He pointed out that King World, now one of the major program suppliers, started small in the early 80's.

They want to encourage as many program suppliers as possible.

Later the transmitter was often hired for other program suppliers.

And never before have networks gone to such lengths to squeeze program suppliers to get what they wanted.

Legally, the microprocessor must be activated by the program supplier, after the consumer has paid the bill.

"Whether our role is as a program supplier or something else, I'm not sure yet," he said.

In these cases, there may be no single 24-hour period in which all program suppliers are represented.

"They have to get to the point where the program suppliers see that shows on these networks will have an afterlife in syndication," he said.

The deals also firmly established the National Football League as the most important - and richest - program supplier in television.

Both companies have actively courted deals with the big program suppliers.