Cable television as an aftermarket

Based on a sample of 16 days of programming on 22 nationally distributed cable and broadcast networks in 1986, we found both cable program hours and audience viewing hours to be skewed toward “aftermarket” programs acquired from theaters or commercial broadcast media, the overwhelming proportion of which were dramatic or animated in format. Results suggest that cable's widely anticipated role as an original producer of narrow‐appeal programming may be surpassed by its function as a “coproducer” of relatively broad‐appeal programming. We suggest that economic models of cable television should be modified to permit the option of repeating programs over time and to include the amount of production investment as a decision variable.