In the early twentieth century, cultural leaders heralded the arrival of free television as public educator and entertainer, facilitator of an enlightened era. This paper argues that network television has failed to deliver on its early promise, promoting mass-oriented commercial entertainment at the expense of satisfying individual preferences. The growing popularity of cable television and video cassette recorders threatens the networks where they are weakest, offering more autonomy, more choice and diverse programming that appeal to wider range of tastes.
