CATV

abbreviation

1. community antenna television: a cable television system that receives television broadcasts by antenna and relays them by cable to paying subscribers in areas where direct reception is either poor or not possible.

CATV

abbreviation

1. community antenna television

Word History and Origins

Origin of CATV¹

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

“At the beginning of 1971 there were 2,500 cable television systems serving 5.5 million subscribers in the U.S. At first it was a simple arrangement for bringing a good television signal into a home that received a poor one or none, often called ‘community antenna television,’ or CATV.

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At their sprawling complex near the Lucky Star Casino in Concho is Oklahoma's first native-owned television station, CATV-47, which airs weather warnings.

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Thus a name that cable still goes by: CATV, for Community Antenna Television.

Read more on Time Magazine Archive

Networks have mixed feelings about CATV, but TV stations resent its frequent disruption of local markets with outside channels.

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A system called cable television, or CATV, is now available and capable of delivering a choice of 60 different interference-free channels to virtually every U.S. home.

Read more on Time Magazine Archive