I have to confess I’d never heard of this before someone did one of those “Today In History” features on the radio, but Tuesday, Feb. 26th marks the 59th anniversary of the very first Pay TV attempt in Canada – and it happened in Etobicoke, long before there was a First Choice, a Super Channel or even a Rogers Cable.
 
It was a curious little device called a “Telemeter,” and it was more like a parking meter than anything technologically fancy. You’d hook it up to your TV, drop coins in the slot (literally putting the “pay” in pay TV) and then get to watch a movie, a sporting event or a televised special with no commercials.


 
According to Wikipedia:
 
“Programming during the first trial years consisted essentially of first-run movies and fictional series. The overall cost of the investment was $1.5 million. In 1961, Telemeter signed deals with the Toronto Argonauts football team and the Toronto Maple Leafs to broadcast away games; wrestling was also featured. Some original programming, such as a Bob Newhart special, were also produced at Telemeter's Bloor Street studio and several Broadway shows and an opera performance were also broadcast.”
 
TVobscurities.com reports it died an ignoble death with just 2,500 subscribers here at the end of April 1965.
 
There’s a lot more on this here, but what a fascinating and rarely heard-of bit of the city’s media history.
 
(.jpeg courtesy TVobscurities.com)