Cable television

:Cable TV redirects here. For the Hong Kong-based cable television network, see Cable TV (Hong Kong).

Cable television in other countries

Cable television has spread to many parts of the world including Canada, Mexico, Europe, Japan, Asia, and Australia.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mexico

The first cable system started to operate in the early Sixties in Monterrey, as a CATV service (an antenna at the top of the Loma Larga, which could get TV signals from South Texas). Most of the other major cities didn´t develop cable systems until the late Eighties, due to government censorship. By 1989 the industry had had a major impulse with the founding of Multivisión - a MMDS system who started to develop its own channels in Spanish - and the later development of companies such as Cablemas and Megacable.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Over the past few years, many US networks have started to develop content for the Mexican market, such as CNN en Español, MTV, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel and others. The country also has a DTH service called SKY (Televisa & News Corp. owned). Recently DirecTv merged with Sky. The dominant company nowadays is Megacable.

Related Topics:
CNN en Español - MTV - Cartoon Network - Disney Channel - Megacable

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the current generation of cable television began in the late 1980s with the issue of franchises to many local operators. These small operations proved uneconomic and there has been a continuing process of consolidation and re-financing.

Related Topics:
United Kingdom - 1980s

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The two principal cable operators are now NTL and Telewest Broadband, which are themselves in the process of merging. NTL's cable service was originally known as CableTel and grew rapidly through the acquisition of, among others, ComTel (which itself had bought Telecential), Comcast, Diamond Cable and finally, in 1999, the residential and small business operations of Cable & Wireless. Telewest also steadily acquired local operators.

Related Topics:
NTL - Telewest Broadband - 1999 - Cable & Wireless

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cable TV faces intense competition from SkyDigital's satellite television service, although most channels on that platform are also carried on cable; few channels are now exclusive to cable. However, paid for digital terrestrial television proved less of a competitive threat, as ITV Digital went into liquidation in 2002. The re-launch of DTTV as the free Freeview service has been a success in introducing people to multichannel digital TV and seems not to have adversely affected the growth of cable and satellite subscribers.

Related Topics:
SkyDigital - Satellite television - Digital terrestrial television - ITV Digital - 2002 - Freeview

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Another potential source of competition in the future will be TV over broadband. This was initially launched, using ADSL, in London, where it is provided by HomeChoice, and Hull, where it where it is provided by Kingston Communications. As the speed and availability of broadband connections increase, more TV content can be delivered using protocols such as IPTV.

Related Topics:
Broadband - ADSL - London - HomeChoice - Hull - Kingston Communications - IPTV

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Republic of Ireland

Cable television first started in the Republic of Ireland in the 1970s, when state broadcaster RTÉ began a service called RTE Relays, which rebroadcast the UK's three terrestrial TV channels. Later called Cablelink, the service began offering a number of satellite channels in the 1980s. The state telephone operator Telecom Éireann (now eircom) was also a stakeholder. In rural areas, the company ran an MMDS service called Multilink, as did other companies such as Irish Mulitchannel in Cork, now called Chorus. Cablelink was later sold to NTL in 1999, and was renamed NTL Ireland.

Related Topics:
Republic of Ireland - 1970s - RTÉ - 1980s - Telecom Éireann - Eircom - MMDS - Cork - Chorus - 1999

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In rural areas where neither cable or MMDS are available, there have been 'deflectors', which pick up the UK terrestrial channels (either from Northern Ireland or Wales), and retransmit them on local UHF signals along with other channels. These operators faced legal action in the late 1990s from MMDS operators, as they did not pay royalties to the relevant broadcasters, and were not licensed. When the deflectors were shut down, there was such an outcry in those areas that an independent candidate in County Donegal, Tom Gildea, was elected as a TD on a platform of supporting legalisation, which occurred in 1999.

Related Topics:
Northern Ireland - Wales - UHF - 1990s - County Donegal - Tom Gildea - TD - 1999

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hong Kong

i-Cable Communications Limited(branded as "CableTV") is the holding company that runs Hong Kong's one of four cable television service providers. It is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. Wharf Holdings Limited owns 67 per cent of the cable provider and the rest amongst public shareholders. Another three operators offers pay-TV via DSL, they are Now Broadband TV(PCCW), HKBN Digital TV and SuperSUN(control by TVB).

Related Topics:
I-Cable Communications Limited - Hong Kong - Hong Kong Stock Exchange - NASDAQ - DSL - PCCW - TVB

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many in Hong Kong watch TV without cable, watching satellite channels like those of Star TV, directly via satellite.

Related Topics:
Satellite - Star TV

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Singapore

StarHub Cable Vision is the sole cable television operator in Singapore, where private ownership of satellite dishes is banned. StarHub Cable Vision was formed as a result of a merger between StarHub and Singapore Cable Vision on 15 May 2002. The latter first began broadcasting as a terrestrial pay-television operator in 1992 as the first cable network was not completed until 1995. Around 15% ofl households and offices in Singapore are connected to the StarHub network.

Related Topics:
StarHub Cable Vision - Singapore - StarHub - Singapore Cable Vision - 15 May - 2002 - 1992 - 1995

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Australia

In Australia, most of the main cities and towns are connected to the Foxtel and Optus cable networks, with more sparsely populated areas being served by Austar's MMDS or satellite services.

Related Topics:
Australia - Foxtel - Optus - Austar - MMDS - Satellite

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~