101 ch11

Broadcast Television

Chapter 11

History of TV

History of TV

•A way to scan images, encode an image into tiny electrical signals, able to be received and reassembled

•Philo Farnsworth: Age 16, conceptualized the “image dissector,” patented in 1930, the first television

•Vladimir Zworykin: by 1928 developed a working camera tube -- iconoscope

•First demo of working TV: 1939 World’s Fair (RCA, with Zworykin’s help and Farnsworth’s patent made it happen)

History of TV

•Initial public response was weak, sets were expensive, and not many programs to watch

•Early TV actors had to wear green makeup to look normal for TV and swallow salt tablets to prevent sweating under the hot camera lights

•WW2 interrupted TVs development

History of TV

•Post War: technology utilized during WW2 spurred TV development, regarding reception and working conditions for the performers

•New TV cameras required less light, TV screens were bigger, more programs, the beginnings of networks

History of TV

•1945: 8 TV stations, 8,000 homes with TV in the US

•1955: 100 stations, 35 million households with TV

TV in the 1950s

•Early TV industry was modeled after radio; local stations served their communities, and might be affiliated with networks

•4 TV networks during this period: NBC, CBS, ABC and DuMont

•Golden Age of Television

•Popular shows: I Love Lucy, The Today Show, 21, Gunsmoke

TV Freeze

•TV growth was phenomenal; manufacturers could barely keep up with demand, many TV stations popping up all over the country

•FCC declared a freeze on new applications in 1950-1952

•1952: Sixth Report and Order

1960’s•By the end of the decade, 95% of American

households had a TV

• TV journalism changed: NBC and CBS expanded nightly news from 15 minutes to 30

•Covered the Kennedy Assassination, civil rights movement, first moonwalk

• Public Broadcasting Act of 1967: established the Public Broadcasting System (PBS)

• Popular programs: The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, Bewitched, My Favorite Martian, My Mother the Car

1970s• Public concern over the impact of tv watching was

growing

• Surgeon General formed a panel to investigate the harm TV watching could cause – that TV violence was related to aggressive adolescent behavior

• Cable industry growing, networks feeling competition

• Program trends: law-and-order programs; The FBI, Charlie’s Angels and Mannix.

• Towards the end of the decade, programming trended toward adult situation comedies (the sitcom): All In The Family, M*A*S*H, Dallas, Dynasty

1980s-2000s

•UPN, WB: 1990s – in 2006, merge to CW

•Major Mergers: Walt Disney buys ABC, Westinghouse buys CBS

•By 2000, 68% of people use cable

•80’s: The Cosby Show, Family Ties

•90’s: prime-time newsmagazines, 20/20, 60 Minutes

•2000’s: Reality TV, Survivor, Jersey Shore, The Bachelor

Technology•VCR: 1982, was adopted faster than

any other appliance since TV.

•Led to the movie-rental industry

•Encouraged time shifting: playing back programs at times other than when they aired

•TVs with remotes: lead to grazing: viewers surfing through channels during commercials

Broadcasting in the 21st Century

•HDTV: 60 Million homes by 2009, higher quality picture and sound. Requires a special TV and special signal

•DTV: Digital TV, mandated in 2009. Digital signals free up space on the broadcast spectrum; have the ability to be split for subchannels.

•3D TV: In 2010, TV set manufacturers shipped 4 million 3- D capable sets to vendors. So far has failed to catch on.

•Broadcasters & the Web: Networks offer high definition episodes for streaming, clips, social media integration. News websites are no longer just adjuncts to the broadcast; many offer exclusive web only content.

Broadcasting in the 21st Century

•Broadcasters & Broadband: Broadband allows for streaming of high quality content. Disney- ABC operates ESPN 360, an online sports channel available through certain Internet service providers that streams live coverage of sporting events.

Broadband series have yet to generate a profit for broadcasters, and the networks do not invest a lot of money in their development.

They do represent a place where the networks can experiment with new programming forms and new creative personnel without risking a lot of money

Broadcasting in the 21st Century

• Mobile TV Apps

• User-generated content: with the exception of the occasional cell phone video of a news event, network broadcasters use little user- generated content.

