3
Introduction
Since cable television was developed in the 1950s, it has consistently gained acceptance by American audiences.
Its acceptance was firmly in evidence by the 1980s and its usage has steadily grown since that time. Parson and
Frieden reported in 1998 that, “Cable serves about 64 million homes, or 66 percent of all the homes in the United
States that have televisions. It constitutes the primary mode through which our country views itself and the rest of the
world” (Parsons/Frieden pp. 3-4). They also noted, “Cable television now passes more than 90 percent of all
households in the United States” (Parsons/Frieden p. 9).
Combined with digital satellite subscribers, we can conclude most homes are equipped with a multi-channel
television service (Parsons/Frieden pp. 3-4). One of the primary implications of theses technologies has been an
increasing supply of television viewing options. In the 1950s and 1960s, most homes received no more channel options
than the three primary television networks - ABC, NBC and CBS. Based on the standard packages offered by cable
television and digital satellite providers today, subscribers can often receive in excess of 50 different television
channels; some receive more than four times that many (Comcast and DirectTv Corporate Websites, 2002).
Because of the diversity and availability of so many different television channels, we propose it may be possible
to incorporate the usage of these channels into a study to determine viewer typology. Which is, in part, what we
propose to do. We will use a set of 56 channels, which will be arranged based on two scales: Viewing Frequency and
Favorite Channel. We believe there could be pronounced differences in these two scales for a variety of reasons. In
multi-person households television viewing may be a matter of compromise or habits may distinguish some viewing
patterns. Work may influence viewing patterns, particularly if it is outdoors. We will attempt to do this by identifying
channel repertoires of individual viewers. This goal leads to the first research question:
RQ1: Are there differences between viewers’ favorite television channels and those channels they most
frequently view?
In the early to mid-1980s Carrie Heeter and Bradley Greenburg released their book Cableviewing, which focused
on this changing television landscape. In particular, it focused on the changing viewing patterns created by the
explosion of options. Heeter hypothesized that cable television viewers create mental lists of television channels that
they regularly view, which she termed channel repertoires. Douglas Ferguson and Elizabeth Perse (1993) furthered this
concept by examining five variables: television viewing motives, intentionality, affinity, effort and channel changing
Convention