Running head: IMPACTS OF CHANGING TECHNOLOGY ON MEDIA REGULATION

Impacts of Changing Technology on Regulation of Media

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Date
IMPACTS OF CHANGING TECHNOLOGY ON MEDIA REGULATION 2

Introduction

In recent decades, the television industry has undergone significant changes. Prior to

the arrival of digital technologies to replace analog television, such as cables and satellites,

the current technology entails the digitization of content and existing TV broadcast channels.

The digitalization of free-to-air analog television in Canada has resulted in significant

industrial shifts. The goal of this technique is to permit massive amounts of data transfer,

such as providing new high-quality TV channels and collaborative services. Furthermore, this

move would bring in new participants to the market. As a result, the current market structure

will continue to change, and the new technology will provide an opportunity to further

democratize communications. Traditional players in Canada, on the other hand, are concerned

about the introduction of new technology. They are concerned that the new technology

requirements will be detrimental to existing broadcasters. This paper aims to spark a

discussion about the anticipated risks and benefits of comprehensive media digitalization, as

well as its contributions to the development and growth of the television business. In

addition, the analysis shows the magnitude of benefits or drawbacks on the traditional

industry performers.

The Impacts of Satellite Television in Changing Content Delivery

The emergence of digital television can be attributed to advances in information and

communications technology. Texts, audios, and images can be compressed to save storage

space and increase transmission capacity (Okhrimenko et al., 2019). This is the primary

benefit of digitization, in which data transmission capacity is raised while operational storage

expenses, content editing, and broadcasting costs are reduced. The method increases the

volume available for regular television transmission. These characteristics can be used in a

variety of ways. For starters, digital television transmits more TV channels with separate

programming schedules than analog television. TV programs with a high resolution quality
IMPACTS OF CHANGING TECHNOLOGY ON MEDIA REGULATION 3

can also be broadcast. Based on the desired quality of the final transmission, the equipment

used in high definition content transmission as well as post-production fees are more

expensive than the old one (Ciccarella, 2017). Because of the high definition, more extensive

infrastructure capacity will be required for digital distribution, resulting in higher packaging

and shipping costs. Furthermore, consumers must pay a premium for high-definition TV sets

since they demand significant processing power and wide screens for high-quality imaging.

Furthermore, the creation of such content necessitates precision in areas like staging, lighting,

cinematography, and artistic production. All of this means that the participants will have to

pay more for high-definition content creation, delivery, and response.

In contrast, the emergence of television programming has removed technological

hurdles to new companies entering the market. The fall in the average audience could reduce

propaganda, jeopardizing the free-to-air TV business model's most important pillar (Park,

2017). As a result, the large number of channels providing TV services will devalue

transmission events in the television value chain, resulting in a value shift process in which a

part of broadcast profitability is abstracted to value chain activities such as content

generation. In addition to the proliferation of digital data, digitization allows for the merger or

convergence of various communication networks.

Alternative technologies, such as employing web services to provide high-speed

networks, can deliver TV services in such technical circumstances. They also provide large

divergences that the technically limited terrestrial cannot deliver. They are adaptable,

allowing consumers to choose their content at any moment via devices of their choice, such

as portable computers and televisions (Ciccarella, 2017). The arrival of high-speed internet,

in particular, has posed a danger to the television industry. However, the expensive cost of

internet transmission has hampered its use. Other non-technological elements, such as

corporate culture, organizational skills, and differing regulatory situations, however, obstruct
IMPACTS OF CHANGING TECHNOLOGY ON MEDIA REGULATION 4

media transmission. In addition, unstandardized technology and copyright constraints have

stifled technological advancement in the face of competition from television.

The Impacts of DVRs and the Internet in Changing Content Delivery

The increased competitiveness between cable and satellite channels and other

traditional networks has fractured public viewership during the previous few decades. Today's

television viewers have a plethora of content viewing options. For example, the introduction

of digital video recorders (DVRs) like TiVo allows viewers to choose and record TV episodes

to watch later (Park, 2017). Advertisers might use this device to track the programmes that

are routinely watched. They also have cables that serve specific advertisements to viewers

when they are enjoying their preferred taped shows. This was demonstrated in 2008, when

consumer groups sued cable companies for compromising the rights of viewers who did not

wish to be tracked. As a result, businesses like Nielsen devised tracking solutions for viewers

who are concerned about their privacy being infringed.

