Cable Television in the United States — Revolution or Evolution?

Walter S. Baer

Expert InsightsPublished 1974

A discussion of cable television's current status in this country, including government regulation, cable's technical promise, and its potential for communication services. Several trends are evident: (1) the cable industry has not yet developed services other than broadcast television distribution that subscribers will readily pay for; (2) overenthusiastic expansion has brought financial strains on the industry; (3) in the short run cable systems will concentrate on adding subscribers and developing entertainment-based pay TV rather than new programming and services; (4) experiments with public access, educational, and local government use of cable channels will continue at a relatively low level of effort for the next few years without great societal influence; and (5) cable will be integrated with other communications means such as the telephone for two-way services. Whatever impact cable has will be evolutionary — not revolutionary — and will be tied to the development of new programming and services individuals and institutions find important.

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 1974
  • Pages: 20
  • Document Number: P-5153

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Baer, Walter S., Cable Television in the United States — Revolution or Evolution? Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1974. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P5153.html.
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