The Cable and Satellite Television Industries (Part of the Allyn & Bacon Series in Mass Communication)

by Parsons, Patrick R.; Frieden, Robert M.

• ISBN13: 9780205200139
• ISBN10: 0205200133
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-12-17
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

The world of cable and satellite delivered television is constantly evolving and changing with new technology. These new technologies, especially the transition to digital distribution, are altering the world of television. The momentous results of these changes can be seen in the convergence of communications markets and services. This is the only book on the market that successfully captures the scope and detail of these developments. It examines the convergence and competition of emerging television industries both domestically and internationally.This book's clarity and comprehensibility make it accessible to readers without a background in these areas. Also, current employees in the industry will benefit from the broad based topics of the industry that are explored in this book. These topics include chapters on history, technology, industry structure, industry programming and services, daily operations, law and policy, international activities, and social issues. Also included is a detailed discussion of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, as well as other legal issues that are crucial to a clear understanding of the industry. Ultimately this book is a detailed review of where cable and satellite has come from, what it is like today, where it is headed and why, and how it relates to other media.Industry gurus and novices alike.Part of the Allyn & Bacon Series inMass Communication.

Table of Contents

Preface	viii
1 Converging Lines	1	(18)
A Snapshot of the Industries	3	(8)
Cable Television	3	(4)
Satellite TV	7	(3)
The Telephone Companies	10	(1)
Terrestrial Broadcasters	11	(1)
Convergence	11	(7)
Converging Technology	11	(2)
Convergence and Regulatory Policy	13	(1)
Converging Markets	14	(1)
Some Implications of the Emerging System	15	(3)
Summary	18	(1)
Notes	18	(1)
2 A Brief History of Cable and Satellite Television	19	(49)
A Pre-History of Cable TV	21	(8)
Communication by Wire: Telegraph and Telephone	22	(2)
Television by Wire and the Issue of Bandwidth	24	(2)
Bandwidth, Broadcasting, and the FCC	26	(1)
The 1948-1952 Freeze	27	(1)
The Problem of the Fringe	28	(1)
The Pioneers	29	(4)
Mom `n' Pop: The Early Operations	33	(9)
The NCTA and the Birth of the Industry	34	(1)
Early Federal Activity and the FCC	35	(5)
Building the Business	40	(1)
Early Pay-TV	41	(1)
The Frozen 1960s	42	(6)
Copyright I	44	(1)
The Wired Nation	45	(1)
The Telephone Companies	46	(1)
Building the Companies	46	(2)
The Early 1970s: Thaw and Renewal	48	(3)
The 1972 Rules	49	(1)
The Economic Problem	50	(1)
Reregulation	51	(1)
Launching a New Era in Television	51	(4)
Home Box Office	53	(1)
Copyright II	54	(1)
Blue Skies, Redux	55	(2)
Deregulation	56	(1)
Franchising Wars	56	(1)
The Cable-Satellite Explosion of the 1980s	57	(4)
The Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984	57	(2)
The Surging Market	59	(1)
Direct Broadcast Satellites: The False Start	60	(1)
Control and Competition	61	(2)
The Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992	61	(1)
Must Carry and Retransmission Consent	62	(1)
Epilogue	63	(1)
Notes	64	(4)
3 How It Works: The Technology	68	(47)
Transmission Pathways	69	(9)
The Electromagnetic Spectrum	69	(3)
Wire-Based or Closed-Circuit Systems	72	(6)
Being Digital	78	(9)
Analog Signals	78	(1)
Digital Signals	79	(2)
Digital Bandwidth and Compression	81	(2)
Digitizing the Process: Production and Servers	83	(2)
Standards	85	(1)
Digital Boxes	86	(1)
Distribution Systems	87	(22)
Satellite Systems	88	(9)
Terrestrial Multichannel Broadcasting	97	(1)
Cable Architectures	98	(6)
Telephone Architectures	104	(5)
ATM	109	(1)
Dueling Systems	110	(2)
Dueling Systems #1: HFC or FTTC?	110	(1)
