Midterm Review - from notes

Communication Arts 351 with Johnson at University of Wisconsin - Madison

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By: Natalie Boyce
Created: 2011-10-25
Size: 96 flashcards
Views: 85

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CBS is an example of...

A network distributor

Warner Bros. is an example of...

the production company

What is broadcasting?

one-to-many communication technology

over-the-air transmission of pictures and sound

TV broadcasting emerges from what?

radio

PICAN

public interest, convenience, and necessity

local broadcasters must meet these standards as "stewards" of the air

emerged from Radio Acts of 1927

Magazine sponsorship

local stations sell ad spots during programs they produce themselves or acquire elsewhere

The Audience Commodity

Viewers are key participants in commercial broadcasters. We get broadcast TV in exchange for providing broadcasters with attention that they can sell to advertisers

Rating

Percentage of household with TV sets that watched a particular show.

9,000/90,000 = .10 which means a "10.0" rating

percentage of households that were actually using the TV that watched

9,000/45,000 = .20 expressed as "20" share

Good ratings used to be 20/30 and are now 10/12

Ratings measure:

a sample of viewer attention. 0.1% of American public is accounted for.

Relies on diary method.

Most interested in measuring viewers for which there is a market.

Rate audiences because:

It is the basis of exchange between advertisers and broadcasters. Ratings shape/organize all decisions made within commercial television economy.

How do broadcasters get programming?

-produce at local level

-purchase programming from syndication

-can affiliate with nation network (CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, CW)

First-run syndication

programs produced for sale directly to local station to air for the first time

examples: Rachel Ray, Entertainment Tonight, Wheel of Fortune

Second-run syndication

packages of reruns sold directly to local broadcasters

ex. FRIENDS, Family Guy, That 70's Show

Network-Affiliate relationship

not ownership, but contractual, limited-term partnership

Affiliate stations provide networks with:

-clearance - access to local airwaves so that the networks can sell that ad space to national advertisers

-sometimes, a fee to be a part of the network

Networks give local affiliates:

-programming (primetime and some day with national ads attached)

-space to sell local ads in that program

-often, a % of revenue from national ads to pay for clearance

-a brand identity (the "halo effect")

What do networks do as distributors?

deliver programming to affiliates, selling ad space, ordering & licensing programs from producers, scheduling, promotion, marketing, maximizing nation ratings

Affiliation contracts give networks control over what?

local exhibition

Scheduling

selection and arranging programs to maximum viewership.

Goal of scheduling:

to control both audience composition and "flow"

-maximize audiences that advertisers want

-create connections between television segments to continue the audience's interest

Basic principles of scheduling:

-least objectionable content maximizes the audience

-daytime shows only appeal to audiences with different TV availability

-appointment TV attracts viewers and offers lead in/out to support other programs

-keep the viewer from changing the channel

Programming blocks

Blocking the programming in order to keep the viewer's attention

ex. back to back comedies

Counter-programming

Using an opposing genre of show than the competing network

ex. action against drama

Lead-in

Using an established series right before a brand new one

Hammocking

Placing a weak show in between better ones

Bridging

Having a show time run over a couple minutes to discourage viewers from switching to competition

ex. The Office might right 3 minutes past 9:00, so you have already missed the first 3 minutes of the Real World

EM spectrum can only support handful of stations, therefore:

only 5 networks control airwaves by affiliating with most available stations, meaning producers only have 5 potential primetime buyers

Networks control:

access to national TV market, broadcasting in local TV markets, what TV gets made (distribution, exhibition, production)

Producing for syndication

alternative to network distribution because producers sell programs directly to local broadcasters for cash or ad "barter"

2nd-run syndication dominates 1st-run because:

familiarity promises buyers pre-tested success

TV development process:

1. producers must satisfy network executive who may say no at any point

2. producers make pitches to network programmers

3. interested executives will provide seed money for a pilot (small amount)

4. however, networks make no commitment to pick-up

Getting TV passed:

1. pilots compete for network attention

2. if ordered into series, producer will receive a license fee per episode

3. networks order 9-13 episodes at a time and can cancel at any time

The Cosby Show was able to be produced by an independent production company because:

The Financial Interest and Syndication Rules (1971) barred networks from sharing in syndication profits and limited primetime hours they could produce themselves.

Primetime Access Rule

(1971-1972) Networks had to yield one hour of primetime (6-7 pm) to local programming

After Fin-Syn repeal:

networks can increasingly produce their own programming in house

-lets them go into syndication business for themselves

-independent producers have to compete with network producers

Creating for uncertainty

producers bank on past-successes

balance desires to be different with repetition of the proven and familiar

Genre as a set of conventions:

a set of reused conventions in a specific configuration

-setting

-character types

-emotional affect

Genre as a cultural category:

carried meaning and value

Genre as an industrial utility:

-manages audience expectations and reduces risk

-organizes production operations

-offers scheduling affinites

Copies

Shows that basically copy one another

ex. X-Files to "Fringe" credits - almost the same music and picture scheme

Spin-offs

One star on the show leaves to start their own show

Recombinants

Using the combination of two successful shows for a brand new show

ex. Girls Next Door + Mad Men = The Playboy Club

Television Narrative

TV tells stories organized in narrative ways using characters, events, settings

-protagonist in pursuit of goals

-changes to the status quo

-includes reality tv, news, sports, talk shows, ads, etc.

