Page 18 continued from PAGE ONE) gramming. City officials, par- ticularly those in smaller com- munities, usually see this as a partial reward for the riominal two or three percent of gross franchise fee. But then local programs never seem to de- velop. Model Companies model CATV operations which are leaders in the industry in the service they give, and are making money at the same time. And they are not nec- essarily the giants. One such operation is High Fidelity Cable Television in Great Barrington, Mass., a community of 7,000 residents. HECT president John Mooney figures he can make money if he maintains or exceeds an es- timated 30 subscribers per mile of cable. His 78-mile system is adequately in the black, and Mr. Mooney, a former news- paperman, has maintained local programming from the start, and now reaches more than 90 percent of the homes in the area, he brags, partially be- cause of the local programming in news coverage and public affairs origination. From the consumers end of the spectrum, one thing seems obvious: the majority of tele- vision viewers want to see more programs on more channels, preferably from sources outside the range of local broadcasting. No matter the programs are better or not, or whether the viewers watch them or not, they want to have them available, and they seem willing to pay the tariff for the advantages of cable, providing the cable oper- ator really has something to offer. The days are about over, however, when viewers are wil- ling to buy cable service for merely better reception of channels they can view without cable, as is the usual case locally. Complex Rules Last Feb. 3, rules handed down by the FCC acted to com- plicate the cable controversy even more, but they did bring forth what perhaps is at least a feeling among the commission members of their disappoint- ment with television generally, while hinting what route cable can be expected to be pushed, whether it wants to go that route or not. Addressing a convention of delegates from the National Cable Television Association last year, chairman Burch said frankly: “If cable is to be nothing more than status quo television plus an overlay of im- proved technology, then you’d better just count us out. I tell you candidly that cable so de- fined: would not be worth the time and energy we're current- ly expending on it. And the public would be the loser.” “The point is,”” chairman Burch continued, ‘‘that cable operators are all ‘get’ and pre- cious little ‘give.’ He indicated that in his view, it was in the very services that commercial broadcast television does not or cannot provide that the promise of cable lies. ‘“They’re what sets cable apart as unique. And that is where the key to cable’s future resides.” New Services As examples of such services, chairman Burch cited new kinds of programming in sports, live theater and community action, along with cable trans- mission of medical information, educational material and local ‘news. In concluding, Mr. Burch implied that future FCC support would depend on the cable in- dustry’s becoming ‘‘a vehicle of maximum service.” He never aluded, however, to the aspect CATV holds dealing with two- way communication. Nor did the chairman mention CATV as a common carrier, as urged by the Office of Economic Opportunity, so the poor can benefit. OEO favors unlimited channel capacity, importation of distant signals, and avail- ability of channels to all groups for minimal fees, according to a filing before the FCC. OEO opposes high franchise fees, the public dividend plan (taxing CATV to support non-commer- cial over-the-air television), and free channels for local governments or schools. OEO also suggests that the FCC should bar program and equip- ment suppliers from owning CATV systems, and prohibiting system operators from pro- gramming. Accidential Birth Cable television, which had an accidential birth about 20 years ago in Pennsylvania when a television salesman and re- pairman installed an antenna on a mountain and sent signals to a group of subscribers via coaxial cable, has not at- tempted to offer much to con- sumers except better reception throughout this region. Nationally, CBS is the only network to even touch news about CATV, and even then the network has given the subject less that a half hour of air time. The technological advance of CATV is complicated, but it is to the stage now to where there is almost unlimited channel “space’’ available to even the small cable companies, like those operating in this region. Instead of piping the nominal four to six channels into homes, the equipment now at hand in the CATV business can transmit 20 to 40 or even more channels. But this aspect of cable is only the beginning of the potential of the capabilities. By installing a strip of copper wire within an insulating sheath only slightly larger in diameter than a lip- stick tube, one can bring to every home two-way, broad- band communications that can provide a whole galaxy of new services. These would encom- pass facsimile reproduction of documents, including possi- bly newspapers, magazines, and specialized information service; computer links and data transmission affording access to information banks at libraries, medical centers, home fire and crime protection systems; and delivery of medical welfare and other social services currently de- pending on outmoded institu- tutional methods. AsFCC com- missioner Nicholas Johnson once stated, ‘coaxial cable js to a telephone wire what Niagara Falls is to a garden hose.” Stop-And-Go As a trade publication recen- tly observed, the implications of such a system and the issue of who controls it are watershed questions, comparable in im- portance to development of the railroad, the telephone, the air- plane, and cable’s sister, over- the-air broadcasting. Yet the in- dustry has been evolving under a curious stop-and-go pattern, alternating between over-reg- ulation and at times no regul- ations at all. When