I decided to use the same sources for the research as Taylor had, in an attempt to see if there was anything I could expand on while in the same scope that he had done. There was a lot of detail on the history of cable television, but I want to see if there was anything he wasn't able to include, as well as try and provide more emphasis on the impact.
Cable was introduced in 1948 almost simultaneously in Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and Oregon as a way to enhance TV signals in mostly remote areas. Antennas were placed on mountain tops to receive a signal, which was then fed to another antenna that was placed on top of another home. This was done in rural Pennsylvania by John Walson, an owner of a Mahanoy City General Electric appliance store who is credited with the creation of cable television. It also innovated the community antenna television (CATV), which is now commonplace in the United States.
Along with connecting television for rural communities, cable was seen as an expansion of television, and by 1952, 70 networks serviced 14,000 subscribers. In addition, cable also allowed for long-distance signals to be transmitted for miles rather than local stations and signals, which led to 800 networks having 1 million subscribers just ten years later.
Along with the expansion of cable in the 1950's was the space race, which propelled with the Soviet Union launching the first satellite, Sputnik, in 1957. It played a major role in the development in cable transmissions, as AT&T launched Telstar to transmit signals across the Atlantic Ocean in 1962. Satellites play a major part in the transmission of cable, as networks like HBO would launch their own satellites in the future.
That would have to wait, however, as the FCC placed restrictions on the transmission and import on long-distance tv signals. This caused a stop in developing new cable systems for nearly a decade, where deregulation and a change in enforced rules led to a new rise in cable programming. Money had all but disappeared in the ten years since cable nearly fell apart. When HBO launched its satellite, it allowed for nationwide access to programming, which would be followed up by Ted Turner launching TBS. As cable television was once again profitable, more people were subscribing to cable than ever.
Upon the passing of the Cable Act in 1984, regulations were loosened to enable the creation of many new networks. As billions were spent on new wiring and programming, the number of subscribers jumped to 53 million, but rising costs led to concerns on longterm viability for cable. To act on this, Congress issued a law in 1992 that only allowed new cable companies to include wireless cable and direct satellite broadcast. However, the expansion of cable was not slowed down, as the number of channels grew from 79 to 171 over the course of the next decade. Many cable packages were offered to give a variety of networks, and 65 million Americans paid for cable by the turn of the century. In addition, companies invested billions of dollars to build faster fiber optics and build the internet as it is today.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, cable has expanded to offer on-demand services, and digital services were also being implemented. Starting in 2002, people were using cable to access the internet through Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP). Even with the rise of the internet and streaming services, 93% of television owners also hold a cable subscription today, and the number of channels is still on the rise from 280 in 2002.
The birth and rise of cable can be simultaneously tracked with that of television. Most of us have paid for cable in our lives, and its vast amount of offerings have allowed us to find content we like. Cable allowed for the expansion of television, and we likely would not have been as innovated without it.
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