A series of essays examines the potential of cable television (CATV) for increasing the diversity and quality of television programing. Specifically, they explore what an electronic box office could do to encourage new production sources and develop new mechanisms for distributing programing in the humanities and performaing arts. The introduction sets the subject in the context of the change in technology and its social impact and the first essay surveys the current state of cultural programing and cable's potential for increased diversity. The second essay reviews the history and present status of pay services while the third contends that the development of a non-profit electronic box office would expand access to the performaing arts. The essay which follows extends this argument by offering the claim that such an electronic box office would move the performing arts toward direct consumer support. The last paper in the series reports on the alternative television movement and its new models for television production. The book concludes with a report of the Aspen conference held in August of 1973 on the humanities and arts in cable television. (Author)