Reconceptualizing channel repertoire in the urban cable environment

Channel repertoire, traditionally the sum of the number of channels accesse d by a television/cable viewer, is extended. (1) via frequency weightings, (2) with a distinction between primary and specialized repertoires, and (3) by comparing repertoires across achievement and ascriptive social categori es (e.g., income, race). In a probability computer-aided telephone intervie wing (CATI) survey of 319 metropolitan cable subscribers, analyses of the n ew repertoires show novel discrimination among social categories and differ ential predictions from media and attitudinal variables.