What's difference between Broadcast TV & cable TV?Depending on their Importance? <span title="advantage?disadvantage?cost?">advantage?disadvantage?co...</span>

Question

I wanna know what's difference between Broadcast television & cable television? Depending on their importance in campaign, advantage, disadvantage, and their costs versus the benefits.

Answer 1

Broadcast television

Pros:

+ It&#039;s local.  You get local news, weather and information.  

+ They are more responsive to viewers.

+ It&#039;s free. all one needs to do is put up an antenna.

+ It&#039;s better quality.  Cable and satellite systems must compress signals to make room for more channels.  Compression reduces resolution.

+ It&#039;s federally regulated.  The FCC puts limits on what can be shown.

Cons:

- It&#039;s federally regulated.  The FCC puts limits on what can be shown.

- Fewer channels.

Cable/Satellite:

Pros:

+ It&#039;s not as highly regulated.  Almost anything can be shown.

+ More channels.

+ Offer additional services such as Broadband Internet and phone.

+ Can offer On Demand and &quot;replay&quot; services.

Cons:

- It&#039;s not as highly regulated.  Almost anything can be shown.

- Less local.  &quot;Must carry&quot; laws had to be implemented to make sure that local communities were served before profits.  Some communities require &quot;community access&quot; channels in their franchise agreements to make sure the Cable Company pays at least some attention to community needs..

- Costs.  A monthly fee must be paid for service.  Pricing structures constantly change.

- Less responsive to customers.

- Quality generally is lower due to compression to add more channels.

- Generally no competition: In most areas, one cable company servers all subscribers.  Satellite and Telco offerings are changing this, though.

I may edit and add to the list as I think of more . . .

Answer 2

Broadcast TV is the bare bones of television, containing a tiny spectrum with big name networks CBS, ABC, NBC, CW, and FOX, and also PBS. Broadcast TV comes at no cost.

Cable TV is provided by cable companies that charge a monthly fee for a bundle of many, many different channels. Now there&#039;s basic cable (CNN, Discovery, Disney) and there&#039;s premium cable (ex: HBO, Showtime, Cinemax...).

A basic cable package contains roughly 80 channels, give or take, and is the cheapest. Premium cable channels bring an additional cost per bundle, but provide a wealth of content, such as watching movies and original TV shows w/o commercial breaks or censorship.

Another exclusive feature of cable (or satellite) is the ability to watch High-Definition television and premium cable movies in HD.