MTV is a major success story among the many cable television networks in operation in America today, along with news stations like CNN and movie channels like HBO, Movie Channel, American Movie Classics, and Cinemax. A number of cable networks have come and gone, but MTV has been successful in gaining placement on cable systems across the country and in becoming popular with a large enough base of subscribers so that removal of the network from a system can generate a good deal of adverse comment from subscribers. MTV serves a niche audience that is especially large, but more than this, the network has been successful because it has marketed and promoted itself well.
There are nearly 11,000 cable systems in the country today, serving approximately 56 million subscribers. The service provided varies widely, with an average provision of 36 channels and with the potential to double channel capacity within a few years. The industry was deregulated in 1984, and complaints by consumers about prices and inferior service have led lawmakers to try to reimpose regulation in the last two years (Mills, 1992, 798). Nearly 95 percent of American homes have access to cable, and nearly 57 percent actually subscribe (Benoit, 1991, 37).
At the present time there is little competition for most cable systems, aside from broadcast television. Cable has succeeded against "free" broadcast television because it delivers a better picture and more options, and even in areas where broadcast transmission is superior, cable has made inroads because of the increased number of channels it can offer. Only 53 communities in the nation are wired for two cable systems. Rates between competing cable systems are often as much as 20 percent lower than for those in communities with only one cable system, and per channel prices can be as much as 50 percent lower. The average number of channels in such communities is the same--36--but there is some impracticali...