MCOM72 Week 7 Flashcards
Four stages of TV evolution in the US
- Birth of commercial broadcasting
- Network era
- Post-network era or cable tv
- Digital era
Paul Nipkow’s rudimentary TV camera (1880s)
connected electric sensors to a mechanical spinning disk with perforated holes
Cathode ray tube (1890s)
- Projected electronic signals onto a glass screen inside a vacuum tube
- TV station (transmission point), TV set (reception point)
In 2009, digital standard adopted
- High-definition broadcast images and sound quality
- Requires less spectrum space
Broadcast networks own and operate a limited number
of broadcast stations (O&Os, for owned and operated)
Broadcast networks deliver
programming lineups to affiliate
stations
Kinescope:
a film camera (16 mm) placed in
front of a TV monitor to capture a program as it aired
Between 1958 and the 1980s, TV industry
dominated by Big Three broadcast networks
NBC, CBS, and ABC
Early television programs followed single-
sponsorship model
Programs were developed, produced,
and supported by a single sponsor;
networks lacked creative control
In magazine-sponsorship model
networks manage program development and sell spots to various sponsors
Provide affiliates with programming to cover prime time
the critical evening hours when
viewing is highest
Anthology dramas:
artistically significant plays written for television, featuring different characters and settings each week
episodic series
a format in which the main characters remain the same from week to week
Chapter shows:
all story lines wrap up each week
Serial programs:
story lines continue across episodes
Cloning:
involves creating a new series by copying key features of an innovative and popular program
Spin-off:
when a character from a hit series becomes the lead in a new one
Franchise:
when producers leverage the name recognition of a popular show to
brand other series
Must-carry rules:
required cable operators to include all local
TV broadcasts on their systems
Access channels:
non broadcast channels dedicated to
local education, government, and the public
Media regulation
with policy such as the Fairness
Doctrine (1949) or the ‘Prime Time Access Rule’ (1970)
Electronic publishing:
cable operators able to choose which
channels to carry
CATV: community antenna television
- First cable system
- Originated where mountains or tall buildings blocked TV signals
- Two big advantages: eliminated over-the-air interference and
increased channel capacity
Cable franchise:
a mini-monopoly awarded by a city or
town, usually for a 15-year period
Basic cable channels:
channels included in less expensive
cable packages
Premium channels:
channels included in more expensive
cable packages
direct broadcast satellite (DBS)
a system that transmits signals directly to a satellite dish at customers’ homes
VCRs enable viewers to time-shift
record programs to watch at their convenience
least objectionable programming:
a strategy aimed at attracting
as big an audience as possible by not turning off any viewers
narrowcasting:
providing
specialized programming for diverse and fragmented groups
The Fox News Case
At this day it is the most successful television station in the
United States, in profits (audience) and political influence
Robert
Murdoch (News Corporation) in 1985-1986
Fox, created as a more generalist broadcaster
Fox adopted a populist rhetoric
but supporting rightwing
values (libertarian in economics, conservative in values,
racist, etc.)
The HBO case
- It changed our conception of television as that ‘vast
wasteland’ - Market for quality television via subscriptions
(other experiences in France and Spain also early
1990s) - It created extremely good products but at the cost
of class and ethnic barriers - Point of departure for streaming television
(especially Netflix) - Impact on Hollywood business, synergies or clashes
- New type of advertising strategies (types of
subscription, underlying ads or product placement,
etc.)
Telecommunications Act of 1996
- Massive overhaul of communications law that affected
almost every aspect of U.S. television industry - Government established a plan to switch to new digital
standard - Removed barriers between phone companies, long-
distance phone carriers, and cable companies - Allowed phone and cable companies to provide
Internet access - To scholars, a major piece of neoliberal deregulation of
the American media system (already started with
Reagan) and opening media business to any company
By the 2000s, thousands of independent cable
systems snapped up by
multiple-systems
operators like Comcast and Charter
Communications, which own many cable systems
around the country
Oligopolistic media market
low pluralism, low
quality, especially for those without money for
subscriptions or knowledge to get access to other
markets, and ideas
Linear TV:
broadcast TV’s and cable’s traditional approach to content delivery, in
which a show airs at a specific time
Place shifting:
the practice of accessing stored media from different locations
Content delivery services:
companies whose business it is to gather and
distribute TV content
Ad-supported TV uses measurements to negotiate prices
- An episode’s Nielsen rating indicates what percentage of TV
households watched that episode - An episode’s share indicates what percentage of TV households
who had their TV set turned on at that time were watching that
episode
TV has reflected and contributed to America’s cultural
shift from
mass nation to niche nation
The loss of shared experiences and consensus narratives
likely
contributes to political polarization
Variety of content offered in the digital era is increasingly available
only to those who can afford it
undermining the principle of free
and universal access to television
Market dominance since 1980s
pushed diversity but with
limitations
