The Legend Of Free TV — KOIN, 1990

Found in a recording of Hee Haw from February 17, 1990.

So what’s THIS about? Well, the cable television market had broadcast stations worried for a while. The fear was that it would become so prevalent that no one would see the point in mandating over-the-air stations and antenna TV would vanish entirely, forcing consumers to pay — or in the case of the fictional grandma here, just not have TV at all and settle for Uno as entertainment. Cable spooked the networks so much that some stations emphasized the Free TV argument in their direct marketing (KATU’s slogan in the early 80s was “Serving the Community through Free Television”). The fear dissipated in the 90s when it became clear no one was being replaced, at least not yet.

It’s too bad they didn’t explicitly say when in “the future” this was meant to be. Now? 2007?