Channel 100 was a

pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription business model, subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichan ...

channel company run by Jeff Nathanson, Alan Greenstadt, and Elaine Paris. Also called Optical Systems, it was one of the first all

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

cable TV Cable television is a system of delivering television broadcast programming, programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This ...

channels. It used a box manufactured by TRW, in which a user inserted separately purchased punched plastic cards for access. In 1972, Mission Cable in San Diego became the first cable company to use the Optical Systems arrangement—under the name “Channel 100." Channel 100 operated on several

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

systems in the United States during the 1970s, including

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

and

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

. It showed two movies a week. David Tanny
What's My Beef!
''San Diego Radio News''

Sources

*John Sire
Oral History Collection
''The Cable Center'', *Megan Gwynne Mullen
The Rise of Cable Programming in the United States: revolution or evolution?
2003, University of Texas Press,

Notes

Television channels and stations established in 1972 Pay television Cable television in the United States 1972 establishments in California {{US-tv-station-stub