As network programming evolved, so did cable programming, offering a greater variety of content and services thanks in part to satellite technology. For instance, in 1975, the HBO (originally called Home Box Office) premium cable service began delivering uncut, commercial-free movies and exclusive live coverage of major boxing matches via satellite for a monthly fee. The following year, WTBS—an independent Atlanta broadcast station then owned by future media mogul Ted Turner—was uplinked to a satellite and made available to cable companies, becoming the first cable “superstation.” In 1980, Turner, who had become a major player in cable, established CNN (originally the Cable News Network) as a 24/7 news operation. Such efforts gave more people greater and more convenient TV access to movies, news, sports, and other content—presenting a direct challenge to traditional over-the-air broadcast TV.

With the advent of satellite TV, cable companies could excel at narrowcasting—the delivery of specialized programming, such as the History Channel or the Food Network, for niche viewer groups—which cut into broadcasting’s large mass audience. Narrowcasting gave rise to different types of cable stations offering various content and cable providers various service options: Viewers could choose basic cable services with just a few channels for a modest monthly fee or add more niche channels and premium cable services for a higher monthly or per-use fee (see “Media Literacy Case Study: The United Segments of America: Niche Marketing in Cable” on pages 270–271).

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Basic Cable

Basic cable offers numerous channels appealing to specific audiences’ interests that the broadcast networks don’t offer—such as ESPN (sports), CNN (news), MTV and VH1 (music), Nickelodeon (new children’s programs and older TV series reruns), Lifetime (movies), BET (Black Entertainment Television), the Weather Channel, and QVC (home shopping). Basic cable also traditionally offers superstations (independent broadcast TV stations uplinked to a satellite), such as WPIX (New York) and WGN (Chicago), although in 2014 WGN the superstation became WGN America, a regular entertainment-based cable channel with higher-profile original programming.

Typically, local cable companies pay each satellite-delivered service anywhere from less than $1 per month per subscriber for low-cost, low-demand channels to as much as $3 or $4 per month per subscriber for high-cost, high-demand channels like ESPN, which is available in two hundred countries worldwide. A standard basic cable channel may negotiate a fee somewhere between $.25 and $1.00 per subscriber per month, usually demanding more in areas serving larger populations. That fee is passed along to consumers as part of their basic monthly fee.

In 1992, eighty-seven cable networks were in business. By 2014, that number had grown to over eight hundred.⁴ With the advent of high-bandwidth fiber-optic cable and digital cable in the late 1990s, cable systems could expand their offerings beyond the basic analog channels. Digital cable typically used set-top cable boxes to offer on-screen program guides and dozens of additional premium, pay-per-view, and audio music channels, increasing total cable capacities to between 150 and 500 channels. Even more than broadcast network programming, cable services evolved far beyond the old limited categories of news information and fictional entertainment. Satisfied with smaller niche audiences, cable became much more specialized than its broadcast counterpart.

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Specialized Information: CNN

CNN, the first 24/7 cable TV news channel, quickly mastered continuous coverage of breaking news events and, early on, avoided presenting news anchors as celebrities (like network anchors). With around-the-clock programming, it began delivering up-to-the-minute news in great detail and featuring live, unedited coverage of news conferences, press briefings, and special events. Although it has since cut many of its international bureaus, CNN today dominates international TV news coverage. It operates in more than two hundred territories and countries where many viewers use it to practice their English; more than two billion people have access to a CNN service. Spawning a host of competitors in the United States and worldwide, CNN now battles for viewers with other twenty-four-hour news providers, including the Fox News Channel; MSNBC; CNBC; EuroNews; Britain’s Sky Broadcasting; Al Jazeera; and thousands of Web and blog sites, such as Politico, the Huffington Post, the Drudge Report, and Salon. (See Chapter 3 for more on cable news, news satire, and “fake news” programs.)

Specialized Entertainment: MTV

Started in 1981, MTV (originally the Music Television Network) and its global offspring reach more than 400 million homes worldwide. MTV initially played popular music videos from mainstream white artists for white suburban teens; however, the popularity of Michael Jackson’s Thriller album in late 1982 opened MTV up to black artists and more diverse music forms. Then, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, MTV began providing more original programming with shows like The Real World and Beavis and Butt-head and more recently Jersey Shore and MADE. Since MTV’s inception, critics have worried that much of its programming has encouraged vulgarity and overt sexism. Advocates maintain that MTV (and cable overall) has created a global village by giving people around the world a common language and cultural bond. They also applaud MTV’s special programs on important social issues, such as drug addiction, racism, and social/political activism, especially with its Rock the Vote campaigns that encourage young people to participate in national elections.

Premium Cable

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Besides basic programming, cable offers special premium channels featuring recent and classic Hollywood movies as well as original movies and popular series—such as HBO’s Girls and Showtime’s Homeland—all with no advertising. Premium services have also proved innovative. They include pay-per-view (PPV) programs; video-on-demand (VOD); and interactive services through which consumers can bank, shop, play games, and access the Internet. Subscribers pay fees in addition to charges for basic cable.

Innovative Content: HBO

HBO—the oldest premium cable channel—pioneered original, uncut movies and series on cable. Its most successful and acclaimed shows include The Sopranos, True Detective, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Game of Thrones. Since the late 1990s, HBO has regularly garnered more Emmy nominations each year for its original programs than any of the traditional networks. Its widespread appeal and acclaim have even inspired basic cable services to produce original programming, such as Bravo’s Project Runway, USA’s Burn Notice, TNT’s The Closer, and AMC’s Mad Men. HBO remains the dominant premium channel.

Innovative Viewing Options: Pay-per-View and Video-on-Demand

In addition to presenting fresh types of programming, premium cable has introduced innovative viewing options to customers. pay-per-view (PPV) channels came first. These offered recently released movies or special one-time sporting events (such as a championship boxing match) to subscribers who paid a designated charge to their cable company. In the early 2000s, U.S. cable companies introduced a new pay-per-view option for their digital customers: video-on-demand (VOD). Through VOD, customers choose among hundreds of titles, then download a selection from the cable operator’s server onto their cable TV box hard drive either for free (for access to older TV series or movies) or for any amount up to four dollars (for more popular recent movies). They watch the movie the same way they would watch a video, pausing and fast-forwarding when desired. Today, the largest cable companies and DBS services also offer digital video recorders (DVRs) to their customers.