Schuylkill County is
the birthplace of cable television. Service Electric Cable Television,
the nation's first cable television company, was started in Mahanoy
City. Today, it's one of the nation's largest cable companies.
Schuylkill
County is served by many varied information sources including local
and regional newspapers, magazines, as well as local, regional and national
radio services. All of the major television networks have a presence
in the region. In fact, Schuylkill County is the birthplace of cable
television.
When John Walsonovich was selling television sets in Mahanoy
City and the mountainous terrain made it difficult to receive television
signals from the closest stations (Philadelphia was the nearest signal
back in 1948), Walsonovich erected a television antenna on a strip pit
coal bank. The television signal was captured and distributed by Walsonovich
to sections of Mahanoy City. He founded Service
Electric Cable Television, which is now one of the largest cable
television service companies in America.
In addition to Service Electric Cable, other providers
serving the county include AT&T, Blue Mountain Cable, ComCast Cable,
Shen-Heights and Wire Teleview Corp.
Schuylkill County is also served through internet technology,
with a large number of internet service providers being based in the
county, including:
Comcast
Farber Technology
Losch Internet Services
PenTeleData
Schuyl, Inc.
Tri-Valley Technical Services
Newspapers