The Rise of Cable TV

Cable TV originated in 1948, from the ideas of people in Arkansas, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. It was designed as a way to phase out radio as our only way for receiving media. By 1952, there were about 14,000 cable subscriptions. That number grew to around 850,000 in the 1960s.

The concept of paying for extra channels not included in your subscription was started by HBO in 1972. Today, your cable package can include 5 HBOs, 3 HBOs, or no HBOs. Cable started to be regulated by the FCC in 1972. The passage of the Cable Act of 1984 helped the industry grow tremendously.

Today, there are over 800 networks on cable. The creation of DVR and VOD allow for us to record and rewatch our favorite shows whenever we want, not binding us to scheduled programing. This coupled with the advent of streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, and network provided services allow for us to watch our favorite shows whenever, wherever. Cable has grown tremendously since it's creation, and it continues to grow today.

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EOTO: Cord Cutting

The advent of streaming services has changed the way media is produced and distributed. Instead of watching scheduled programing on cable, many people watch whatever they want, whenever they want, wherever they want thanks to services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, ESPN+ and Disney+. This has caused many to cancel their cable subscriptions and only pay for streaming services. This is known as cord cutting. Cord cutting is an effective way to save between $24-$100 on TV. With using streaming services, you can watch the channels and shows that you want to watch, eliminating channels that you don't use. Streaming also takes away most of the ads that you see when watching cable, reducing interruptions. Streaming allows you to watch whatever you want, wherever you want, whenever you want. You aren't confined to your house waiting for your favorite show to come on. Cord cutting also does as its name says, it removes all the cords and hassle that come with cable tv. ...

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When we think of Cable TV, we generally think of the following: big networks such as CBS, ABC, NBC, and FOX, if we have more HBOs than our neighbor, how the last season of GOT ended, or how much is all of this gonna cost me. To fully understand how Cable TV took off and became the industry it is, we need to go back to the beginning. Cable TV started back in 1948 in Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Arkansas. By 1952, there were about 14,000 cable subscriptions across the nation. That number grew to around 850,000 subscriptions by the 1960s. In 1972, HBO became the first pay network, meaning that you could have 5 HBOs, 3 HBOs, or no HBOs depending on how much you are paying. Also in 1972, the FCC began regulation on cable. The Cable Act of 1984 helped the industry grow even more. Today, we have around 800 programing networks following the advent of HDTV in the early 2000s. People can watch their shows whenever they want now with DVR, which allows them to record episodes that they...

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