Pay Television at the Crossroads.

Walter S. Baer, C. Pilnick

Expert InsightsPublished 1974

Since 1970 commercial interest in pay TV has been rekindled by the rapid growth of cable television distribution systems. Despite a twenty-five year record of past pay TV failures, several factors account for this renewed interest: regulatory constraints have been somewhat eased since 1969; cable TV systems serving 8 million subscribers present an attractive market; the cost of home terminals needed to decode pay TV signals has decreased; a market for pay TV movies has been demonstrated in hotels and motels; and cable operators consider pay cable programming crucial for economic success in urban markets. In an attempt to assess the future of this infant industry, the authors analyze current FCC regulations, economic issues posed by pay TV, home subscriber systems, hotel/motel systems, broadcast pay television, networking, and compatibility among systems. 36 pp. Ref.

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 1974
  • Pages: 36
  • Document Number: P-5159

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Baer, Walter S. and C. Pilnick, Pay Television at the Crossroads. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1974. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P5159.html.
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