SMST21406A Screen Studies 2: World Media

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SMST214-06A Screen Studies 2 World Media

• Week 9 Broadcasting the World and the World of
  Broadcasting
• Geoff Lealand

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broadcasting

• In media terms, this means providing different
  media forms (radio, print media, television), for
  large (often undifferentiated) broad audiences.
  It is distinct from narrowcasting, which is
  intended for specific individual or audiences (
  eg a P2P phone call television for niche
  audiences eg the Rugby Channel on Sky)

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World broadcasting

• The longest established model of world
  broadcasting is radio, with its ability to reach
  global audiences simultaneously, across time,
  space, language barriers eg BBC World Service,
  Voice of America
• OHT BBC World Service

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Is film broadcasting?

• Only in terms of world distribution systems, and
  the domination of the international box office by
  Hollywood
• OHT International Box Office Jan 2006

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Is television broadcasting? (1)

• In national terms, it is eg National
  Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) in the USA
  Television New Zealand British Broadcasting
  Corporation (BBC) Australian Broadcasting
  Corporation (ABC) Canadian Broadcasting
  Corporation (CBC) etc

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Is television broadcasting? (2)

• Also, in international/global terms,it results
  from
• Dominant models of television
• The international trade in television content
• Global channels
• Global television events
• Satellite television, and new means of
  distribution

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1. Dominant models of television

• Commercial television
• Public service (PSB) television
• Mixed models

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1.1 Commercial television

• aka the American model of television
• grew out of radio networks, controlled by giant
  corporations (eg NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox), into TV
  networks from 1950s
• Minimal regulation/govt control
• primarily home-based entertainment flagship
  news/current affairs
• funded by advertising (delivering audiences to
  advertisers)

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• Australian academics Sinclair, Jacka
  Cunningham (1996) point out that the influence of
  the USA in world TV is more closely connected to
  the global spread of the commercial model of
  television, rather than the supposed ideological
  influence of American programmes. Ang (1996)
  notes that US commercial television has been the
  prime source of TV genres and scheduling
  practices.
• VIDEO

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1.2 Public service television

• aka the British/European model of television
• Television grew out of state-run radio (eg BBC),
  with its strong public service remit
• Primarily funded by a broadcasting fee or govt
  grants (eg ABC in Australia), but increasingly
  with income from other sources (eg
  sponsorship--PBS in USA programme/format
  sales--BBC)
• Subject to external regulation self-regulation
  (eg BBC Charter)
• Advertising-free, or limited advertising/sponsorsh
  ip

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1.3 mixed models of television

• Most countries are characterised by a mix of
  television channels (eg Australia- ABC (govt
  funded) Ch 7/9/10 (commercial channels SBS
  limited advertising govt funding)
• Nevertheless, specific channels sometimes have
  mixed objectives (aka the New Zealand
  model?),eg TVNZ balancing public service
  objectives (TVNZ Charter) with commercial
  imperatives (maximising profits, returning
  dividend to the state)

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2.1 The international trade in television

• Since the early days of television, programme
  flows around the world have been dominated by the
  USA, due to the early development of TV in the
  USA, the high level of production, overseas
  distribution networks price fixing,
  international popularity of US genres (eg soaps,
  sitcoms), absence of trade barriers

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2.2 International trade in television

• Although the US has long dominated the
  international television trade, it has been
  constrained by
• Counter-flows (eg Latin America)
• Production autonomy (eg China, India, Indonesia)
• Popularity of local programming

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2.3 The international trade in television

• What is becoming more important than the
  international trade in programmes, is the
  international trade in television formats ie a
  programme idea or recipe, where rights or a
  licence is bought, in order to locally version
  it eg Dancing With the Stars (BBC)
• The UK is the biggest exporter of formats
  Endemol (The Netherlands) is the worlds largest
  format production company

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3.1 Global channels

• CNN (Cable Network News). Founded 1980, by Ted
  Turner. Now a division of TBN, owned by Time
  Warner. Introduced the concept of global 24-hour
  TV news coverage. Available 88m US h/h 1.5
  billion viewers in more than 212 countries and
  territories.
• Spawned numerous competitors eg BBC World, Al
  Jazeera, Fox News Channel

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3.2 Global channels

• BBC World (est 1995). Global news channel,
  commercially funded service in 270 million homes
  in 200 countries and territories. Provides 24
  hour news coverage BBC lifestyle and
  information programmes (eg Top Gear, Talking
  About Movies)
• cf. Gisborne tsunami!

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4.1 Global media events

• War and disaster (Sept 11, Gulf War, Iraq)
• Births, death and marriages (royalty,
  celebrities)
• Sport
• eg The Super Bowl (93m), European soccer and
  Formula Ones Canadian Grand Prix each drew more
  than 50 million viewers in 2005, proving that top
  sports programmes are among the few remaining in
  a fragmenting TV landscape to deliver large
  global audiences for advertisers NZHerald
  30/12/05
• cf. exclusive/payTV rights

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5.1 Satellite TV

• 3 types -Direct broadcast satellite (DBS) or
  Direct To Home/business (eg Sky)
• signal to local affiliates/stations (USA)
• -signal to head-end for cable distribution
  (USA, Europe)

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5.2 Satellite .

• The worlds first commercial communication
  satellite launched 1963.
• NZ satellite station (Warkworth) 1971
• Major satellite services include Hughes DirecTV
  (North America owned by News Corp), STAR TV
  (Asia News Corp) Foxtel (Aust News Corp).
• SKY in NZ reaches more than 41 of NZ h/hs, or
  600,000 subscribers (2005) majority ownership
  is INL (49 owned by News Corp)

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5.3 New means of distribution ..

• Web TV (television broadcasts via the Web, or
  created for the web)
• Distribution to mobile technology (cell-phones
  and other devices)