The Cable Television Industry forgets their roots. The only reason the CATV Companies existed until the early 80's was to deliver local stations to viewers that were to far from the stations to receive a signal using an ordinary TV Antenna. The customers did not pay for the programming, just a satisfactory signal. The CATV Weasels like Wallstreeters with their deceitful financial dealings have taken advantage of the move of quality programming from Network Television to Pay Television to raise prices and shake down consumers. Until the government regulates the CATV Monopoly consumers will continue to be abused and overcharged.
reply to Mr Matt Matt, you are correct. I can add that many of the early cable companies (50s and 60s) didn't even charge a monthly subscription fee. You paid for the installation, which the cable company made its profit on, then service was free, since no one paid for TV programming back then
reply to Mr Matt Didn't the OTA stations start charging the Cable Cos for rebroadcasting rights or some such thing in the 90s. I seem to remember a big to do at some point about a possibility of losing local stations on cable until some agreements were reached. I am going by memory so I may be wrong.
Didn't the OTA stations start charging the Cable Cos for rebroadcasting rights or some such thing
Yes. OTA broadcasters are/were irritated that CableCos were essentially reselling the free OTA content. My mother was without a CBS affiliate on her Cable system for a few months due to this. And no, an antenna isn't a realistic option for her.
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The Cable Television Industry forgets their roots. The only reason the CATV Companies existed until the early 80's was to deliver local stations to viewers that were to far from the stations to receive a signal using an ordinary TV Antenna. The customers did not pay for the programming, just a satisfactory signal. The CATV Weasels like Wallstreeters with their deceitful financial dealings have taken advantage of the move of quality programming from Network Television to Pay Television to raise prices and shake down consumers. Until the government regulates the CATV Monopoly consumers will continue to be abused and overcharged.
