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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide (available in select areas) |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Time, Inc. |
| History | |
| Launched | 1980 |
| Closed | 1986 |
Preview was an American subscription television service that launched in 1980.[1] Like its competitors, such as ONTV and SelecTV, Preview was a scrambled UHF subscription channel requiring a special set-top box to decode the signal.
Preview's broadcast day was mainly between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m., but varied depending on the market and during later periods of the channel's existence.[2] Owned by American Television and Communications (ATC), the cable division of Time, Inc.,[3] Preview was carried on several independent stations including WCLQ-TV (now Univision owned-and-operated station WQHS-DT) in Cleveland, WSMW-TV (now UniMás affiliate WUTF-TV) in the Boston area, and KTWS-TV (now MyNetworkTV owned-and-operated station KDFI) in Dallas. A fourth Preview-branded service, not owned by ATC, was carried by KDNL-TV in St. Louis (later a Fox affiliate, now an ABC affiliate).
The service offered movies, sporting events, and specials. The service also broadcast programming from ONTV and SelecTV, in some cases, simulcasting in areas where any of these services and Preview were available. Preview lasted until 1986, when the last affiliate, WSMW, discontinued carrying the service.