viii, 87 p. : ill. (some col.) / This thesis examines the history of distribution platforms for artists' video. Artists' video is defined as time based art works that employ the medium of film, videotape, digital video, or any combination thereof. The thesis categorizes different points of access for artists' video from the 1960s to the present as well as how artists have distributed their work. Three macro level platforms serve to classify the different sites of access between artists' video and a viewer - the first is television, the second is institution, and the third is the Internet. Over the past forty years, artists' video has transitioned from a marginal practice that existed outside of the institution to a medium that is now synonymous with the idea of a contemporary art museum. However, the Internet as a platform allows artists' video to exist outside of the museum, which is consistent with the earliest goals associated with this medium. / Committee in charge: Kate Mondloch: Chair and Advisor; Albert Narath: Member; John Fenn: Member