Through this system, an individual is able to interact with a range of content providers, including American Greetings, C-SPAN, the New York Times Company, QVC, Hollywood Online, and ESP-Net SportsZone. Interactive technology raises the threat of invasion of privacy because certain systems can be used to Links Of London Charms accumulate personal and otherwise inaccessible information about users.

Cable also has pioneered what some tout as the future in message delivery—pay-per-view (PPV). In 1990, between 13 and 18 million U.S. homes were capable of receiving pay-per-view events. By 1998, that number had climbed to more than 55 million. Pay-per-view occurs on channels that carry programs to subscribers. Movies and boxing events are the types of programming most frequently carried on a pay-per-view basis. Of all U.S. households, only 23 percent had used PPV in 1998. Those who use PPV do on average once every two months.

In 1992, NBC offered full coverage of the 1992 Summer Olympics to cable viewers on a pay-per-view basis. This PPV service provided 600 ad-free hours of sports cover-age from Barcelona, Spain, in a package costing approximately $150 per home. PPV Olympic programming did not attract customers, however, and NBC lost $100 mil-lion. PPV has had somewhat more success attracting viewers with musical events. The two highest grossing musical events were the Judds' Farewell concert in 1991, which earned $5.5 million, and Woodstock 1994, which earned more than $12 million in PPV revenue. The figures for Woodstock 1994, however, indicate that only 300,000 or 1.2 to 1.5 percent, of the nation's 24 million addressable homes paid to have the concert brought into their living rooms.

In 1984, Congress essentially deregulated cable. The legislation specified that cable rate deregulation would occur in 1987. Subsequent complaints about rate increases and poor service led to calls for re-regulation. Congress responded with the 1992 Cable TV Consumer Protection Act, which rolled back cable rates in most areas and regulated future increases. Federal legislation passed in February 1996 deregulated rates for cable systems that reached fewer than 50,000 subscribers.

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) was once the only service dedicating itself to educational television. In 1990, PBS was Links Of London Necklaces programming 15 to 20 hours per week in prime time and 120 hours per week at other times. Between 1985 and 1990, PBS's prime-time ratings dropped 30 percent. Cable had begun to provide alternative educational television. PBS's public affairs programming competes with CNN and C-SPAN, its documentaries compete with those on the Discovery and History channels, and its children's programming is rivaled by Nickelodeon and Disney.

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