Country | United States |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Nationwide (available in select areas) |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Ownership | |
Owner | Starion Entertainment |
History | |
Launched | July 23, 1978 |
Closed | March 31, 1989 | (10 years, 251 days)
SelecTV was an American subscription television service that was formed in 1976 and first began broadcasting in 1978; the service focused entirely on televising movies, and was shut down in 1989.
As with other subscription television systems, SelecTV was transmitted via scrambled signal from a local UHF television station (it later became a satellite service as well). Unlike its competitors, it originally allowed subscribers to pay only for programs "selected" during the month, with the first several minutes free (the decoder box included a phone hook-up to transmit information back to the billing office); it later switched to a flat fee.