Household‐level demand for cable television: A probit analysis.

The authors explore demand for cable services in individual households and find that the quality of over‐the‐air reception, interest in nonprogramming entertainment services, and service quality directly affect that demand. The study also explores demographic and behavioral differences in demand for basic and pay services and outlines their implications for cable systems operators.     

Diffusion of the New Video Delivery Technology: Is There Redlining in the Internet Protocol TV Service Market?

This study examines the current status of the entry behavior of Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) into the video programming service market, with a particular focus on income redlining and local competition. Analyzing previously unavailable data on telecommunication companies' introduction of IPTV services into Indiana, this study found that although IPTV's entry into the state increased the local competition between cable and IPTV, this local competition was mostly confined to higher income areas due to the income redlining tendency associated with IPTV's entry. These empirical findings raise the issue of the recent deregulation policy reforming cable franchising rules, whose goal was to promote local competition but which might insufficiently reflect the public interest, especially for low-income households.     

The Big Three's Prime-Time Decline: A Technological and Social Context

This paper is an analysis of factors associated with the 25-year decline in the prime-time shares of the top 3 television networks. Time series analysis revealed a stronger serial correlation between network decline and social indicators than between network decline and technological factors. Network shares were negatively correlated with indicators of social differentiation, and were also negatively correlated with the penetration of cable and other multiple video programming distribution sources (MVPD) into the nation's households (the technological context). Findings were discussed in terms of the impact of social change on both the audiences and organizations of broadcasting.     

Determinants of Cable System Product Diversification—An Investigation of the U.S. Cable Systems

This study examines cable system diversification into three nontraditional services: pay-per-view television, high-speed Internet access, and telephony. An econometrics model based on the Industrial Organization Model is used to explore the factors that have led to variation in diversification among cable systems. Specifically, this study examines how three sets of variables, namely, cable system characteristics, market structure, and market demographics, influenced cable system diversification. Multiple linear regression was performed to identify the determinants of cable system total degree of diversification, which is defined to be the number, from 0 to 3, of the three nontraditional services offered by a cable system. Regression results indicate that Multiple System Operator (MSO) ownership, the number of basic cable service subscribers, and the number of broadcast television stations receivable over the air all had a statistically significant positive relationship to cable system total degree of diversification, whereas the number high-speed Internet service providers in a cable franchise area had a statistically significant negative relationship to cable system's total degree of diversification.     

Concentration and Diversity in the Cable Television Industry Under Regulatory Uncertainty

This study investigates the relationship between the concentration of ownership among cable companies and diversity in the cable networks during a period of regulatory uncertainty—a period when the cable ownership rules were announced but did not have legal impact due to legal challenges from the industry. The results show that although cable ownership rules had not been legally in effect, they did pose potential threats to the industry and affected the cable television industry by decreasing the level of concentration among cable networks while increasing the level of concentration among cable system operators.     

Feeding the dinosaurs: Economic concentration in the retail book industry

While bookstores play the vital role in book distribution, little attention has been paid to concentration and conglomerate ownership in the retail book trade. In 1958, one-store book firms accounted for nearly 80 percent of book sales; by 1982 that figure had fallen to 26 percent even though single-store retailers continue to account for a majority of all bookstore outlets. Today the chains control at least 54 percent of bookstore sales. Buoyed by discriminatory discounts and publisher-subsidized advertising campaigns, the chains’ dramatic growth seems likely to continue despite the fact that they are less profitable than independent booksellers. The chains’ marketing orientation fits well with changes in the broader publishing industry, as publishers seek to rationalize operations in order to improve the bottom line. As books become just another commodity, sold through increasingly centralized and monopolized channels, access for alternative and minority voices is being for-closed.     

The Internet,Public Libraries,and the Digital Divide

Virtually every public library in the United States provides public access Internet computers as a role central to its mission. This article addresses the issue of why the Internet matters for public libraries, both in terms of impacts on the general public, particularly the digitally disadvantaged (part one of the article) and impacts on libraries themselves (part two of the article). Each part of this report begins with an extensive literature review, followed by a data analysis section. In part one, the author uses the 2000 United States Census dataset to evaluate library efforts to bridge the digital divide, by analyzing differences in the growth of public terminals in library systems serving counties with different levels of household income, households in poverty, non-white households, and non-English-speaking households. The analysis finds no disparity in the number of public computers available in areas with high and low incomes but finds a significant—and widening—disparity in the number of computers available in areas with a higher versus lower percentage of non-white and non-English-speaking households. In part two of the report, the author uses a random effects linear regression model to estimate the effects of Internet access on library usage. This analysis finds that having Internet terminals (versus having no Internet terminals) has a significant positive effect on a library's visits and reference transactions, but not on a library's circulation. An increase in the number of Internet terminals has no significant effect, positive or negative, on visits, reference transactions, or circulation.     

