According to Amanda D. Lotz, the multi-channel transition began in the mid-1980s and ended in the late 1990s. During this era, multichannel television became popular in the United States, leading to the breakdown of the network era which had been dominated by the Big Three broadcast networks (NBC, ABC, and CBS). Many changes happened during this transition, such as the invention of the remote control, the video cassette player, and analog cable systems expanding viewers' choice and control. This era gave viewers more choice and control over what and when they wanted to view a program. Viewers were able to defy the networks' schedules, because they could record the program and watch it whenever they wanted, using the VCR and later the DVR. Producers adjusted to the government regulations and networks were forced to give up some of the control they had over program creation. Subscription channels emerged with no advertisements and the method for measuring audiences became more precise with the Nielsen people meter, with broadcasters fundamentally changing their approaches to programming to accommodate the new device. The multi-channel transition was followed by the post-network era and Second Golden Age of Television.
Multi-channel transition in the context of Pay television
Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and streaming television. In the United States, subscription television began in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the form of encrypted analog over-the-air broadcast television which could be decrypted with special equipment. The concept rapidly expanded through the multi-channel transition and into the post-network era. Other parts of the world beyond the United States, such as France and Latin America have also offered encrypted analog terrestrial signals available for subscription.
The term is most synonymous with premium entertainment services focused on films or general entertainment programming such as, in the United States, Cinemax, HBO, MGM+, Showtime, and Starz, but such services can also include those devoted to sports, as well as adult entertainment.
View the full Wikipedia page for Pay televisionMulti-channel transition in the context of Post-network era
The post-network era, also known as the post-broadcast era, is a concept in American television that was popularized by Amanda D. Lotz. It denotes the period that followed an earlier network era, the nation's first institutional phase that started in the 1950s and ran through to the mid-1980s, and television's later multi-channel transition. It describes a period that saw the deterioration of the dominance of the Big Three television networks: ABC, CBS and NBC in the United States, and follows the creation of a wide variety of cable television channels that catered specifically to niche groups. The post-network era saw the development of networks that deliver a wider diversity of programming choice, less constraints on a consumers choice of medium, decentralization of the location of viewing, and freedom of choice over time of viewing. It is concurrent with the Second Golden Age of Television.
For Amanda D. Lotz, the post-network era has been defined by five C's: "choice, control, convenience, customization, and community". These five concepts, which have defined the post-network era, all relate to the ways in which viewers have greater access to a wider array of content which can be consumed on their own terms. The concept comes from the field of Television studies, and has been used by various academics to discuss numerous different topics. The concept has been endorsed by media scholar Henry Jenkins, co-director of the Media Industries Project Michael Curtin, and American Studies, and Film and Media professor Jason Mittell.
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