Magazine content is available exclusively for TIME subscribers.Video: A Tough Sell for the Arts
It was possibly the shortest Golden Age on record. Between late 1980 and mid- 1982, four cable networks offering cultural and other highbrow programming sprang into existence. A fifth was being contemplated by the Public Broadcasting Service. For opera fans, ballet lovers and others bored with traditional network fare, the future seemed dazzling.
Then the walls came tumbling down. Two of the culture networks, CBS Cable and The Entertainment Channel, called it quits within a year of start-up. PBS's venture never got off the ground. Bravo, a pay service offering cultural programs and art movies, is still in operation but has...
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