Makeover TV: Selfhood,Citizenship, and Celebrity

A survey conducted in McAllen, Texas, a largely Hispanic area, examined whether exposure to Spanish-language cable news had an agenda-setting effect. Results show that level of exposure was associated with agenda-setting effects for Spanish cable news, but perceived media credibility and media reliance were not related to the strength of agenda-setting effects. Exposure, credibility, and reliance were also not associated with agenda- setting effects for English-language newscasts-perhaps because English speakers had more news options in the survey area.     

Promoting gun trigger-lock use: insights and implications from a radio-based health communication intervention

A radio public service announcement (PSA) focusing on the danger to children from an unlocked and loaded gun was designed and aired 340 times on three radio stations in one Michigan county. At the end of the message, individuals were given a toll-free number to call to receive a free gun trigger-lock. Three surveys were used to assess the effectiveness of this intervention: a general population telephone survey, an automated telephone survey, and a follow-up mail survey. Approximately 20 percent of individuals in the general population heard the PSA. There was a significant increase in uncued knowledge of the locking-related gun-safety practices in the treatment county between time one and time two. Further, individuals in both counties had very high levels of self-efficacy and response efficacy, moderate levels of perceived severity, and very low levels of perceived susceptibility at both points in time. Seven-hundred and ninety-nine individuals called the toll-free number to receive a free gun trigger-lock; or approximately 17 percent of gun-owning households exposed to the message. The majority of callers were males who owned guns primarily for hunting purposes and who planned to use the lock themselves. Follow-up survey results indicated that individuals were using the gun trigger-locks, and that they believed using gun trigger-locks was an easy and effective way to prevent gun injuries. Insights and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Promoting gun trigger-lock use: insights and implications from a radio-based health communication intervention

A radio public service announcement (PSA) focusing on the danger to children from an unlocked and loaded gun was designed and aired 340 times on three radio stations in one Michigan county. At the end of the message, individuals were given a toll-free number to call to receive a free gun trigger-lock. Three surveys were used to assess the effectiveness of this intervention: a general population telephone survey, an automated telephone survey, and a follow-up mail survey. Approximately 20 percent of individuals in the general population heard the PSA. There was a significant increase in uncued knowledge of the locking-related gun-safety practices in the treatment county between time one and time two. Further, individuals in both counties had very high levels of self-efficacy and response efficacy, moderate levels of perceived severity, and very low levels of perceived susceptibility at both points in time. Seven-hundred and ninety-nine individuals called the toll-free number to receive a free gun trigger-lock; or approximately 17 percent of gun-owning households exposed to the message. The majority of callers were males who owned guns primarily for hunting purposes and who planned to use the lock themselves. Follow-up survey results indicated that individuals were using the gun trigger-locks, and that they believed using gun trigger-locks was an easy and effective way to prevent gun injuries. Insights and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Can You Repeat That? Patterns of Media Ownership and the “Repurposing” Trend

The article examines shifting patterns of ownership for cable programming services from 1994 to 2003. In these years, vertical integration in the cable industry declined, as cable's multi-system operators divested equity in programming services. Meanwhile, broadcast network-owning media conglomerates invested heavily in cable, tripling their holdings among the top 20 most fully distributed cable channels, as well as launching and acquiring dozens of additional, less widely distributed channels. In light of the Federal Communications Commissions' recent attempts to revise rules regarding television ownership, the author argues that while vertical integration has declined, the market power of the broadcast networks has grown by means of a new kind of horizontal integration that reaches across broadcast and cable channels. This shift is reshaping cable as a market which, despite growing product differentiation, is trending toward less competitive conditions that are akin to the broadcast oligopoly. This article shows that these broadcast-cable alliances contributed to the development of the new synergistic practice of repurposing.     

Triple-Play Competition in the U.S. Telecommunications Industry: Exploring Cable Operators' Adoption Pattern of Triple-Bundled Services

The innovations of new digital technology as well as the changes in communications policies have made cable operators' triple-play services for consumers possible. In the face of the new type of competition, this study estimates the adoption pattern of triple-play services by cable operators in U.S. local telecommunications markets and discovers factors associated with cable operators' adoptions of triple-play strategies in markets. Probit regression analyses reveal that cable operators having a large video subscriber base are more likely to adopt triple-play strategies in local markets. Apparently, a large video subscriber base provides cable operators with motivation for the adoption of a triple-play strategy in order to hinder video customers' churn to other competitors and to generate additional revenue per customer.     

Metafrontier Production Function Analysis of Horizontal and Vertical Integration in Korea's Cable TV Industry

With its remarkable growth, the cable TV industry has witnessed increasing business integration continuously. This study categorizes technology-based operators into 3 groups on the basis of business integration—vertically integrated, horizontally integrated, and isolated system operators-and estimates the efficiency of each group. In addition, metafrontier analysis is employed to compare the efficiencies of the groups. The results suggest that vertically and horizontally integrated system operators can improve technical efficiency by accomplishing economies of scope and scale, respectively.     

