The Fall and Rise of Cable Narrowcasting

The history of cable television in the USA has always reflected a tension between those who see in the technology a promise for a more progressive television future and those who see it as a lucrative business opportunity. This has been true since the 1950s, when a select group of small-town CATV (community antenna) entrepreneurs began to think of non-broadcast-derived programme options (eg Associated Press news text, weather channels, movies) to offer their subscribers. The countervailing forces became particularly apparent, however, during the 1970s, when satellite-delivered cable channels first became a reality and there was limited experimentation with interactive television.