1. Cable, satellite, and
Internet television
Chapter 12

2. A brief history
• Cable TV began in the early 1950s as a workaround for people who had trouble receiving over
the air signals
• An antennae would be placed where a signal
could be received, cables off that antennae would
feed households in areas of poor reception
• Over time, stations were imported for variety
versus necessity, which lead to over the air
broadcasters to get nervous

3. A brief history
• In 1972 the FCC limited cable's growth
• From 1962 - present, satellites were used to
transmit programs - satellite delivery
mainstreamed in 1976 when HBO transmitted
the Ali v Frazier fight
• Cable advertising revenues exceed $27B
• DBS: Dish Network, DirecTV

4. Legal issues
• 1984: Congress deregulated the rates systems could
charge consumers
• After complaints from subscribers, in 1992 Congress
passed the Cable Television Consumer Protection and
Competition Act
• Caused a 17% reduction in rates, and mandated
broadcasters choose between must carry (the local
cable system had to carry the station's signal) and
retransmission consent (the local station had the right
to negotiate compensation for carriage of its signal)

5. Legal issues
• Telecommunications Act of 1996: gave
telephone companies the right to enter the
cable business (and vice versa), and both
companies are allowed to own competing
businesses in the same community
• Allowed cable companies to again set their
own rates

6. A brief history
• The late 90s saw a different way to distribute TV
signals - Internet TV or Webcasting
• This was accomplished by streaming the video,
using a process called buffering
• Video on the web grew slowly until high speed
broadband was available to consumers
• Podcast: video or audio program that can be
subscribed to, and downloaded to a portable
device

7. Cable, Satellite and
Internet TV in the digital
age
• All use digital techniques for transmission
• Digital signals make HDTV, DVR, interactive program guides, ondemand video possible
• Mobile media: mainstreaming of smartphones with data
packages, 3G (4G), WiFi networks make video streaming easy
• User generated content: YouTube
• Social media: cable stations make extensive use of social
networks. Cable news networks on Twitter.

8. Defining features of
cable, satellite and
Internet TV
• Consumers need an extra piece of equipment
to receive programming
• Consumers have to pay extra for these
services
• These services carry many channels that
appeal to niche audiences

9. Structure of Cable TV
• Three main components of a cable system:
• Head end: antenna and related equipment that
receive signals from distant TV stations, and
process these signals to be sent to subscribers'
homes
• Distribution system: consists of the actual cables
that deliver the signals to subscribers
• House drop: the section of cable that connects
the feeder cable to the subscriber's television set

10. Local cable systems
The are six basic sources of
programming for a local station:
1.Local origination: local news, local govt
channel
2.Local broadcast stations: some cable
companies carry other local signals from
nearby cities

11. Local cable systems
3. Superstations: local stations that are carried
nationwide (TBS was the original superstation as
WTBS Atlanta before changing over to a cable
network in 1998)
4. Special cable networks: services distributed by
satellite to cable systems. Examples: MTV, USA
5. Pay services: premium channels, HBO, Showtime
6. Pay per view: recent releases, special events pay
per showing

12. Local cable systems
Two basic sources of income:
1.Subscription fees from consumers
2.Local advertising
• Cable systems also have to pay for their
programming supply

13. National operators
At the national level, cable networks draw upon
three major sources for their programming:
1.Original production
2.Movies
3.Syndicated programs

14. National operators
Three main revenue sources for cable networks:
1.Advertising
2.Carriage fees: charged to local operators for
use of programming (example: ESPN $2.90
per subscriber, CNN $0.47)
3.Subscription fees

15. PPV & VOD
• Pay Per View: makes most money from
sporting events, movies, concerts and adult
content
• Video-on-demand: programming is stored on
a server, subscribers use an interface to
select programming, able to fast forward,
pause, rewind

16. Structure of satellite
TV
Consists of five elements:
1. Content providers: ESPN, Food Network, local broadcast stations
2. Broadcast center: transmits programming
3. Geosynchronous communication satellite: receives programs
and sends them back to the small consumer dishes
4. Small receiving dish: picks up the signal and transmits it to…
5. Satellite receiver: able to be viewed on a TV set

17. Satellite programming
& financing
• The same programming carried by cable is (mostly)
available on satellite
• Unlike cable, satellite networks are national in focus, no
local origination of programs (YNN, for example, community
access)
• Biggest source of revenue is subscriber fees, biggest
expense is related to hardware/equipment
• They also pay carriage fees

18. Ownership of cable &
satellite
• Cable: Comcast, Time Warner, Cox
communications, Charter Communications,
Cablevision
• Satellite: DirecTV (News Corporation) and
Dish Network (EchoStar)

19. Internet video
• Anyone can start an internet channel
• Professionally produced content & amateur
content
• Sites like Hulu, Ustream, YouTube, Amazon,
Netflix, Vimeo
• Microcasting: the opposite of BROADcasting;
serves a small specialized audience

20. Feedback
• Like broadcast TV, Nielsen measures Cable, Internet &
Satellite TV
• Audience: 85% of American households get their TV
from either cable or satellite services; subscribers are
younger, more affluent and have more children than
non-subscribers
• Cable/satellite networks are more specialized than
broadcast networks.
• 70% of all TV viewing is still in front of a traditional TV