MS180 Television Midterm 2

Free speech

A concept that protects against government censorship, it’s the public’s job to decide what is a good idea in TV. Legislatively, courts keep expand this concept to encompass different media

rise of Progressive reformers

Formerly involved with prohibition and suffrage, they are distrustful of urban immigrant masses and see television as a tool to “educate” - with regulation

Early radio stakeholders

Businesses to communicate shipping, military, radio enthusiasts, and nonprofit orgs

Struggle over the airwaves

Progressives were concerned about unregulated use - there would be mass signal interference or unregulated speech. The Radio Act of 1912 prioritized institutions, led to more fighting. The Radio act of 1927 prioritized public interest, but who knows what that means?

Radio Act of 1912

• Created licensing system, and hence prioritized institutions over amateurs

• BUT: conflict over frequencies continued

• 500 stations were licensed in 1923, and multiple stations on one frequency

Radio Act of 1927

• PICAN - public interest, convenience, and necessity

• But: public interest has never been defined

• FREE SPEECH: public right to listen to responsible parties outweighs the right to use

• Managed by the federal radio commission

Formulation of RCA

The government mandates its creation to keep radio out of foreign hands, designed to be US owned and operated, companies share patents in exchange for controlling a specific technology.

birth of commercial broadcasting

Emphasis on hardware instead of content, the goal was to entice people to buy receivers through free content. In 1920, the first commercial station, KDKA Pittsburgh is created.

GA (Golden Age) program production

Programming produced by ad agencies on behalf of brand sponsors. The network sells time slots.

GA (Golden Age) program production significance

Result 1 = Spreads out the cost of production, increases budgets and schedule

Result 2 = standardized audiences, trained to listen to familiar programming

Communications Act of 1934

Federal communications commission is created, solidifies precedents that favor the interests of major broadcasters, emboldens a commercially based infrastructure

regulatory functions of the FCC

Current FCC chair has made threatening gestures towards news about supposed manipulation

Established technical specifications

Policing broadcast content

Creating rules for ownership and inter-industry relations

basis of broadcast content regulation

• Public = broadcasters must serve public as trustees in exchange for use

  • A market centered approach that would give audiences what they want…

• Scarce = licensees have to represent unheard voices

• Intrusive = must protect audiences from signals invading homes

• For this reason: the government’s job to protect the audience trumps individual freedoms 

• Like all US media, does not allow obscenity (offensive to accepted standards of decency) 

• Prohibits indecency and profanity based on community standards 

• Fines are given to individual broadcasters, not the networks

FCC broadcast regulation

• Obscenity and Profanity: Broadcasters are legally prohibited from airing obscene content at any time. Indecent or profane language is restricted to the "safe harbor" hours (10:00 PM to 6:00 AM), when children are less likely to be tuning in.

• Children's Programming: The Children's Television Act requires TV stations to air a minimum amount of educational programming and strictly limits the number of commercial minutes during children's shows.

• Political Broadcasting: Stations must provide equal opportunities and lowest unit charges to legally qualified political candidates under the Equal Time Rule.

• Station Licenses: Broadcast licenses are granted for 8-year terms and must be renewed by demonstrating compliance with public interest standards.

• Media Concentration: Rules limit the number of commercial radio and television stations a single entity can own in a local market, as well as the total national audience reach of a single TV station group (currently capped at a 39% national audience reach).

Minow’s trust in gov’t regulation 

Believed government regulation should enforce the public interest because broadcasters use public airwaves as trustees for the American people, famously criticizing commercial television programming as a "vast wasteland".

neoliberal skepticism of gov’t regulation

• Trust the private sector and free trade // distrust government regulation

• Problems with public resource rationale = phones/WiFi use public resources for distribution too

Golden Age Production/Distribution/Exhibition Model

• Production = ad agencies (produce shows & charge client or sponsor)

• Distribution = networks (time brokers that sell access to ad agency)

• Exhibition = O&Os & affiliates (broadcast content locally)

  • Also: they produce some local shows (esp. news)

FCC licensing freeze (1948-1952)

• Signal Interference: The FCC had placed too many television stations too close to each other, causing their broadcast signals to overlap and disrupt one another.

• Channel Shortage: The existing Very High Frequency (VHF) dial—channels 2 through 13—was far too small to support nationwide television growth.

• New Technologies: Regulators needed time to debate competing color television standards and map out new Ultra High Frequency (UHF) channels.

