Preview was a subscription television service, started in 1980.[1] Like its competitors, such as ONTV and SelecTV, Preview was a scrambled UHF Subscription channel requiring a special set-top box to decode.
Preview's on-air hours were mainly between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m., but varies according to market areas and during later periods of the channel's existence.[2] Owned by Warner Communications, the parent company for Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Music Group during the 1970s and 1980s, Preview was featured on several stations including KDNL-TV in St. Louis, which has since become an ABC affiliate, WCLQ-TV in Cleveland, WSMW-TV in the Boston area, and KTWS-TV in Dallas. The service offered movies, sports, and specials. The service also broadcasted programming from ON-TV and SelecTV, in some cases, simulcasting in areas where any of these and Preview were available.
Preview lasted until 1986, when the last carrier, WSMW, discontinued it.
