Word: channelized
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...PROSPECT: CABLE SYSTEMS could switch to an a la carte system of billing, in which subscribers build customized cable menus channel by channel, rather than paying a lump sum for an entire "tier." Such a system would probably be ; a boon for narrow-gauge networks (golf enthusiasts would presumably be willing to fork over a buck or two a month for a channel aimed at them). But many general-interest services, from the Weather Channel to USA Network, would surely see their circulation -- and thus their ad revenue -- drop if viewers were forced to choose and pay for them individually...
...hurt, but not necessarily crippled. Though their audience will be nibbled at further by a fresh attack of narrowcasting barracudas, they would retain their special role as providers of national news, big sports events and broad-based entertainment fare. "I think it is conceivable that a 200- or 300-channel environment might work in a perverse way to the networks' advantage," says Herb Granath, president of Capital Cities/ABC Video Enterprises, "in that it will be more and more difficult for people to identify what they're watching. You keep flipping with the remote from channel to channel, and after...
...bets are off, however, when the TV revolution reaches its next stage. As interactive technology fully kicks in, the very concept of channels will start to disintegrate. Virtually everything will be instantly accessible to home viewers hooked into the new "full-service" (TV, computer and telephone) network. Not 500 channels, or even 5,000, but just one: your own channel that can call up anything...
...first concept that seems outdated in this post-channel world is the traditional network schedule. No need to be in front of the set at 6:30 p.m. for World News Tonight or at 9 o'clock on Mondays for Murphy Brown. Simply call up the show when you want it. The consumer, rather than the network, takes control of the schedule, and TV viewing becomes akin to browsing through a huge library and making a selection...
...post-channel world, the traditional broadcast networks (and cable networks too) could, if they're not careful, start to look like superfluous middlemen. ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox might want to indicate combination of functions simply turn into producer distributors with a familiar brand name. (Partly in anticipation of that day, the networks are fighting to be freed from government regulations that have prevented them from owning more than a small portion of the programs they air. They won a victory last week when the Federal Communications Commission significantly relaxed those restrictions.) Predicts W. Russell Neuman, author of The Future...