Lecture 14Last Lecture Notes OutlineI. Broadcast TelevisionII. RatingsIII. Cable TelevisionCurrent Lecture Notes OutlineI. A regulatory seesaw, 1984-96A. 1984B. 1992C. 1996II. Four cable examples (only spoke about A and B)A. MTVB. Discovery channelC. Showtime (premium outlet)D. “Webisodes” as a new form of TVCable Television Past to PresentI. A regulatory seesaw, 1984-96A. 1984: deregulated “to promote competition”- This instead produced “vertical integration” by “MSOs” (multiplesystems operators): single operators bought multiple outlets- Higher cost for subscribers- There was a lot of content syndicated from network TV, thereforeno increase in program diversity (as intended)-(A minimum of 89 episodes necessary in order to be allowed tosyndicate the program)B. 1992: Re-regulation-Some rate control-Broadcast signals had to be included in “basic” service/package-Some new competition in franchise areas-Rate breaks for elderly subscribers-But not a lot of industry concessions hereC. 1996: Once again de-regulated as a part of the TelecommunicationsActo Deregulated the cable industry, this handed the digitalspectrum over to commercial operators for virtually nocosto Lifted restrictions on multiple format ownership in onemarket (one firm could own many different cable outlets inthe same market)-Cables added value in the TV industry? Comm 121 1st Edition1-“Narrowcasting” (vs. broadcasting)o Narrowcasting rather than reaching a broad audience,reaches a very specific target audienceo Targeting specific audiences, tailoring content to theirneeds, e.g. ESPN for sports fanso Different sales and ratings model than broadcast TV;rating still matter but within niche audiences.II. Four cable examplesA. MTV- Launched in 1981- A business experiment trying to targeted young white men- They did this because their dislike of advertising made them hardto reach- The form and logic of music videos:o 4 minute ads for the recording artist or albumo High production values (like other ads) they were not smallindependently produced ads, they were very professional andrather high endo Costs met through record label advertising departments (says alot)- Quote 1 – John Kalodner of Geffen Records: Rock video is not theart form; it markets the art form- Quite 2 – Simon Fields, video produce: we have to remember thatwe are making a sales tool. These are little commercials. It is ourjob to make an artist look good.- MTV became a critical distribution service, bringing music to theattention of the public and later bring money in for the producers,artists, etc.- Got videos for free from record companies- Got revenues from cable operators (who pay to carry the channelthen sell it to their subscribers as part of a package)- Also got revenue from ad spots on MTV- All revenue, no production costs; what a deal!- 1981-2000s: MTV the crucial way to market rock groups to youngpeople, especially young menB. Discovery Channel- Launched in 1985, with 12 hours/day- Revived wildlife programming, which was “fringe” content in the 1970s and 80s- Started small – needed “economical” content Comm 121 1st Edition2- Wildlife programming is cheap because they have small crews, no actors to pay usually, and are filming things that already exist opposed to creating scripts, sets,etc.- Long shelf-life of programs: content not “out of date”- Re-use old footage in new programs- Achieving special effects is as simple as shaking the camera.- Element of unpredictability of the wildlife was attractive to audiences- Recycling old material in early programming period, e.g. from National Geographic or PBS- Discovery promotes itself early on as educationalo But this became a liability, and still is a liability for TV channels/shows that deem themselves as “educational”o For this reason they changed from “educational” to “non-fiction entertainment”- Business strategy: enters into partnership with carriage providers (e.g. Westinghouse Satellite buys 6% share) to fund the launchC. Showtime (premium outlet)D. Plus “webisodes” as new form TV Comm 121 1st