Television in the Multichannel Age A Brief History of Cable Television

Television in the Multichannel Age is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to the history of multichannel television in all its forms ? from cable to direct-to-home satellite and beyond. Chapter by chapter, the book traces the evolution of cable television from its pre-historical origins in the late 1940s to the communications satellites and DBS distribution systems of the modern digital age, both in the U.S. and internationally.

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• Guides the reader through the history of multichannel television from its origins in the ?40s to the modern age
  
• Discusses factors that influence today?s television landscape including government policy-making, emerging technologies, and the public?s programming tastes
  
• Concentrates on domestic multichannel technologies while considering global impacts of these technologies
  
• Includes newly discovered oral history transcripts, personal interviews, government documents, and never before seen photographs
  
• Presents a fascinating history of media that have come to play critical roles in today?s society, and in doing so invites the reader to speculate on the future of multichannel television

List of Illustrations.

Preface.

1. Introduction.

2. Cable Pre-history and the Community Antenna Pioneers: before 1960.

3. Regulatory Beginnings: 1960-7.

4. "Blue Sky": 1968-74.

5. Cable Meets Satellite: 1975-80.

6. The Satellite Years: 1980-92.

7. Multichannel Television's Mature Years: 1993-Present.

8. The View from 2007: The Future of Multichannel Television.

Bibliography.

Index.

advanced undergraduate courses in television and media history as well as industry courses

Megan Mullen is Associate Professor of Communication and Co-Director of the Humanities Program at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. She is the author of Cable Television Programming in the United States: Revolution or Evolution (2003). She was also the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Faculty Fellowship for 2005-2006.