as an add-on to the subscription. In 1982, KTXA—already unwilling to cede more hours to subscription broadcasting—and Oak entered into a dispute over these broadcasts, which the station felt were indecent, and KTXA won in a court fight to uphold its right to cancel ON TV programs to which it objected. ON TV characterized the legal battle as an attempt to prevent the subscription service from continuing with plans to lengthen its programming hours. This was followed in February 1983 by the station pulling such adult films as The Pleasure Palace, New Day in Eden, and Portrait of a Seduction from the schedule. KTXA's development as a station outside of ON TV had also been robust. At KTXA, Grant minted a reputation for being extremely promotion-oriented. In contrast to the other two hybrid startups in the Metroplex that "merely appeared", Ed Bark of The Dallas Morning News wrote that channel 21 had "burst into living rooms like a world-champion encyclopedia salesman", with nearly ubiquitous billboards, high-profile programming, and an emphasis on weekend movies. As this dispute escalated, the STV industry began to experience a significant reversal nationally due to increased cable television penetration (which included the launch of cable systems in Dallas and Fort Worth) and an ongoing recession. In the Metroplex, VEU had bought Preview's business in September 1982, integrating the two systems over the next several months; further, the loss of the adult programming led to subscriber cancellations. The Dallas–Fort Worth ON TV operation and that in Phoenix, which suffered from similar issues over cable and adult programming, were Oak's first to be put out of business, with ON TV's last day of programming on KTXA on April 30, 1983. An ownership revolving door The Shlenker–Grant group had set up another Texas television station in late 1982, KTXH in Houston, which carried a similar mix of programming (but never broadcast an STV service). Grant's aggressive programming and promotions strategy, plus a favorable climate for independent stations nationally, made the two stations highly profitable and attracted major bidders. Outlet Communications, the broadcasting division of The Outlet Company of Rhode Island, was one of several parties negotiating to buy KTXA and KTXH. However, negotiations fell through, and Grant instead sold the pair to the Gulf Broadcast Group for $158 million in May 1984. The sale was held up for several months at the FCC, which conditioned the purchase on Gulf