UNIT 25: UNDERSTANDING THE STRUCTURE OF THE TELEVISION &

VIDEO INDUSTRY IN THE UK

How is the Internet now being used to broadcast television programmes?

The internet has now become a widely used way to view television programmes with independent
streaming services such as Netflix and amazon Prime popping up all over, this is due to the fact that
people find it easier to view these programmes on their own time opposed to when its scheduled,
while this is only on reason there are many more reasons and they differ for each person. These
streaming websites gain there show through licenses, but besides streaming sights more and more
television channels are making the switch to be online for example BBC had created iplayer, on top
of this channel 4 and channel 5 both created online services for people to view their content.

What is the difference between satellite, digital and cable?

Satellite - Broadcasted using satellite signals

Digital - Broadcasted using a digital signal via digital device

Cable - Broadcasted through radio frequencies

Assignment 1 - Task 3 - Regulation

What does the terms ‘regulation’ and ‘de-regulation’ mean?

Regulation - Regulation is the guides put in place and in terms of media these guides are put in place
by the government.

De-Regulation - De-Regulation is when the rules are removed and control is given back to the
creators.

What does ‘desensitisation’ mean?

Desensitisation is the idea that the audience is desensitised to the things they are shown on TV, or in
other words destination decreases the person reactions to things such as violence or horror. People
have accused this of having a detrimental effect on people’s real life experiences.

How has the concept of the Watershed become blurred?

Watershed is the point of time when more graphic content can be shown on television and many
believe that this idea does not work as firstly in the past children would have been exposed to this
type of content and others believe that if the children truly wanted to watch these types of videos
they can easily without their guardians permission and that its better that the guardian is there to
guide them when watching, due to this and the changing standards on television the concept of
watershed has become blurred.

What are the main roles of Ofcom and briefly the ASA?

Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for broadcasting and
television and due to this they have a wide range of roles because the main areas in which ofCom
presides over include licensing, research, codes and polices complaints and competition. Including
these their main roles include: Ensuring

The UK has a wide range of electronic communications services.

A wide range of high-quality television and radio programmes are provided.

Television and radio services are provided by a range of different organisations.

People are protected from harmful material.

People are protected from being treated unfairly.

ASA or Advertising Standard Authority is the regulator of advertising in the UK.

UNIT 25: UNDERSTANDING THE STRUCTURE OF THE TELEVISION & VIDEO INDUSTRY IN
THE UK

ORGANISATION & INCOME GENERATION

Name a Public Service Broadcaster

 Channel 4

What is a PSB?

PSB OR PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING CAN INCLUDE RADIO, TV AND OTHER DIGTAL/MEDIA
OUTLETS SUCH AS A INTERNET SHOW EXAMPLE. BBC3. PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING MAIN
PURPOSE IS TO SERVE THE PUBLIC RATHER THAN COMMERCIAL INTERESTS, THIS IS BECAUSE THEY
ARE PUBLICLY FUNDED VIA THE GOVERNMENT AND TAXES. THIS MEANS THAT THEY ARE NEITHER
COMMERCIAL NOR STATE-OWNED AND BECAUSE OF THIS PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING IS
MEANT TO BE FREE FROM BIAS SUCH AS POLITICAL. PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING ALLOWS THE
PUBLIC TO BE INFORMED, ENTERTAINED AND EDUCATED WITHOUT THE NEED OF COMMERCIAL
HELP. IN THE UK PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING IS FUNDED MY THE PUBLIC IN THE FORM OF A TV
LICENSE. WHILE THIS IS JUST ONE OF MANY WAYS IN WHICH PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING IS
FUNDED, IT IS ALSO FUNDED VIA THE GOVERNMENT AND TAXES TAKING FROM THE PEOPLE.
EXAMPLES OF PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING INCLUDE THE BBC IN THE UK, PBS IN THE USA AND
CBC IN CANADA. BESIDES THESE MAJOR NATIONAL BROADCASTERS PSB CAN ALSO INCLUDE
LOCALLY OPERATED SYSTEMS AND ANYONE COUNTRY CAN HAVE MULTIPLE TO HELP ENSURE THAT
THEY REACH A LARGE SPHERE OF INFLUENCE AND CAN COMMUNICATE WITH ALL PEOPLES WITHIN
THEIR COUNTRY.