浅谈有线数字电视的网络维护问题

随着广播电视技术的发展,有线电视逐步从模拟向数字平移,现有的HFC网络担负着模拟和数字电视信号共同传输的任务,大多采用多级光纤链路级联和树型电缆分配的环一星一树型网络拓扑结构,所有信号都由前端通过光纤和同轴电缆向下传输,这种模式的网络结构复杂,可靠性不高,维护困难,如何保证数字电视高质量、不间断地传输,对有线电视整体向数字化平稳过渡具有十分重要的意义。本文就有线数字电视网络维护中需注意的问题做简单的分析。     

Agenda-Setting Through the Television Programming Schedule: An Examination of Major League Baseball on Fox

The core concept of the agenda-setting theoretical model is the transfer of topic salience from the media agenda to the public agenda. Sports leagues need to have their games properly positioned in the television programming schedule to assist their transfer of salience effort and help maximize their national popularity. A sports television programming schedule can be improved with an understanding of the fundamental structural and individual factors that influence audience media exposure. This article contends that the Major League Baseball on Fox programming schedule can be improved through three suggestions: (1) increasing exposure by having more games on the Fox over-the-air broadcast channel that is available in approximately 32 million more households than the Fox Sports One cable channel; (2) having games at a consistent placement in the programming schedule to increase viewers’ awareness and enhance that program and channel being a part of their repertoire to capitalize on their initial ritualized viewing; and (3) allowing all Major League Baseball teams to appear more often on Fox and Fox Sports One, eliminating regionalized broadcasts, and implementing a flexible schedule to provide more meaningful game matchups to capitalize on the audience’s advanced degree of instrumental viewing.     

Book Review

Digital cable is a technological innovation featuring interactivity, which is still in its infancy. This study identifies a profile of early digital cable subscribers based on a telephone survey. The study results indicate that digital cable subscribers are more likely to watch television, subscribe to premium services, perceive their cable operator to be technologically progressive, and express greater satisfaction with current cable service compared to analog-only subscribers. It was also found that the more people watch television, have premium channels, and evaluate their cable operator as innovative toward technology, the sooner they can be expected to upgrade to new cable services. Implications for cable service structuring and marketing behaviors are also discussed.     

Domestic consumer expenditures for consumer books: 1984–1994

Between 1984 and 1994, the U.S. consumer marketplace was transformed with the introduction or wide acceptance of personal computers, CD-ROMs, VCRs, video-cassettes, the Internet, E-mail, cable television, etc. U.S. Department of Commerce data indicated conclusively that these products and services competed directly for media usage and media expenditures with all other media formats, including consumer books. Many media economics scholars who investigated media usage and expenditures came to believe that consumer allocations for various media products and services remained at a “constant” percent of Domestic Consumer Expenditures (DCE), which they termed the “Principle of Relative Constancy.”     

Branding Television News in a Multichannel Environment: An Exploratory Study of Network News Brand Personality

Adopting the construct of “brand personality,” this article examines the perceived differences among various television news brands, investigates the distinction between cable and broadcast news brands, and explores the applicability of brand personality in this market. CNN was found to possess the most distinct, positive personality, whereas CBS news had the least differentiated brand personality. Fox News was seen as the most dynamic and conservative. Overall, broadcast network news was perceived to be more traditional and liberal than cable network news. Three modified dimensions—competence, timeliness, and dynamism—were found to represent the personality facets of the television news product.     

Market Structure and Local Signal Carriage Decisions in the Cable Television Industry: Results From Count Analysis

Using historical data collected by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) in 1990 (GAO, 1990), a time when the must-carry rules were not in effect, this study empirically tested the effects of horizontal concentration, vertical integration, and other system-specific variables on cable operators' carriage decisions regarding local television stations. Results from the negative binomial regression model (a count model) indicate that horizontal concentration or firm size had a negative effect on cable system carriage of local broadcast stations, holding other factors constant. However, the study did not find any significant vertical integration effects on such carriage.     

Vertical Integration and Market Foreclosure in the Korean Cable Television Industry: An Empirical Study

This study investigated vertical foreclosure effects in the Korean cable television market. While it focuses mainly on vertical foreclosure, the study also examined reciprocal carriage between large vertically integrated cable operators. From the analysis of cross-sectional data regarding cable operators' carriage information in Korea, two conclusions were derived. First, vertically integrated cable operators tend to carry their affiliated channels and were less likely to carry their rivals' channels. Second, the data suggest that large vertically integrated cable operators were engaged in reciprocal carriage.