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Broadcast Television

Chapter 10

© 2009, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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CHAPTER OUTLINE

• History• Contemporary Broadcast Television• Television in the Digital Age• Defining Features of Broadcast Television• Organization of the Broadcast Television Industry• Ownership in the Television Industry • Producing Television Programs• Economics• Public Broadcasting• Home Video• Feedback

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HISTORY

• 1920s-1930s– Philo Farnsworth– Vladimir Zworykin

• WWII: FCC halted development of TV• 1948: TV’s growth so rapid the FCC

imposed freeze on new station licenses• 1952: FCC established rules to minimize

interference – 12 VHF and 70 UHF channels

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The 1950s: Networks, Tape, UHF, and Color

• TV modeled after radio– Local stations affiliated with networks

• 1956, Ampex developed videotape– By 1960, most programs were taped

• UHF channels didn’t compete well

• Network color broadcasts began, up to about 3 hours per day by 1960

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The Golden Age of Television

• 1950s growth and experimentation

• Pioneering programs:– Ed Sullivan’s Toast of the Town; Milton

Berle’s Texaco Star Theater– High quality dramas: Studio One– Adult westerns: Gunsmoke

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Coming of Age: Television in the 1960s

• 1960: TVs in more than 95% of US homes• 1965: TV news expands from 15 to 30

minutes– TV journalism earns praise (Kennedy, Civil

Rights; moon walk)

• 1967: Public Broadcasting Act establishes PBS

• Cable grows during the 1960s• Escapist/fantasy fare dominates

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The 1970s: Growing Public Concern

• Surgeon General’s report on violent TV– Modest connection between heavy viewing and

violence among some children

• Citizen groups (Action for Children’s Television; minority group coalitions) influenced broadcast policy

• Cable industry began competing with TV• Programming trends included crime drama, then

adult sitcoms, then prime time soap operas

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The 1980s and 1990s: Increased Competition

• Continuing erosion of the big 3 networks’ audiences

• Increased competition from new networks and cable channels

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Cable’s Continued Growth

• By 2000, cable reached more than 68% of the population

• Channel capacity increased and new programming services emerged

• Cable full-fledged competitor to broadcast TV

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Zipping, Zapping, Grazing, and DBS

• VCR in 90% of US households by 2000• VCR impact on broadcast and cable TV

– Time shifting, zapping, zipping, grazing

• Low-power television (LPTV)• Direct broadcast by satellite (DBS)• Telecommunications Act of 1996

– TV program ratings and V-chip

• Programming trends: 1980s family-oriented sitcoms; 1990s newsmagazines; 2000s reality programs and cable dramas

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CONTEMPORARY BROADCAST TELEVISION

• Audiences are shrinking• Advertising dollars going to web• Big Four networks using new distribution

channels• Digital Video Recorders (DVRs)

– Increasing in number; replacing VCRs• Greater reliance on reality shows than scripted

shows• TV is on an average of 8 hours per day.• Broadcast networks still best way for advertisers

to reach audiences

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TELEVISION IN THE DIGITAL AGE

• February 17, 2009: Official transition from analog to digital TV broadcasting

• Advantages of digital television (DTV)– Clearer pictures and sound– More rectangular format– Allows high definition TV (HDTV)– Channel can be subdivided and multiple

programs can be sent at the same time

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Broadcasters Discover the Web

• More programs available on the Internet• Broadcasters’ web sites offering more

– Full-screen, high-resolution streaming video– Original online content– Social networking options– MySpace pages– Advertising on sites and in streaming video– Podcasts

• Local stations still need to do more

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Broadcasters and Broadband

• Broadband: High-speed internet connections– Cable modem; DSL– Supports sending video over web

• Networks offer special-interest (non-broadcast) content via broadband

• Not yet profitable, but not too risky

• Reach younger audiences

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Mobile TV

• Broadcasters supplying content to cell phones– MobiTV

• Mobile pedestrian handheld technology

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User-Generated Content

• Broadcasters were first to realize potential of user-generated content– America’s Funniest Home Videos

• How to relate to video sharing giants such as YouTube?

