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DOCUMENT RESUME LE 073 688 EM 010 862 AUTHC Steiner, Robert L. TITLE Visions of Cablevision; The Prospects for Cable Television in the Greater Cincinnati Area. INSTITUTION Stephen H. Wilder Foundation, Cincinnati, Ohio. PUB CATE sec 72 NOTE 115p. AVAILABLE FROMThe Stephen H. Wilder Foundation, 1017 Provident Tower, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 (free to residents Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana, $3.00 elsewhere) EERS PRICE MF-$0.65 HC Not Available from ERRS. DESCRIPTORS *Cable Television; *City Planning; Community Antennas; Economics; Federal Laws; *Guides; Marketing; Modern History; *Policy Formation; *Regional Planning; State Legislation; Technological Advancement; Television IDENTIFIERS CATV; *Cincinnati; Ohio AESTRACT Prepared to assist in the planning for cable television in the Cincinnati, Ohio metropolitanarea, this document provides not only general information, about thehistory and current state of cable television, but alsoan example of the application of such information to the policy demands of a specificsituation. Given the technology and capabilities of cable, thecurrent regulatory structure, the experience of other big city systems, andthe economics of major market cable systems, recommendationsare made for the structuring of a Greater Cincinnati cable televisionsystem. (RH) g-Au- - - Vi Si0178 of Cablevision By Robert Steiner _ICAO! (71,41Y , N a 1,iNI)1 % ,J,rt4.0f .!.104 Visions of Cablevision The Prospects fbi Cable Television in the Greater Cincinnati Area A Report to The Stephen H. Wilder Founda December, 1972 U S DEPARTMENT OF tIFALTH EDUCATION Ed WEEFAF1E OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS 110CUMENT HAS RUN REPRO DUCED EXAC1L' A REcnvc.o FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION RIG INATIN( I POINTS OF %Pi:v.; 3R OPIN IONS STTED DO NOT NFELESSARICY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDO CATION POSITiON OR POLICY Individual copies of this book are available free of charge to all residents of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indianaelsewhere 53 per copy: The Stephen It Wilder Foundation 1017 Provident Tower Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 7 Foreword 1 Overview 2 19 The Technology and Capabilities of Cable TV The Growth of Cable Television 1950.70, or Highlights in the Life of the Caterpillar 4 The Rules of the Game, Federal Level 5 45CableTelevision Experience in the Big Cities, or Checking Out the immature Butterflies 6 The Economies MarketCable Systems and the Demand for Cable Services 7 78 Cablevision versus Television 8 90Structuring a Greater Cincinnati Cable Television System in the Light of Federal, State and Local Regulations 9 103 A Summary of Findings and Majc r Recommendations for Cable Television in the Greater Cincinnati Area The ida ion Under the last will of Edith Carson Wilder, widow of Stephen H. Wilder. therewas established in 1941 The Stephen H. Wilder Foundation,fur research in the field of public affairs affecting the Cincinnatiarea. Its board of directors was empowered to inquire into and investigate subjects of generalinterest to the people of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, to select expertor professionally y competent investigatorsor critics of reputlition for integrity, and to publish the results oftheir studies on selected subjects. Since 1942 the Foundation has published studieson the effectiveness of the council-manager plan of government in Cincinnati, theOhio State Constitution, racialdiscriminationin employmentinCincinnati, metropolitan government possibilities for the Greater Cincinnati Area andmany others. The present study on cable televisionwas commissioned in light of the expected arrival of CATV in the Cincinnati metropolitanarea. The author, Robert L. Steiner, was charged with providing both general background analysisand specific proposals for the kind of cable television service thatmight best serve the needs ofour citizens. Robert L. Steiner is a Cincinnatian witha wide background in both business and economics and a close involvement ina rang_ e of community endeavors. Mr. Steiner was graduated front Dartmouth College and holdsan MA degree in economics from Columbia University. He was formany years associated with Kenner Products Company, a major toy manufacturer, wherelie was President before hisrecent retirement. He has authored articles in the fieldsof economics, marketing, and social commentary. Currently heserves on the Cincinnati Environmental Task Force, the Ohio Commissionon Local (i'ov nent Services, and the Boards of several civic organizations. Foreword This report explores the brief 20year history of cable television (CATV) and examinesitsrelatively mundane impacttodate.Italso provides forecasts, speculations and current recommendations for thedevelopment of