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Cable TV & Regulation During th

During the 1980s, cable television became a major feature of American popular culture. Cable ceased to be simply an extension of broadcast TV service, and provided new types of channels, such as Cable News Network, Home Box Office, MTV, and others. The 1984 Cable Act removed a tangle of earlier regulation, but left local cable systems' rates and service largely unregulated.

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 essentially exempt from local regulation of rates and services.

The 1980s has been the Decade of Cable in American television. A majority of American homes are now "on the cable," and cable (along with the VCR) has profoundly changed the nature of television and TV viewing habits. At the same time, inevitably, cable has become a center of controversy, partly because of its sometimesracy contents, but primarily because of the power of local cable operators, wh...

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Cable TV & Regulation During th. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 01:51, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1705800.html