Dueling Systems #2: Satellites versus Terrestrial Options	111	(1)
A Concluding Note	112	(1)
Notes	113	(2)
4 Distribution, Competition, and Convergence: "The Waltz of the Elephants"	115	(42)
Competition and Convergence	116	(2)
Distribution and Programming	118	(1)
The Distribution Landscape	118	(2)
Wireline Industries	120	(15)
Cable Television	120	(5)
The Telephone Companies	125	(10)
The Utilities	135	(1)
Broadcasting	135	(6)
Traditional Broadcasters	135	(3)
The New Broadcast Industry	138	(1)
Wireless Cable	139	(2)
The Satellite Industry	141	(11)
Industry Structure	141	(7)
Direct-to-Home Program Satellite Television	148	(3)
TVRO and SMATV	151	(1)
Dancing in the Dark	152	(2)
Notes	154	(3)
5 Content and Control: "It's the Programming (and Services)"	157	(47)
Software: Programming and Services	158	(1)
Programming	159	(18)
Programming Networks	159	(13)
Telco Program Packagers	172	(1)
Broadcasting	173	(1)
Cable Access and Local Origination	174	(2)
Program Guides and Navigators	176	(1)
Telephone Services	177	(8)
Cable Telephone Service	177	(3)
Wireless Telephone Service	180	(5)
Data Communications	185	(4)
Cable Data	185	(2)
Telco Data	187	(1)
Satellite Data	187	(2)
The Multimedia Future	189	(1)
Merger Mania	189	(12)
Competition in the Local Market	190	(2)
Horizontal Integration	192	(3)
Vertical Integration	195	(3)
The Big Dance	198	(3)
Notes	201	(3)
6 Multichannel Business Operations: The Real World	204	(53)
Cable Systems	204	(33)
Structure and Operations	204	(7)
Income and Expenditures	211	(9)
Cable Financing and the Bottom Line	220	(1)
Programming	221	(4)
Tiering and Pricing	225	(4)
Marketing, Promotion, and Sales	229	(3)
Customer Service	232	(1)
Theft of Service	233	(1)
Local Advertising	234	(2)
Ratings	236	(1)
Satellite and Telco Operations	237	(2)
Satellite Carriers	238	(1)
Program Networks	239	(12)
Structure	239	(2)
Profit and Loss	241	(1)
Building Brand Identity	242	(1)
Programming	242	(6)
Starting Up	248	(3)
Industry Associations	251	(2)
A Concluding Note	253	(1)
Notes	254	(3)
7 Law and Regulation	257	(38)
Congress and the Legislative Framework	258	(8)
Primary Telecommunications Legislation	259	(1)
The Telecommunications Act of 1996	259	(6)
Continuing Controls	265	(1)
The Executive Branch	266	(1)
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration	266	(1)
The Department of State	267	(1)
The Federal Communications Commission	267	(4)
The Judiciary	271	(1)
Cable Television and the First Amendment	271	(4)
Spectrum Management Basics	275	(7)
Background	276	(1)
Spectrum Management in the United States	277	(5)
International Policy and Regulation	282	(5)
International Spectrum Allocation	282	(3)
WRC-95	285	(1)
The Great Parking Place Battle	286	(1)
Summary	287	(1)
Notes	288	(7)
8 Television without Frontiers	295	(22)
Why Satellites?	295	(4)
A Global Gold Rush to Serve New Markets	297	(2)
International Cable and Satellite Ventures	299	(15)
Asia-Pacific	299	(8)
Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East	307	(1)
Europe	308	(2)
The United Kingdom	310	(1)
The Americas	311	(3)
Network Globalization and Programming	314	(1)
Privatization of Satellite Cooperatives	315	(1)
A Concluding Note	315	(1)
Notes	316	(1)
9 Social Issues in Cable and Satellite Television: The Broadband Society	317	(32)
The Information Society	318	(4)
Using Multichannel TV	322	(2)
Viewing Habits and Fragmentation	324	(2)
Information Rich and Information Poor	326	(8)
The Knowledge Gap	327	(1)
Access: The Pay-Per Society	328	(2)
Information as a Commodity	330	(1)
Copyright	331	(3)
Privacy in the Information Age	334	(2)
Television Violence	336	(3)
Multichannel TV and Socialization	339	(3)
Pro-Social Effects	341	(1)
Multichannel Television and Political Life	342	(3)
Nonstop News	343	(1)
Unfiltered News	343	(1)
Tele-Democracy	344	(1)
A Concluding Note	345	(1)
Notes	345	(4)
Appendix A: Selected Programming Networks	349	(4)
Appendix B: Selected Programming Network Ownership	353	(4)
Bibliography	357	(6)
Index	363