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THE DYNAMICS OF MASS COMMUNCATION Joseph R. Dominick University of Georgia--Athens. Chapter 10. Television. History Contemporary Television Television in the Digital Age Defining Features of Television Organization of the Broadcast Television Industry
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THE DYNAMICS OF MASS COMMUNCATION Joseph R. Dominick University of Georgia--Athens
Chapter 10 Television • History • Contemporary Television • Television in the Digital Age • Defining Features of Television • Organization of the Broadcast Television Industry • Ownership in the Television Industry • Producing Television Programs • Economics • Public Broadcasting • Cable Television • Home Video • Direct Broadcast Satellites • Feedback • The Television Industry Chapter Outline
History • 1928 – Zworykin’s iconoscope • 1930 – Farnsworth’s image dissector • 1939 – First public demo • NBC, owned by RCA • World’s Fair • WW II leads to technical advances • 1948 – FCC’s freezes licenses for 4 years • 1952 –12 VHF and 70 UHF channels
History • 1950s • Radio as model • Video tape developed in 1956 by Ampex • UHF peters out • Color broadcasting • Golden Age • Ed Sullivan’s Talk of the Town • Texaco Star Theater • Adult Westerns such as Gunsmoke
History • 1960s – TVs in 95% of US homes • Network news 15 30 minutes • TV journalism excels covering: • JFK, King, and RFK assassination events • Civil Rights movement • Apollo space program • Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 set up PBS
History • 1970s – TV viewing and violence • Citizen action groups and the FCC • Cable TV becomes a serious competitor • Law-and-order programs • The FBI; Mannix • All in the Family • Dallas & Dynasty
History • 1980s1990s – Big 3 continue to decline (90% 60%) • Fox, UPN, and WBN start up • Disney buys ABC • Westinghouse buys CBS • Cable in 68% of U.S. homes by 2000 • Cable a serious competitor • Premium channels • PPV Advertising revenue
History • VCRs in 90% of U.S. homes by 2000 • Cassette rentals become multibillion dollar industry • Timeshifting • Zapping • Zipping • Grazing • Direct Broadcast by Satellite (DBS)
History • Telecommunications Act of 1996 • TV program rating system • V-chip • Family-oriented comedies • Family Ties The Cosby Show • Newsmagazines • 60 Minutes Dateline NBC • Reality programs • Survivor Big Brother
Contemporary Television • 2000-2005 • Reality programs: 12 hours of prime-time schedule • Controversy over consolidation of TV station ownership • Continued development of HDTV • Satellite television continues to grow
Television in the Digital Age • Digital TV advantages include: • Picture clarity • Letterbox format • CD-quality sound • Programming, interaction, Internet • Channel subdivisibility • Only 12% of U.S. HH have digital sets • Country wide conversion from analog to digital by 2007
Defining Features of Television • Ubiquitous – now in 99% of U.S. homes • Informative • Dominant source of news and entertainment • Television on 7 hours a day • Expensive • One-hour drama: $2 million per show • 30-second prime time ad: $100,000 • Fragmented • Specialized content • Lower audience share
Organization of the Broadcast Television Industry • FCC licenses stations into “markets” • 210 TV markets in US • Seven networks: • ABC, CBS, NBC, FBC, UPN, WBN, Paxnet • PBS: the network for non-commercial stations • Independents: stations with no affiliation
Organization of the Broadcast Television Industry • Production: three major sources • Local – news, sports, community affairs • Syndicated – Oprah, Jeopardy • Network – CSI, Will and Grace • Distribution: three major methods • Broadcast networks • Cable networks • Syndication companies
Organization of the Broadcast Television Industry • Exhibition • VHF channels, 2-13 • UHF channels, 14-69 • Affiliated stations • Independent stations • TV Online – Networks and stations • Product promotion • Programming lineups • Local weather and news
Ownership in the Television Industry NBC General Electric ABC Walt Disney Company CBS Viacom Fox Murdoch’s News Corporation WB Time-Warner UPN Viacom --- is owned by --- • Telecommunications Act of 1996 and 35%
Producing Television Programs • Local station departments • Sales – selling time, scheduling ads, billing clients • Engineering – maintains and operates technical equipment • Production/programming – local productions, acquisitions, scheduling • News – local news production • Administration
Producing Television Programs • Network departments • Sales – commercials, handles ad agencies • Entertainment – new programs • Owned & Operated Department • Affiliate Relations • News – network news and public-affairs programming • Sports • Standards – content checks for legal and network compliance • Operations – sends programs to affiliates
