By Victor Nicholson, Cable Television Information Center
The difficulties of extending cable 'N service into law density areas have plagued cable 'N operators and small town residents since the construction of the first community antenna television system in 1949. The principal problem was that the low density of rural America coupled with the high cost of constructing cable systems made it financially uninteresting for cable operators to build systems in rural areas and outside the denser portions of towns. Furthermore, in recent years when substantial amounts of risk capital began flowing into the cable industry, all of the attention was turned to the major urban areas where the existing vast television markets are located. As a result, by 1972 when the new FCC Report and Order was promulgated, most of the activity and excitement centered around efforts to win franchises in suburbs and central cities located in the major urban markets.
In this talk, I would like to turn your attention away from central cities to the sizable and as yet untapped markets which exist in rural, small town, and fringe suburban areas.