Cable Compromise

For years cable television has been a kind of genie in a TV tube--a potential miracle maker for the ordinary viewer but a frightening specter to commercial broadcasters. With cable (or CATV), a viewer could have at his command as many as 40 channels offering everything from ballet and sporting events to programs for minority audiences of all kinds. For this he might pay a fee as high as $20 and then a subscription of perhaps $5 a month. Though the cable companies could not hope to compete with the networks in news coverage or expensive entertainment shows, the broadcasters have looked upon cable as a potential drain on their advertising revenues and a challenge to their monopoly of the air waves. Since the broadcasters have one of the most effective lobbies in Washington, cable has been generally restricted to rural areas and to urban centers where cable is often necessary for a clear signal. So far, cable covers only about 9% of the sets in the country.

Last week, after years of discussion, the Federal Communications Commission gave CATV a slight lift. It will still be virtually excluded from the top 50 markets--with about 40% of the viewing audience--but it will be allowed to make major inroads into the next 50, which include smaller cities like Little Rock, Ark., and Columbia, S.C. It was not a happy compromise for cable operators or for viewers starved for quality programming. But it was probably the best that they could expect in a year when politicians want to be in broadcasters' good graces in order to get maximum coverage on the air waves.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.