Editing Cable television (section)

{{Short description|Television content transmitted via signals on coaxial or fibre-optic cable}}
{{redirect|Cable TV|the song by Fol Chen|Cable TV (song)}}
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[[File:F-Stecker und Kabel.jpg |thumb |A [[coaxial cable]] used to carry cable television onto subscribers' premises]]
[[File:Cisco Set Top box from the front.jpg |thumb |upright=0.9 |A [[set-top box]], an electronic device which cable subscribers use to connect the cable signal to their [[television]] sets. Presented unit is a [[Cisco]] RNG200N for [[QAM (television)|QAM]] digital cable television system used in North America.]]

'''Cable television''' is a system of delivering [[television]] [[broadcast programming|programming]] to consumers via [[radio frequency]] (RF) signals transmitted through [[coaxial cable]]s, or in more recent systems, light pulses through [[fibre-optic cable]]s. This contrasts with [[Terrestrial television|broadcast television]], in which the television signal is transmitted over-the-air by [[radio wave]]s and received by a [[television antenna]], or [[satellite television]], in which the television signal is transmitted over-the-air by [[radio wave]]s from a [[communications satellite]] and received by a [[satellite dish]] on the roof. [[FM radio]] programming, [[high-speed Internet]], [[Telephony|telephone service]]s, and similar non-television services may also be provided through these cables. [[Analog television]] was standard in the 20th century, but since the 2000s, cable systems have been upgraded to [[digital cable]] operation.

A '''cable channel''' (sometimes known as a '''cable network''') is a television network available via cable television.  Many of the same channels are distributed through [[satellite television]].  Alternative terms include ''non-broadcast channel'' or ''programming service'', the latter being mainly used in legal contexts. The abbreviation '''CATV''' is used in the US for cable television and originally stood for '''community antenna television''', from cable television's origins in 1948; in areas where over-the-air TV reception was limited by distance from transmitters or mountainous terrain, large ''community antennas'' were constructed, and cable was run from them to individual homes.

In 1968, 6.4% of Americans had cable television. The number increased to 7.5% in 1978. By 1988, 52.8% of all households were using cable. The number further increased to 62.4% in 1994.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Coopersmith |first1= Jonathan|title= Pornography, Technology and Progress |date= 1998 |journal= Icon |volume= 4 |pages= 94–125|jstor= 23785961}}</ref>