Cable TV & Regulation During th

The cable situation produced in 1984 led to two controversies, one regarding obscenity, the other regarding rates and services. The obscenity controversy was addressed by a measure introduced in 1985, but the measure did not pass, and the cable obscenity issue faded. Allegations of excessive rates and poor service from local cable companies, however, led to widespread public complaints.

In 1990, the public pressure caused Congress to act to "reregulate" cable TV rates and services. However, the issue was complicated by the desire of telephone companies (the "Baby Bells") to provide cable service over their systems  which would destroy the existing local cable industry. Moreover, the local cable companies lobbied massively, and on the whole effectively, to limit reregulation. As a result, the cableoverphoneline issue was put off, while only a limited reregulation bill was passed. This bill permitted franchise authorities (local governments) to regulate "basic cable" (cable transmission of local broadcast signals) only. Other cable services (CNN, MTV, etc.) remain es

. . .
is, television tailored to specific and relatively narrow audiences, and therefore freed (it was hoped) of the lowestcommondenominator character of broadcast TV. The hopes of idealists who dreamed of networks devoted to education, opera and stage drama, minority interests, and the like were not, however, altogether met. Most such services folded quickly. The bestknown early cable services, such as HBO, endlessly recycled popular movies. MTV introduced a truly new form of TV entertainment  but, in the eyes of some rock aficionados, made the appearance of a group more important than its sound. Perhaps the greatest programming achievement of cable has been CNN, which became the "network of record" for world affairs, and by the time of the Persian Gulf crisis and war had even become a channel for international diplomacy. But a consequence of the growth of cable has been to make cable regulation a hot political issue. Two issues rose to fore, rate regulation and content regulation. The first has been the more contentious, and the latter can be dealt with briefly, as it has been treated mainly by the courts. In 1985, several conservative Senators introduced legislation bar "obscene, indecent or profane" tel
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Baby Bells, Cable Act, America Exclusive, NBC ABC, Congress Congress, Persian Gulf, House Pytte, Consumer Union, Cable American, Baby Bell, cable service, local cable, cable television, service local, cable operators, rates services, local broadcast, local cable operators, garay 1988, congressional quarterly weekly, baby bells, cable act, quarterly weekly report, service local cable, provide cable service,
Approximate Word count = 1601
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)