cable began it was only for communities which could not adequately receive over- the-air broadcasts because of the terrain. It was welcomed because it increased audience size. Poor reception in the industry now, however, effects only a small proportion of people. Thus the ability to offer programs not normally avail- able in a region can attract vast audiences in major markets-- and distant signal importation is the cheapest and easiest method of offering this service. The Supreme Court ruled in 1968 in the Nortnightly case, that just because a cable com- pany picked up a distant (or nearby) signal, say from one of the network’s prime time pro- grams, and broadcast it again over its cable, this did not violate the copyright act. Then last June the Supreme Court strengthened the FCC's author- ity to regulate cable television with a ruling that the regulatory agency had authority to order cable operators to originate some of their own program- ming. Cable television, meanwhile, had continued to grow. Last year, as example, CATV re- ached 4.5 million homes in the nation, or about seven percent of the U.S. TV audience. Cable systems now number more than 2,500, with annual revenues upwards of $300 million. Even though the FCC is now very much involved with CATV, it is still up to local community governments to decide who gets a franchise, what kind of systems there should be, and what services should be provided. The FCC only sets minimum standards. that things get sticky. The Bad Side Federal regulations have left open the door for a host of con- sumer injustices by cable com- panies, with little actual con- cern for the public interests. And because of this local in- volvement of municipal of- ficials, rather than blanket re- gulations by the FCC over broadcast TV stations, CATV has developed.a bad side. Through « the franchise system, local officials, desper- ately in need of revenues, are often blinded by the promise of new and potentially large in- comes from CATV. Cable companies after a fran- chise, usually approach an un- informed council of city fathers with a proposal to construct a CATV system. When officials are relatively uninformed about cable, franchises of extremely long duration can be awarded with no requirements for ex- minimal channel capacity, and with the municipality, in effect, mortgaging its communications development for at least a gen- eration. And there is no wonder that municipal officials are often so stupid on the matter of CATV that they even ask the cable companies to write the franchise agreements. In such an arrangement, the pitfalls are many. Officials of a small New York town, for example, recently re- ported that they awarded a franchise to a cable company to which about 80 percent of the citizenry subscribed. After four years of a 30-year franchise had elapsed, officials were appalled to find that inferior equipment had left about 50 percent of the town without decent service. When ‘threatened with re- vocation of the franchise, the operator merely shrugged his shoulders. If the city officials revoke the franchise, it will take two years to arrange another with adequate service. In the in- terim, half the town now with adequate service will be de- prived. If they don’t revoke the franchise, the other half of the population will continue to be angered about poor service. Had city officials been on their toes, there would have been no problem. A perfor- mance bond, required at the time of the franchise was awarded, would have prevented the dilemma. Public Gets Cheated Another trouble spot often arises when the city awards a franchise and construction either is not begun, or is started and then delayed, particularly in stringing the cable through the community. This type of abuse could be stopped by writing a construction schedule into the franchise agreement, along with a performance bond. Such abuses generally indicates the presence of a speculator who merely intends to sell his franchise later. While the public has obviously been cheated in many instances via the CATV franchise granted by elected officials, there are a few basic rules which alert officials have followed, the wisest of which has been to commission a market study to determine consumer aware- ness; the quality of current TV reception, the expected number of subscribers to cable service, aprojected system growth rate, and determine special interests for possible local program orig- ination. Even criminal acts have marred the history of CATV. Former Johnstown, Pa. councilman Robert McKee was found guilty early this year of bribery, conspiracy and having used interstate travel to ad- vance the scheme. He was con- victed in federal court in New York. With him, former mayor Kenneth Tomkins and former councilman J. Howard Dear- dorff, likewise were found guilty of similar charges. Irving B. Hohn, former pre- sident of Tel-Prompter, the nation’s largest CATV oper- ation, late last year was found guilty of conspiracy, bribery and perjury, and sentenced to five years in prison. The company paid $15,000 in bribery money to city officials. For his part in the debacle, Mr. McKee could receive up to 15 years in jail and fines of $30,000. But neither is other aspects of CATV bad. In fact, the industry, properly pushed, holds possi- bilities of drastic change in the lives of millions of Americans. It’s just that it isn’t being pro- perly pushed in the views of a local CATV industry watcher of some expertise. George Strimel Jr., WVIA TV station manager, a long- time student of the cable in- dustry, holds the view that the FCC is moving more and more into the CATV area, and that the new FCC regulations will help moving cable companies in the right direction. 