Cable television

Cable television delivers programming to subscribers over cable networks, traditionally through coaxial cable and increasingly through fiber-optic lines. It combines a distribution network with subscription-based channel packages.

Coaxial cable: An electrical cable with a central conductor surrounded by insulation and a conductive shield. It carried television signals from local cable systems into homes.
John Walson: An American appliance-store owner credited with building one of the first community antenna television systems in 1948. His Pennsylvania system is commonly cited as an early commercial cable service.
Multichannel video programming distributor: A provider that distributes multiple television channels to subscribers, including cable, satellite, and certain internet-based services. Cable operators belong to this broader class of subscription television providers.
Broadcast television: Television programming transmitted over the air from terrestrial stations for reception by antennas. Unlike cable, it reaches viewers through radio waves rather than a subscriber’s wired connection.
Cable television in the United States: The development and operation of cable television services in the United States. The U.S. market’s regulation and channel expansion strongly shaped the medium’s history.
Hybrid fiber-coaxial: A network architecture that uses fiber-optic lines to neighborhood nodes and coaxial cable for the final connection to homes. It describes the mixed infrastructure used by many modern cable systems.
Robert Tarlton: An American television retailer who established an early community antenna television system in Lansford, Pennsylvania, in 1948. His system helped demonstrate cable distribution as a business, not just a reception aid.
Cable network: A television channel distributed through cable or other multichannel television systems. Cable systems carry networks such as news, sports, and entertainment channels.
Satellite television: Television service delivered to subscribers by signals relayed from communications satellites to receiving dishes. It competes with cable while avoiding the need for a wired local distribution network.
Cable television network: A television distribution network that transmits programming through wired cable infrastructure to subscribers. Local systems linked homes to increasingly national and regional channel lineups.

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