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Cable Industry Research Paper

Cable Industry Final Project Paper
Karen Paterson
Damien Edmondson
Ray Cancino
Eduardo Fajardo
University of Phoenix
ECO 365
Liliana Fargo
October 15, 2008

Cable Industry Final Project

The cable industry since its inception in Pennsylvania in the 1930s has evolved dramatically since then. Starting out as a monopolistic competition it has since been evolving into a perfect competition market, although there is resemblance of each market type, it is closely similar to a perfect competition. In the following content we will analyze the cable industry; some items that will be outlined are the history of the industry, the market structure, regulations and how government regulations impact the industry, factors of cost and production. In addition we will also analyze any issues or opportunities which might arise, global competition, social diversity within the workforce, opportunities due to technological advances and recommendations how to further optimize the industry service.
Cable technology was developed and introduced in the late 1940’s in Pennsylvania to provide better reception to customers in mountainous and remote areas that were not satisfied with over-the-air television. The vision for this new technology provided an alternative by improving on the method of sending broadcast signals into the homes while also becoming and entertainment vehicle that offered video, data and voice services. By 1952 there were 14,000 subscribers nationwide.
Cable technology was able to pick up distant signals from hundreds of miles away. This allowed subscribers a variety of programming options that would not be available with the standard over-the-air system. Furthermore, with more programming choices and clearer reception cable soon moved into major cities growing at a steady pace. By 1962 the number of cable subscribers had grown to 850,000 nationwide.
The government, in response to the voices of theater owners and television broadcasters who felt cable was...