Non-television distribution channels, such as the internet, allow viewers to access

their favourite programmes from other media at their leisure. Traditional media has struggled

to keep up with the internet. Newspapers, magazines, video rental establishments,

booksellers, and the music industry have all suffered as a result of the internet's debut.

Despite this, television has succeeded to withstand the influence of the internet. For the most

part, the former has remained the most popular means of fun (Okhrimenko et al., 2019). The

internet, on the other hand, has been synchronized with the TV system to produce a smart TV

that allows users to explore for content such as YouTube and other online pages and watch

them on TV screens. With the quantity of technology activity influencing the media sector, it

is no surprise that technology investment in the media has surged. The market is highly
IMPACTS OF CHANGING TECHNOLOGY ON MEDIA REGULATION 5

intense, restrictions are constantly being reduced, and technology is having a significant

influence on the present scene.

Socio-economic and Regulatory Factors that Shape the Effects of Digital TV

Due to monopolistic structures, companies that provide ICT-based services have

continued to benefit from economies of scale. TV transmission requires a lot of cash, which

leads to economies of scale. The market is also oligopolistic due to the massive capital

investments (Park, 2017). The cost of terrestrial transmission is unaffected by the number of

TVs covered by the program. As a result, TV programming is beneficial to the general public

because the cost of transmitting shows is zero. When shows are digitised, television's

transmission capacity is increased under a network node interface. This lowers the financial

as well as the technical barriers to entry. Costs of transmission and reproduction will

eventually be reduced. Techniques that alleviate these constraints also help to strengthen the

marketplace.

Despite the fact that technological forces are reducing market concentrations, new

participants will force incumbent enterprises to respond quickly to the threat of rivalry. This

was evident with the introduction of the internet, when existing businesses reacted to the

changes and included the internet as one of their distribution channels (Straubhaar, 2015).Our

culture has become so reliant on technology that they are oblivious to the possibility that one

day it could stop working, and they will be unable to survive without it. We have become

accustomed to relying on technology to make our lives simpler. Digital televisions, for

example, allow users to broadcast material from the internet onto their television sets. Digital

newspapers are also available for people who do not require printed media because media

businesses already have websites where they may access their digital material (Mintz,

2017).)This not only relieves consumers of the hassle of lugging about printed copies, but it

also provides a handy reading environment. As a result, the media overall market structure
IMPACTS OF CHANGING TECHNOLOGY ON MEDIA REGULATION 6

has been altered by digitalization. Vertical incorporation of content production as a tactic of

bargaining leverage with other producers is an option in the TV market.

Conclusion

Traditional players have managed to embrace technology innovations and compete

well in the restructured market, despite the fact that content digitization has greatly decreased

the technological challenges for new entrants. Even the traditional players are being

challenged, new technologies have reinforced them. The rules are necessary at a time when

the world is transitioning from analog to digital platforms. The need for independent material

is growing, aided by new rules that allow them to take advantage of new technology

resources that favour these types of content. However, some of the negative effects, such as

equipment expenses, are temporary obstacles that may be surmounted. Finally, existing

market players have continued to benefit from economies of scale, resulting in high-quality

content. As a result, the analysis fails to show how the digitalization of media has had a

negative impact on the new market. It just demonstrates that digitalization has broadened the

market for both incumbent businesses and newcomers.

IMPACTS OF CHANGING TECHNOLOGY ON MEDIA REGULATION 7

References

Ciccarella, G., Vatalaro, F., & Vizzarri, A. (2019, March). Content delivery on IP network:

Service providers and TV broadcasters business repositioning. In 2019 3rd

International Conference on Recent Advances in Signal Processing,

Telecommunications & Computing (SigTelCom) (pp. 149-154). IEEE.

Mintz, E. (2017). Canada’s Politics: Democracy, Diversity, and Good Governance, 3rd

Edition. Pearson Education.

Okhrimenko, I., SOVIK, I., PYANKOVA, S., & LUKYANOVA, A. (2019). Digital

transformation of the socio-economic system: prospects for digitalization in

society. Revista Espacios, 40(38).

Park, H. S. (2017). Technology convergence, open innovation, and dynamic

economy. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 3(4), 24.

Straubhaar, J., LaRose, R., & Davenport, L. (2015). Media now: Understanding media,

culture, and technology. Cengage Learning.