Producing Television Programs • Getting TV Programs on the Air • Local • News is the thing • Camera crews, reporters, editors • News director and newscast producer • Anchorpeople, weather & sports forecasters • Network • Prime time (8-11 pm EST) • Pilot 5-6 more shows rest of season • 25 pilots per year per network
Economics • TV industry has always made money • Yearly ad revenue $60 billion in 2004 • Three types of ads • National – 36% of revenues • National spots – 32% • Local – 32% • As audience size , ad prices • Programming costs = 35-40% locally
Public Broadcasting • History • Public Broadcasting Act (1967) • Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) • Public Broadcasting System (PBS) • Often at odds with each other and local public stations • Funds cut by Reagan (mid 80’s) • Prime-time ratings down 25% over past 9 years • Audience is aging (mid-50s)
Public Broadcasting • Programming and Financing • Pre-1990: Station Program Cooperative • Post-1990: Centralized programming • Trouble with donor lists • Programming awards • Sesame StreetNovaCosmos • 2005: 349 stations / 169 licensees • 50%+ homes in USA watched PBS at least 1x/week • Adult Learning Service and Teacher Source
Cable Television • History • Originally designed for remote areas • Regulation and deregulation by FCC • 1965 – growth in large markets • 1972 – less restrictive • 1980 – most rules dropped • 1984 – deregulation of rates • 1992 – Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act • 1996 – Telecommunication Act
Cable Television Table 10-3 Five Largest Cable System Operators, 2003
Cable Television Figure 10-2 Cable Transmission of HBO Programming
Cable Television • Local Programming • Local origination and local broadcast stations • Superstations • WPIX (New York) WWOR (New York) • WGN (Chicago) KTLA (Los Angeles) • KWGN (Denver) WBSK (Boston) • Special cable networks – MTV, BET, C-SPAN • Pay services – HBO, Showtime, Cinemax • Pay-per-view • Local Revenue • Subscription fees • Local Advertising
Cable Television • Network Programming • Original productions – CNN, C-SPAN, ESPN • Movies – HBO, Showtime, Cinemax • Syndicated programs • Network reruns Game shows • Network Revenue • Advertising – TNN • Carriage fees – MTV, ESPN, C-SPAN • Subscription fees – HBO, Showtime
Home Video • VCRs and DVDs prevalent in US homes • DVR – Digital Video Recorder (TiVo) • VCR and TiVo used to timeshift • Industry organization • Production – Motion picture studios • Distribution – 90 distributors in USA • Consumers spent more than $20 billion on cassettes and discs in 2004 • Video cassettes becoming obsolete
Direct Broadcast Satellites • 23M homes equipped with DBS (2005) • Subscribers use cable and video rentals less • Dishes down to $200 in 2005 • Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act • Allows DBS to carry local broadcast channels • Increased rate of DBS growth • Dominant: DirecTV and EchoStar • HDTV, high-speed Internet, interactive TV
Feedback • Network ratings • Nielsen Media Research • 5,000 People Meters, changed every two years • Local market ratings • Combination of diary and electronic metering • 200 markets, 4 times per year (“sweeps”) • Electronic Media Ratings Council • Monitors, audits, and accredits all broadcast rating services
Feedback Ratings = Number of households watching a program Number of TV HH Audience share = Number of households watching a program Number of TV HUT
Feedback • Additional Feedback – Prediction • Questionnaires • In-person • Telephone • Concept testing • 1-2 paragraph idea presentation • Pilot testing • Test theater with like/dislike buttons • Cable tests
Feedback • Television Audience Characteristics • Cable is now 68% of TV households • Set is on for 7 h/day • Individuals average 3+ h/day • Viewing is heaviest: • In winter • In low-income households • In people with less education • Among women rather than men • Teenagers watch the least amount of TV
Feedback Figure 10-4 Household Viewing of Television at Various Times of the Day
The Television Industry • Employment Numbers • 110,000 in commercial TV • 100,000 in cable TV • 10,000 in non-commercial TV • 16,000 at TV networks • Entry-level • Think small • Start at the bottom • Be prepared to move
The Television Industry • Upward Mobility • Directors and Producers start: • Camera operator • Floor manager • Production assistant • On-camera reporters start: • General reporting jobs at small stations • Off-camera reporters start: • Newswriter • News researcher • Managers start in sales positions