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Broadcast/Cable TV History - 1978

1978-00-00 Calliope added six days a week for the satellite Madison Square Garden Network, aired usually around 6:30-7:30pm ET but times may vary.

1978-00-00 Mission Cable 2 became KCOX 2 possibly this year.

1978-00-00 SelecTV (PAY) was launched on channel 22's airwaves during the evenings.

1978-03-07 Showtime, owned by Viacom, was made available nationwide by being distributed by the company via satellite (PAY).

1978-04-00 PTL Satellite Network was launched.

1978-04-00 TBN was placed on satellite.

1978-09-01 HTN or Home Theater Network (PAY) was launched on satellite after spending years only on New England Cablevision. It showed just one film a day (twice) over a four hour time slot. It expanded to a 12 hour day later.

1978-11-09 WGN-TV was placed on satellite (some sources claim October 1978). It was uplinked by United Video Satellite Group, which, like WTCG (later WTBS), did not have any ownership relation to WGN-TV.

1978-12-00 SPN or Satellite Program Network was launched with three hours of programming. When WTCG went 24 hours a day, Satellite Syndicated Systems, which programmed in WTCG's transponder slot only when WTCG was dark, moved its filler programming to another transponder space it began to lease on Satcom 1 and its public domain filler programming helped form the basis of a new cable network, SPN. SPN's operator, SSS, sub-let two prime-time hours a night to the Home Theater Network pay channel.

Cable History Highlights For This Year Range

In 1978, SportsChannel New York acquires the rights to cablecast non-broadcast games of the New York Yankees and Mets. With the addition of local baseball, the service becomes a year-round package achieving penetration rates as high as 70 percent of basic subscribers.

In 1978, The ACE (Award for Cable Excellence) awards for cable programming are created. Later called CableACE Awards, the industry recognizes original programming created for cable casting. They were given from 1978 through 1997 to honor excellence in cable television as the Primetime Emmy Awards did not yet recognize cable programming. The actual trophy was a large trophy made of glass blown and cut into the shape of the Ace of Spades. In April 1998, NCTA members voted to end the ceremony as cable programming met parity with the network prime time programming being nominated for the Primetime Emmy Awards.

Source: The Cable Center website: Cable History Timeline: http://www.cablecenter.org/resources/exhibits/cable-history-timeline.html

Lineups as of the end of the year

San Diego/Tijuana TV

6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 39, CCN, CVC, ITV, KCOX, Showtime (Times-Mirror Escondido)

Los Anglees TV

2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 22, 28, 34, 40, 52, 58, ONTV, SelecTV, Z Channel, Showtime (Long Beach)

Other Area TV

3 (Santa Barbara), 6 (San Luis Obispo), 12 (Santa Maria), 18 (San Bernadino), 24 (San Bernadino), 30 (San Bernadino), 36 (Palm Springs), 42 (Palm Springs), 50 (Orange County),

Satellite TV (for the consumer end of the cable system)

CBN, HBO, HTN, PTL, Showtime, SPN, TBN, WGN, WTCG

Broadcast/Cable TV History - 1978

Cable History Highlights For This Year Range

Lineups as of the end of the year

San Diego/Tijuana TV

Los Anglees TV

Other Area TV

Satellite TV (for the consumer end of the cable system)

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