Golden Age TV content

Production personnel = NYC’s creative communities 

• Advertising 

• Vaudeville comedians/dancers

• Theater and literature

Live format

• Culture privilege and aesthetic of things being “live” 

• Used to fulfill public resource regulation

• Technological need for liveness (used specific tech)

• Liveness as industrial rational used to control affiliates

quiz show scandals

The revelations that many quiz shows were being rigged by producers and sponsors

Context - environment of self regulations controlled by show sponsors/ brands

Networks blame ad agencies, which reorganizes network relationships

CNS P/D/E Model

Nets control: production (what gets made)

• Makes some content (owned)

• Buys content from independent producers

Distribution: access to national market

Exhibition (O&Os and affiliates broadcasting in local market) 

Result: Big three oligopoly competing for same audience w same content types

syndication

Alternative form of national distribution

• Direct sales to local stations, sold market-by-market to highest bidders

• Syndication works outside of network affiliation

• Often “stripped” every weekday/time

Two types:

1) first-run = new shows

2) off-network = “reruns” of net shows

flow

Fundamental to understanding what makes TV “TV”

• Industrial practice: scheduling and promotion

• Textual practice: four act (sitcom) & six act (drama) structure w/ cliffhanger “curtains” before breaks

CNS content

Production personnel = telefilm (made for TV movies)

• Result from increased demand from networks for shows

• Move from NYC to LA

• Reliance on studio assets and genres HW knew best (like Western)

PTAR & Fin-Syn

The Prime Time Access Rule (PTAR) and the Financial Interest and Syndication Rules (Fin-Syn) were landmark 1970 regulations introduced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to curb the near-total market dominance of the "Big Three" broadcast networks

It prohibited ABC, CBS, and NBC from acquiring financial or syndication rights (rerun profits) in entertainment programs produced by outside studios, and banned them from operating domestic syndication arms

development of PBS

started in 1967: Public Broadcasting Act

• Part of Johnson’s “Great Society” global showcase for US arts & news

• Founded Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to allocate funds

• Weak national network (local stations get the power)

• Set up Public Broadcasting System (PBS) to distribute programming

• No standardized schedule

• Member stations “produce” programming

PBS’s mandate

How public is public broadcasting?

Economic level = not privately owned, not for profit

Content level = serve audiences not served elsewhere, diverse, educational, cultural… political and controversial content is okay since not covered by the networks

Funding uncertain, politically manipulated

PBS’s funding

• More reliance on non-government $$$ creates a need to make content through private donors:

  • Elite culture for elite viewer donors

  • Corporate friendly content for corporate donors

  • Viewers like you

• Result: “safely splendid” - distinct cultural, quality, alternative source to other mainstream media

• AND: PBS remaking itself to compete for corporate attention w/ increased targeting and visibility

do we still need PBS?

• The Government says no…

• Con:

  • No need for government sponsored television

  • Rise of cable, streaming, internet

  • PBS looks more like commercial TV, and then why bother? 

• Pro: 

  • Still serves underserved audiences

  • Local programming

  • Free

Fox’s Infrastructure

• Problem: Fin-Syn means Fox can’t distribute its productions

• But: The FCC grants Fox an exemption to encourage competition

• Result: competitive advantage

  • Outlet for shows and movies

  • Reduced transaction costs

• Problem: most Fox affiliates are weaker UHF (frequency) stations 

• No difference between UHF and VHF w/ cable

• Result: Historical UHF disadvantage doesn’t matter

UHF and VHF

the two main frequency bands used for over-the-air (OTA) television broadcasting

“Fox formula”

Plan for gaining affiliates, advertisers, and viewers

1) roll-out schedule = program a few days a week and increase over time

Reduces risk and costs for Fox & Affiliates

2) “halo effect” = selling established brand identity

Fox does not pay for clearance

Instead: free programming and affiliation

3) targeting “new” underserved audiences

African-American, blue-collar, teens/young adult oriented programs

GOAL: build a larger audience by targeting specific demographics

And then: get these segments to cross over

“Edge” (Curtin)

• Goal: stand out by pushing the boundaries of taste

• Shift away from largest possible audience through “least objectionable programming”

• Content visibility is central amid increased competition

• Okay to turn away from universal values if it attracts target demographics

“The Big Four”

• Fox builds its audience and moves to target broader demos in mid-1990s

  • Gets the NFL rights

  • “Trades up” for demographics more desirable for ads

  • Shows oriented to underserved audiences begin to disappear

  • And: FCC repeals Fin-Syn in 1995 so mergers/buyouts for control of production and distribution

Telecommunications Act ’96

• Ownership deregulation

  • Goal: let any communications compete in any market

    • Loosened station ownership cap to 35% national audience

    • Eliminated cross-ownership restrictions (broadcast, cable, broadband)

  • Result: media mergers

• Digital television regulation

• Digital compression allows HD to fit into old signal bandwidth

ATSC

• FCC forms advanced TV systems committee (ATSC)

• Focus = new HD standard through digital compression

• Why? Allows HD to fit on old signal bandwidth

• All digital but no single picture format

• NTSC TV ceases operation after 68 years on 6/09

community antenna TV (CATV)

a system that delivers broadcast television programming to subscribers using wired networks rather than over-the-air signals

Cable TV Act of 1984

• Further deregulated cable at federal, state, and local levels

  • Goal: stimulate competition for networks

  • Result: rapid expansion of CHS, programming, subs

  • And: provides independent productions additional outlets

  • Also: off network syndication and film libraries 

types of cable stations

• Basic channels (minimum for “must carry” service providers)

  • All local broadcast channels

  • Home shopping networks

• Expanded cable channels

  • MTV, Bravo, ESPN, etc

  • $$$ = carriage fees (66% revenue) + ads (33% revenue)

• Premium cable (HBO, Showtime, etc)

  • Buy just that particular channel