ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book employs strategic groups management theory and cluster analysis to empirically identify a number of multichannel video program distribution (MVPD) programmer strategic groups and assesses the relation between membership in a strategic MVPD programmer group and financial performance. It uses a unique historical U. S. General Accounting Office data set and count models to empirically examine the factors affecting cable operators' local television station carriage decisions in 1989, a period in which the Federal Communications Commission had no must carry rules in place. The book then utilizes diffusion theory and discriminant analysis to dissect the key factors determining whether consumers become early adopters of digital cable. It also lays out the basic economic and technological assumptions underlying cable operators' attempts to use their digital platforms to deliver "on-demand" video services.
