An analysis on the factors affecting the development of the cable television industry in the United States, 1969-2010

Abstract

Cable television in the United States began as a device for relaying the programming of broadcast television networks to remote areas where signals hardly reached. However, it has grown to a major medium providing diverse programming via cable networks. Drawing upon population ecology and the new institutionalism in organizational sociology, this study examines a key aspect of this development: the founding of cable networks. The results of negative binomial estimates for cable network foundings (1969 - 2010) show that ecological dynamics revolving around the number of cable networks explain, but do not fully explain the development of the industry; rather, policies have had palpable effects on industry development, shaping how organizations respond to changes in regulations. © 2018, Institute of Social Development and Policy Research, Seoul National University.