Cable Television History

NFL games on ESPN and NBC were last week's two most-watched prime-time television programs, topped by ESPN's "Monday Night Football," believed to be only the third time a cable program has topped all broadcast competition. The New Orleans Saints' 38-17 victory over the New England Patriots Nov. 30 averaged 21.4 million viewers, the second-most for any program in cable television history. The most-watched cable program was ESPN's Oct. 5 "Monday Night Football" game matching Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre for the first time against his former Green Bay Packers teammates, which averaged 21.84 million viewers.

NFL games on ESPN and NBC were last week's two most-watched prime-time television programs, topped by ESPN's "Monday Night Football," believed to be only the third time a cable program has topped all broadcast competition. The New Orleans Saints' 38-17 victory over the New England Patriots Nov. 30 averaged 21.4 million viewers, the second-most for any program in cable television history. The most-watched cable program was ESPN's Oct. 5 "Monday Night Football" game matching Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre for the first time against his former Green Bay Packers teammates, which averaged 21.84 million viewers.

In an ordinary residential neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., the future of cable television will officially go on-line Wednesday morning. That's when the Time Warner New York City Cable Group will hook up the first subscriber to receive the nation's only 150-channel cable-TV system. "It's safe to say that this event is going to signal a new chapter in cable-television history," said National Cable Television Assn. spokeswoman Peggy Laramie.

In an ordinary residential neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., the future of cable television will officially go on-line Wednesday morning. That's when the Time Warner New York City Cable Group will hook up the first subscriber to receive the nation's only 150-channel cable-TV system. "It's safe to say that this event is going to signal a new chapter in cable-television history," said National Cable Television Assn. spokeswoman Peggy Laramie.

"Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles will be remembered, if for nothing else, as the video clip that launched MTV. The date: Aug. 1, 1981. Of course, MTV didn't kill the radio stars. It enshrined them. It energized rock 'n' roll culture. Everybody associated with music benefited--from radio stations to Rolling Stone magazine. MTV turned pop music artists into recognizable faces. Before MTV, the top artists were rarely recognized.

The officers inside New York City police headquarters surely don't realize it, but the rappers at their doorstep are N.W.A, a controversial L.A. group that rose to fame with " . . . tha Police" and other songs of rage from the streets. N.W.A, whose latest album, "Efil4zaggin," is near the top of the pop charts, is using the site as the backdrop for a segment on "Yo! MTV Raps." There's no anger today, however. "Ted's my homeboy," says N.W.A writer-singer M.C.

MTV may have killed some radio stars--at least not-so-pretty acts like Christopher Cross and Toto--but it also brought to life its fair share of Frankensteinian creations. The legacy of MTV's first decade includes any number of acts that might have had hits but certainly never would have been superstars in a pre-video age. A sampling of seven virtually made-for-MTV acts--some charming, some unforgivable: Duran Duran. Who who?

MTV won the allegiance of the young pop audience in its first decade. Now the music cable channel needs to earn the audience's trust. Rock 'n' roll television had been around for 25 years before MTV. The key to the network's success was that it wasn't conventional television when it started. It was, in several significant ways, rock 'n' roll radio. The format was designed by a former radio programmer, and it borrowed radio's basic element: 24-hour availability.

A few great moments in MTV (and, by extension, music video) history . . . 1981 Aug. 1: MTV goes on the air with its first video, the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star," and the prophetic correlation is clear: Talkies ended the careers of silent film stars; music video may do the same for camera-shy rockers. Ironically, the group Buggles, not terribly photogenic itself, never has another hit.

John Walson Sr., who hooked a length of wire to the top of a mountain in eastern Pennsylvania and linked it to some television sets, creating what is considered the first cable television system, is dead of liver cancer. He was 78. Walson died Saturday in Sacred Heart Hospital. He was admitted to the hospital more than three years ago after suffering a stroke, his son John Walson Jr. said. In 1979, Congress and the National Cable TV Assn.

The officers inside New York City police headquarters surely don't realize it, but the rappers at their doorstep are N.W.A, a controversial L.A. group that rose to fame with " . . . tha Police" and other songs of rage from the streets. N.W.A, whose latest album, "Efil4zaggin," is near the top of the pop charts, is using the site as the backdrop for a segment on "Yo! MTV Raps." There's no anger today, however. "Ted's my homeboy," says N.W.A writer-singer M.C.

MTV may have killed some radio stars--at least not-so-pretty acts like Christopher Cross and Toto--but it also brought to life its fair share of Frankensteinian creations. The legacy of MTV's first decade includes any number of acts that might have had hits but certainly never would have been superstars in a pre-video age. A sampling of seven virtually made-for-MTV acts--some charming, some unforgivable: Duran Duran. Who who?

MTV won the allegiance of the young pop audience in its first decade. Now the music cable channel needs to earn the audience's trust. Rock 'n' roll television had been around for 25 years before MTV. The key to the network's success was that it wasn't conventional television when it started. It was, in several significant ways, rock 'n' roll radio. The format was designed by a former radio programmer, and it borrowed radio's basic element: 24-hour availability.

"Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles will be remembered, if for nothing else, as the video clip that launched MTV. The date: Aug. 1, 1981. Of course, MTV didn't kill the radio stars. It enshrined them. It energized rock 'n' roll culture. Everybody associated with music benefited--from radio stations to Rolling Stone magazine. MTV turned pop music artists into recognizable faces. Before MTV, the top artists were rarely recognized.

A few great moments in MTV (and, by extension, music video) history . . . 1981 Aug. 1: MTV goes on the air with its first video, the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star," and the prophetic correlation is clear: Talkies ended the careers of silent film stars; music video may do the same for camera-shy rockers. Ironically, the group Buggles, not terribly photogenic itself, never has another hit.

Beginning Friday, you will be able to bid via the Internet on a humidor once owned by crooner Bing Crosby. But bring some serious cyberbucks to the table--this handmade wooden box has an estimated value of $3,000 to $5,000. It's the latest in a series of auctions of high-value items--most of which belonged to now-dead celebrities--sponsored by cable television's History Channel, the bricks-and-mortar Butterfields auction house and EBay.

It was every man's dream. And he did it when he was young. On his 21st birthday, he boarded a 32-foot ketch to sail around the world. Six years and six days later, he came back--just in time to reload his film camera for the Pacific action during World War II. Dwight Stanley Long, lifetime mariner, adventurer and pioneering documentary filmmaker, died of pneumonia July 3 in Santa Monica. He was 89.