Television

1
Television

• Com 160

2
History of the Medium (sans content)

• TV Debut at Worlds Fair in ____
• Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in ____
• Result?
• Began manufacturing TVs again in ____
• 1947 Affluent people owned TVs.
• 1948 TVs became a central feature in ____
• The local tavern was a significant element in
  demonstrating and popularlizing the new medium.

3
Diffusion of Innovations Theory
A SCALED-DOWN VERSION OF THE THEORY

• Diffusion how something new (ideas, technology)
  is communicated throughout a society.
• Diffusion of an innovation occurs through
  interpersonal communication the media.

4
DIT cont.

• Propensity to adopt varies
• Is it valuable?
• Relative Advantage
• Compatibility
• Complexity
• Trialability
• Observability
• How DIT works (cyclic)

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The basics of the DIT cycle

• Its created. ?
• People sell it
• (related to media when it existed)
• Some people buy it (Early Adopters) (Opinion
  Leaders?)
• They talk about it.
• Awareness Talk
• Opinion Talk
• Practice Talk
• Advocacy Talk
• (Resistance talk??)
• We buy it (Opinion Followers)

Critical Mass When 15-20 of the population
bought it. (Mass production ? price goes down)
6
DIT TV?

• In 1950 lt10 of American homes had a TV
• In 1960 almost 90 had TVs!!!
• More TVs than babies?!?! ?
• The Big Freeze 1948-1952
• No new TV licenses awarded
• No TV transmitters could be built
• Resulted in the rise of cable TV.

7
Lucille Balls Contributions

• 1951 CBS wanted to move radio hit My Favorite
  Husband to TV.
• Lucille Ball had conditions
• Desi ?
• Film Cameras
• 3 cameras would give best combination of
  action/reaction shots.
• Production in Hollywood
• CBS said No way.
• Lucy ? produced on her own, sold the rights to
  CBS.
• TRANSFORMED THE BUSINESS LOOK OF TV

8
Lucille Balls Industry Transformation

• Filmed reruns now possible
• Created the off-network syndication industry
• TV industry moved from NY to Hollywood
• Weekly series now produced quickly and cheaply.
• Saved
• Stock Shots

9
How A Program Gets on the Air

• 4,000 proposals/yr 100 will be pilots 20-30
  make it on air 3-4 might become hits.
• Producers propose ideas
• Networks may buy a whole script
• A pilot
• Some episodes
• More episodes?
• Producers pay for 50 or more along the way.

10
What the ?

• Producers lose money throughout the development
  process
• Continue to lose even more the longer the show
  stays on TV.
• Syndication desired (producers retain rights)
• Sold to individual stations
• Critics argue this system keeps TV content weak.
• There is little incentive to gamble w/characters
  or story lines theres little profit in pushing
  the aesthetic boundaries of the medium.

11
Cable TVs Contribution to Programming

• Appeals to niche markets (narrowcasting)
• Audiences not stuck watching whatever the
  networks happen to be broadcasting
• Subsequently appeals to advertisers
• Reduces the market share that watches regular
  network TV
• Market Share proportion of the total
  television viewing audience

12
Market Share-Programming Relationship

• Network programming formulas now unprofitable
• Exorbitant fees cant be recouped w/advertising
• Ratings decline
• Networks offset declining ratings w/lower
  production costs
• So-called reality programming
• found material
• Unpaid amateurs

13
The end result?

• True innovation is stifled by a complex pattern
  of relationships among producers, networks, and
  media conglomerates who own them.

14
Programming Strategies

• TV viewing is a deeply ingrained habit.
• Be the least objectionable choice!
• Strategies Employed
• Scheduling genre blocks
• Lead into a promising show w/a proven one
• Lead Out
• Hammocking
• Tent Poling
• Stripping
• Checkerboarding

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Programming Strategies Competition!

• The competition will
• Stunting
• Counterprogram

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Children and Television

• 1967 Public Broadcasting Act
• Educational TV stations united w/ PBS.
• 1968 Joan Ganz Cooney
• Distraught by lack of preschool founded CTW
• 1969 Sesame Street
• Major hit even went seriously intl!
• Made an educational difference (?)
• Better off kids benefited most