating cable markets.

The Evolution of Cable Regulatory Policies and Their Impact: A Comparison of South Korea and Israel

This study compares policy history and the development of cable television in South Korea and Israel. Tracking the evolution of cable policy in each country, it assesses effects on the market and draws conclusions that may be applied in other countries. The study adopts a model created by McQuali, de Mateo, and Tapper (1992) and the industrial organization model as its descriptive tools. The study focuses on market performance in two countries that made a transition from an old order of government planning to a new order of increased market autonomy, with similar goals in mind and in response to similar pressures, while employing different market structures. Although the policies adopted and their outcomes differed in terms of competition structure, market conduct, and performance, similar outcomes patterns were observed. These differences and similarities can help explain success and failure in regulating cable markets.

The Development of Cable Television in East Asian Countries

This study assesses the country-specific factors that might influence the development of cable television in 10 East Asian countries. Specifically, the authors reviewed the cable markets and their economic, regulatory, technological, consumer, supporting and substitution environments for the countries of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. It was found that the penetration of cable television and the corresponding market structure, conduct and performance in these countries vary tremendously. While Taiwan has the most developed cable industry with a concentrated market, an active cable advertising sector, low subscription rates and programming packages of most channels, Indonesia has the lowest penetrated cable market, a concentrated industry, an almost non-existent advertising sector and average subscription rates and channel choices. In addition, the regulation/policy, technology, consumer, supporting and substitution factors seem to play an important role in the development of cable television in these countries.

The development of cable television in Australia: A tripartite model of interactions

Abstract After examining the current development of cable television in Australia, the paper proposes a tripartite model for the study of telecommunications policy. On the basis of their respective interests, the behavioural characteristics of three major players—the State, Business and Public—are analysed. Three interfaces in the policy process, namely, State-Business, Business-Public and Public-State are identified. Each interface leads to a different policy outcome. It is found that bilateral interactions have dominated the policy process and the author suggests that tripartite interactions among the State, Business and Public in the process may result in better outcomes for all parties.

Two tales of a city: John Walson, Sr., Mahanoy city, and the “founding”; of cable TV

For the last 20 years, scholarly and popular accounts of the development of cable television have recounted the story of John Walson, Sr., who claimed to have started the first CATV system in June of 1948 in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania. When Walson died in March of 1993, newspapers around the country credited him with starting the nation's first cable system and even “founding”; the industry. The claim, however, has always been clouded by questions and a lack of documentation. This paper reports the results of an investigation of the Walson story. It concludes that, as bright and promising as the Walson tale may be, it probably is not true. At the very least, the preponderance of evidence suggests that Walson got his start in the community antenna television business in late 1950, about the same time as many others around the country and, importantly, probably after another group of businessmen already had begun a system in Mahanoy City itself.

The development of cable television in Israel

The Israeli telecommunications industry has recently undergone significant changes. One of the most important changes was the decision to establish a cable television (CATV) industry in the country. The decision of the government not to play an active role in the development and provision of CATV represented a significant departure from past practice. This paper describes the development of the CATV industry in Israel and evaluates how well the evolution of the industry has served the public interest.

A public policy strategy for cable development: The experience of Hong Kong

This article proposes a strategy for the development of cable television in relatively small countries with limited resources and a unique language. Hong Kong, where cable is imminent, offers a case study in which to apply the strategy. The authors first present a chronology of the evolution of cable policy in Hong Kong, then discuss a strategy for permitting cable to develop with the necessary freedom to fully test the market, but at the same time protecting consumers, broadcast television and the domestic television production system from abuse if the subscription system were to come to dominate television.

A brief history of cable television in the UK: cable television network options in the UK for the 1990s

The history of cable television in the UK is briefly summarized, and the current communications environment is described, focusing on the factors affecting the provision of broadband services. Existing cable television technology in the UK is examined. The modern networks that have adopted a conventional tree-and-branch framework have typically been built as 450-MHz systems (or are under consideration for upgrade in this level) with a capacity for 30 channels, adequate for the presently available program sources. The latest systems are looking to 550 MHz, to allow for future expansion; such a network might carry 34 PAL channels and 6 MAC channels at maximum capacity. For the most recent franchise awards, the 860-MHz systems are now a consideration. Some switched star networks, aimed at allowing interactive services, have also been built. The likely course of development of cable television in the 1990s is outlined, and the three network types that seem to be the main contenders-coaxial tree-and-branch, distributed-star, and passive optical networks-are discussed. >

The Faltering Development of Cable Television in Britain

This paper summarizes the development of cable systems and cable policy in Britain from the 1920s into the late 1980s. It links the course of cable system development to four general types of factors: (1) the strength of organized interests in support of and in opposition to cable; (2) the pragmatic ability of a new service such as cable to meet reasonably the expectations of major actors; (3) supports and constraints within the legal-institutional framework, including the nature of cable policy itself; and (4) the role of both positive and negative symbols surrounding this particular innovation. The case suggests ways in which the faltering development of cable television in Britain reflects the unique historical circumstances of cable and broadcasting in this nation. But since the same forces may be at work in other national settings, this typology of factors and, particularly, the role of symbolic politics is offered as a framework for comparative inquiry.

The Value of Television Time

constraint imposed by the requirement that television stations serve local communities, the Commission has sought, in various ways, to improve the prospects for new stations. The policies pursued or considered have included limitations on the development of cable television as a potential competitor to local broadcasting, the promotion of legislation to require that all television receivers be capable of receiving UHF television, and various attempts to change the frequency allocation plan to reduce the handicap that new stations would face.1 All VHF allocations to commercial tele-

The Appropriate Scope of Regulation in the Cable Television Industry

The development of cable television has been subjected to a comprehensive and complex array of federal, state, and local regulations; and many new proposals for regulation are being discussed. This paper attempts a critique of the emerging pattern of regulation. The author analyzes the major policy choices and concludes that only limited regulation can be justified. He proposes a new federal statute that would carefully delimit the respective roles of federal, state, and municipal regulators of cable television.