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188 Communication, Commerce and Power

10 National Cable Television Association, 'Cable Television Develop-
ments' (Washington, DC: NCT A Research & Policy Department, May
1992), pp. 2-A, 8-A and 14-A.
11 Ibid., pp. 2A, 6A and SA.
12 See, Kevin Pearce, 'The World Is My Franchise,' Channels (3 December,
1990) 30 and National Cable Television Association, 'Facts at a Glance:
International Cable' (Washington, DC: NCT A Research & Policy
Department, March 1991), p. 4.
13 One estimate of the relative costs of a DBS system's delivery of the same
number of channels as a cable system calculates that the overhead costs
for each subscriber reached will fall far more rapidly for DBS than for
cable as total numbers increase. While the physical differences between
DBS and cable will mean higher costs in one area relative to another
(for example, the maintenance costs of cable lines are much greater than
those associated with satellite monitoring), it can be assumed that DBS
and cable systems involve similar administrative and management costs.
Leland L. Johnson and Deborah R. Castleman, Direct Broadcast Satel-
lites: A Competitive Alternative to Cable Television? (Santa Monica,
CA.: Rand Corporation, 1991), p. 25.
14 Further discussion on the relative positions of DBS and cable can be
found in ibid, pp. 31-3.
15 Calculation based on figures in ibid., p. 17.
16 'Is DBS Finally Here? Stanley Hubbard Thinks So,' DBS Report, 26 (20
July 1992) 5. In sum, according to Johnson and Castleman,

the DBS operator has greater flexibility than does a wire-line operator.
With the whole nation as a market, the DBS operator can draw from
millions of potential subscribers. Unlike the case of wireline, the DBS
operator does not need a large minimum penetration level in any given
community to break even. Rather, the challenge is to aggregate enough
subscribCrs across the nation to cover total cost.' Johnson and Castle-
man, Direct Broadcast Satellites, p. 33.

17 'Special Report: Open Architecture DBS,' Video Technology News, 9 (7)
(25 March 1996) n.p.
18 'Sky Money Machine' Cable and Satellite Europe, 154 (October 1996) 12
and 14; and 'Marketplace News,' Cable and Satellite Europe, 146 (Feb-
ruary 1996) 52.
19 Paul Barker, 'Double Illumination,' Cable and Satellite Europe, 151
(July 1996) 25-6; and 'Quarterly Connections,' Cable and Satellite Eur-
ope, 153 (September 1996) 50.
20 Jim McConville, 'DBS at Top of Murdoch Wish List,' Broadcasting &
Cable, 126 (15) (8 April 1996) 16; Harry A. Jessell, 'Going for It in
DBS,' Broadcasting & Cable, 126 (19) (29 April 1996) 6; 'DBS Providers
to Eclipse Cable in Multichannel Future,' Video Technology News, 9 (9)
(22 April 1996) n.p.; 'PanAmSat Likely Will Attract a Host of Aero-
space, Telco Suitors,' Satellite News, 19 (15) (8 April 1996) n.p.
21 The parent company of New Vision is Newhouse Broadcasting Cor-
poration.