What are the debates on whether PSB is relevant today?

One of the major debates on Public Service broadcasting is whether people are still interested in
what they have to offer, with modern technology such as Facebook and YouTube people are finding
entertainment and educational programs elsewhere. With a decline in people getting a TV license
broadcasters are losing out on revenue and forcing themselves into money saving tactics in order to
keep their shows on the air it is clear that Public service broadcasting needs to move forward or be
left behind and this is the main argument from many different people. But others have argued that
there will always be a place for public service Broadcasting.

Identify 3 Commercial Broadcasters. How do they obtain their revenue compared to the BBC?
What debates recently have there been about Product Placement on Commercial Television? (100
Words)

• Sky

• Fox

• MTV

Above are examples of commercial broadcasters and they have a different method to gaining
revenue compared to public Service Broadcasting as they are privately owned and gain revenue
from commercials although many commercial Broadcasters have been known to ask for donations in
the form of pledge drives and other commercial broadcasters have been known to charge for their
services such as HBO. The main debate involving product placement on commercial television
involves the idea that is it ethical and does it take away from the audience’s experience. These can
be broken down into one side saying that product placement cuts ad times and it allows the
broadcasters to keep putting out high quality content, while the other side is saying it takes away
from the experience and it also doesn't cut down on ads it just adds to them.

Bullet points the key benefits of Sky 1.

• Sky 1 is able to show programs from America that would not normally been seen in the UK

• It is able to not just be exclusive to the sky package as it is able to give it services to other services.

• They gain money from the adverts and the merchandising rights.
What is a Multi-national Media Conglomerate and give 4 examples. Name 5 well known
organizations/companies that they own. (100 Words)

A Multi-National Media Conglomerate is a company that owns many sub companies within them for
example:

Comcast and they own: Universal Studios, Universal Television, NBC, NBC Sports group and NHL
network.

Century fox they own: 20th century fox, Fox, FX, National Geographic, Fox News and MyNetTv

Disney co. they own: Walt Disney studios, ABC studios , Marvel television, ESPN inc and Disney
Channels.

Time Warner own: Warner Bros, The CW, HBO, CNN and DC comics.

A Multi-National Media conglomerate will own numerous companies involved with the mass media
such as Television, Radio or even publishing. Media Conglomerates have existed since 1950 and have
become a standard feature within the media industry.

What is the difference between a Monopoly and an Oligopoly with examples.

A monopoly and an oligopoly are market structures. A monopoly market contains a single firm that
produces goods with no close substitute while an oligopoly has a small number of relatively large
firms that produces similar but slightly different products, In an monopoly the seller can charge high
prices for good because of a lack of competition while in an oligopoly the firms will collude this
makes it seem as they are one firm.

An example of each is:

Monopoly - monsanto

Oligopoly - Oil and Gas industry

What is the difference between Vertical and Horizontal integration, with examples?

A Horizontal integration is when companies that acquire a similar company in the same industry and
a vertical integration has a company that acquires a company that operates either before or after in
the production line/process. Examples of both are:

Horizontal: Facebook's acquisition of Instagram.

Vertical: IKEA Buying Romanian Baltic forests.

What is an Independent Production Company and give 3 examples? Name 4 TV programs that they
make.

A independent production company is as it sounds a company that is independent of the major film
studios and examples of some are:

Yellow Moon - Line Of duty - The Third Wave - The million Dollar car hunters.

360 Productions - iWonder - Timewatch Guides - Genio.

Alleycats - Helluva tour - The Longest night - Danger, Dad and Me.

Assignment 1 - Task 2 – Technologies

What is Channel Proliferation and Multi Channel TV?

Channel proliferation is as the name suggests when a number of channels grow and lead to a larger
selection of channels for the viewer.

Identify when and how Multi Channel TV came about (research the 1990 and 1996 Broadcasting
Act).

The 1990 broadcast act was an act to reform the British broadcasting system, this lead to the
development of multi-channel TV. the act allowed the creation of the fifth analogue terrestrial
channel which was made into channel 5 and this give the consumer more choice when watching
television this in conjunction with the 1996 broadcasting act lead to the modern multi-channel set
up we know of today.