Posted by The Maven
on September 10, 2008
Broadband Networks /
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Cost, As Usual, Is A Major Factor
By Sheldon I. Altfeld – “The Cable Maven”
From a start-up network standpoint, getting cable carriage these days won’t be easy – especially if you’re homing in on niches such as minorities, sports, old movies, old TV programs, news or music. Just about every conceivable concept already has a significant amount of competition. With five news channels, four music channels, six children’s channels and three women’s channels – not to mention the number of old and new movie channels already up and running – our cup runneth over with duplicative programming.
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Posted by The Maven
on September 08, 2008
Broadband Networks /
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The Demand For New Networks
By Sheldon I. Altfeld
“The Cable Maven”
Back in 1993, when I began conducting seminars on “How To Start Your Own Cable TV Network,” there were approximately 150 cable networks operating and the press was continually touting the so-called “500 Channel Universe.” To make what I considered a humorous statement about the proliferation of new networks, I put a new cover on the New York phone directory and declared it as our next “Cable Programming Directory.”
It turns out that the joke was on me, because as of November, 2007 (the most recent date available), the National Cable Telecommunication Association (www.ncta.com) lists 565 national cable networks being carried by 8,177 cable systems that serve 65,600,000 subscribers. Who knew?
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