Expanding Cable Channels and Programming

In 1983, HBO’s The Terry Fox Story was the first made-for-cable film, while Showtime ran original episodes of The Paper Chase , a critically acclaimed drama that had been dropped by the broadcast networks. Cable-originated programming became eligible for Emmy Award consideration in 1988 and has since become a regular contender. Original series and films, though not always of award-winning caliber, are common on both cable networks and premium services.

HBO’s successful use of satellite delivery opened the floodgates for premium services and cable networks, many of which continue to remain popular. Of course, not every new cable service was a national network. In 1976, Cablevision Systems Corporation founder Charles Dolan created the first regional cable sports service, Sports Channel New York (now FOX Sports Net New York). Several regional sports channels still service selected markets across the country.

Ted Turner launched his Atlanta-based independent station (WTCG, later WTBS) as a “super-station” in 1976, using satellite distribution to reach a national audience. As president of Turner Broadcasting Systems, Turner continued to paint the cable network landscape with a number of national networks. For example, his Cable News Network (CNN), the first live, all-news channel, was launched in 1980. Less than two years later, CNN was followed by CNN Headline News, which provided highly structured thirty-minute newscasts around-the-clock.

Many industry executives predicted a quick death for CNN, which was referred to as “Chicken Noodle News” in its early days. The network, however, proved early critics wrong. Its twenty-four-hour schedule and continuous coverage of breaking news provided unparalleled coverage of several events, including the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981, the Challenger space shuttle disaster in 1986, and the Gulf War in 1991. Its extensive coverage of these and other “big” stories has helped make CNN a popular and respected source for news.

CNN also gained the respect of broadcast and cable networks through its budgetary efficiency. After almost ten years on the air, CNN and CNN Headline News shared an annual budget of approximately $100 million for around-the-clock coverage, while ABC, CBS, and NBC were each spending two or three times as much for only thirty minutes of news per day. The discrepancy resulted in layoffs and reorganization at the broadcast networks in the late 1980s.

While CNN was redefining television news, Music Television (MTV) was redefining television itself. The music video cable network debuted in 1981, essentially re-creating the album-oriented rock (AOR) radio format for television. It was a radical concept; MTV was programmed more like a radio station than a television network, and it had few regularly scheduled shows.

Filled with rock music videos, unique contests, and a generous helping of rebellious attitude, the channel was designed to appeal to males who were between eighteen and thirty-four years of age. MTV not only made music videos popular (and some say legitimized music video as an art form), it quickly spawned imitators, with more than three hundred music video programs on broadcast and cable networks competing for its audience in 1983.

Rock performers such as Rod Stewart and Journey were typical early MTV stars. Artists such as Michael Jackson, who would become a huge influence in music video, were not part of MTV’s original play list. Jackson’s videos, in fact, did not debut on MTV until 1983. Later, MTV’s play list would become more diversified, welcoming rap, hip-hop, and alternative music. In the 1990s, the network became more structured, with “reality-based” original series and other regularly scheduled programs. MTV reaches more than 200 million households worldwide and is available in dozens of countries on every continent but Antarctica.

Most early cable networks employed a programming concept called narrowcasting, targeting their content to specific niche audiences. The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) began its national cable network in 1977. Viacom followed the movie formula in 1978 when it created Show-time, another premium service. A year later, the first network targeting children, Nickelodeon, debuted. Chicago’s WGN and New York’s WOR became superstations, and sports took center stage on the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN).

From 1979 to 1985, more new networks established additional choices for viewers. In 1980, Bravo gave voice to high culture, while the Home Shopping Network (HSN) provided viewers with an alternative to the mall in 1985. Other additions to the cable network ranks included American Movie Classics (AMC), Arts & Entertainment (A&E), Black Entertainment Television (BET), The Discovery Channel, The Disney Channel, Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), Lifetime, The Nashville Network (TNN), the Playboy Channel, USA Network, and The Weather Channel. The 1990s saw the launch of several more successful cable networks, including the Sci-Fi Channel and Cartoon Network in 1992. Many of these channels have expanded their programming for international audiences.

As new cable networks were being developed in the early 1980s, smart executives learned to follow the “rule of one.” Due to limited channels and advertising dollars, if two cable networks tried to narrowcast to the same target audience, one was doomed to fail. Turner’s Cable Music Channel (CMC), for example, tried to duplicate the success of MTV with adult contemporary music, but it was shut down after only thirty-four days of programming in 1984. Even MTV’s sister station, Video Hits One (VH1), took years to build a respectable audience after its 1985 debut. Increased channel capacities and viewership have made the rule of one obsolete and allowed cable networks to include multiple choices for music, sports, and news.

Cable also expanded its services to include event programming, also known as pay-per-view (PPV). Addressable converters allow subscribers to order specific, one-time programming without a technician visiting the premises. Warner Amex’s Qube system in Columbus, Ohio, was the first to offer PPV to its subscribers. The system featured five interactive channels but failed to generate a profit from 1977 to 1984. Still, national PPV services began to appear by 1985, and more than seventeen million homes were equipped with addressable converters by 1991.