community antenna television

noun

1. CATV.

Word History and Origins

Origin of community antenna television¹

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

“At the beginning of 1971 there were 2,500 cable television systems serving 5.5 million subscribers in the U.S. At first it was a simple arrangement for bringing a good television signal into a home that received a poor one or none, often called ‘community antenna television,’ or CATV.

From Scientific American

Thus a name that cable still goes by: CATV, for Community Antenna Television.

From Time Magazine Archive

Though he has interests in half a dozen businesses ranging from investment companies to a community antenna television outfit in California and is a member of the New York Stock Exchange, he is rarely seen at his Wall Street office.

From Time Magazine Archive

Among executives in the entertainment industry, the worst four-letter word in television is CATV, otherwise known as Community Antenna Television, or Cable TV.

From Time Magazine Archive

Today RKO General owns seven radio and five TV stations, a community antenna television company, 123 movie theaters, Pittsburgh Outdoor Advertising, and the 400-room Equinox House in Manchester, Vt. As a condition for the purchase of another radio station in 1944, William O'Neil paid an extra $75,000 for a struggling California rocket-propulsion laboratory.

From Time Magazine Archive

Related Words

• cable
• cable system