The European television industry at the turn of the XXI century. (EUROFICTION fifth report, year 2000: European Audiovisual Observatory, Strasbourg 2001) (original) (raw)

Abstract

The television industry provides us with a priviledged perspective from which we can verify the theory of historical ebbs and flows, by virtue of the cyclical tendencies which characterise many phenomena related to programming and consumption of the one or the other content typology. 2000, a higly symbolic year because it marked a transition from the old to the new millenium, is legitimately part of this cyclical, or pendular, state of affairs. It was actually a year in which the pendulum swung sharply in the direction of entertainment programmes, reality and game shows, as had already happened in the past, and in particular at the beginning of the nineties. Instead of (or prior to) programmes, in truth, we should be speaking of formats. There is no doubt that during 2000 the phenomenon which struck the television industry most impressively was what has come to be known as " format fever ". It was powerfully supported by the triumphal march of Big Brother across Europe and the prodigious upsurge of vanishing ratings experienced after many years by the American networks, thanks to Who wants to be a millionaire? (ABC) and Survivor (CBS): forerunners of a longer European format caravan that still winds its way across the ocean, creating (but not for the first time) a two-way circulation of international television flows. It is probable, and even fairly predictable, given that the television industry proceeds by ebbs and flows, that the overwhelming surge of new entertainment formulae is destined to fall off in a more or less near future; the second editions of the same programmes are proving to be less exciting than the first. However, it is just as likely that the after-effects and drift might continue over time, since television is facing uncertain economic prospects, and the great competitive advantage of reality and game shows resides in their much more contained production costs when compared to scripted shows like fiction.

Figures (15)

The downtrend of the flat figure is likely to be reassessed, however, tracing it back to the only two markets — Spanish and French — where it is localised. The Spanish national and autonomicas networks (the latter started to be monitored in 1999, which explains the upsurge of figures in the same year) actually scheduled a lot less new fiction hours (-266) than in the previous year. In turn the fall is limited to daily long seriality, which registered the closing of production or the cancellation because of failure of some soaps. Daytime fiction was also the reason for the fall of 50 hours from French channels supply, although at least in the first quarter of 2000 the soap Caps des pins helped to sustain the national product in afternoon slots. The cancellation of this daily serial of France 2, which has still not been

The downtrend of the flat figure is likely to be reassessed, however, tracing it back to the only two markets — Spanish and French — where it is localised. The Spanish national and autonomicas networks (the latter started to be monitored in 1999, which explains the upsurge of figures in the same year) actually scheduled a lot less new fiction hours (-266) than in the previous year. In turn the fall is limited to daily long seriality, which registered the closing of production or the cancellation because of failure of some soaps. Daytime fiction was also the reason for the fall of 50 hours from French channels supply, although at least in the first quarter of 2000 the soap Caps des pins helped to sustain the national product in afternoon slots. The cancellation of this daily serial of France 2, which has still not been

3. and finally, the growth of production and programming of domestic fiction in Italy, which proved to be the most dynamic of European television industries in 2000. With a supply volume which has never before been so high — 627 hours, equal to an increase of 183% compared to 1996 — and thanks to the small but decisive margin with respect to France, Italy is no longer the “tail end” it had systematically been in previous years; it is now the fourth among the largest producer countries, after Germany, the United Kingdom, and Spain. The Italian fiction industry has achieved this result thanks to an accelerated process of serialisation of domestic production, which involves the different time slots, with soaps in daytime and serials and long series in prime time.

3. and finally, the growth of production and programming of domestic fiction in Italy, which proved to be the most dynamic of European television industries in 2000. With a supply volume which has never before been so high — 627 hours, equal to an increase of 183% compared to 1996 — and thanks to the small but decisive margin with respect to France, Italy is no longer the “tail end” it had systematically been in previous years; it is now the fourth among the largest producer countries, after Germany, the United Kingdom, and Spain. The Italian fiction industry has achieved this result thanks to an accelerated process of serialisation of domestic production, which involves the different time slots, with soaps in daytime and serials and long series in prime time.

Neither, proceeding on the somewhat disheartening journey through Eurofiction’s quantative indicators, do we receive more positive signals: even the number of episodes fell by 420 units between 1999 (8,873) and 2000 (8,453). With the exception of Italy, no country is to be exempt from a small or large (as is the case of Spain, for reasons already mentioned) erosion of fiction episodes quantity.

Neither, proceeding on the somewhat disheartening journey through Eurofiction’s quantative indicators, do we receive more positive signals: even the number of episodes fell by 420 units between 1999 (8,873) and 2000 (8,453). With the exception of Italy, no country is to be exempt from a small or large (as is the case of Spain, for reasons already mentioned) erosion of fiction episodes quantity.