CATV in the Greater Cincinnati area.Itis a good faith attempt to furnishanswers to such questions as: Will CATV deliver the social bluetitsenvisioned by its sponsors? Will it wreck television broadcasting? Ispay cable a menace or a blessing? Can cable television operate profitably in Cincinnati? Ismunicipal ownership desirable? The reason for furnishing suchforecasts a recommendations isthatthe Trustees of The Wilder Foundation wanted it that way, Unfortunately, Iagree that for this study to be of signiticant benefit to the Cincinnati Cable Task Force and the many other groups and just plain citizens who will be involved in planning cable television's future here, it must take firm positions wherever possible. Yet there is no fieldin which more entirely valid reasons can be adduced in support of a cop-out. The bank of major market television experience is virtually empty but is beginning to he Filled at a rapid rate almost daily. CATV is one of those fields where we'll know a lot more in a year or two. As real life results pour in from the cities along with new rule making from Washington and perhaps Columbus,many cif the conclusions Ipresent will have to be amended and in some cases reversed entirely. The reader must also be warned that the very fascination of the subject, which is its open-endedness, makes it impossible for any writer to feel that he is entitled to be licensed to practice throughout the length and breadth of cableland. Ifeel this warning label must be prominently displayed on any cable work, but especiallyon one produced by a person who entered the field as recently as 1 have. NonethelessIhave nut been shyincriticizing much of the present cable literature, it being apparent that on the whole it is the product of persons whose viewpointshaveescapedthatcontamination whichinevitablyresultsfront immersion in the operating management of business enterprise or the study of marketing theory.While I cannotfurnishthisparticularpairof blameless credentials which heretofore have been prerequisite for admission into the guild of cable authors, Ican present other areas of ignorance and doubtless harbor a different set of prejudices. Leonardo da Vinci is said to have been the last person who knew everything. It is a pity lie is no longer around, for he would have been just the man to do a book on cable television. Budget constraints prevented engaging consultants with expertise in cable's many specialized areas. However, I soon decided thatI must at least have the services of good legal counsel to unravel the complex series of regulations at all levels of government that affect CATV. I made the happy choice of David Mann, a bright young Cincinnati attorney who had taken a broad interest in the potential of cable television. His we7k has been excellent, and he has turned over several legal stones exposing some hitherto hidden problems and opportunities. Lastly,I must express my profoundest thanks to the many men and women whose brains I picked and whose valuable time I frequently monopolized in search of both first hand facts and informed analysis. Their enthusiasm and courtesy made my travels a marvelously pleasant as well as an informative experience, Hobert L. Steiner Cincinnati, Ohio December, 1972 7 -Economics is 11 ence whwhich stitch-0.v human behavior as a relationship bet ends and scarce means which havealternative uses: Lionel Robbins. "An Essay on the Nature and»!@§caner of Economic Science,- 1 Overview The Birth of Cable In the early days of television, many persons living in smaller communities were unable to receive satisfactory television reception even with the help of rooftop antennas. Their problem was one of distance from the nearest TV station or intervening hilly terrain which blocked the signal. Itis 1950, and enter now our hero, Robert J. Tarlton, the operator of a radio and TV sales and repair service in just such a market -- Lansford, Pa., a distance of 65 miles from Philadelphia. With some friends he founded Panther Valley Television Company to bring in 3 Philadelphia TV stations to the householders of Lansford "on the cable" and with a picture clarity often superior to that enjoyed in Philadelphia itself. This miracle was performed by erecting a tall master antenna atop a mountain which intercepted the distant over-the-air Philadelphia signals. After strengthening the signals by 'amplification, they were fed through a coaxial cable strung on poles down the sides of the mountain to Lansford. Panther Valley charged a $125 installation fee, plus $3 per month rental, to hook up the home TV set to this cable via a smaller house-drop wire. Thus, in eastern Pennsylvania, and about the same bane also in the hills of Oregon, there began a system that was labeled Community Antenna Television (CATV) where the television set received its signal through a connection to a coaxial cable rather than capturing the impulse over the air.