• Transition Sums Up Television Today• Television has moved from analog to digital, high-definition• There are more television networks and cable networks today than 10 years ago• Television competes with home video, video games, and the Internet for viewers• Types of Television Stations• Types of Television Stations• Television Now• 1,700+ TV full-power stations operating– 78% Commercial• Program to attract the largest possible audience• Sell airtime to advertisers based on how large the viewing audience is– 22% Noncommercial• Commercial free funded by donations from “Viewer’s like you”, businesses, and the government• Most affiliated with PBS, college, or educational institutions• Total Number of TV Households• Reach 98.2%• Total Number of TV Households• Reach 98.2%• 116 Million 2011 TV Homes • Network Television The Big 4• Big Three - started originally as radio networks– NBC - National Broadcasting Company– CBS - Columbia Broadcasting System– ABC - American Broadcasting Company• Fox Broadcasting Company - started in 1986 by Rupert Murdoch makes it the Big Four• Television Networks: The New Networks• UPN - United Paramount Network – Started 1995– Star Trek and WWE Smackdown• WB - Warner Brothers – Started 1995– Buffy, 7th Heaven and Smallville• Pax TV– Started 1998– Programming based on family values• Broadcast TV business consists of:– Network TV• ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX • 45% of total TV viewership on ABC, CBS, NBC, & FOX• Other networks include: CW, Univision, NBC Telemundo, Multimedios, ION (formerly PAX)• Develops programs and distributes to local TV station affiliates • MNT has converted to a syndication service– Local TV• Example: WFAA/ABC• Affiliated to a network, schedules programs around network schedule• Local television stations may be classified as:– Network-affiliated stations– Owned and operated (O&O) most profitable• Local TV stations who are owned by a major network– Independent stations• DFW TV Market• DFW TV Market• Local Television Stations Rated by Profitability• Local Television Stations Rated by Profitability (Post DTV Transition)• Lower-Power Television• This service was created originally to promote minority ownership in 1982.• Stations are limited to – 3000 watts VHF – 150 kilowatts on UHF• About 2,300 LPTV are in operation, mainly in rural areas– Alaska has the most LPTV stations• Special Interest and minority programming are likely • Translator Stations • Rebroadcasts the programs of a full-power TV broadcast station.• Typically serve communities that cannot receive the signals of free over-the-air TV stations – too far away from a full-power TV station– geography (such as uneven terrain or mountains).• Class A TV stations • LPTV stations with upgraded interference protection rights and added requirements– Must air at least three hours of locally-produced programming each week – Must comply with most of the non-technical regulations applicable to full-power stations. • Approximately 550 licensed Class A TV stations • ID Them by Their ID• Class A stations – call sign includes the suffix “-CA” for Class A • LPTV stations – LPTV call signs may consist of four letters followed by the suffix “-LP” (for low power) – Or, alternatively, five characters beginning with the letters K or W followed by two numbers (their operating channel) and two additional letters. • DTV Transition for LPT, Class A, & Translator• The June 12, 2009 deadline for ending analog broadcasts did not apply to low-power, Class A, and TV translator stations.• FCC will require these stations to convert to digital broadcasting sometime in the future. • TV Station Ownership• Television owners tend to be large corporations• Station ownership was limited before the Telecommunications Act of 1996• Single Market Multiple Station Ownership • Evolution:– Pre-1970• AM-FM-TV Combos Permitted– Effective 1970 • No Combos Including TV• National Multiple Station Limits for BroadcastStations• Pre-1985 – 7 TV• Effective 1985 – 12 TV (reaching no more than 25% of viewersnationwide.) • Effective 1996 – No limit of the number of TV stations as long as:• the total number of U.S. TV homes reached by thosestations does not exceed 35%; now 39% as of 2003.• • TV Duopolies• Pre-1999 – only one TV station to a market• 1999 – 2 to a market with provisions• There must be at least eight stations in the market.• Only one of the stations may be among the top four rated stations in the market• Top 10 Broadcast TV Companies• Public Television• PBS programs to more than 350 stations in the U.S., and U.S. territories and protectorates• Watched by nearly 90 million homes weekly– PBS has a loyal following– Typically PBS ratings hover around 2% of homes in the US– Viewers have high incomes and are well educated• PBS garners funding from local television stations, from underwriting, and through federal grants• PBS has been an early advocate of digital television• Origins of Non-Commercial Television:• 1948-52 – Joint Committee on Educational Television• Reserved 242 TV Channels Initially• Sixth Report & Order• Conflicting Definitions for ETV• Wide-ranging cultural and information service• Supplement to formal public school and adult education• Focus on localism and service for limited, specialized audiences• Programming for high culture and intellectual stimulation• Programming for ethnic minorities, children, & poor• Follow the commercial model– Build audience– Strong Network Structure • 1967 Carnegie Commission Study• Recommended a corporation for public (not educational) television be established by Congress• Led to legislation in the form of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967• Public Broadcasting Act of 1967• Created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)– Awards grants for high-quality programs from diverse sources– Helped to build network interconnection– Promoted the development of more public stations– Conducted research and trainingFCC Limits On Underwriter Announcements– Name of the business.– Address or location of the business.– Telephone number of the business, if it is an integral part of the operation.– Brand and trade names or service listings which do not include qualitative or comparative language.–