Pay television
Pay television, often referred to as pay TV, is a subscription-based service that offers viewers access to a variety of channels and programming that are not available through free television broadcasts. Its origins date back to the early days of television, with proponents advocating for its adoption as early as 1950. However, initial attempts to establish pay television faced significant resistance from regulatory bodies like the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and various industry groups, which viewed it as a threat to free broadcasting and a burden on lower-income viewers.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, pay television struggled against stringent regulations that limited its growth. Despite these challenges, the landscape began to change when the FCC eventually relaxed its restrictions in response to pressures from the film and cable industries, which recognized the profitability of creating exclusive content for pay TV. The late 1970s saw a turning point with a court ruling that deemed the FCC's earlier restrictions unconstitutional, paving the way for a more robust pay television market.
Although pay television played a significant role in the evolution of media, particularly as a precursor to cable and satellite services, its prominence diminished by the late 1980s. Today, pay television is part of a broader digital entertainment landscape that includes diverse interactive options, such as pay-per-view and on-demand programming, offering viewers a range of choices in how they consume media.
Pay television
Television programming sold directly to customers through special broadcast stations, which transmitted scrambled signals that were decoded by boxes connected to subscribers’ television sets
During the 1950’s, pay television was vigorously opposed by the American movie theater and commercial television industries, which saw it as a major economic threat to their own entertainment offerings. Regulatory delays stifled its growth in the decades ahead.
Pay television is nearly as old as the television industry itself, but it had difficult beginnings and never achieved the heights envisioned by its early promoters. Supporters of pay television campaigned for broadcast rights as early as 1950, but the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) refused to authorize pay service except in a few experimental cases. Supporters saw pay television as a practical option toward building a national television system. The FCC, however, argued that pay television should be supplemental to free television and passed stringent laws to prevent it from siphoning away viewers. The National Association of Theater Owners and the Joint Committee Against Toll Television asked the courts to uphold the FCC rules to protect their business interests. Magazine and newspaper advertisements sponsored by these groups portrayed pay television as an assault on free television, a burden to low-income viewers, and a threat to basic American ideals.
Impact
Characterized by rapid growth and major economic restructuring, the 1950’s was the formative period for American television. Subscription stations sprouted around the United States on the UHF (ultrahigh frequency) band but only in those areas permitted by the FCC. A subscription station, for example, was not permitted to be established until at least four commercial television stations were in an area. Section 303 of the Federal Communications Act required the FCC to experiment with new uses of broadcasting. For example, it permitted pay-television company Skiatron to test its system on WOR-TV New York in 1950 and Telemeter to broadcast over KTLA Los Angeles in 1951.
Subsequent Events
The campaign to stop pay television intensified during the 1960’s. Strong opposition from the film industry in California led to a state referendum prohibiting pay television in 1964. The referendum was later ruled unconstitutional. Furthermore, legal restrictions imposed by the FCC stifled the growth of this industry for two decades. No substantial growth occurred in pay television until the late 1960’s, when the FCC lifted its restrictions in response to mounting pressure from the film and cable industries. The film industry, for example, saw potential in providing films specifically for pay television. Because film companies could save money on marketing and distribution, pay television was potentially more lucrative than the country’s dying movie theaters. In 1977, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled the FCC restrictions unconstitutional on the grounds that siphoning had not been demonstrated during the 1950’s prior to the restrictions being imposed.
Pay or subscription television was the antecedent of cable, satellite, and various interactive forms of pay television such as pay-per-view and programming on demand. Unlike cable television, pay television did not need to string wires or follow complicated franchise procedures. Always a free enterprise endeavor, pay television was competitive against cable television during the 1970’s and early 1980’s but waned in importance and passed quietly into television history during the late 1980’s.
Bibliography
Boddy, William. Fifties Television: The Industry and Its Critics. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994. Includes discussion of early regulations, programming, and economic issues.
Smith, Anthony, ed. Television: An International History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. A collection of articles on the origins and forms of television around the world.