Classical narrative structure

status quo changes and character's story ends

SQ1--->SQ2

Episodic narrative structure

status quo returns to normal and the character's story is told again (repetition reduces production cost and creates audience loyalty)

Serial narrative structure

status quo changes and the character's story continues (risks alienating audience)

ex. not just soap operas, but new, sports, reality

New primetime narratives

hybridized episodic and serial narratives

generating differences amid repetition

Operational reflexivity

narrative structure and style become as much a focus of attention as story/character

Basic functions of the FCC:

1. assigning licenses

2. establishing tech standards

3. creating ownership rules

4. policing broadcast content

Standards for FCC regulation:

-no "obscenity" - explicit sexuality

-no "indecency" between 6 AM - 10 PM

Exception to FCC rules:

cable

because it is invited into the home by subscription

Censorship

when government steps in to regulate

Networks self-regulate because:

-threat of external regulation

-pressure from public groups and advertisers

-risk of affiliated refusing clearance

-needs consistency across the board

What are the risks of producers relying on types of representation?

stereotypes

Ideology

values, beliefs, and ideas that make up a worldview

Hegemony

dominance of one ideology amid many conflicting ideologies

which worldviews are seen as "common sense"?

Splitting

representing difference

us vs. them, normal vs. abnormal

ex. 24 scene where white lady walks into a monastery

Limitations of broadcasting:

Industrial - insufficient channel space, network "bottleneck" limites producers access to airwaves, little room for competition

Cultural - "stewardship" provides no public access to airwaves, representation limited to least objectionable

Promise of cable

cable systems could vastly expand channel space

lack of intrusion means fewer content restrictions

control could be in hands of local community

possibility of 2-way communication

FCC says: communities can only have cable operators who:

-provide 20+ channels + public access, education, and government channels

-carry local broadcast signals

-lease space to non-local program providers (opening the door to national cable networks)

Multiple System Operators (MSOs)

own multiple cable systems

ex. Charter, TimeWarner, Comcast

National cable "networks"

launched by SMO's seeking content

basic cable (% of subscription fees paid to operator)

premium- HBO, Cinemax, Showtime (% of subscription fees paid to operator)

Direct Broadcast Satellite

ex. Dish Network, DirectTV

deliver satellite signals directly to consumers

What widened market reach for independent broadcasters?

cable

key role: sports

What do cable channels rely on?

niche marketing

Niche marketing

narrowcasting based on specific:

-demographics (lifetime, spikeTV, BET, Nick) - specific audience members

-psychographics (E!, BBC America, HBO) - shared interests

-genres (Syfy, Cartoon Network, CNN, ESPN)

How did cable help make advertising more effective?

advertisers were able to address the exact audience they wanted

The FOX network is a model of:

branding and "edginess"

counter-programming to underserved/oppositional tastes - niche marketing

ex. In Living Color

Limitations of "midcasting"

-broadcast restrictions hinder competition with cable

-broadcast networks maintain focus on event TV - many advertisers still want big audiences

The post-network era

rise of cable as a "neo-network" era - explosion of new channels (Curtin)

rise of digital culture as a "post-network era" (Lotz)

What is digital TV?

broadcast tv is an analog signal that is too big to be produced through the bandwidth, so signals are then digitized and compressed into numbers (001100101)

more signal quality

multiplexing

more signal quantity

Digital delivery requires:

new transmission/reception technologies

Digital technology's promise

multiplication of channel space

creation of new markets (premium HD, etc.)

Digital signals become compatible across devices, meaning:

convergence of tv+mobile+gaming+computing

expands boundaries of the industry

upstarts companies

tech offers new competition

TiVO, DVR, WebTV do what to the business?

threaten old ways of doing business

destabilized economy for advertising and viewer attention

DVD creates publishing market for TV

new revenue stream outside of advertising economy

Flow

broadcasters buy programming to attract audiences to sell to advertisers

Publishing

producers sell programming to audiences via retail

Why pay for what is free?

-special features supplement on-air content

-viewers pay for ability to self-program

-packaging makes TV into aesthetic object for display

acquisitive repetition

alters TV's regime of repetition

-viewer gains control of programming, but encouraged to buy rather than record

-program producers gain new off-network distribution window

suppressing radical potential of new digital technologies

new digital technologies allow peer-to-peer sharing

therefore, industry protects DVDs (not able to go overseas), commercials against the TV "pirate," intervening in competing technologies

"You Television"

YouTube, iTunes video store, BitTorrents (easy to share, hard to trace)

ThemTube - ABC signs video distribution agreement with iTunes

What is the goal from switching the focus on YouTube to ThemTube?

it will enclose streaming in network proprietary spaces

networks will have greater control and hopefully part of a profit

By creating network's own branded streaming channels:

it cuts affiliates out of advertising economy

multiplatforming

extending tv brands across media sectors

-average TV series spanned 4.7 platforms in 2006 including DVD and other digital distribution

multiplatform creativity

new spaces and strategies for organizing TV content production

Factor to the writer's strike of 2008:

TV executives refused to pay producers for creating web content under the same terms as those who created TV content

Globalization

digital technology also promotes greater exchange of people, ideas, money across national boundaries

-bringing new awareness of and participation in other national tv cultures and industries

-uneven flows shaping inequalities

What factors influence the global mobility of TV?

-political (end of cold war)

-economic- trade rules and treaties

-cultural- new migration patterns, movements of people

Importation

programming made in one nation and sold to another

ex. UK= The office, Planet Earth, PBS

Japan= Pokemon, Adult Swim anime

all have enough money to produce

co-production

production partnership between producers in different national markets

advantages of co-production

-tailored to needs of multiple markets

-shared costs

-quote loopholes

local formatting

trading ideas for shows, not premade TV product

-cheaper to buy ideas than products

About this deck

By: Natalie Boyce
Created: 2011-10-25
Size: 96 flashcards
Views: 85

About StudyBlue

“I have been getting MUCH better grades on all my tests for school. Flash cards, notes, and quizzes are great on here. Thanks!”
Kathy