Television and Video Studies-UNIT 25

Task 1

Name a Public Service Broadcaster

An example of a Public Service Broadcaster is British Broadcasting Company (BBC)

What is PSB?
A public service broadcaster (PSB) is a broadcasting company that’s main aim is to
provide broadcasting intended for public benefit rather than serve commercial
interests. A PSB is funded by the government and does not need separate funding
from sources like advertising to create media. The government afford this service by
charging a TV license, which costs £154.50 in the UK. PSB serve the public interest
offering an unbiased source on news and issues and are usually free from commercial
and political interference. This type of broadcasting is seen as a right to the public and
is offered free and unlimitedly to the public after paying the TV license.

What are the debates on whether PSB is relevant today?

There is an ongoing debate at the moment on whether PSBs are relevant and whether
people should be forced to pay the TV license or not. Some people believe that since
live TV is becoming less common and more people are paying for subscription sites,
that people should no longer be forced to pay for a license on top of that. People also
believe that it’s not fair that PSBs like BBC get this service from the government and
other services don’t, as they are just as important. It can be argued that the BBC
provides important cultural and educational programming that other channels could
not afford

Identify 3 Commercial Broadcasters. How do they obtain their revenue compared to

the BBC? What debates recently have there been on product placement on
commercial television?
ITV- The UK’s leading commercial broadcaster. This company is made up of the largest
commercial channel in the country, which is ITV and multiple other channels like, ITV2,
ITV3, ITV4, CITV and ITVBe. This company gains its revenue from selling advertising
slots on their channels to show between TV programs.
Sky- is a British telecommunications company owned by Comcast. Sky offer multiple
services including live TV, broadband internet services and telephone services. Sky
have multiple television subscription services like sport and movies, they also sell box
sets. Sky generates income from selling advertising slots on their live TV, selling
additional TV services, selling broadband services
and telephone services.
Fox- An American television broadcasting company. They sell television services and
also offer free services. They generate income from selling advertising slots between
their show and from selling television services.

What is a Multi-National Media Conglomerate and give 4 examples? Name 5 Well

known organizations/companies that they own?
A multi-National media conglomerate is a is a large media company that owns
numerous companies/organizations in media, such as television, radio, publishing,
motion pictures, theme parks and/or the internet.
Examples of a Multi-National Media Conglomerate:
-The Walt Disney Company, owner of Marvel Lucasfilm, ABC, Pixar and Hollywood
Records
-WarnerMedia, owner of HBO, CNN, AT&T, Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment.
-Comcast, owner of Sky, freeview, NBC, Music Choice and Now TV
-CBS, owner of Paramount Pictures, MTV, Nickelodeon, BET and Comedy Central

What is the difference between a Monopoly and a Oligopoly?

An oligopoly is a market where many big companies buy smaller companies or push
them out of the market to increase their share of the market, like Disney and
Comcast. An oligopoly market usually applies to larger international markets.
monopoly is a market with one dominant seller with very few competitions close to
their level of products, this is usually on a smaller local level like the BBC.

What is the difference between vertical and Horizontal Integration, with examples?
Vertical integration is when a media company owns a different business in the same
chain of production that is usually done by a separate company, and example of this
kind of integration is BBC. Horizontal integration is when a company increases the
amount of production in a service change by either an internal expansion or merging
with another company, Disney use this kind of integration.

What is an Independent Production Company and give 3 examples? Name 4 TV shows

they make.
An independent production company is a company not owned by the larger main firms
of the industry and produce their products on a smaller level.
Examples of Independent Production Companies and TV Shows:
Lime Pictures: Celebs Go Dating, Free Rein, Hollyoaks, Evermoor
LA Production: Broken, Moving On, Reg, Common
Rollem: The Syndicate, In the Club, Love Lies & Records, Overshadowed

Task 2

Explain what Meant by Channel Proliferation and Multi-Channel TV is:

Channel Proliferation is the rapid increase of service channels as a result of social,
economic, technological and regulatory forces. This is driving a digital transformation
which is reshaping the global services industry. Multi-Channel TV is a type of television
service provider who distributes television programming to its customers for a
subscription fee.

Identify how Multi Channel TV came about:

The multi-channel transition began in the early 1980d and lasted 20 years. Inventions
like the remote control and analog cable systems massively expanded the viewer’s
choice and control over what they watched. New broadcasting companies emerged
and added competition to the original market. Then inventions like the remote control
and the VCR allowed people to choose whatever they wanted to watch further
breaking the industry away from the original era.

How is the internet being used to broadcast television programs?

The internet introduced a new way to view television programs, in the form of
streaming. Streaming meaning watching shows in real time, instead of downloading a
file it is a continuous stream of data. Streaming is used to broadcast films and TV
shows whenever the viewer wants to watch them. Many new services where created
to profit off the new ability to stream movies while many older well-established
companies saw the opportunity as well and creates their own ways to stream. Some of
the most well-known TV streaming services are those like Netflix, YouTube and the
BBC iPlayer.

What is the Difference between satellite, digital and cable?

Both Satellite and Cable television allows you to use specific channels with that signal,
the difference is that satellite uses a wireless signal to get to your house while cable
comes through a weird connection. Digital Channels use the internet to get their
content to viewers, they are accessed via apps and search engines and use streaming
to get their data to users.

Task 3

What do the terms regulation and de-regulation mean?

Regulation- Media regulations are rules enforced by the jurisdiction of the law,
guidelines for the media may differ around the world. These laws control what content
is allowed to be released depending on the country and may have the people or the
governments interest In mind.
De-Regulation- Media De-regulation is the removal of how governments control what
media is allowed by removing the rules and guidelines put in place.

What does the term desensitization mean?

Desensitization is the non-emotional reaction to things like violence in movies. People
my once have had an emotional response to violence in TV but have now been
exposed to much more TV violence that they are no longer bothered by it.

How has the Term watershed been Blurred?

The term watershed has been blurred in recent times as shows that would have
originally been played after the watershed are now being played during the day when
children were active on TV. Inappropriate comedy shows or violent shows are now
shown quite often before the original time they were allowed to be shown making
people wonder if the watershed even exists anymore.

What are the Main Roles of Ofcom and briefly the ASA?
The office of Communications (Ofcom) the government approved regulatory authority
for broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the UK. Ofcoms duty is
to represent the interests of the public and consumers by protect the public from
offensive or harmful material that may be broadcasted by companies in the UK and by
promoting competition. Their main roles consist of licensing, research, codes and
policies, complaints, competition and protecting the radio spectrum from abuse. The
Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) is a self-regulatory organization of advertising I
the UK, it is independent of government and is funded from anonymous levy raised
from advertisers. They cannot overrule the law, but their code is similar in many ways.
Its main goal is to ensure that all advertisements in TV, radio, newspapers or
billboards is both honest and decent.