Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was created in the United States between 1969 and 1971 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), under Chairman Dean Burch, based on pioneering work and advocacy of George Stoney, Red Burns, and Sidney Dean.
Television is one of the major mass media outlets in the United States. As of 2011, household ownership of television sets in the country is 96.7%, with approximately 114,200,000 American households owning at least one television set as of August 2013. The majority of households have more than one set. The peak ownership percentage of households with at least one television set occurred during the 1996–97 season, with 98.4% ownership. In 1948, 1 percent of U.S. households owned at least one television while 75 percent did by 1955, and by 1992, 60 percent of all U.S. households received cable television subscriptions.
Access Television Network (ATN) was a company based in Coral Gables, Florida, that mainly carried paid programming for 300 cable television systems with a peak reach of 35 million households. It was generally broadcast by cable systems on existing channels during the early morning hours when no regular programming was scheduled. In late 2002, ATN expanded with the purchase of the Product Information Network (PIN), a similar 24-hour cable infomercial network.
In cable television, governments apply a must-carry regulation stating that locally licensed television stations must be carried on a cable provider's system.
WBQC-LD, branded on-air as WKRP Channel 25, is a low-power television station in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Fox affiliate WXIX-TV. WBQC-LD is affiliated with several digital multicast networks, including Cozi TV on its main channel. Its transmitter is located along Symmes Street, just south of East McMillan Street in Cincinnati.
WLNY-TV is an independent television station licensed to Riverhead, New York, United States, serving the New York City television market. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS flagship WCBS-TV. Both stations share studios within the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan, while WLNY-TV's transmitter is located in Ridge, New York.
WBME-CD, virtual channel 41, is a low-power, Class A MeTV owned-and-operated television station licensed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Owned by Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting, it is sister to CBS affiliate WDJT-TV, Racine-licensed independent station WMLW-TV and low-power Telemundo affiliate WYTU-LD. The stations share studios in the Renaissance Center office complex on South 60th Street in West Allis, while WBME-CD's transmitter is located in Milwaukee's Lincoln Park.
WMNT-CD is a low-power, Class A television station in Toledo, Ohio, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV and Cozi TV. The station is owned by Community Broadcast Group, Inc. WMNT-CD's studios are located in a shopping center at the corner of Reynolds Road and Dussel Drive in Maumee, and its transmitter is located on top of the One SeaGate tower in downtown Toledo.
WAZE-TV is a defunct television station licensed to Madisonville, Kentucky, United States. It served the Evansville, Indiana television market from 1983 to 2013, and was most recently affiliated with The CW. The station's transmitter was located in Hanson, Kentucky. On March 24, 2011, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) canceled WAZE's license for failure to construct its full-power digital facility.
KCPM, virtual and UHF digital channel 27, was a MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station licensed to Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States, which served eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. The station was owned by Chuck Poppen's Central Plains Media of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. KCPM's transmitter was located on the Midco cable headend tower northwest of East Grand Forks, Minnesota.
WSTQ-LP is a defunct low-power television station in Syracuse, New York, United States, which operated from 2000 to 2021. In its latter years, it was owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group as an affiliate of The CW; it had common ownership with NBC affiliate WSTM-TV and was also sister to CBS affiliate WTVH, which Sinclair operates through joint sales and shared services agreements (JSA/SSA) with Granite Broadcasting.
KACV-TV branded on-air as Panhandle PBS, is a PBS member television station in Amarillo, Texas, United States. It is owned by Amarillo College alongside NPR member station KACV-FM (89.9). The two outlets share studios at the Gilvin Broadcast Center on Amarillo College's Washington Street campus ; KACV-TV's transmitter is located west of US 87–287 in unincorporated Potter County.
The CW Plus is a secondary national broadcast syndication service feed of The CW. It is intended primarily for American television markets ranked #100 and above by Nielsen Media Research estimates. The service is primarily carried on digital subchannels and multichannel subscription television providers, although it maintains primary affiliations on full-power and low-power stations in certain markets.
Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948. By 1989, 53 million U.S. households received cable television subscriptions, with 60 percent of all U.S. households doing so in 1992. Most cable viewers in the U.S. reside in the suburbs and tend to be middle class; cable television is less common in low income, urban, and rural areas.
WIWN is a television station licensed to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, United States, but primarily serving the Milwaukee area as an affiliate of Cozi TV. It is owned by CNZ Communications as sister to Milwaukee-licensed low-power, Class A station WMKE-CD. Both outlets share studios on West Stratton Drive in suburban New Berlin, while WIWN's transmitter is located on North Humboldt Boulevard in Milwaukee's Estabrook Park neighborhood.
Retransmission consent is a provision of the 1992 United States Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act that requires cable operators and other multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) to obtain permission from commercial broadcasters before carrying their programming.
Multichannel television in the United States has been available since at least 1948. The United States is served by multichannel television through cable television systems, direct-broadcast satellite providers, and various other wireline video providers; among the largest television providers in the U.S. are DirecTV, Altice USA, Charter Communications, Comcast, Dish Network, and Verizon Communications. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 defines a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) as "a person such as, but not limited to, a cable operator, a multichannel multipoint distribution service, a direct broadcast satellite service, or a television receive-only satellite program distributor, who makes available for purchase, by subscribers or customers, multiple channels of video programming", where a channel is defined as a "signaling path provided by a cable television system."
A la carte pay television, also referred to as pick-and-pay, is a pricing model for pay television services in which customers subscribe to individual television channels. For subscription distribution services, a la carte pricing contrasts with the prevailing model of bundling, in which channels are grouped into packages that are offered on an all-or-nothing basis.
The Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 is a United States federal law which required cable television systems to carry most local broadcast television channels and prohibited cable operators from charging local broadcasters to carry their signal.
Ion Plus is an American free linear television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company that formerly operated as a broadcast television network until February 28, 2021. The network originally launched in 2007 as Ion Life, maintaining a format featuring lifestyle programming focused on health and wellness, cooking, home decor, and travel. With expanded cable carriage, in 2019, Ion Media converted the network into a general entertainment format that matched that of parent network Ion Television, featuring day-long marathons of various drama series.