TV Production, International Trade and Pressures to Consolidate – Implications for Content and Policy (original) (raw)

Handmaidens of consolidation in the UK television production sector

Journal of Media Business Studies, 2021

This article analyses the role of intermediaries in the evolution of the UK TV production sector tracking the processes which in the past two decades have underpinned consolidation in the UK TV production sector. The research involved elite interviews with executives at ten UK Independent production companies and two financial intermediaries as well as trade bodies and civil servants. The epistemic work of intermediaries shape transactions in a way that aligned with the buyers’ desire to grow their portfolio of companies by establishing the fitness of companies for acquisition. Through classification, clustering and sorting, they confirm the notion (Knorr Cetina and Preda 2001, 30–31) that knowledge can be treated as a commodity – ‘a more or less valid representation of the world which is “inscribed in and constitutive of economic objects as relevant to the practical activities of economic agents” and purposefully assembled.

Public Policy and Independent Television Production In the U.K

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 16522354 2008 11073473, 2015

The structure and performance of the independent television production sector in the UK have been strongly affected by public policy interventions. Such interventions have introduced more competition and have generally sought to strengthen the position of 'indies' by, for example, raising levels of demand for their output amongst domestic vertically integrated broadcasters. However, the efficacy of such policies in terms of developing a thriving and economically successful independent television production sector is open to question. This article provides an analysis of the effects of recent policy initiatives on the creative work environments and on the business circumstances and behaviors of UK independent program-makers.

Challenging U.S. Leadership in Entertainment Television? The Rise and Sale of Europe's International TV Production Groups

International Journal of Communication, 2016

This article is concerned with the international market consolidation in television entertainment production and its implications. The rapid growth of the TV format trade during the past 15 years has led to the formation of large European-led production groups. In recent years, U.S. media conglomerates have bought the largest of these groups. By tracing the groups’ development and the reasons for the U.S. acquisitions and by offering a model for the potential adverse implications this may have for television production and distribution in Europe, this article hopes to make a valuable contribution to media industries and policy research.

Television production: configuring for sustainability in the digital era

Media, Culture & Society

Over recent years leading independent television production companies in the UK and elsewhere in Europe have become prime targets for corporate activity and many have been subject to takeover, often by US media groups. Why is it that nurturing the development of television production companies which achieve scale but, at the same time, remain independent appears to be so challenging? This article considers which factors are crucial to the success of television production businesses and argues that, aside from the ability to make compelling content, two key variables which strongly affect commercial success and sustainability in this sector are, first, effective management and exploitation of intellect property rights (IPRs) and, second, scale and configuration of activities. Focusing primarily on the latter, it analyses how changing technological and market conditions are affecting the advantages conferred by size and by adopting differing cross-ownership configurations thus, in turn, fuelling current processes of industrial restructuring .

The relation between content providers and distributors: Lessons from the regulation of television distribution in the United Kingdom

Telematics and Informatics

Using the United Kingdom (UK) as a case study, this article analyses the growing commercial and regulatory significance of broadcaster-distributor relations within the contemporary television industry. The first part of the article argues that despite important changes in broadcast delivery technology, more recently shaped by the growth of the Internet, and the associated growth of options of receiving television content, the traditional delivery platforms (digital terrestrial, satellite and cable) remain by far the preferred choice for viewers in Britain. At the same time, public service broadcasters continue to be the biggest investors in domestic original non-sport content and account for over half of all television viewing. The strength of PSBs in content and their growing reliance on commercial proprietary subscription platforms (cable and satellite) and gradually on the Internet presents challenges in the nexus between broadcasters and distributors. The article focuses on the debate over retransmission fees between PSBs and Sky, and on the question of whether Sky should be required to offer some of its premium content to rival pay-TV platforms. These two examples highlight the impact regulatory intervention can have on the balance of power between broadcasters and distributors. The article concludes that such debates concerning the commercial relations between content providers and distributors will remain pivotal and become more heated given that similar issues are raised in the Internet environment.

For Those Playing Along At Home - Four Perspectives On Shared Intellectual Property In Television Production

Television audiences and fans are increasingly enrolled in the co-production of the television experience. Return-path communication enabled by digital media allows show producers to gather real-time market data about audiences, as well as to solicit creative input from audience members individually and in aggregate. This transformation is not without its challenges: audiences and producers must negotiate shared ownership of the televisual product. The intellectual property implications of interactive TV are therefore considerable: who owns the intellectual property in shows with substantial audience engagement? How can we locate and ascertain the value of intellectual property added by viewer contributions? The authors propose four definitions of intellectual property through which to examine the status of viewer creativity: legal/regulatory, entrepreneurial, accounting and communitarian. The authors conclude that each definition on its own is insufficient to aid strategic planning, so a new model of programme-as-platform is proposed for TV companies working with interactive IP.