20 Channels According to Mr. Strimel the new regulations will force about 30 to 40 regional cable companies into providing at least 20 channels to viewers, at a cost which may deter CATV development for the present time. Mr. Strimel is chairman of the National Association of Educational Broadcasters CATV Committee. After returning from a series of meetings in Washington with FCC and other officials, Mr. Strimel said that the ‘‘tre- mendously increased costs will result from FCC regulations now requiring that all CATV systems located within 35 miles of the main post offices in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre must have a ‘minimum cap- acity of 20 channels.” Those firms already established would have five years to up-grade their equipment to meet this mandate, while firms that go into operation after next March 31, would have to have such equipment to provide the 20 channels when they go into operation. The ruling could also alter the p'y schedule now usually covered by franchise agree ments, in that existing con panies might ask local officials to void ¢ ‘rent franchise agree- ments in li~u of new ones which would increase the cost to con- sumers for CATV hookups. The incentive would also be on of- ficials because such an arrangement might mean that the municipality would receive more income from the franchise as more money went through the hands of the firm. In addition to the rules in- sisting on 20 channel-equip- ment, the FCC does not insist that programs be carried on each of the 20 channels, accord- ing to the WVIA executive. In fact, such a variety of programs as 20 different programs going on at one time is not expected in CATV industry in the fore- seeable future. Rather, the CATV firms would have .to carry a non-broadcast cable channel for every broadcast channel carried, and Mr. Strim- mel was quick to add, ‘‘among the non-broadcast channels there must be an educational channel.” Such a non-broadcast channel, available for only cable programs, would appeal 63 Shaver Ave. Call between 6 and 9 p.m. 696-3172 Reg. $4.50 Reg. $4.50 17 Oz. Bottle Now $2.50 Now $2.50 $2.50 BRAVE WORDS. to the AFFLUENT. crete proposal. R to area school districts, he added. Additionally, he said, the channel would be available to school districts free of charge, except for production costs, to local educational authorities at a time when they requested it. Public Access According to the WVIA ex- ecutive, the FCC also mandated that an additional channel be available as a ‘‘public access” channel, and would be available “for absolutely any one or any group that asks for the time.” Such a channel could be utilized by candidates for public office and by advocates of modern- day causes, is restricted to ban advertising, lotteries and ob- scene matter, but nothing else. Under the FCC rules, another of the 20 channels would have to be made available to local governments. Likewise this channel would be free of charge other than production costs, and the cable firm must have avail- able “to any person or agency not having their own production facilities’ a studio with the nec- essary broadcasting equip- ment. 1 Mr. Strimel . said also that a fairness doctrine was built into the FCC rules which would pro- tect network television. CATV would be banned, for example, from bringing any programs of a non-network caliber into the area if such programs already are sold in the area. This would include various syndicated programs--such as movies and certain programs including the David Frost and Mike Douglas shows. Also, two stations of the same network would not be carried on the CATV system at the same time offering the same program. Private Channel Meanwhile, across the country in Los Angeles, a young corporation is convinced it has the key to the maze of pay-tv gimmicks from CATV to casse- ttes and other means of pro- viding consumers, at the right price, better viewing than they feel they are now getting from the three networks and most lo- cally produced programs. - Geoffrey Nathanson of Op- tical Systems Corp. says he is setting up a system he calls Private Channel Television (PCTV). The formula is fairly simple, he suggests. “There are already six million homes con- nected to cable television. We'll piggy-back our programming over those cables using differ- ent wave frequencies. This will open up between 30 to 40 new channels that the cable people weren't even aware they had ”’ To cash in on the system, the young executive explains, ‘‘we pay the cable operators for the use of their facilities. We then place a black box on each set, for which there is no charge, and then send out a variety of programming from movies to college extension courses.” Subscribers to PCTV receive a scrambled picture on their sets until they insert a pre- scribed computer-type card into the black box, for which they have to pay a small charge. The card unscrambles the picture and an entirely new world of entertainment right in the home. First-Run Movies In addition to first run movies, operated on a 24-hour basis with the same film run- ning for a week, P®I'V will pro- vide such blackediout free tv specials as championship fights, football, basketball, baseball, Broadway shows, opera, symphony and other live entertainment. Additionally, according to PCTV, there will be channels for classified advertising, teen- age programming, the stock market, games and contests, shopping, mail order catalog, church and religion, travel and travelers’ aid and dozens of others. ° ‘We start our #0 project this summer in Southern Calif- ornia, San Francisco, British Columbia and southeastern Pennsylvania,” the PCTV ex- ecutive said. “They are the four biggest cable markets with about 300,000 sets each.” Meanwhile, what’s ahead for local cable television con- sumers? Almost nothing new, according to WVIA’s Strimel. “Development of new cable television systems=in this area may be slowed, [#zhaps even halted,” he said, because of the new FCC rulings. 550 E. Main St. Tel: Plymouth, Pa. November Fourth PROPRIETOR ot fp 4 "12 CHEV. Racing Stripes. Sharp. Custom 500 4-Dr. Radio, Auto., As Is. Power Brakes, Real Sharp. 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers