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ON TV (TV network)

May 03, 2023

For other uses, see ONTV.

ON TV was an American subscription television (STV) service that operated in eight markets between 1977 and 1985. Originally established by National Subscription Television, a joint venture of Oak Industries and Chartwell Communications, ON TV was part of a new breed of STV operations that broadcast premium programming—including movies, sporting events, and concerts—over an encrypted signal on a UHF television station and leased decoders to subscribing customers. At its peak in 1982, ON TV boasted more than 700,000 customers—more than half of them in Los Angeles, its most successful market. However, the rapidly expanding availability of cable television, coupled with a recession, caused the business to quickly lose subscribers at the same time that Oak Industries was experiencing severe financial difficulties. Between March 1983 and June 1985, all eight operations closed.

ON TV
Original ON TV logo used in most Oak markets and in Portland
CountryUnited States
Programming
Language(s)English
Ownership
OwnerNational Subscription Television, a joint venture of Oak Industries and Chartwell Communications
(each market had individual ownership)
History
LaunchedApril 1, 1977; 46 years ago (1977-04-01)
ClosedJune 30, 1985; 37 years ago (1985-06-30)

History

Los Angeles launch

 
Logo of Oak Industries

In 1973,[1] Oak Industries, a maker of cable television equipment and other electronic components, and Chartwell Communications, a company majority-owned by Jerry Perenchio and Norman Lear, founded a joint venture initially known as World Pay Television, Inc. to create and operate a subscription television system in the Los Angeles market.[2] The connection was made when Everitt A. Carter, an executive at Oak Industries, attended a tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in Houston, organized by Perenchio; Perenchio approached Carter and asked if the company could build a system to scramble over-the-air signals for pay distribution. While Oak was initially resistant to the idea, it ultimately agreed to develop the equipment if Perenchio fronted $200,000 for research and development, which he did.[3] In 1976, Oak president Frank A. Astrologes was named chairman of the new venture, with Carter succeeding him at Oak.[2] The company intended to open franchises in 14 different states, per Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filings at the time.[4]

The system, which would use scrambling of a standard UHF television station, required a carrier. That was secured by the venture in 1976 when, under the name of Oak Broadcasting Systems, Oak and Perenchio purchased Los Angeles television station KBSC-TV (channel 52) for $1.2 million as part of the liquidation of its parent company, Kaiser Industries.[5] After changing its name to National Subscription Television (NST), the service launched under the brand name ON TV on April 1, 1977,[1] offering unedited, uninterrupted motion pictures, as well as limited slates of Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Kings games, during evening hours. The first 500 subscribers lived in the San Fernando Valley, as part of a soft launch of the new system.[6] It was the second subscription television system in operation, with Wometco Home Theater having launched in New York City the previous month.[7]

Ambitions to expand ON TV beyond Los Angeles were immediate. When the first system went live, Carter claimed "firm contracts" to move forward in eight cities—five of which would eventually be home to ON TV-branded subscription television operations—but stated he wanted to see if the Los Angeles system was a success first.[3] In January 1978, Oak reached a deal with Sears to market ON TV service in the Los Angeles and Orange County area.[8] The next year, ON TV got a competitor: SelecTV, which pioneered a pay-per-program model and only showed movies.[9]

Expansion beyond LA

 
An ON TV decoder box

In October 1978, Oak and Chartwell, the partners in the Los Angeles system, reached an agreement to each develop six ON TV markets on their own; the Oak markets would be Chicago, Phoenix, Miami, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and Dallas–Fort Worth,[10] while Chartwell was tasked with development in New York, Detroit, Atlanta, San Francisco, Cleveland, and Houston.[11] In Philadelphia, NST had reached a deal with Radio Broadcasting Corporation, which in 1977 was awarded a construction permit for a channel 57 TV station there.[12] The next year, the company announced it would license its equipment and technology in cities where it did not intend to operate itself.[13]

The first of the Oak expansion cities firmed up considerably in November 1978 when Oak announced it would begin operating in Phoenix in July 1979 in a joint venture with the New Television Corporation, which held the construction permit for KNXV-TV (channel 15); New Television would program the station during the day as a free independent, while ON TV would air in the evenings.[14] Oak announced at that time that it would be on the air in Philadelphia and Miami by 1980.[14]

Meanwhile, the ON TV system in Los Angeles grew to more than 100,000 subscribers by the end of 1978 and 200,000 by August 1979, earning it the title of the world's largest single pay-TV operation.[15][16] Oak's increasing involvement with the entertainment business spurred the entire company, previously headquartered in Crystal Lake, Illinois, to move to southern California, where it built a new headquarters building in the planned community of Rancho Bernardo.[17] As very large cities, like Philadelphia, saw years-long delays in cable television wiring due to political disputes over franchises, the specter of services like ON TV loomed over the horizon and served as an impetus to consider more rapid action.[18]

Chartwell, too, began the task of developing markets. As early as 1977, NST had an agreement to run an STV service on WXON in Detroit,[19] and the two parties aimed for a July 1, 1979, launch.[20] In 1979, the company, through affiliate Tandem Productions, acquired New York City-area station WNJU-TV, and Tandem was waiting in the wings to buy Washington, D.C.'s WDCA-TV if the FCC had rescinded its approval of that station's sale to Taft Broadcasting.[21] Chartwell also explored buying a station in Sacramento, California, in 1980, going so far as to enter into advanced negotiations to purchase that city's KMUV-TV.[22]

As 1979 continued, activity accelerated. Oak announced its intention to open subscription television in Miami at the end of the year from Fort Lauderdale-based WKID-TV, which it had purchased.[23] In Chicago, it reached an agreement with Video 44, owner of UHF station WSNS-TV, to use Oak equipment and technology in its service.[24] (While Video 44 then attempted to sell 50 percent of the company to American Television and Communications, a subsidiary of Time, Inc. and owner of the Preview STV services which had a deal with Zenith to produce its equipment,[25] the company pulled out of the deal in October when major movie studios protested the potential for a monopoly on pay-TV programming between Time's STV holdings and Home Box Office cable network.[26]) The Dallas–Fort Worth market entered the picture when Oak reaffirmed a 1976 deal with Channel 21, Inc., the Sidney Shlenker and Milton Grant–led consortium that held the construction permit for Fort Worth television station KTXA, to bring ON TV to the Metroplex.[27] Oak also filed for construction permits in various cities around the United States, including channel 38 in St. Petersburg, Florida;[28] channel 38 in New Orleans;[29] and channel 20 in Denver.[30] Those applications were joined by a 1981 filing for channel 16 at Everett, Washington, near Seattle.[31]

The Phoenix operation began September 9 when KNXV-TV began broadcasting,[32] and WKID-TV in the Miami–Fort Lauderdale market commenced subscription television broadcasts on January 11, 1980.[33][34] The first licensed ON TV system, owned by Home Entertainment Network—a division of Buford Television—went live on that company's WBTI-TV in Cincinnati on February 1; the station itself took to the air on January 28.[35][36] Oak went on air with ON TV in Chicago on September 22,[37] after having bought a 49 percent stake in the licensee of WSNS,[38][39] and in Dallas–Fort Worth on February 28, 1981.[40] Just eight months after going live in Chicago, ON TV was profitable in that market—said to be unprecedented in the STV industry—and by October 1981, it was joined by all of the Oak-owned operations except Dallas–Fort Worth.[41]

Still more stations appeared to be in the pipeline: Oak had a deal with Baltimore's WBFF to enter that market,[42] and it owned 45 percent of an STV franchise for channel 29 at Minneapolis.[31] Meanwhile, Chartwell—after having attempted to nab rights to New York Yankees baseball—dropped its New York subscription television plans, opting not to scrap WNJU-TV's successful Spanish-language programming and battle the market's dominant STV provider, Wometco Home Theater.[43] (Perenchio would ultimately sell WNJU-TV in 1986.[44])

Oak in control

In Los Angeles—the largest ON TV market, where Oak and Chartwell remained partners—the arrangement came into doubt in March 1981. The two sides disagreed over Perenchio's appointment of William M. Siegel, the chief executive of Chartwell, as the general manager of National Subscription Television—Los Angeles. Oak refused to consent to the appointment and claimed that Chartwell and Perenchio had "surreptitiously" placed Siegel on the payroll; it was reported that Oak had no dispute with Siegel but wanted to affirm its authority as 51 percent owner of the venture.[45] Oak chairman Carter was surprised to learn that Siegel made more money than he did. Further, Perenchio drew Oak's ire when the Chartwell ON TV operation in Detroit ordered new decoder boxes from one of Oak's competitors.[46]

Oak and Chartwell settled in September; the suit was dropped, and Oak bought out Chartwell's 49 percent share of National Subscription Television for $55 million.[47] Oak now controlled the entire Los Angeles and Miami systems, as well as majority shares in the Chicago, Dallas–Fort Worth and Phoenix markets, while Chartwell continued to own and operate the Detroit ON TV system. Cincinnati was licensed, to be joined by another licensing agreement Oak made starting January 31, 1982, with Willamette Subscription Television, the STV franchisee for KECH in the Portland, Oregon, market.[48]

By May 1982, ON TV in southern California had 400,000 subscribers.[49] Oak boasted some 600,000 subscribers in its five ON TV markets, not counting Detroit, Cincinnati, or Portland.[50] Additionally, Oak planned to start a ninth system in Houston in 1983, broadcasting over KTXH (channel 20), the under-construction sister station to KTXA.[51] However, by November, as KTXH itself neared air, it had become clear that Oak was not pursuing Houston plans, having essentially shuttered its part of the operation; Houston Chronicle television editor Ann Hodges cited the increasing wiring of the city for cable, the increased carriage of KTXH by cable systems without STV operation, and more expansive sports coverage planned in Houston than in Dallas–Fort Worth.[52]

Headwinds

ON TV subscribers by market, June 1982[53]
Station Market Owner Subscribers
KBSC-TV Los Angeles Oak 379,000
WSNS-TV Chicago Oak 120,600
WXON Detroit Chartwell 61,900
WBTI-TV Cincinnati United Cable 45,200
WKID-TV Miami–Fort Lauderdale Oak 44,700
KNXV-TV Phoenix Oak 38,500
KTXA Dallas–Fort Worth Oak 24,800
KECH Portland–Salem Willamette 12,000
Total 726,700

Subscription television would prove to reach its zenith in 1982, however. That year, STV operations rapidly went from gaining subscribers to losing them. After seeing 65 percent growth in 1981, STV operators grew their subscriber rolls by just 0.8 percent the next year.[54] A worsening recession and faster-than-anticipated growth of cable television became hazards. As ON TV operations in some markets began to face headwinds, the financial picture of Oak Industries itself worsened. In October 1982, it revised down its earnings guidance due to declining sales of its 56-channel cable box, due to the recession and technical issues.[55] Even though one analyst described subscription television as "clearly just an interim business", the company remained "bullish about STV";[51] it struck a deal with Telstar to sublease two satellite transponders, opening the door to satellite delivery of ON TV's programming to local STV and MDS franchisees, low-power television stations, and cable companies.[56]

Another problem faced by subscription outlets was that they leased time from television stations, which in some cases were not owned by the STV operator. This led to several fights between station owners and franchisees, Oak-owned or otherwise. As early as 1980, WXON in Detroit was objecting to ON TV's airing of the movie Is There Sex After Death?.[57] KNXV-TV in Phoenix had threatened to stop airing ON TV's "adults only" late-night fare,[58] and ON TV took the station to court over its refusal to cede early evening hours, which generated 60 percent of the television station's revenue.[59] KTXA won a legal fight against ON TV in that market, taking away all its adult programming and prompting competitor VEU to run ads with headlines such as "For real adult entertainment, turn-on to VEU".[60]

The first ON TV service to close was Chartwell's Detroit system, which shuttered on March 31, 1983.[61] It cited falling subscriber figures, from 68,000 to 42,000 in just a year; an inability to obtain more airtime from WXON; and competition from the it service that aired on Ann Arbor-based WIHT.[61] The operating hours that WXON allowed ON TV to have in the Detroit market continually hampered the service's ability to show sporting events, directly causing it to drop a package of Detroit Tigers baseball games it aired.[62]

Oak was next to announce casualties. On April 15, 1983, citing the situations in each market,[63] it announced it would shutter its Dallas–Fort Worth and Phoenix systems.[58] In Phoenix, the advance of cable and other factors had caused subscribers to drop from a peak of 39,000 in July 1982 to 25,000 at closure.[64] Besides the Dallas–Fort Worth conflict with KTXA, the company had been handicapped by a late entry into a market that at the time had two existing STV competitors—VEU and Preview, which merged their local operations in late 1982 into a service with more program hours—and was the nation's most crowded.[65] Anthony Cassara, president of the television division of VEU owner Golden West Broadcasters, had previously described that market as "total insanity" when it had three competing operators.[53] Expanded hours were crucial to keeping services alive as cable companies grew: in June 1983, Cincinnati's WBTI axed hours of free programming and began taking satellite-fed ON TV programming from Oak in place of its local feed.[66]

In August, Willamette Subscription Television, the Portland licensee and also the operator of a microwave system transmitting HBO to customers, filed for bankruptcy; it owed $4.7 million to a group of 20 major creditors, including $1 million to Oak.[67] By this time, however, it had ceased receiving programming from Oak.[68] KECH, which itself filed for bankruptcy in November 1983,[69] ceased ON TV broadcasts on August 19, 1984.[70]

Collapse and demise

As Oak Industries faced wider financial trouble, it sought to reduce its involvement in the operation of its three remaining directly owned ON TV systems. In October 1983, operation of the Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami–Fort Lauderdale systems shifted from Oak to a new company, Twin Arts Productions, led by former Playgirl magazine publisher Ira Ritter; the three services counted 370,000 total subscribers, down from 550,000 in October 1982.[71] In early 1984, Oak announced a revamped ON TV program lineup,[72] and its operations did score a victory when its direct competitor, Spectrum, opted to discontinue operating in Chicago and sell its subscriber base.[73] However, Oak's condition continued to deteriorate. Later that month, the company announced it was being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),[74] and it posted a loss of $166.1 million for 1983.[75] One of the company's auditors, Arthur Andersen, qualified its statement, fearing that Oak could not fully realize its $134 million investment in subscription television.[75]

As pressure increased on Oak's finances and the ON TV systems continued to lose subscribers during 1984, cuts were made. In mid-July, National Subscription Television of Fort Lauderdale laid off 41 employees—half its staff.[76] Less than two weeks later, Oak announced that it had sold WKID-TV to John Blair & Co. for $17.75 million; the new buyers intended to program it as a Spanish-language station.[77]

In August—after a year of speculation—it emerged that Oak was in talks to sell the Los Angeles system to SelecTV, which had competed alongside ON TV for six years in the Southern California market.[78] A deal was initially reached, then collapsed.[79] That October, after a year, management of ON TV had been brought back in house after the Twin Arts arrangement was ended in order to cut costs; the company had also taken over its satellite distribution to some 140,000 subscribers after dissolving the Telstar joint venture.[80] Oak chairman Everitt Carter, under a cloud of uncertainty, abruptly left the position in December 1984.[81]

SelecTV ultimately acquired the Los Angeles operation, by then with just 156,000 subscribers, in February 1985.[82] That same month, Oak reached a deal to sell KBSC-TV to an investor group, Estrella Communications, headed by Joe Wallach, in a $30 million transaction.[83] That station formally relaunched as Spanish-language KVEA in November.[84] On June 1, 1985, WBTI—which had been sold and relaunched as WIII at the start of the year—dropped ON TV, with just 3,200 remaining subscribers, when Oak ceased providing programming by satellite.[85]

Oak had one last portion of its subscription television business to dismantle, in Chicago, where WSNS ceased broadcasting as a subscription station on June 30 and began broadcasting programming from the Spanish International Network the next day.[86] However, WSNS's years as a subscription television station had left a legacy that impeded Oak's ability to sell its stake in channel 44 for years. In 1982, Monroe Communications Corporation filed a challenge to WSNS's license renewal and a competing application to establish a channel 44 TV station in Chicago, charging that, as an STV station between 1979 and 1982, WSNS failed to serve the public interest and severely cut back on public affairs programming.[87] An FCC administrative law judge found against WSNS licensee Video 44 and in favor of Monroe in 1985.[88] The FCC later granted the renewal, only for a federal appeals court to rule in Monroe's favor in April 1990.[89] After the FCC officially denied the license renewal in September 1990,[90] however, Chicago's Hispanic community and civic leaders rallied around WSNS.[91] Video 44 and Monroe reached an $18 million settlement agreement in 1993,[92] and Oak and fellow Video 44 partner Harriscope sold their stake in the station to Telemundo in 1995.[93]

Service and programming

Subscribers were charged $40 to $50 installation and $19.95 to $22.50 per month, depending on the market, in the first three ON TV launches (Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Detroit).[7]

ON TV programming consisted of four basic components: movies, sporting events, special events such as concerts and boxing matches, and adult programming. Though there was variance between ON TV operations—particularly with regard to sports programming in each market—after 1983, when it established the Telstar joint venture, Oak was able to supply much of this programming directly to affiliates and home satellite dish owners.[66][56]

The ON TV decoder supported additional program tiers and pay-per-view events on top of the normal service, for which subscribers would have to pay additional money. This functionality was used to broadcast pay-per-view events including boxing matches—consistently the most successful PPV offering[94]—as well as an "adults only" service of late-night movies.[95] Among the notable pay-per-view presentations provided by ON TV (and other STV systems) was the first television screening of Star Wars in 1982, for which subscribers paid an additional $7.95.[96] However, the system could not provide alternate fare for subscribers who did not pay for the movie, so those customers simply received no STV programming—just a blank screen.[96] While more than 30 percent of customers in Oak's ON TV territory paid for Star Wars,[97] conversion rates had surpassed 60 percent in some cases for boxing matches.[98]

Adult programming had high uptake in STV operations nationwide, and ON TV was no exception. In early 1983, 48 percent of subscribers across all ON TV systems paid an extra fee to subscribe to it.[99] In Dallas–Fort Worth—despite being the last Oak market to offer the "Adults Only" tier[100]—89 percent of subscribers opted in;[99] it was 70 percent in Miami.[101] Uptake ranged from 50 to 90 percent at other STV operations nationwide, including Wometco Home Theater and SelecTV Milwaukee.[102]

Equipment

 
An ON TV decoder without its rear plate, showing the serial number and barcode, part of the addressability function

With the notable exception of Chartwell's operation in Detroit, which used equipment from rival Blonder-Tongue,[7] ON TV systems, including all five owned by Oak itself, used scrambling technology and decoder hardware developed and manufactured by Oak, known as the "Model I".[103] The boxes, connected to a standard UHF television antenna, decoded the encrypted STV signal for paying subscribers and output it to their sets. Each decoder was individually addressable, which meant they could be controlled centrally from the transmitter; addressability allowed for electronic connections and disconnections, as well as the ability to offer pay-per-view services,[95] and allowed Oak to implement a theft deterrent where any disconnected decoder box stopped providing service after eight minutes.[104] The decoders also supported an optional key module that served as a form of parental control.[105] When ON TV entered into a partnership to start SportsVision, a second STV service, in Chicago, Oak manufactured special two-channel decoders that supported both services.[106]

The last two new Oak STV installations—Dallas–Fort Worth and Portland—utilized a newer and more secure version of the Sigma scrambling system.[107]

Piracy

A problem that would be a constant for all subscription television operators was signal piracy. As early as late 1978, the Los Angeles Times described the Oak ON TV decoder as one that "reportedly can be built at home by handy TV technicians".[108]

In 1980, a trio of lawsuits against manufacturers of pirate decoders converged. Oak won a case in Phoenix, as did Chartwell in Detroit.[104][109] In a case involving pirate decoders in Los Angeles, however, a Los Angeles federal judge ruled against Oak and ruled that ON TV did not hold a monopoly on decoding its signals.[110] Two months later, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a new law prohibiting the sale of unauthorized STV decoding equipment.[111] For Oak, piracy became a serious threat—and one not easily remediated, given the extensive install base of decoders and the inability to pinpoint where pirate decoders were located.[104] Further, in Los Angeles, ON TV had begun turning on disconnected decoders regularly to restore service to subscribers affected by power failures in neighborhoods.[104]

Affecting all STV operations—but most severely impacting Chartwell in Detroit—was the cottage industry that sprang up in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, across the Detroit River. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's then-ongoing study of pay television services prompted the company to halt any plans to start its own business operations there;[112] when asked about the possibility of ON TV being legal in Canada, communications minister David MacDonald replied that the idea "would appear to fly in the face of every statement that's ever been made about Canadian broadcasting".[113]

It was legal, however, for Windsor residents to build decoders to receive ON TV—and some 10,000 existed within two years of beginning STV operation in Detroit—but when those decoders started to enter the United States and pose a challenge to Chartwell's operation, the company moved to take action. In late May 1981, the company stationed process servers outside of the Windsor offices of one decoder manufacturer, Video Gallery, to dissuade potential U.S. buyers.[114] Chartwell then took Video Gallery and its American clients to U.S. federal court, seeking an injunction,[115] and got it, preventing Americans from importing its products.[116][117] In response, Video Gallery obtained an injunction in an Ontario court preventing ON TV representatives from interfering with customers entering its store.[112]

However, Chartwell would gain the upper hand. After winning its initial injunction,[117] the government closed the border to Canadian decoders in August.[118] Video Gallery closed at the end of the year,[119] and Chartwell won a $618,000 judgment against it in March 1982.[120] Even then, it was estimated that some 10,000 additional households received ON TV in southwestern Ontario, including on master antenna systems in apartment complexes—none of them making money for Chartwell.[121]

ON TV companies responded to piracy by modifying pulse signals and introducing new scrambling techniques.[122] In Detroit, Chartwell began migrating to a new generation of decoder boxes.[121] In 1984, ON TV Chicago, also afflicted by heavy pirating, offered "amnesty" to pirate users ahead of the launch of new scrambling equipment.[123]

Stations

ON TV was broadcast over the air on eight stations in the United States:

ON TV stations
Market Station Launch date Closure date Current status
Los Angeles, California KBSC-TV 52 April 1, 1977 February 1985 Telemundo owned-and-operated station KVEA
Detroit, Michigan WXON 20 July 1, 1979 March 31, 1983 Independent station WMYD
Phoenix, Arizona KNXV-TV 15 September 9, 1979 May 4, 1983 ABC affiliate
Miami–Fort Lauderdale, Florida WKID-TV 51 January 11, 1980 November 1984 Telemundo owned-and-operated station WSCV
Cincinnati, Ohio WBTI 64 February 1, 1980 May 31, 1985 MyNetworkTV affiliate WSTR-TV
Chicago, Illinois WSNS 44 September 15, 1980 June 30, 1985 Telemundo owned-and-operated station
Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas KTXA 21 February 28, 1981 April 30, 1983 Independent station
Portland–Salem, Oregon KECH 22 January 31, 1982 August 19, 1984 Ion Television owned-and-operated station KPXG-TV

Los Angeles

Further information: KVEA § The ON TV years

The first ON TV service launched in the Los Angeles market on April 1, 1977, on KBSC-TV (channel 52), licensed to Corona; ON TV's offices were in Glendale.[124] Channel 52 shuffled its ethnic programming lineup in favor of carrying ON TV during evening hours beginning at 8:00 pm.[125] (KBSC-TV changed its commercial program format to Spanish-language shows in 1980.[126])

By April 1979, the service was signing up 12,000 subscribers a month.[127] By that year, it had grown its sports portfolio beyond the Dodgers, Angels, Lakers, and Kings to include USC Trojans college sports and Los Angeles Aztecs soccer, as well as horse racing from Santa Anita Park.[124] After the FCC repealed a rule in late 1982 that required television stations offering a subscription service to broadcast at least 20 hours a week of unencrypted programming, KBSC began running ON TV 24 hours a day and displaced its existing Spanish-language daytime programming.[128]

However, as Oak dismantled its former STV empire, it quickly sold the ON TV subscriber base, by then dwindling, and KBSC-TV to separate parties weeks apart.[82][83] SelecTV continued to broadcast over KBSC-TV for several more months until the new, Spanish-language KVEA was ready to debut.[84]

Detroit

Further information: WMYD § Subscription television

In the only system Chartwell controlled outright, ON TV came to Detroit on July 1, 1979, broadcasting on WXON (channel 20);[20] it had 15,000 subscribers within three months.[129] The service quickly snared the rights to Detroit Red Wings hockey, Detroit Tigers baseball (consisting of 20 weeknight games a year from Tiger Stadium), and Michigan Wolverines athletics (including tape-delayed football games).[130] In the case of the Wolverines, it even ran one experimental 1979 telecast live, a presentation spearheaded by Michigan athletic director Don Canham with the blessing of the NCAA.[129]

WXON, however, proved to be a poor partner for ON TV. After airing the R-rated movie Is There Sex After Death? (which contained considerable sex and nudity) on March 12, 1980, the station then ordered ON TV to screen all movies it aired for WXON executives.[62] More critically, however, the station refused to cede any time before 8:00 p.m. and aired reruns in that time slot, severely crippling it as a sports broadcaster. Midweek Red Wings and Tigers games regularly began before ON TV was on the air, forcing the station to join games in progress (as with the Red Wings) or tape delay them (which it did for the Tigers). The flaw became highly visible when the Red Wings played the Calgary Flames in a game on October 29, 1981, in which the Red Wings scored five goals in the first period before ON TV picked up the game.[131] WXON then sued ON TV to get out of what Chartwell claimed was a "fifty-year contract" with the station.[131] After the 1982 season, ON TV dropped its Tigers deal because it could not secure the air time it needed to telecast games in their entirety.[62]

In a bid to stem the piracy problem that had dogged it for nearly its entire existence, Chartwell began upgrading from its original Blonder-Tongue units to a new generation of addressable decoders in 1982.[122][121] It would not be enough. When ON TV closed in Detroit on March 31, 1983, Chartwell shuttered a business in which it had invested $13 million but never turned a profit.[62] The system—which was vigorously competing against it, the subscription service on Ann Arbor-based WIHT, and Livonia-based MDS service MORE-TV, in addition to rapidly proliferating cable services—had lost 26,000 of the 68,000 subscribers it claimed at its peak.[61]

Phoenix

Further information: KNXV-TV § As an independent station (1979–1986)

In Phoenix, ON TV launched on a new UHF television station, KNXV-TV (channel 15), which signed on September 9, 1979, and immediately began carrying subscription television programming.[32] The company immediately secured top-tier sports: in Phoenix, ON TV held telecast rights at various times to ASU sports, the Phoenix Suns,[132][133] Phoenix Giants minor league baseball, and Los Angeles Kings hockey. By July 1982, it had 39,000 subscribers in Phoenix, but signs of trouble were emerging. In 1981, the Suns signed a 13-year agreement to telecast games through American Cable[134] (resulting in the launch of the Arizona Sports Programming Network), which sub-licensed games to ON TV in part because they had not wired all of the metropolitan area.[135] Late in 1982, KNXV resisted a request to expand ON TV to start before 7:00 p.m. on weekdays and 5:00 p.m. on weekends, while the station also wanted the subscription service to stop screening adult movies.[58]

Phoenix was one of the first markets to show serious subscriber erosion. By April 1983, its subscriber base had dipped below 25,000, a drop of more than 35 percent. Oak Communications ultimately shuttered ON TV in Phoenix on May 4, 1983, resulting in the loss of 140 jobs.[64]

Miami–Fort Lauderdale

Further information: WSCV § WKID

In 1979, Oak bought Fort Lauderdale television station WKID (channel 51) for $4.1 million, with the intention of using it to bring ON TV to south Florida.[136] ON TV then began operating on January 11, 1980, broadcasting subscription programming from 7:00 p.m. to midnight on weekdays and 5:00 p.m. to midnight on weekends.[33] Operating in a market with few professional sporting franchises, one of the immediate draws was a package of games of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.[34] 5,200 subscribers were signed up in the service's first two months,[137] and it claimed 15,000 by July.[138]

In September 1981, ON TV added further hours, starting at 6:00 p.m. on weekdays.[139] It expanded again in July 1982.[140]

By July 1984, when ON TV laid off half its staff, subscriptions had fallen from a 1982 high of 44,700[53] to 28,500,[76] making it the smallest of Oak's STV operations at the time.[141] At the time that John Blair & Co. acquired WKID-TV, it was broadcasting from 4:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. and from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. on weekends.[142]

Blair completed the acquisition in December.[143] Channel 51 then went off the air as Blair prepared to implement the station's relaunch as WSCV, south Florida's second Spanish-language television station.[144]

Cincinnati

Further information: WSTR-TV § Construction and subscription television years
For more information on other STV operations owned by Buford Television/United Cable, see Spectrum (TV channel).

ON TV began airing on independent station WBTI (channel 64) on February 1, 1980, airing alongside commercial general-entertainment programming that aired until 7:00 p.m. on weekdays.[35] In 1982, Buford Television, which built WBTI and owned the ON TV operation through its Home Entertainment Network unit, sold an 80 percent stake to United Cable for a reported $20 million;[145] the television station itself was then sold in April 1983.[146] Unusually for a subscription television operation, WBTI expanded its reach through the construction of a channel 66 translator in Dayton, approved in September 1980 and launched in May 1981; the station had already signed up some customers in that area.[147][148]

By 1983, Warner-Amex cable was spreading throughout the Cincinnati market, causing interest in ON TV to decline considerably. In June, WBTI dropped most of its commercial programming, with the exception of The 700 Club at 10:00 a.m. on weekdays as well as a couple of religious programs on Sunday mornings, to expand ON TV's hours; it laid off staff and began relying on Oak's new satellite feed to program the subscription service.[66] That October, United Cable, which had acquired 80 percent of Buford's three STV operations (the other of two of which operated as Spectrum in Chicago and Minneapolis), wrote down the entire unit and offered the systems for sale.[149]

United sold 90 percent of WBTI in November 1984 to Channel 64 Joint Venture for $9.4 million, at which time ON TV had just 12,500 local subscribers (75 percent of which subscribed to adult programming),[150] compared to 45,200 in June 1982.[53] The station relaunched as WIII on January 1, 1985; it restored a general-entertainment schedule, with ON TV programming being relegated to overnight hours only.[150] With a mere 3,200 subscribers remaining and Oak shutting down its satellite feed, ON TV in Cincinnati ended on June 1, 1985, at which time WIII converted into a full-time general-entertainment independent station.[85]

Chicago

Further information: WSNS-TV § ON TV subscription television (1980–1985)

We were rarely profitable in the year before we went into subscription television. We're not making a lot of money now, but we're making more than we were then.

Ed Morris, general manager of WSNS, at the station's full-time conversion to subscription television in 1982[151]

Chicago was the second-to-last Oak market to launch—WSNS (channel 44) did not begin airing STV until September 22, 1980[37]—but would prove to be among the company's longest-lasting markets. Initially, WSNS–then operating as an independent station–continued unscrambled, commercial programming until 7:00 p.m. on weekdays and on weekends until 5:00 pm.[152]

A year after ON TV began broadcasting, it got competition when Spectrum, originally owned by Buford Television, began airing over Focus Broadcasting-owned WFBN (channel 66) on September 29, 1981.[153] At the same time, WSNS extended its transmission of ON TV programming by two hours on weekdays (now starting at 5:00 pm) and by three hours on weekends (to 12:00 pm). In January 1982, WSNS began carrying ON TV for 20 hours per day, and after the repeal of the limits on STV operating hours, it went round-the-clock—resulting in the dismissal of WSNS's own sales unit and other station staffers.[151]

Further information: FSN Chicago

At the same time that ON TV was gaining subscribers, SportsVision International,[154] a consortium of four Chicago sports franchises—the White Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks, and Sting—had reached a deal to set up a new subscription television station on channel 60 (the shared time WPWR/WBBS), which would carry their games. Both Oak and Buford competed for the right to manage the service,[155] and Oak won out; ON TV subscribers could receive SportsVision for an extra $14.95 a month,[156] and a special run of two-channel decoders was made.[106]

SportsVision finally launched May 25, 1982,[157][158] having been delayed due to issues with the new decoders[159] and then again due to low uptake, airing as a free preview for two extra weeks.[160]

The second STV operation, however, did not reach the subscriber base needed to maintain its viability. By March 1983, it had 25,000 subscribers, half of the amount needed to break even,[161] not helped by the poor performance of the White Sox in the 1982 season.[162] In November, still at just 35,000 subscribers and losing $300,000 a month, it was announced that SportsVision would be folded into ON TV on January 1, 1984, with channel 44's STV service televising a significant number of games and SportsVision continuing as a premium cable channel in suburban areas and outside of Chicagoland;[163] the remaining service was then sold to SportsChannel.[164]

ON TV entered 1984 battered by piracy problems, which had also been cited by White Sox owner Eddie Einhorn as a reason for the end of SportsVision as a separate STV service.[163] In January, the service's operations director estimated that, for every paying subscriber, another was pirating its programming.[165] Subscriber figures had dropped from 89,500 in August 1983 to 80,000 in August 1984, of which 18,000 were previous clients of Spectrum.[166] The service was also instituting program cutbacks. In November 1984, non-professional sports, children's programs and some other low-rated programming were axed to emphasize movies and a reduced schedule of events from SportsVision.[167] By year's end, Oak had put its remaining STV services up for sale, and Chicago had fallen to 75,000 subscribers.[168]

In February 1985, as Oak's financial condition continued to worsen, it emerged that the company was taking writedowns related to the termination of its STV businesses; Burt Harris, owner of WSNS owner Harriscope, stated that he didn't see the service making it to the end of the year.[169] It would not, ceasing operations June 30, 1985, and bringing to a close Oak's eight-year venture into subscription television.[86]

Dallas–Fort Worth

Further information: KTXA § Early years

Oak would like more hours, but we're not going to do it for them. We've probably come on full-force more than any other 'STV station'.

Milton Grant, general manager of KTXA[170]

ON TV on KTXA (channel 21) was a late entrant into the most competitive subscription television market in the nation. By the time ON TV signed on in the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, the area had two competing STV services: VEU and Preview.[40] In September 1982, VEU bought the Preview Dallas operation.[171] VEU, aside from being the leader in subscribers, also had the two largest sports attractions in the market, airing Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers games;[172][173] ON TV, by contrast, aired weekly Southwest Conference basketball during the season.[174]

An operation already struggling for position in a contested media market and with fewer broadcast hours than VEU was then kneecapped by KTXA's vigorous opposition to adult programming—objecting to expansion and blocking the showing of adult movies—which produced a frosty relationship between station and STV franchisee.[63][65] The competitive market and contentious relationship contributed to the service discontinuing operations on April 30, 1983.[64]

Portland

Further information: KPXG-TV § KECH

Like in Phoenix, ON TV began operations on a new station, KECH (channel 22), which began telecasting from Salem, Oregon, on November 21, 1981. Willamette Subscription Television, the local ON TV company which was commonly owned with the station by Arnold Brustin and Chris Desmond, rented evening airtime from KECH, but the operation never turned a profit. In its first year of operation, Willamette had lost $6.6 million, and by December 1982, the station was owed $300,000.[175] The state of the operation was such that the limited partners in Willamette Subscription Television sued Brustin and Desmond for mismanagement in a case that was settled out of court.[175] In 1982, Willamette acquired Premier Home Box Office, a microwave system delivering HBO to 10,000 subscribers, from Canadian company Rogers; Premier had more subscribers at the time than ON TV in the area, which had 6,000.[176]

After Brustin and Desmond were brought in on an interim basis to manage the subscription service on KTSF in San Francisco, which used SelecTV programming, the two opted to convert from ON TV to SelecTV programming.[68] Willamette filed bankruptcy that summer, and a court ordered Desmond to create a debt repayment schedule for more than $4.7 million owed to 20 major creditors; meanwhile, the HBO microwave service battled signal piracy of its own.[67] That November, KECH joined it in bankruptcy reorganization.[69]

On August 19, 1984, the ON TV service ended, with KECH programming older movies in prime time; the station at the time stated its plans to transmit adults-only subscription television programming in late nights under the name "Cascade Entertainment Network" after that date.[70]

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May 03, 2023
network, other, uses, ontv, american, subscription, television, service, that, operated, eight, markets, between, 1977, 1985, originally, established, national, subscription, television, joint, venture, industries, chartwell, communications, part, breed, opera. For other uses see ONTV ON TV was an American subscription television STV service that operated in eight markets between 1977 and 1985 Originally established by National Subscription Television a joint venture of Oak Industries and Chartwell Communications ON TV was part of a new breed of STV operations that broadcast premium programming including movies sporting events and concerts over an encrypted signal on a UHF television station and leased decoders to subscribing customers At its peak in 1982 ON TV boasted more than 700 000 customers more than half of them in Los Angeles its most successful market However the rapidly expanding availability of cable television coupled with a recession caused the business to quickly lose subscribers at the same time that Oak Industries was experiencing severe financial difficulties Between March 1983 and June 1985 all eight operations closed ON TVOriginal ON TV logo used in most Oak markets and in PortlandCountryUnited StatesProgrammingLanguage s EnglishOwnershipOwnerNational Subscription Television a joint venture of Oak Industries and Chartwell Communications each market had individual ownership HistoryLaunchedApril 1 1977 46 years ago 1977 04 01 ClosedJune 30 1985 37 years ago 1985 06 30 Contents 1 History 1 1 Los Angeles launch 1 2 Expansion beyond LA 1 3 Oak in control 1 4 Headwinds 1 5 Collapse and demise 2 Service and programming 3 Equipment 3 1 Piracy 4 Stations 4 1 Los Angeles 4 2 Detroit 4 3 Phoenix 4 4 Miami Fort Lauderdale 4 5 Cincinnati 4 6 Chicago 4 7 Dallas Fort Worth 4 8 Portland 5 ReferencesHistory EditLos Angeles launch Edit Logo of Oak Industries In 1973 1 Oak Industries a maker of cable television equipment and other electronic components and Chartwell Communications a company majority owned by Jerry Perenchio and Norman Lear founded a joint venture initially known as World Pay Television Inc to create and operate a subscription television system in the Los Angeles market 2 The connection was made when Everitt A Carter an executive at Oak Industries attended a tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in Houston organized by Perenchio Perenchio approached Carter and asked if the company could build a system to scramble over the air signals for pay distribution While Oak was initially resistant to the idea it ultimately agreed to develop the equipment if Perenchio fronted 200 000 for research and development which he did 3 In 1976 Oak president Frank A Astrologes was named chairman of the new venture with Carter succeeding him at Oak 2 The company intended to open franchises in 14 different states per Federal Communications Commission FCC filings at the time 4 The system which would use scrambling of a standard UHF television station required a carrier That was secured by the venture in 1976 when under the name of Oak Broadcasting Systems Oak and Perenchio purchased Los Angeles television station KBSC TV channel 52 for 1 2 million as part of the liquidation of its parent company Kaiser Industries 5 After changing its name to National Subscription Television NST the service launched under the brand name ON TV on April 1 1977 1 offering unedited uninterrupted motion pictures as well as limited slates of Los Angeles Dodgers California Angels Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Kings games during evening hours The first 500 subscribers lived in the San Fernando Valley as part of a soft launch of the new system 6 It was the second subscription television system in operation with Wometco Home Theater having launched in New York City the previous month 7 Ambitions to expand ON TV beyond Los Angeles were immediate When the first system went live Carter claimed firm contracts to move forward in eight cities five of which would eventually be home to ON TV branded subscription television operations but stated he wanted to see if the Los Angeles system was a success first 3 In January 1978 Oak reached a deal with Sears to market ON TV service in the Los Angeles and Orange County area 8 The next year ON TV got a competitor SelecTV which pioneered a pay per program model and only showed movies 9 Expansion beyond LA Edit An ON TV decoder box In October 1978 Oak and Chartwell the partners in the Los Angeles system reached an agreement to each develop six ON TV markets on their own the Oak markets would be Chicago Phoenix Miami Philadelphia Minneapolis and Dallas Fort Worth 10 while Chartwell was tasked with development in New York Detroit Atlanta San Francisco Cleveland and Houston 11 In Philadelphia NST had reached a deal with Radio Broadcasting Corporation which in 1977 was awarded a construction permit for a channel 57 TV station there 12 The next year the company announced it would license its equipment and technology in cities where it did not intend to operate itself 13 The first of the Oak expansion cities firmed up considerably in November 1978 when Oak announced it would begin operating in Phoenix in July 1979 in a joint venture with the New Television Corporation which held the construction permit for KNXV TV channel 15 New Television would program the station during the day as a free independent while ON TV would air in the evenings 14 Oak announced at that time that it would be on the air in Philadelphia and Miami by 1980 14 Meanwhile the ON TV system in Los Angeles grew to more than 100 000 subscribers by the end of 1978 and 200 000 by August 1979 earning it the title of the world s largest single pay TV operation 15 16 Oak s increasing involvement with the entertainment business spurred the entire company previously headquartered in Crystal Lake Illinois to move to southern California where it built a new headquarters building in the planned community of Rancho Bernardo 17 As very large cities like Philadelphia saw years long delays in cable television wiring due to political disputes over franchises the specter of services like ON TV loomed over the horizon and served as an impetus to consider more rapid action 18 Chartwell too began the task of developing markets As early as 1977 NST had an agreement to run an STV service on WXON in Detroit 19 and the two parties aimed for a July 1 1979 launch 20 In 1979 the company through affiliate Tandem Productions acquired New York City area station WNJU TV and Tandem was waiting in the wings to buy Washington D C s WDCA TV if the FCC had rescinded its approval of that station s sale to Taft Broadcasting 21 Chartwell also explored buying a station in Sacramento California in 1980 going so far as to enter into advanced negotiations to purchase that city s KMUV TV 22 As 1979 continued activity accelerated Oak announced its intention to open subscription television in Miami at the end of the year from Fort Lauderdale based WKID TV which it had purchased 23 In Chicago it reached an agreement with Video 44 owner of UHF station WSNS TV to use Oak equipment and technology in its service 24 While Video 44 then attempted to sell 50 percent of the company to American Television and Communications a subsidiary of Time Inc and owner of the Preview STV services which had a deal with Zenith to produce its equipment 25 the company pulled out of the deal in October when major movie studios protested the potential for a monopoly on pay TV programming between Time s STV holdings and Home Box Office cable network 26 The Dallas Fort Worth market entered the picture when Oak reaffirmed a 1976 deal with Channel 21 Inc the Sidney Shlenker and Milton Grant led consortium that held the construction permit for Fort Worth television station KTXA to bring ON TV to the Metroplex 27 Oak also filed for construction permits in various cities around the United States including channel 38 in St Petersburg Florida 28 channel 38 in New Orleans 29 and channel 20 in Denver 30 Those applications were joined by a 1981 filing for channel 16 at Everett Washington near Seattle 31 The Phoenix operation began September 9 when KNXV TV began broadcasting 32 and WKID TV in the Miami Fort Lauderdale market commenced subscription television broadcasts on January 11 1980 33 34 The first licensed ON TV system owned by Home Entertainment Network a division of Buford Television went live on that company s WBTI TV in Cincinnati on February 1 the station itself took to the air on January 28 35 36 Oak went on air with ON TV in Chicago on September 22 37 after having bought a 49 percent stake in the licensee of WSNS 38 39 and in Dallas Fort Worth on February 28 1981 40 Just eight months after going live in Chicago ON TV was profitable in that market said to be unprecedented in the STV industry and by October 1981 it was joined by all of the Oak owned operations except Dallas Fort Worth 41 Still more stations appeared to be in the pipeline Oak had a deal with Baltimore s WBFF to enter that market 42 and it owned 45 percent of an STV franchise for channel 29 at Minneapolis 31 Meanwhile Chartwell after having attempted to nab rights to New York Yankees baseball dropped its New York subscription television plans opting not to scrap WNJU TV s successful Spanish language programming and battle the market s dominant STV provider Wometco Home Theater 43 Perenchio would ultimately sell WNJU TV in 1986 44 Oak in control Edit In Los Angeles the largest ON TV market where Oak and Chartwell remained partners the arrangement came into doubt in March 1981 The two sides disagreed over Perenchio s appointment of William M Siegel the chief executive of Chartwell as the general manager of National Subscription Television Los Angeles Oak refused to consent to the appointment and claimed that Chartwell and Perenchio had surreptitiously placed Siegel on the payroll it was reported that Oak had no dispute with Siegel but wanted to affirm its authority as 51 percent owner of the venture 45 Oak chairman Carter was surprised to learn that Siegel made more money than he did Further Perenchio drew Oak s ire when the Chartwell ON TV operation in Detroit ordered new decoder boxes from one of Oak s competitors 46 Oak and Chartwell settled in September the suit was dropped and Oak bought out Chartwell s 49 percent share of National Subscription Television for 55 million 47 Oak now controlled the entire Los Angeles and Miami systems as well as majority shares in the Chicago Dallas Fort Worth and Phoenix markets while Chartwell continued to own and operate the Detroit ON TV system Cincinnati was licensed to be joined by another licensing agreement Oak made starting January 31 1982 with Willamette Subscription Television the STV franchisee for KECH in the Portland Oregon market 48 By May 1982 ON TV in southern California had 400 000 subscribers 49 Oak boasted some 600 000 subscribers in its five ON TV markets not counting Detroit Cincinnati or Portland 50 Additionally Oak planned to start a ninth system in Houston in 1983 broadcasting over KTXH channel 20 the under construction sister station to KTXA 51 However by November as KTXH itself neared air it had become clear that Oak was not pursuing Houston plans having essentially shuttered its part of the operation Houston Chronicle television editor Ann Hodges cited the increasing wiring of the city for cable the increased carriage of KTXH by cable systems without STV operation and more expansive sports coverage planned in Houston than in Dallas Fort Worth 52 Headwinds Edit ON TV subscribers by market June 1982 53 Station Market Owner SubscribersKBSC TV Los Angeles Oak 379 000WSNS TV Chicago Oak 120 600WXON Detroit Chartwell 61 900WBTI TV Cincinnati United Cable 45 200WKID TV Miami Fort Lauderdale Oak 44 700KNXV TV Phoenix Oak 38 500KTXA Dallas Fort Worth Oak 24 800KECH Portland Salem Willamette 12 000Total 726 700Subscription television would prove to reach its zenith in 1982 however That year STV operations rapidly went from gaining subscribers to losing them After seeing 65 percent growth in 1981 STV operators grew their subscriber rolls by just 0 8 percent the next year 54 A worsening recession and faster than anticipated growth of cable television became hazards As ON TV operations in some markets began to face headwinds the financial picture of Oak Industries itself worsened In October 1982 it revised down its earnings guidance due to declining sales of its 56 channel cable box due to the recession and technical issues 55 Even though one analyst described subscription television as clearly just an interim business the company remained bullish about STV 51 it struck a deal with Telstar to sublease two satellite transponders opening the door to satellite delivery of ON TV s programming to local STV and MDS franchisees low power television stations and cable companies 56 Another problem faced by subscription outlets was that they leased time from television stations which in some cases were not owned by the STV operator This led to several fights between station owners and franchisees Oak owned or otherwise As early as 1980 WXON in Detroit was objecting to ON TV s airing of the movie Is There Sex After Death 57 KNXV TV in Phoenix had threatened to stop airing ON TV s adults only late night fare 58 and ON TV took the station to court over its refusal to cede early evening hours which generated 60 percent of the television station s revenue 59 KTXA won a legal fight against ON TV in that market taking away all its adult programming and prompting competitor VEU to run ads with headlines such as For real adult entertainment turn on to VEU 60 The first ON TV service to close was Chartwell s Detroit system which shuttered on March 31 1983 61 It cited falling subscriber figures from 68 000 to 42 000 in just a year an inability to obtain more airtime from WXON and competition from the it service that aired on Ann Arbor based WIHT 61 The operating hours that WXON allowed ON TV to have in the Detroit market continually hampered the service s ability to show sporting events directly causing it to drop a package of Detroit Tigers baseball games it aired 62 Oak was next to announce casualties On April 15 1983 citing the situations in each market 63 it announced it would shutter its Dallas Fort Worth and Phoenix systems 58 In Phoenix the advance of cable and other factors had caused subscribers to drop from a peak of 39 000 in July 1982 to 25 000 at closure 64 Besides the Dallas Fort Worth conflict with KTXA the company had been handicapped by a late entry into a market that at the time had two existing STV competitors VEU and Preview which merged their local operations in late 1982 into a service with more program hours and was the nation s most crowded 65 Anthony Cassara president of the television division of VEU owner Golden West Broadcasters had previously described that market as total insanity when it had three competing operators 53 Expanded hours were crucial to keeping services alive as cable companies grew in June 1983 Cincinnati s WBTI axed hours of free programming and began taking satellite fed ON TV programming from Oak in place of its local feed 66 In August Willamette Subscription Television the Portland licensee and also the operator of a microwave system transmitting HBO to customers filed for bankruptcy it owed 4 7 million to a group of 20 major creditors including 1 million to Oak 67 By this time however it had ceased receiving programming from Oak 68 KECH which itself filed for bankruptcy in November 1983 69 ceased ON TV broadcasts on August 19 1984 70 Collapse and demise Edit As Oak Industries faced wider financial trouble it sought to reduce its involvement in the operation of its three remaining directly owned ON TV systems In October 1983 operation of the Los Angeles Chicago and Miami Fort Lauderdale systems shifted from Oak to a new company Twin Arts Productions led by former Playgirl magazine publisher Ira Ritter the three services counted 370 000 total subscribers down from 550 000 in October 1982 71 In early 1984 Oak announced a revamped ON TV program lineup 72 and its operations did score a victory when its direct competitor Spectrum opted to discontinue operating in Chicago and sell its subscriber base 73 However Oak s condition continued to deteriorate Later that month the company announced it was being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC 74 and it posted a loss of 166 1 million for 1983 75 One of the company s auditors Arthur Andersen qualified its statement fearing that Oak could not fully realize its 134 million investment in subscription television 75 As pressure increased on Oak s finances and the ON TV systems continued to lose subscribers during 1984 cuts were made In mid July National Subscription Television of Fort Lauderdale laid off 41 employees half its staff 76 Less than two weeks later Oak announced that it had sold WKID TV to John Blair amp Co for 17 75 million the new buyers intended to program it as a Spanish language station 77 In August after a year of speculation it emerged that Oak was in talks to sell the Los Angeles system to SelecTV which had competed alongside ON TV for six years in the Southern California market 78 A deal was initially reached then collapsed 79 That October after a year management of ON TV had been brought back in house after the Twin Arts arrangement was ended in order to cut costs the company had also taken over its satellite distribution to some 140 000 subscribers after dissolving the Telstar joint venture 80 Oak chairman Everitt Carter under a cloud of uncertainty abruptly left the position in December 1984 81 SelecTV ultimately acquired the Los Angeles operation by then with just 156 000 subscribers in February 1985 82 That same month Oak reached a deal to sell KBSC TV to an investor group Estrella Communications headed by Joe Wallach in a 30 million transaction 83 That station formally relaunched as Spanish language KVEA in November 84 On June 1 1985 WBTI which had been sold and relaunched as WIII at the start of the year dropped ON TV with just 3 200 remaining subscribers when Oak ceased providing programming by satellite 85 Oak had one last portion of its subscription television business to dismantle in Chicago where WSNS ceased broadcasting as a subscription station on June 30 and began broadcasting programming from the Spanish International Network the next day 86 However WSNS s years as a subscription television station had left a legacy that impeded Oak s ability to sell its stake in channel 44 for years In 1982 Monroe Communications Corporation filed a challenge to WSNS s license renewal and a competing application to establish a channel 44 TV station in Chicago charging that as an STV station between 1979 and 1982 WSNS failed to serve the public interest and severely cut back on public affairs programming 87 An FCC administrative law judge found against WSNS licensee Video 44 and in favor of Monroe in 1985 88 The FCC later granted the renewal only for a federal appeals court to rule in Monroe s favor in April 1990 89 After the FCC officially denied the license renewal in September 1990 90 however Chicago s Hispanic community and civic leaders rallied around WSNS 91 Video 44 and Monroe reached an 18 million settlement agreement in 1993 92 and Oak and fellow Video 44 partner Harriscope sold their stake in the station to Telemundo in 1995 93 Service and programming EditSubscribers were charged 40 to 50 installation and 19 95 to 22 50 per month depending on the market in the first three ON TV launches Los Angeles Phoenix and Detroit 7 ON TV programming consisted of four basic components movies sporting events special events such as concerts and boxing matches and adult programming Though there was variance between ON TV operations particularly with regard to sports programming in each market after 1983 when it established the Telstar joint venture Oak was able to supply much of this programming directly to affiliates and home satellite dish owners 66 56 The ON TV decoder supported additional program tiers and pay per view events on top of the normal service for which subscribers would have to pay additional money This functionality was used to broadcast pay per view events including boxing matches consistently the most successful PPV offering 94 as well as an adults only service of late night movies 95 Among the notable pay per view presentations provided by ON TV and other STV systems was the first television screening of Star Wars in 1982 for which subscribers paid an additional 7 95 96 However the system could not provide alternate fare for subscribers who did not pay for the movie so those customers simply received no STV programming just a blank screen 96 While more than 30 percent of customers in Oak s ON TV territory paid for Star Wars 97 conversion rates had surpassed 60 percent in some cases for boxing matches 98 Adult programming had high uptake in STV operations nationwide and ON TV was no exception In early 1983 48 percent of subscribers across all ON TV systems paid an extra fee to subscribe to it 99 In Dallas Fort Worth despite being the last Oak market to offer the Adults Only tier 100 89 percent of subscribers opted in 99 it was 70 percent in Miami 101 Uptake ranged from 50 to 90 percent at other STV operations nationwide including Wometco Home Theater and SelecTV Milwaukee 102 Equipment Edit An ON TV decoder without its rear plate showing the serial number and barcode part of the addressability function With the notable exception of Chartwell s operation in Detroit which used equipment from rival Blonder Tongue 7 ON TV systems including all five owned by Oak itself used scrambling technology and decoder hardware developed and manufactured by Oak known as the Model I 103 The boxes connected to a standard UHF television antenna decoded the encrypted STV signal for paying subscribers and output it to their sets Each decoder was individually addressable which meant they could be controlled centrally from the transmitter addressability allowed for electronic connections and disconnections as well as the ability to offer pay per view services 95 and allowed Oak to implement a theft deterrent where any disconnected decoder box stopped providing service after eight minutes 104 The decoders also supported an optional key module that served as a form of parental control 105 When ON TV entered into a partnership to start SportsVision a second STV service in Chicago Oak manufactured special two channel decoders that supported both services 106 The last two new Oak STV installations Dallas Fort Worth and Portland utilized a newer and more secure version of the Sigma scrambling system 107 Piracy Edit A problem that would be a constant for all subscription television operators was signal piracy As early as late 1978 the Los Angeles Times described the Oak ON TV decoder as one that reportedly can be built at home by handy TV technicians 108 In 1980 a trio of lawsuits against manufacturers of pirate decoders converged Oak won a case in Phoenix as did Chartwell in Detroit 104 109 In a case involving pirate decoders in Los Angeles however a Los Angeles federal judge ruled against Oak and ruled that ON TV did not hold a monopoly on decoding its signals 110 Two months later California Governor Jerry Brown signed a new law prohibiting the sale of unauthorized STV decoding equipment 111 For Oak piracy became a serious threat and one not easily remediated given the extensive install base of decoders and the inability to pinpoint where pirate decoders were located 104 Further in Los Angeles ON TV had begun turning on disconnected decoders regularly to restore service to subscribers affected by power failures in neighborhoods 104 Affecting all STV operations but most severely impacting Chartwell in Detroit was the cottage industry that sprang up in Windsor Ontario Canada across the Detroit River The Canadian Radio television and Telecommunications Commission s then ongoing study of pay television services prompted the company to halt any plans to start its own business operations there 112 when asked about the possibility of ON TV being legal in Canada communications minister David MacDonald replied that the idea would appear to fly in the face of every statement that s ever been made about Canadian broadcasting 113 It was legal however for Windsor residents to build decoders to receive ON TV and some 10 000 existed within two years of beginning STV operation in Detroit but when those decoders started to enter the United States and pose a challenge to Chartwell s operation the company moved to take action In late May 1981 the company stationed process servers outside of the Windsor offices of one decoder manufacturer Video Gallery to dissuade potential U S buyers 114 Chartwell then took Video Gallery and its American clients to U S federal court seeking an injunction 115 and got it preventing Americans from importing its products 116 117 In response Video Gallery obtained an injunction in an Ontario court preventing ON TV representatives from interfering with customers entering its store 112 However Chartwell would gain the upper hand After winning its initial injunction 117 the government closed the border to Canadian decoders in August 118 Video Gallery closed at the end of the year 119 and Chartwell won a 618 000 judgment against it in March 1982 120 Even then it was estimated that some 10 000 additional households received ON TV in southwestern Ontario including on master antenna systems in apartment complexes none of them making money for Chartwell 121 ON TV companies responded to piracy by modifying pulse signals and introducing new scrambling techniques 122 In Detroit Chartwell began migrating to a new generation of decoder boxes 121 In 1984 ON TV Chicago also afflicted by heavy pirating offered amnesty to pirate users ahead of the launch of new scrambling equipment 123 Stations EditON TV was broadcast over the air on eight stations in the United States ON TV stations Market Station Launch date Closure date Current statusLos Angeles California KBSC TV 52 April 1 1977 February 1985 Telemundo owned and operated station KVEADetroit Michigan WXON 20 July 1 1979 March 31 1983 Independent station WMYDPhoenix Arizona KNXV TV 15 September 9 1979 May 4 1983 ABC affiliateMiami Fort Lauderdale Florida WKID TV 51 January 11 1980 November 1984 Telemundo owned and operated station WSCVCincinnati Ohio WBTI 64 February 1 1980 May 31 1985 MyNetworkTV affiliate WSTR TVChicago Illinois WSNS 44 September 15 1980 June 30 1985 Telemundo owned and operated stationDallas Fort Worth Texas KTXA 21 February 28 1981 April 30 1983 Independent stationPortland Salem Oregon KECH 22 January 31 1982 August 19 1984 Ion Television owned and operated station KPXG TVLos Angeles Edit Further information KVEA The ON TV years The first ON TV service launched in the Los Angeles market on April 1 1977 on KBSC TV channel 52 licensed to Corona ON TV s offices were in Glendale 124 Channel 52 shuffled its ethnic programming lineup in favor of carrying ON TV during evening hours beginning at 8 00 pm 125 KBSC TV changed its commercial program format to Spanish language shows in 1980 126 By April 1979 the service was signing up 12 000 subscribers a month 127 By that year it had grown its sports portfolio beyond the Dodgers Angels Lakers and Kings to include USC Trojans college sports and Los Angeles Aztecs soccer as well as horse racing from Santa Anita Park 124 After the FCC repealed a rule in late 1982 that required television stations offering a subscription service to broadcast at least 20 hours a week of unencrypted programming KBSC began running ON TV 24 hours a day and displaced its existing Spanish language daytime programming 128 However as Oak dismantled its former STV empire it quickly sold the ON TV subscriber base by then dwindling and KBSC TV to separate parties weeks apart 82 83 SelecTV continued to broadcast over KBSC TV for several more months until the new Spanish language KVEA was ready to debut 84 Detroit Edit Further information WMYD Subscription television In the only system Chartwell controlled outright ON TV came to Detroit on July 1 1979 broadcasting on WXON channel 20 20 it had 15 000 subscribers within three months 129 The service quickly snared the rights to Detroit Red Wings hockey Detroit Tigers baseball consisting of 20 weeknight games a year from Tiger Stadium and Michigan Wolverines athletics including tape delayed football games 130 In the case of the Wolverines it even ran one experimental 1979 telecast live a presentation spearheaded by Michigan athletic director Don Canham with the blessing of the NCAA 129 WXON however proved to be a poor partner for ON TV After airing the R rated movie Is There Sex After Death which contained considerable sex and nudity on March 12 1980 the station then ordered ON TV to screen all movies it aired for WXON executives 62 More critically however the station refused to cede any time before 8 00 p m and aired reruns in that time slot severely crippling it as a sports broadcaster Midweek Red Wings and Tigers games regularly began before ON TV was on the air forcing the station to join games in progress as with the Red Wings or tape delay them which it did for the Tigers The flaw became highly visible when the Red Wings played the Calgary Flames in a game on October 29 1981 in which the Red Wings scored five goals in the first period before ON TV picked up the game 131 WXON then sued ON TV to get out of what Chartwell claimed was a fifty year contract with the station 131 After the 1982 season ON TV dropped its Tigers deal because it could not secure the air time it needed to telecast games in their entirety 62 In a bid to stem the piracy problem that had dogged it for nearly its entire existence Chartwell began upgrading from its original Blonder Tongue units to a new generation of addressable decoders in 1982 122 121 It would not be enough When ON TV closed in Detroit on March 31 1983 Chartwell shuttered a business in which it had invested 13 million but never turned a profit 62 The system which was vigorously competing against it the subscription service on Ann Arbor based WIHT and Livonia based MDS service MORE TV in addition to rapidly proliferating cable services had lost 26 000 of the 68 000 subscribers it claimed at its peak 61 Phoenix Edit Further information KNXV TV As an independent station 1979 1986 In Phoenix ON TV launched on a new UHF television station KNXV TV channel 15 which signed on September 9 1979 and immediately began carrying subscription television programming 32 The company immediately secured top tier sports in Phoenix ON TV held telecast rights at various times to ASU sports the Phoenix Suns 132 133 Phoenix Giants minor league baseball and Los Angeles Kings hockey By July 1982 it had 39 000 subscribers in Phoenix but signs of trouble were emerging In 1981 the Suns signed a 13 year agreement to telecast games through American Cable 134 resulting in the launch of the Arizona Sports Programming Network which sub licensed games to ON TV in part because they had not wired all of the metropolitan area 135 Late in 1982 KNXV resisted a request to expand ON TV to start before 7 00 p m on weekdays and 5 00 p m on weekends while the station also wanted the subscription service to stop screening adult movies 58 Phoenix was one of the first markets to show serious subscriber erosion By April 1983 its subscriber base had dipped below 25 000 a drop of more than 35 percent Oak Communications ultimately shuttered ON TV in Phoenix on May 4 1983 resulting in the loss of 140 jobs 64 Miami Fort Lauderdale Edit Further information WSCV WKID In 1979 Oak bought Fort Lauderdale television station WKID channel 51 for 4 1 million with the intention of using it to bring ON TV to south Florida 136 ON TV then began operating on January 11 1980 broadcasting subscription programming from 7 00 p m to midnight on weekdays and 5 00 p m to midnight on weekends 33 Operating in a market with few professional sporting franchises one of the immediate draws was a package of games of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers 34 5 200 subscribers were signed up in the service s first two months 137 and it claimed 15 000 by July 138 In September 1981 ON TV added further hours starting at 6 00 p m on weekdays 139 It expanded again in July 1982 140 By July 1984 when ON TV laid off half its staff subscriptions had fallen from a 1982 high of 44 700 53 to 28 500 76 making it the smallest of Oak s STV operations at the time 141 At the time that John Blair amp Co acquired WKID TV it was broadcasting from 4 00 p m to 2 00 a m and from 10 00 a m to 2 00 a m on weekends 142 Blair completed the acquisition in December 143 Channel 51 then went off the air as Blair prepared to implement the station s relaunch as WSCV south Florida s second Spanish language television station 144 Cincinnati Edit Further information WSTR TV Construction and subscription television years For more information on other STV operations owned by Buford Television United Cable see Spectrum TV channel ON TV began airing on independent station WBTI channel 64 on February 1 1980 airing alongside commercial general entertainment programming that aired until 7 00 p m on weekdays 35 In 1982 Buford Television which built WBTI and owned the ON TV operation through its Home Entertainment Network unit sold an 80 percent stake to United Cable for a reported 20 million 145 the television station itself was then sold in April 1983 146 Unusually for a subscription television operation WBTI expanded its reach through the construction of a channel 66 translator in Dayton approved in September 1980 and launched in May 1981 the station had already signed up some customers in that area 147 148 By 1983 Warner Amex cable was spreading throughout the Cincinnati market causing interest in ON TV to decline considerably In June WBTI dropped most of its commercial programming with the exception of The 700 Club at 10 00 a m on weekdays as well as a couple of religious programs on Sunday mornings to expand ON TV s hours it laid off staff and began relying on Oak s new satellite feed to program the subscription service 66 That October United Cable which had acquired 80 percent of Buford s three STV operations the other of two of which operated as Spectrum in Chicago and Minneapolis wrote down the entire unit and offered the systems for sale 149 United sold 90 percent of WBTI in November 1984 to Channel 64 Joint Venture for 9 4 million at which time ON TV had just 12 500 local subscribers 75 percent of which subscribed to adult programming 150 compared to 45 200 in June 1982 53 The station relaunched as WIII on January 1 1985 it restored a general entertainment schedule with ON TV programming being relegated to overnight hours only 150 With a mere 3 200 subscribers remaining and Oak shutting down its satellite feed ON TV in Cincinnati ended on June 1 1985 at which time WIII converted into a full time general entertainment independent station 85 Chicago Edit Further information WSNS TV ON TV subscription television 1980 1985 We were rarely profitable in the year before we went into subscription television We re not making a lot of money now but we re making more than we were then Ed Morris general manager of WSNS at the station s full time conversion to subscription television in 1982 151 Chicago was the second to last Oak market to launch WSNS channel 44 did not begin airing STV until September 22 1980 37 but would prove to be among the company s longest lasting markets Initially WSNS then operating as an independent station continued unscrambled commercial programming until 7 00 p m on weekdays and on weekends until 5 00 pm 152 A year after ON TV began broadcasting it got competition when Spectrum originally owned by Buford Television began airing over Focus Broadcasting owned WFBN channel 66 on September 29 1981 153 At the same time WSNS extended its transmission of ON TV programming by two hours on weekdays now starting at 5 00 pm and by three hours on weekends to 12 00 pm In January 1982 WSNS began carrying ON TV for 20 hours per day and after the repeal of the limits on STV operating hours it went round the clock resulting in the dismissal of WSNS s own sales unit and other station staffers 151 Further information FSN Chicago At the same time that ON TV was gaining subscribers SportsVision International 154 a consortium of four Chicago sports franchises the White Sox Bulls Blackhawks and Sting had reached a deal to set up a new subscription television station on channel 60 the shared time WPWR WBBS which would carry their games Both Oak and Buford competed for the right to manage the service 155 and Oak won out ON TV subscribers could receive SportsVision for an extra 14 95 a month 156 and a special run of two channel decoders was made 106 SportsVision finally launched May 25 1982 157 158 having been delayed due to issues with the new decoders 159 and then again due to low uptake airing as a free preview for two extra weeks 160 The second STV operation however did not reach the subscriber base needed to maintain its viability By March 1983 it had 25 000 subscribers half of the amount needed to break even 161 not helped by the poor performance of the White Sox in the 1982 season 162 In November still at just 35 000 subscribers and losing 300 000 a month it was announced that SportsVision would be folded into ON TV on January 1 1984 with channel 44 s STV service televising a significant number of games and SportsVision continuing as a premium cable channel in suburban areas and outside of Chicagoland 163 the remaining service was then sold to SportsChannel 164 ON TV entered 1984 battered by piracy problems which had also been cited by White Sox owner Eddie Einhorn as a reason for the end of SportsVision as a separate STV service 163 In January the service s operations director estimated that for every paying subscriber another was pirating its programming 165 Subscriber figures had dropped from 89 500 in August 1983 to 80 000 in August 1984 of which 18 000 were previous clients of Spectrum 166 The service was also instituting program cutbacks In November 1984 non professional sports children s programs and some other low rated programming were axed to emphasize movies and a reduced schedule of events from SportsVision 167 By year s end Oak had put its remaining STV services up for sale and Chicago had fallen to 75 000 subscribers 168 In February 1985 as Oak s financial condition continued to worsen it emerged that the company was taking writedowns related to the termination of its STV businesses Burt Harris owner of WSNS owner Harriscope stated that he didn t see the service making it to the end of the year 169 It would not ceasing operations June 30 1985 and bringing to a close Oak s eight year venture into subscription television 86 Dallas Fort Worth Edit Further information KTXA Early years Oak would like more hours but we re not going to do it for them We ve probably come on full force more than any other STV station Milton Grant general manager of KTXA 170 ON TV on KTXA channel 21 was a late entrant into the most competitive subscription television market in the nation By the time ON TV signed on in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex the area had two competing STV services VEU and Preview 40 In September 1982 VEU bought the Preview Dallas operation 171 VEU aside from being the leader in subscribers also had the two largest sports attractions in the market airing Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers games 172 173 ON TV by contrast aired weekly Southwest Conference basketball during the season 174 An operation already struggling for position in a contested media market and with fewer broadcast hours than VEU was then kneecapped by KTXA s vigorous opposition to adult programming objecting to expansion and blocking the showing of adult movies which produced a frosty relationship between station and STV franchisee 63 65 The competitive market and contentious relationship contributed to the service discontinuing operations on April 30 1983 64 Portland Edit Further information KPXG TV KECH Like in Phoenix ON TV began operations on a new station KECH channel 22 which began telecasting from Salem Oregon on November 21 1981 Willamette Subscription Television the local ON TV company which was commonly owned with the station by Arnold Brustin and Chris Desmond rented evening airtime from KECH but the operation never turned a profit In its first year of operation Willamette had lost 6 6 million and by December 1982 the station was owed 300 000 175 The state of the operation was such that the limited partners in Willamette Subscription Television sued Brustin and Desmond for mismanagement in a case that was settled out of court 175 In 1982 Willamette acquired Premier Home Box Office a microwave system delivering HBO to 10 000 subscribers from Canadian company Rogers Premier had more subscribers at the time than ON TV in the area which had 6 000 176 After Brustin and Desmond were brought in on an interim basis to manage the subscription service on KTSF in San Francisco which used SelecTV programming the two opted to convert from ON TV to SelecTV programming 68 Willamette filed bankruptcy that summer and a court ordered Desmond to create a debt repayment schedule for more than 4 7 million owed to 20 major creditors meanwhile the HBO microwave service battled signal piracy of its own 67 That November KECH joined it in bankruptcy reorganization 69 On August 19 1984 the ON TV service ended with KECH programming older movies in prime time the station at the time stated its plans to transmit adults only subscription television programming in late nights under the name Cascade Entertainment Network after that date 70 References Edit a b Margulies Lee March 29 1977 Just the Ticket for Pay TV Los Angeles Times p View 1 7 Archived from the original on October 31 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b Oak President moving to LA Crystal Lake Herald February 11 1976 p 17 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b Darby Frank April 1 1977 Pay TV gets first test Fort Worth Star Telegram Chicago Sun Times p 1D Archived from the original on October 31 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Adams Jim February 11 1976 Subscription TV is a tantalizing unknown for three investors The Minneapolis Star p 20B Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Changing Hands PDF Broadcasting September 20 1976 p 43 Archived PDF from the original on November 1 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via World Radio History Oak Industries gets into LA TV market Crystal Lake Herald April 11 1977 p 3 Archived from the original on October 31 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b c FCC letting STV out of the closet PDF Broadcasting October 1 1979 pp 23 24 Archived PDF from the original on November 1 2020 Retrieved October 26 2020 via World Radio History Sears Roebuck plans to market pay TV in the Los Angeles area Los Angeles Times January 31 1978 p 8 Archived from the original on November 2 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Margulies Lee July 22 1978 New Pay TV Service to Debut Los Angeles Times p 3 Archived from the original on October 14 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Pay TV for Chicago Chicago Tribune October 21 1978 p 6 Archived from the original on October 30 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Thinking big with over the air pay PDF Broadcasting November 6 1978 p 58 Retrieved October 1 2021 via World Radio History Philadelphia STV approved PDF Broadcasting September 19 1977 p 126 Archived PDF from the original on October 31 2020 Retrieved October 26 2020 via World Radio History Subscription TV Chicago Tribune March 27 1979 p 6 Archived from the original on October 28 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b Subscription TV will begin in July The Arizona Republic November 28 1978 p B 6 Archived from the original on October 28 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com New pay TV leads world Crystal Lake Herald December 11 1978 p 9 Archived from the original on October 28 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com National Subscription Television s over air PDF Broadcasting August 27 1979 p 22 Archived PDF from the original on October 31 2020 Retrieved October 26 2020 via World Radio History Pay TV Firm Will Move To Rancho Bernardo Site Los Angeles Times January 28 1979 p 28 Archived from the original on October 28 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Frump Bob January 30 1978 City urged to pass cable TV provisions quickly The Philadelphia Inquirer p 3 B Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com What s This Scrambled TV That You Pay For Detroit Free Press April 3 1977 p 7C Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b McMahon Tom February 13 1979 Pay TV is getting closer The Windsor Star p 15 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Buying urge PDF Broadcasting October 1 1979 p 5 17 Archived PDF from the original on November 1 2020 Retrieved October 26 2020 via World Radio History Channel 31 Sale in Talk Stage Sacramento Bee February 12 1980 p C7 Archived from the original on October 31 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com DuBocq Tom April 13 1979 Subscription TV tunes in South Florida The Miami News p 6A Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Oak WSNS agree on subscription TV Crystal Lake Herald June 8 1979 p 9 Archived from the original on October 29 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com O Shea James July 20 1979 Channel 44 owner to sell half interest Chicago Tribune p 3 Archived from the original on October 28 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Time out in Chicago PDF Broadcasting October 15 1979 p 72 Archived PDF from the original on October 28 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via World Radio History Millenson Michael September 15 1979 Pay TV effort revived Fort Worth Star Telegram p 5B Archived from the original on October 31 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Bowden Robert August 25 1979 Four firms vie for Channel 38 St Petersburg Times p 6B Archived from the original on October 30 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com New Stations PDF Broadcasting March 24 1980 p 70 Archived PDF from the original on October 28 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via World Radio History New Stations PDF Broadcasting June 11 1979 p 59 Archived PDF from the original on October 28 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via World Radio History a b Chachkin Anthony November 2 1982 Initial Decision FCC 82D 72 FCC Reports Second Edition p 929 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 28 2020 a b Today the UHF station The Arizona Republic September 9 1979 p TV Digest 2 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b This week The Miami News January 12 1980 p TV amp Radio 3 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b Silver Michael January 12 1980 New Pay TV Service Is ON the Air Miami Herald p 8 B Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com a b Here s Some New And Different TV Cincinnati Enquirer January 13 1980 p F 10 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved January 9 2021 via Newspapers com Hoffman Steve February 12 1980 Channel 64 Going Strong With Reruns Cincinnati Enquirer p B 11 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b Preston Marilynn September 16 1980 STV Another option in a changing market Chicago Tribune p 6 Archived from the original on October 31 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Potts Mark March 8 1980 Owners plan to sell 49 of Channel 44 Chicago Tribune p 7 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Oak Video 44 deal Chicago Tribune March 20 1980 p 7 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b Steinert Threlkeld Tom February 1 1981 Blossom of fee TV in area about to reach full flower Fort Worth Star Telegram pp 1H 3H 4H 5H Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Shanahan Basil October 19 1981 Oak Industries future tightly knotted to cable PDF CableAge pp 35 36 103 104 Archived PDF from the original on March 9 2021 Retrieved October 26 2020 via World Radio History Carter Bill March 12 1981 Channel 45 seeking the pay TV option Baltimore Sun p B6 Archived from the original on October 31 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Botta Mike January 30 1981 Ch 47 to remain free ABC wants to charge The Herald News p C 12 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com For the Record PDF Broadcasting November 10 1986 p 98 Archived PDF from the original on October 30 2020 Retrieved October 27 2020 via World Radio History Harris Kathryn March 21 1981 2 Partners Go to Court Over ON TV Dispute Los Angeles Times pp 15 18 Archived from the original on October 28 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Crook David Harris Kathryn December 13 1981 Jerry Perenchio Hollywood s Consummate Deal Maker Los Angeles Times pp 3 15 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Oak Industries said it will buy the remainder of ON TV Los Angeles Times September 9 1981 p 2 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Oak Industries Inc announced Los Angeles Times February 9 1982 p B Archived from the original on October 28 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Anderson Claude May 4 1982 Holmes vs Cooney gets few takers San Bernardino County Sun p B 5 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Ramirez Anthony July 9 1982 Oak Industries Poises for a Boom Los Angeles Times pp 1 5 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b Harris Kathryn October 11 1982 Pay TV Firm s Picture Gets Fuzzier The Los Angeles Times pp 1 4 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Hodges Ann November 7 1982 Welcome aboard Channel 20 Houston Chronicle p TV Chronilog 6 a b c d Special Report Subscription Television PDF Broadcasting August 16 1982 pp 32 45 Archived PDF from the original on October 30 2020 Retrieved October 26 2020 via World Radio History Harris Kathryn April 3 1983 Subscription television is falling on difficult times in some places Indianapolis Star L A Times News Service p TV Week 25 Archived from the original on October 29 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Manjikian Tamara October 12 1982 Oak Industries won t make as much as it expected Times Advocate p D8 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b Ramirez Anthony October 19 1982 Oak Seeks to Sublease Two Telstar Channels Los Angeles Times p 2 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Stoehr Chris March 26 1980 The movie was too sexy for Channel 20 Detroit Free Press p 8D Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b c Wilkinson Bud April 14 1983 ON TV planning to halt programming to Valley The Arizona Republic pp A1 A12 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Wilkinson Bud February 17 1983 ON TV Channel 15 to air differences on contract in court Arizona Republic pp D11 D15 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com For real adult entertainment turn on to VEU Fort Worth Star Telegram February 8 1983 p 5E Archived from the original on October 29 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b c Duffy Mike March 8 1983 ON TV will switch off on March 31 Detroit Free Press pp 3A 4A Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b c d Duffy Mike March 10 1983 ON staff blames fall on Channel 20 Detroit Free Press p 12B Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b Another TV service down the tube Odessa American Associated Press April 23 1983 p 11B Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved August 25 2019 via Newspapers com a b c Wilkinson Bud April 15 1983 Channel 15 readies lineup to replace ON TV programming The Arizona Republic pp E1 E6 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b Coffey Jerry April 15 1983 ON TV pay service is calling it quits in the Metroplex Fort Worth Star Telegram p 6C Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b c Cannon Angie June 10 1983 WBTI Trades Free Programming For Profitable Cable Service Cincinnati Enquirer p B 2 Archived from the original on October 22 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b Financial state of subscription TV worsens Albany Democrat Herald Associated Press October 28 1983 p 10 Retrieved April 24 2019 via Newspapers com a b Oak Media Loses Portland Affiliate Variety June 8 1983 p 40 ProQuest 1438383620 via ProQuest a b Cowan Ron November 9 1983 Kech 22 owners file for bankruptcy Statesman Journal p 5C Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved April 24 2019 via Newspapers com a b Cowan Ron August 12 1984 KECH to broadcast movies in prime time Statesman Journal Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Harris Kathryn October 12 1983 New Firm to Run 3 ON TV Services Los Angeles Times p 2 Archived from the original on October 29 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com O Reiley Tim January 23 1984 Year of extremes in videoland San Diego Union p X 28 As a result Oak hired an outside consulting firm to completely redesign the programming Storch Charles March 1 1984 ON TV pushes rival out of picture Chicago Tribune p 3 Archived from the original on October 21 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Ritter Bill March 20 1984 Oak Industries Under Investigation by the SEC Los Angeles Times pp A B Archived from the original on October 29 2020 Retrieved October 20 2020 via Newspapers com a b Ritter Bill March 24 1984 Auditors Qualify Opinion Oak Industries Posts 166 Million 83 Loss Los Angeles Times pp 1 2 Archived from the original on October 29 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b Woodlee Yolanda W July 18 1984 ON TV lays off half its staff to save service Miami Herald p 2BR Archived from the original on October 29 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Mitchell Cyndi July 31 1984 Oak Industries to Sell TV Station in Florida Los Angeles Times p A Archived from the original on January 18 2021 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Farley Ellen August 15 1984 ON TV Discussing Sale of Its L A System to SelecTV Los Angeles Times pp 1 10 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 12 2020 via Newspapers com Sahagun Louis October 5 1984 Talks to Sell ON TV s L A Unit to SelecTV Canceled Los Angeles Times pp 1 2 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 12 2020 via Newspapers com Kinsman Michael Clifford Jane December 20 1984 OAK Industries Inc An uncertain future FIRM MIRED IN RED INK Leadership vacuum sets company adrift San Diego Union Tribune p C 7 Ritter Bill December 1 1984 Carter Quits as Chairman of Oak Industries The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles California p IV 1 2 Retrieved September 17 2022 via Newspapers com a b Farley Ellen February 5 1985 Oak Industries Sells Its ON TV Service to SelecTV Los Angeles Times pp 1 3 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 12 2020 via Newspapers com a b Muir Frederick M February 7 1985 Oak Plans to Sell KBSC to Investors for 30 Million Los Angeles Times p 2 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b Margulies Lee November 22 1985 Channel 52 Getting a Spanish Accent Los Angeles Times p 28 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b ON TV Pulls the Plug Cincinnati Enquirer May 7 1985 p D 10 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com a b ON TV off air Ch 44 returns Chicago Tribune June 30 1985 p TV Week 6 Archived from the original on October 29 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Lazarus George August 2 1983 Bid for Channel 44 license Chicago Tribune p 5 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Saville Hodge Sally February 23 1985 Owners of Channel 44 in danger of losing license Chicago Tribune p 7 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Warren James April 14 1990 Court ruling to test TV license policy Chicago Tribune pp 1 2 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Morris Steven September 20 1990 FCC denies WSNS TV new broadcast license Chicago Tribune pp 1 2 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Montana Constanza November 23 1990 Political leaders rally behind Channel 44 Chicago Tribune p 16 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Feder Robert June 15 1993 Channel 44 Settles 11 Year License War Chicago Sun Times p 33 Monroe Communications Corp a group formed in 1982 to challenge Channel 44 s current ownership agreed to drop its case despite favorable rulings by the Federal Communications Commission and federal courts In exchange for dropping its claim on the license Monroe accepted an 18 million settlement from Channel 44 s parent company Harriscope Corp sources said WSNS TV Chicago PDF Broadcasting amp Cable December 4 1995 p 48 Archived PDF from the original on October 29 2020 Retrieved October 25 2020 via World Radio History Michals Bob September 6 1984 Pay Per View TV Going Down Tubes Palm Beach Post p B19 Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com a b Oak makes its software move PDF Broadcasting April 13 1981 p 120 Archived PDF from the original on October 30 2020 Retrieved October 26 2020 via World Radio History a b Peterson Bettelou July 30 1982 Star Wars on TV for a price Detroit Free Press p 6B Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com Teets John October 14 1982 Previewing fine cable programming Pittsburgh Post Gazette p 13 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Jicha Tom October 8 1982 Station attempts to pull the plug on FP amp L rate hike The Miami News p 4B Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com a b Firm Drops 2 ON TV Sites Tyler Morning Telegraph Associated Press April 19 1983 p 7 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Coffey Jerry June 25 1981 Adults only movies on way for extra fee Fort Worth Star Telegram p 5F Archived from the original on October 30 2020 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Michals Bob February 2 1982 Closed Circuit TV Debate Brewing Palm Beach Post p B4 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Pay television is concerned with ratings too X ratings Philadelphia Inquirer Los Angeles Times June 14 1981 pp 1 L 17 L Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Has the day arrived for over the air pay television PDF Broadcasting October 11 1976 pp 34 37 Archived PDF from the original on October 31 2020 Retrieved October 26 2020 via World Radio History a b c d Ray Nancy November 17 1980 Pay TV Firm Battles Pirates Los Angeles Times pp 1 10 Archived from the original on October 30 2020 Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com If ON TV were only G rated movies you wouldn t need the key Fort Worth Star Telegram March 1 1981 p 6E Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com a b Oak and SportsVision plan all sports pay TV Crystal Lake Herald November 20 1981 p 8 Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com Wechselberger Anthony J September 1987 Encryption based security PDF Communications Technology pp 54 64 Archived PDF from the original on October 30 2020 Retrieved October 26 2020 via World Radio History Watson John G Pay TV Battle of Airwaves Looms Los Angeles Times pp View 1 23 Retrieved March 12 2020 via Newspapers com TV Battle To Play On in Court Cincinnati Enquirer December 30 1980 p D 1 Archived from the original on October 31 2020 Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com Soble Ronald L August 6 1980 Pay TV Company Loses Bid to Stop Decoder Makers Los Angeles Times pp 1 25 Archived from the original on October 30 2020 Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com Harris Kathryn October 2 1980 Sale of Pirate TV Decoders in State Outlawed Los Angeles Times pp 1 27 Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com a b Tune in for more ON TV drama Windsor Star June 10 1981 pp 3 4 Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com McMahon Tom November 17 1979 It s a first run freebie Windsor Star p 30 Archived from the original on January 18 2021 Retrieved October 29 2020 via Newspapers com TV decoders upset firm Windsor Star June 1 1981 pp 3 4 Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com Notice to United States Residents Detroit Free Press June 5 1981 p 10C Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com TV firms battles sales of decoders Windsor Star June 9 1981 p 4 Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com a b Kohn Martin F June 12 1981 Pay TV firm wins order barring sale of pirating device Detroit Free Press pp 3A 10A Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com U S pulls the plug on decoder imports Windsor Star August 6 1981 p 5 Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com The plug is pulled on pay TV decoder business Detroit Free Press January 1 1982 p 3A Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com McMahon Tom March 25 1982 ON TV shows on cable lines may be illegal Windsor Star pp A1 A8 Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com a b c McMahon Tom April 29 1982 ON TV installing new decoders Windsor Star p C17 Archived from the original on October 30 2020 Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com a b ON TV s changed signal hits Windsor decoders Windsor Star November 20 1982 p A4 Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com ON TV offers amnesty to area video pirates The Daily Sentinel Associated Press March 23 1984 p 10 Archived from the original on October 30 2020 Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com a b Manna Sal September 18 1979 Tuning in Los Angeles Times p 4 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Channel 52 to Begin On air Equipment Test Los Angeles Times March 12 1977 p 3 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com KBSC TV to Begin Spanish Format Los Angeles Times July 23 1980 p 8 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Bry Barbara April 29 1979 Oak Industries Deeply Rooted in Pay TV Los Angeles Times p 3 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Crook David Margulies Lee August 27 1982 ON TV Plans 24 Hour a Day Programming Los Angeles Times p 2 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com a b Lapointe Joe September 29 1979 Canham plugs Michigan into pay television circuit Detroit Free Press Retrieved October 29 2020 via Newspapers com Lapointe Joe January 27 1980 Pay TV buys two year Tiger game package Detroit Free Press p 1G Retrieved October 29 2020 via Newspapers com a b Lapointe Joe October 30 1981 ON TV Channel 20 feud costs Wings fans 5 TV goals Detroit Free Press pp 1D 6D Retrieved October 26 2020 via Newspapers com Frauenheim Norm October 17 1979 Suns top poor shooting Sonics The Arizona Republic p E1 Retrieved October 29 2020 via Newspapers com Another ON TV Exclusive The Arizona Republic October 12 1980 p TV Digest 40 Archived from the original on December 4 2020 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Frauenheim Norm August 8 1981 Suns American Cable TV sign 13 year contract The Arizona Republic p G1 Retrieved June 21 2020 via Newspapers com Frauenheim Norm October 23 1981 ON TV to carry 10 Suns games this season The Arizona Republic p F1 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Changing Hands PDF Broadcasting September 10 1979 p 84 Archived PDF from the original on October 31 2020 Retrieved October 27 2020 via World Radio History California based Oak Industries Miami Herald March 26 1980 p 7 BW Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Anderson Jack July 16 1980 Firms Offer Films On Closed Circuit TV Miami Herald p 9D Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Evans Luther September 18 1981 TV s Let s See the Races to end Miami Herald p 13F Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Moran Paul June 22 1982 ON TV expansion whips horseplayers TV friend Fort Lauderdale News p 6C Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Jicha Tom July 26 1984 Prospective sale could turn ON TV into Spanish outlet The Miami News p 4C Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Smart Tim July 31 1984 WKID TV is sold for 17 million Miami Herald p 4B Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Blair amp Co acquires Channel 51 The Miami News December 7 1984 p 10A Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com WSCV to schedule new local programs Miami Herald December 6 1984 p 9D Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com TV Service Being Sold Cincinnati Enquirer January 5 1982 p D 11 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 17 2020 via Newspapers com Hopkins Tom April 13 1983 Ch 66 gets first permit Dayton Daily News p 44 Archived from the original on November 2 2020 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Hopkins Tom September 16 1980 Cincinnati subscription TV station coming to Dayton Dayton Daily News p 1 11 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Schumacher Bob May 7 1981 News media get critical look The Journal Herald p 43 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Storch Charles August 27 1983 Spectrum TV up for sale Chicago Tribune p 6 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 17 2020 via Newspapers com a b Brinkmoeller Tom December 5 1984 Channel 64 Expands To 17 Free Hours In 85 Cincinnati Enquirer pp G 1 G 8 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com a b Alridge Ron September 2 1982 Loss of WSNS to pay TV is costly to local viewers Chicago Tribune p 8 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 29 2020 via Newspapers com Chicago station using pay TV format South Bend Tribune October 7 1980 p 27 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 29 2020 via Newspapers com Alridge Ron September 30 1981 NBC is adamant Sidney won t be gay Tony Randall is adamant Yes he will Chicago Tribune p 14 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 17 2020 via Newspapers com Wiedrich Bob August 6 1981 Sox three other teams near pay TV package deal Chicago Tribune pp 1 2 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved January 26 2020 via Newspapers com Gold Aaron August 7 1981 Tower Ticker Chicago Tribune p 10 via Newspapers com Kay Linda October 11 1981 City s teams plug in to pay TV Chicago Tribune pp 1 6 Retrieved October 29 2020 via Newspapers com Markus Robert May 26 1982 New baby delights Einhorn Chicago Tribune Retrieved October 29 2020 via Newspapers com Kay Linda March 21 1983 SportsVision is arriving late but its package will be big Chicago Tribune p 4 Retrieved October 29 2020 via Newspapers com Inc Chicago Tribune January 10 1982 p 1 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 29 2020 via Newspapers com Alridge Ron May 4 1982 Pioneering SportsVision postpones its startup date Chicago Tribune p 12 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 29 2020 via Newspapers com Storch Charles March 4 1983 Cable recession dimming the picture of the pay TV industry Chicago Tribune p 9 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 29 2020 via Newspapers com White Sox cable hype is backfiring Waterloo Courier August 1 1982 p 6 D Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 29 2020 via Newspapers com a b Kay Linda November 22 1983 SportsVision merges with ON TV Jan 1 Chicago Tribune p 3 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 29 2020 via Newspapers com Myslenski Skip December 11 1984 WGN banking on Cubs success Chicago Tribune p 3 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 29 2020 via Newspapers com Enstad Robert January 15 1984 Video piracy law runs into static Chicago Tribune pp 1 4 Retrieved October 29 2020 via Newspapers com Storch Charles August 18 1984 ON TV fading as Oak to sell out in 2 areas Chicago Tribune p 6 Retrieved October 29 2020 via Newspapers com Anderson Jon November 5 1984 ON TV installs movies in place of kids shows Chicago Tribune Retrieved October 29 2020 via Newspapers com Storch Charles December 5 1984 ON TV units for sale here and in L A Chicago Tribune p 6 Retrieved October 29 2020 via Newspapers com Uncertainty grows over ON TV Chicago Tribune February 2 1985 p 6 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com Luchter Les January 17 1983 They only come out at light PDF Broadcast Week p 25 Coffey Jerry September 2 1982 2 subscription TV systems to merge Fort Worth Star Telegram p 3E Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved March 7 2020 via Newspapers com Maiuro Greg July 29 1983 Channel 5 hires replacement for departing Thulin Fort Worth Star Telegram p 5C Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 13 2020 via Newspapers com Horn Barry March 29 2008 Birth of a station Forerunner to FSNSW changed the game for area viewers Dallas Morning News p 2C Stafford Jim January 19 1983 Abe Lemons Former UT coach still has humor New Braunfels Herald Zeitung Southwest Times Record p 8C Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 27 2020 via Newspapers com a b Cowan Ron August 25 1983 New owners being sought for Salem KECH TV Statesman Journal p 1 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved April 24 2019 via Newspapers com ON TV owner buys Home Box Office Statesman Journal June 24 1982 p 3B Retrieved April 24 2019 via Newspapers com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title ON TV TV network amp oldid 1146157843, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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