Bill Roedy

You know, I'm a big believer in taking advantage of the opportunity and that was an opportunity. So I first came over in late 88, but I really didn't start with MTV Europe until January of 89. And sure enough, countries started changing. Now, I like to say we played a role in it, but I never want to take ourselves too seriously at MTV. But for example...

One of the first decisions in January of 89 was to go on to a brand new satellite that had K-band technology. What's that mean? Before, in order to receive a single from a satellite, you only had C-band and you needed a three and a half meter dish.

One of the first decisions in January of 89 was to go on to a brand new satellite that had K-band technology. What's that mean? Before, in order to receive a single from a satellite, you only had C-band and you needed a three and a half meter dish.

One of the first decisions in January of 89 was to go on to a brand new satellite that had K-band technology. What's that mean? Before, in order to receive a single from a satellite, you only had C-band and you needed a three and a half meter dish.

Suddenly, in January of 1989, with KBED and Mr. Murdoch was one of the first to jump on this with Sky Television, you had the ability to receive the single with a 60 centimeter disc. So we jumped on that. It was a big investment. I had a lot of pushback because it was $10 million per transponder. Each satellite has transponders. The other decision that we made, however, was to put it in a clear.

Suddenly, in January of 1989, with KBED and Mr. Murdoch was one of the first to jump on this with Sky Television, you had the ability to receive the single with a 60 centimeter disc. So we jumped on that. It was a big investment. I had a lot of pushback because it was $10 million per transponder. Each satellite has transponders. The other decision that we made, however, was to put it in a clear.

Suddenly, in January of 1989, with KBED and Mr. Murdoch was one of the first to jump on this with Sky Television, you had the ability to receive the single with a 60 centimeter disc. So we jumped on that. It was a big investment. I had a lot of pushback because it was $10 million per transponder. Each satellite has transponders. The other decision that we made, however, was to put it in a clear.

What does that mean? Most channels are encrypted in order to have a subscription revenue. We decided, no, we wanted as much distribution as possible. And by the way, I learned a little bit of this with HBO, that access and distribution was really key to the success of any rollout of a new product.

What does that mean? Most channels are encrypted in order to have a subscription revenue. We decided, no, we wanted as much distribution as possible. And by the way, I learned a little bit of this with HBO, that access and distribution was really key to the success of any rollout of a new product.

What does that mean? Most channels are encrypted in order to have a subscription revenue. We decided, no, we wanted as much distribution as possible. And by the way, I learned a little bit of this with HBO, that access and distribution was really key to the success of any rollout of a new product.

So by doing that, suddenly people behind the Iron Curtain could buy a 60 centimeter dish, or if they didn't have the money, which was often the case, they'd contact their relatives in the U.S. for $900 and get a dish. It was unencrypted. So suddenly... you had access to Western programming that they've never experienced before. And it was not only the music, it was the commercials.

So by doing that, suddenly people behind the Iron Curtain could buy a 60 centimeter dish, or if they didn't have the money, which was often the case, they'd contact their relatives in the U.S. for $900 and get a dish. It was unencrypted. So suddenly... you had access to Western programming that they've never experienced before. And it was not only the music, it was the commercials.

So by doing that, suddenly people behind the Iron Curtain could buy a 60 centimeter dish, or if they didn't have the money, which was often the case, they'd contact their relatives in the U.S. for $900 and get a dish. It was unencrypted. So suddenly... you had access to Western programming that they've never experienced before. And it was not only the music, it was the commercials.

And we were told, and I modestly believe, that by having that exposure to this whole different form of programming, it energized an audience. Now, it didn't bring the wall down, obviously, although I was in Berlin in the East on November 9th. And so there's a lot of history there with that. But we were told we brought the wall down. It was just, you know, one piece of the puzzle, I suppose.

And we were told, and I modestly believe, that by having that exposure to this whole different form of programming, it energized an audience. Now, it didn't bring the wall down, obviously, although I was in Berlin in the East on November 9th. And so there's a lot of history there with that. But we were told we brought the wall down. It was just, you know, one piece of the puzzle, I suppose.

And we were told, and I modestly believe, that by having that exposure to this whole different form of programming, it energized an audience. Now, it didn't bring the wall down, obviously, although I was in Berlin in the East on November 9th. And so there's a lot of history there with that. But we were told we brought the wall down. It was just, you know, one piece of the puzzle, I suppose.

It was technology, innovation, a little bit like Arab Spring, by the way, you know, with Twitter and Facebook that encouraged change. And the other thing is we were programming the young people and young people. are more prone to a bit of irreverence, rebellion, and change to begin with. So we rode that wave in 1989 with all the countries.

It was technology, innovation, a little bit like Arab Spring, by the way, you know, with Twitter and Facebook that encouraged change. And the other thing is we were programming the young people and young people. are more prone to a bit of irreverence, rebellion, and change to begin with. So we rode that wave in 1989 with all the countries.

It was technology, innovation, a little bit like Arab Spring, by the way, you know, with Twitter and Facebook that encouraged change. And the other thing is we were programming the young people and young people. are more prone to a bit of irreverence, rebellion, and change to begin with. So we rode that wave in 1989 with all the countries.

And we made it a mission to make sure that we were distributed in these countries. And it culminated on November 9th. It was a Thursday. I'll never forget it because I was there in the fall of the Berlin Wall.