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Earliest Pay-Cable Networks

K

KMRichards

Guest
Continuing the mining of the K.M. Richards archives, from the last issue of Panorama (June 1981) comes the companion to the April list of basic cable networks operating in 1981. As before, sorted by date the channel began satellite distribution, with notes as needed:

[*]Home Box Office: September 1975 (began operations November 1972)
[*]Showtime: March 1978 (began operations July 1976)
[*]Home Theatre Network: September 1978 (began operations May 1978)
[*]Galavision: October 1979
[*]The Movie Channel: January 1980 (began as Warner Star Channel)
[*]Cinemax: August 1980
[*]Bravo: December 1980*
[*]Escapade: December 1980*
[*]Private Screenings: December 1980 (began operations May 1980; only operated on Friday and Saturday evenings)
[*]Spotlight: May 1981 (at this point in time, had just launched and was only available on Times Mirror systems)

*-It may be recalled from earlier discussions that Bravo started off as the Sunday and Monday evening programming on the same channel as Escapade. By the time this list was released in mid-1981, the services had already separated and both were operating seven days a week.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
Home Box Office: September 1975 (began operations November 1972)

HBO began in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (That's Where I First Saw It),

in 1972 as a Pay-TV channel with a sports focus. There Was Another Philadelphia

Based Pay Channel Shortly After HBO Came Out. That Was Called Prism.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by MCNDRWS on 12/12/05 09:50 PM.</FONT></P>
 
> Home Box Office: September 1975 (began operations November
> 1972)
> HBO began in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (That's Where I
> First Saw It),
>
> in 1972 as a Pay-TV channel with a sports focus.

Thanks for the additional info. The Panorama article did note the November 1972 start but provided no details.

> There Was
> Another Philadelphia
> Based Pay Channel Shortly After HBO Came Out. That Was
> Called Prism.

The Panorama article mentioned Prism as a channel that they were not including in the list because it had no national satellite distribution.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
> The Panorama article mentioned Prism as a channel that they
> were not including in the list because it had no national
> satellite distribution.

If I'm not mistaken, Prism was a OTA subscription TV service seen on then-WWSG/Channel 57, along the same vein as Wometco Home Theater (WHT) in NYC and OnTV in Chicago.
 
> If I'm not mistaken, Prism was a OTA subscription TV service
> seen on then-WWSG/Channel 57, along the same vein as Wometco
> Home Theater (WHT) in NYC and OnTV in Chicago.
>

There was once a version of PRISM available here in Connecticut. I think they aired movies, Boston Celtics basketball and Hartford Whalers hockey.
 
> If I'm not mistaken, Prism was a OTA subscription TV service
> seen on then-WWSG/Channel 57, along the same vein as Wometco
> Home Theater (WHT) in NYC and OnTV in Chicago.
>
But unlike OnTV and WHT, Prism survived as a pay cable service, after its run on ch.57 ended. I think Prism lasted until the late-1990s, when Comcast SportsNet took over.
 
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