Local stations are more likely to employ user- generated material. One study found that 50 percent of stations accepted content from the audience, most of it consisting of photos and video of weather-related events.

• Social Media: used for promotion of shows, interaction with fans, companion for live events (Super Bowl)

Defining features of broadcast TV

•TV is a universal medium

•99% of homes in the US have at least one working TV

•Most homes have more than one

•Dominant medium for news and entertainment

•TV set is on about average 8 hours a day

Organization of the Broadcast TV

industry•Commercial TV: local stations whose income is derived from selling time on their facilities to advertisers

•Noncommercial TV: stations whose income is derived from sources other than the sale of ad time

•Markets: service areas for broadcast

•Network & Affiliate relationship

Organization of the Broadcast TV

industryThree segments of the industry:

1.Production

2.Distribution

3.Exhibition

ProductionProgramming comes from three basic sources:

1.Local production: produced in the station’s own studio or with the use of the station’s equipment (ex. News)

2.Syndicated programming: programs produced exclusively for syndication and off-net series programs (ex. Wheel of Fortune, Oprah, Friends reruns)

3.Network programs: 65-70% of an affiliate’s programming is from the network. (ex. ABC – Grey’s Anatomy, 20/20)

DistributionThree basic elements of distribution:

1.Networks: distribute programs via satellite, then the affiliate sends along to viewers.

Network/affiliate contracts are complicated, and vary from network to affiliate, but currently networks ask for “reverse compensation,” where the affiliate pays a fee to carry net programs.

2.Syndication companies: lease taped or filmed programs to local television stations in each local market, usually distributes content from outside sources. Usually stations buy packages of shows, contracts determine how many times they can be aired and when.

3.Cable/satellite networks: How viewers might receive TV broadcasts

Major Networks•CBS

•NBC

•ABC

•FOX

•CW

•My Network TV

Stations that are not affiliated with networks are called independents

Ownership in the TV industry

All major networks are under the control of large conglomerates:

NBC Universal is owned by Comcast

ABC is owned by Walt Disney

Fox is owned by News Corporation (Rupert Murdoch). Also controls My Network TV

CBS is owned by CBS Corporation (a spinoff of Viacom). Also controls CW

Producing TV programs

Departments & Staff (Local Affiliate level):

Station Manager oversees the following:

1.Sales: sells ad time

2.Engineering: maintains equipment

3.Production/Programming: puts together local produced programming, responsible for scheduling of the program day

4.News: in charge of the news programs

5.Administration: clerical, accounting, etc.

Producing TV programs

At the network level:

1.Sales: sells network commercials, works with ad agencies

2.Entertainment: works with producers to develop new programs

3.O&O stations: stations owned by the network itself

4.Affiliate relations: supervises contracts with all affiliate stations

5. News: responsible for all network news programming

6. Sports: responsible for all sports programming

7. Standards: checks network programs to make sure they do not violate the law or the network’s own guidelines for appropriate content

8. Operations: handles the technical aspect of distribution of programs to affiliates

The Economics of Broadcast TV

Commercial time: A station, network or cable system makes available a specified number of minutes per hour that can be sold (avails)

Three types of advertisers on TV:

1.National advertisers

2.National spot advertisers

3.Local advertisers

•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

The Economics of Broadcast TV

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

Where Did the Money Go?

•Network programming is expensive

•30 min sitcom: $1.5 million per episode

•60 min show: about $3 million per episode

•Quiz and reality shows are a lot cheaper

•Programming costs account for about 35-40% of a local station’s expenses

PUBLIC BROADCASTING

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

A Brief 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

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 168 community organizations,

universities, states/cities

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

• PBS moving slowly into digital age

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

FEEDBACK FOR BROADCAST TELEVISION

•The television industry seeks feedback in a variety of ways

Measuring TV Viewing

• Demographic data and viewing behavior

• Nielsen Media Research Network ratings:

• Nielsen Television Index

• People Meter, national sample = 12,000

• 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

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

• Other criticisms may deserve closer attention

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