| Type | Pay television network |
|---|---|
| Availability | United States, national |
| Launch date | 1976 |
SelecTV was a subscription (Pay TV) television service formed in 1976, and first broadcasting in 1978 [1] The service focused entirely on televising movies, and ended in 1991.
SelecTV was transmitted via scrambled signal from a local UHF television station. A decoder box was required to unscramble the signal and permit normal viewing. SelecTV was available in at least three markets: in Milwaukee on WCGV, channel 24 (now MyNetworkTV), KWHY channel 22 in Los Angeles (now a Spanish-language independent), and WWSG channel 57 in Philadelphia (now CW affiliate WPSG). On WWSG, the service utilized the gated-pulse scrambling technique for the video and moved the audio to a different subcarrier, freeing the standard audio channel for use as a "barker" (sales promotion) channel.
In 1983, the service went national via satellite and was later purchased by Starion Entertainment, which eventually dropped the SelecTV branding in the late 1980s and renamed it Starion Premiere Cinema. The service ceased operations in 1991.
Unlike rival service ON-TV, SelecTV specialized in airing movies and did not air sports events. In the early '80s, the Los Angeles affiliate simulcast some shows from Z Channel. By 1984, OnTV and SelecTV merged, and some sports were broadcast on the combined service. Most of those events were simulcast from Prime Ticket, which was then a new regional sports network.
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