Television (summary)

Television industries in the 2010s

1. TV in Britain is provided by a wide range of industries.
2. Publicly -owned PSB television providers (BBC, C4)
3. Commerically-owned PSB television producers (ITV, C5)
4. Commercially- not owned- PSB television providers (Sky, Sony, Viacom, Disney)
5. Foreign state- owned providers (Russia Today, Al Jazeera)
6. Commercial streaming- only services (Amazon, Netflix

• A lot of TV is provided by international media conglomerates (industries that owns other companies)
• 21st century fox is a media conglomerate which owns wholly or part:

1. 20th century fox film studio
2. Fox News
3. 20th century fox television
4. Sky UK/ ireland / deutschland / italia /amstrad
5. fox digital entertainment
6. fox music
7. Endomol shine

• BBC is a public cooperation which is reviewed every 11 years
• The BBCs funding- by the compulsory licence fee- is seen by many to be old fashioned, especially in an age where many people access television online
• Right wing politics wish to see more popular areas of the BBC privatised- this means that only people who want to watch pay.
• They also contain of liberal bias in the content of the BBC.

• Ofcom took over responsibility for regulating the BBC, brining it in line with other TV and radio channels.
• Ofcom define PSB broadcasters and ensure that all PSB broadcaster channels, ITV, C4, S4C and C5 follow these purposes and characteristics.

PSB purposes:

1. Informing our understanding of the world
2. stimulating knowledge and learning
3. Reflecting the UKs cultural identity
4. Representing diversity and alternative viewpoints
5. PSB characteristics
6. High quality
7. Original
8. Innovative
9. Challenging
10. Widely available 
11. Distinctive

• Ofcom also define watershed, meaning programmes have to be very carful about their content, which may reduce the realism of programmes
• The BBC has to provide distinctive PSB content to justify charging the licence fee
• This provides a choice between mass entertainment and quality PSB programming

• BBC1 is a mass audience channel which ‘unites and inspires the nation with high quality programmes across a range of genres’
• BBC2 is a niche channel that offers ‘programmes of depth and substance
• BBC4 is a niche channel ‘aims to be British televisions most intellectually and culturally enriching channel’
• CBBC is a niche channel from age 6-12
• CBeeBies as a niche channel for those under 6
• BBC three is an online only channel aimed at 16-30 something year old
• BBC programmes are made by independent television production companies 
• The BBC encourages competition for producing programmes partly in response to political criticism of its existence as a state monopoly