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DEFINING FEATURES OF BROADCAST TELEVISION

• Universal medium, in about 99% of US homes

• TV on for about 8 hours per day

• Dominant US medium for news and entertainment

• Expensive

• Audience continues to fragment

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ORGANIZATION OF THE BROADCAST TELEVISION

INDUSTRY

• Commercial or noncommercial stations

• Licensed by FCC to serve community– 210 such “markets” in US

• 6 commercial networks plus PBS

• Network affiliates

• Independents

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Production

• Local production

• Network programs

• Syndicated programs– Off-net series

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Distribution

• Distribution outlets– Broadcast networks, cable networks, syndication

companies

• Network-affiliate contract– Local station carries network programs– Network pays station (compensation)

• Compensation is decreasing and may be eliminated

• Syndication companies lease content to individual stations in local markets– Profitable aftermarket for prime time TV series

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Exhibition

• About 1300 commercial stations & 380 noncommercial stations

• VHF (very high frequency, 2-13) or UHF (ultra high frequency, 14-69)– With cable, differences between VHF and

UHF are less important; will be still less important with digital TV

• Most local stations are network affiliates

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OWNERSHIP IN THE TELEVISION INDUSTRY

• All major networks are owned by conglomerates• NBC - General Electric• ABC - Walt Disney• CBS - CBS Corp, spun off from Viacom• Fox - News Corporation• CW - Joint venture CBS & Time Warner• MyNetwork TV - News Corporation

• Telecommunications Act of 1996– No ownership limit unless combined reach exceeds

39% of US population– Big groups control most TV stations in top 100

markets

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PRODUCING TELEVISION PROGRAMS

• Many people are involved in getting programs on the air

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Departments and Staff

• Station– Station manager, sales, engineering,

production/programming, news, administration

• Network– Sales, entertainment, owned and operated

stations, affiliate relation, news, sports, standards, operations

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Getting TV Programs on the Air

• Local station: Local newscast is key– Also interviews, sports shows

• Network: Prime time programming is key– 8:00-11:00 p.m., Eastern

• Prime time programs– Program ideas, sample scripts, pilots– About 25 pilots per network per year

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ECOMONICS

• TV industry has been profitable since 1950

• Ad revenue increased every year since 1971

• Changes in the industry are affecting the bottom line of networks and stations

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Commercial Time

• Three types of advertisers– National advertisers– National spot advertisers– Local advertisers

• Bigger ratings=higher costs for airtime

• TV shows also generate revenue from– Product placement– Text messaging fees

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Where Did the Money Go?

• Network programming is expensive– 30:00 sitcom: $1 million per episode– 60:00 show: about $3 million per episode

• Quiz and reality shows are a lot cheaper

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PUBLIC BROADCASTING

• Public broadcasting has existed in the US for more than 40 years

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A Short History

• 1967 Public Broadcasting Act– Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)– Public Broadcasting System (PBS)

• Internal disputes regarding programming

• Competition from cable channels

• Reduced funding – political issue– Stations looking for other funding sources

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Programming and Financing

• Tension between local stations and centralized PBS organization– 1990: moved toward more centralized programming.

Ratings remain low• Sesame Street; Nova• 354 PBS stations; licensed by FCC

– Licensed to 169 community organizations, universities, states/cities

• Funding from government, viewer contributions, businesses, grants, etc.

• PBS moving slowly into digital age

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HOME VIDEO

• DVDs & VCRs common in US households• DVRs (Digital Video Recorders) gaining ground

– VCRs and DVRs can time-shift

• Home video industry functions:– Production (motion picture studios dominate)– Distribution (record-like rack jobbers dominate)– Retail (retail and department stores)

• DVD opened new aftermarket for TV – Retailers concerned about video on demand and

premium channels

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FEEDBACK

• The television industry seeks feedback in a variety of ways

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Measuring TV Viewing• Demographic data and viewing behavior

• Nielsen Media Research Network ratings:– Nielsen Television Index– People Meter, national sample = 5000– Testing Portable People Meter (PPM)

• Nielsen Local-Market TV Ratings– 200 markets, 4 times per year (sweeps)

• Diary/electronic metering• Nielsen hopes to phase out paper diaries

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Ratings Reporting

• Rating: Number of households watching a program, divided by the total number of TV households

• Share: Number of households watching a program, divided by number of households actually watching TV at that time

• Sweeps (Feb, May, July, Nov) – Local market people meters will decrease importance of

traditional sweeps periods• Determining accuracy of ratings

– Media Ratings Council (previously Electronic Media Ratings Council; EMRC) set up to monitor, audit, accredit broadcast ratings services

– Sample size: statistically, 5000 is acceptable– Other criticisms may deserve closer attention

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Questionnaires, Concept Testing, and Pilot Testing

• Questionnaires: Networks ask people about their tastes, opinions, beliefs

• Concept testing: Networks ask people for reactions to paragraphs describing possible new programs

• Pilot testing: Networks show people sample programs and ask for evaluations.

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Television Audiences

• TV is entrenched in American life– TV set in 99% of homes; 75% have more than one set– TV is on for eight hours per day; average person

watches more than three hours– Viewing is heaviest:

• During prime time• In winter (lightest in July/August)• In low-income households• Among people with lower educations• Among females