Source: Eurofiction

Source: Eurofiction

Tab. 1 - Summary of the Offer in 2000

Tab. 1 - Summary of the Offer in 2000

In addition, American televisions are becoming reluctant to invest in long formats in front of the reduced willingess on the part of the audience to take on a prolonged “committment of vision’; the supply wealth in the multichannel environment and the use of the remote control have made television consumption practices more fragmented, fast and pulsating, and a part of the audience is by now wary of committing itself even intermittently to the enjoyment of programmes of an hour and a half, even more so when the nature of the plot requires a certain continuity and concentration of vision. often inspired by real personages and news events. Those are, for instance, the so-called movies of the week (MOW) scheduled on a weekly basis, for years, by the networks. With time, the format has lost freshness and capacity for attraction and has remained imprisoned within a standardisation and a repetitivity which has made it more similar to a serial product, predictable, routine; on the other hand it has lost the prerogative, forcefully taken over by talk shows and reality shows, of satisfying the pleasure the audience gets from watching “true stories”.

In addition, American televisions are becoming reluctant to invest in long formats in front of the reduced willingess on the part of the audience to take on a prolonged “committment of vision’; the supply wealth in the multichannel environment and the use of the remote control have made television consumption practices more fragmented, fast and pulsating, and a part of the audience is by now wary of committing itself even intermittently to the enjoyment of programmes of an hour and a half, even more so when the nature of the plot requires a certain continuity and concentration of vision. often inspired by real personages and news events. Those are, for instance, the so-called movies of the week (MOW) scheduled on a weekly basis, for years, by the networks. With time, the format has lost freshness and capacity for attraction and has remained imprisoned within a standardisation and a repetitivity which has made it more similar to a serial product, predictable, routine; on the other hand it has lost the prerogative, forcefully taken over by talk shows and reality shows, of satisfying the pleasure the audience gets from watching “true stories”.

The capacity of serial fiction to draw those mass audiences which enable an episode of domestic fiction to access to the top 20 has been further reinforced in the last year, in which the series format appears more widespread than ever before in European television schedules. On the increase, almost constantly over the five-year period, the series has passed from 224 titles in 1996, which at the time represented 29% of supply, to 293 in 2000, equivalent to 37% of the format range. Half of British fiction, three Spanish productions out of five and more than two French programmes out of five are series, to give some examples.

The capacity of serial fiction to draw those mass audiences which enable an episode of domestic fiction to access to the top 20 has been further reinforced in the last year, in which the series format appears more widespread than ever before in European television schedules. On the increase, almost constantly over the five-year period, the series has passed from 224 titles in 1996, which at the time represented 29% of supply, to 293 in 2000, equivalent to 37% of the format range. Half of British fiction, three Spanish productions out of five and more than two French programmes out of five are series, to give some examples.

Tab. 4 - Gernes

Tab. 4 - Gernes

In the second half of the nineties, none of the two types of co-production — the inter-European, i.e. in co-operation between two or more European countries, and the inter-continental, made in partnership between European and non-European operators, the latter being mostly American — showed steady and constant signs of growth. In relation with the overall amount of titles the share of inter-European and inter-continental co-productions has shifted over the years between 17% and 20%: which means that, at best, one out of five titles of domestic European fiction is co-produced. out of five titles of domestic European fiction is co-produced.

In the second half of the nineties, none of the two types of co-production — the inter-European, i.e. in co-operation between two or more European countries, and the inter-continental, made in partnership between European and non-European operators, the latter being mostly American — showed steady and constant signs of growth. In relation with the overall amount of titles the share of inter-European and inter-continental co-productions has shifted over the years between 17% and 20%: which means that, at best, one out of five titles of domestic European fiction is co-produced. out of five titles of domestic European fiction is co-produced.

There are probably good, or at least plausible, explanations for the cautious developing dynamics of inter-European co-production — most of which, we should add, involve countries of the same linguistic area: Germany and Austria, France and Belgium, United Kingdom and Ireland — despite the cogent conditions and a declared willingness on the part of many operators. Above all, as with any project involving negotiations and agreements between a number of partners, co-productions are a complicated and long- term business — thus, we may have to wait for more abundant fruit to ripen the next few years. Furthermore, they imply higher than usual risks in terms What is more, the volume of inter-European co-productions is sustained by only three countries out of five: Germany (50% of titles in 2000), France (30%) and Italy (15%). Spain has only just begun operating in this field (3 co-productions with other European countries in 2000), and the United Kingdom continues to show little interest in production agreements with continental European partners, as we see in the case of the mini-series Monsignor Renard, one of the British successes in 2000, which Carlton Television shot entirely in France without wishing to involve a French partner. cogent conditions and a declared willingness on the part of many operators.

There are probably good, or at least plausible, explanations for the cautious developing dynamics of inter-European co-production — most of which, we should add, involve countries of the same linguistic area: Germany and Austria, France and Belgium, United Kingdom and Ireland — despite the cogent conditions and a declared willingness on the part of many operators. Above all, as with any project involving negotiations and agreements between a number of partners, co-productions are a complicated and long- term business — thus, we may have to wait for more abundant fruit to ripen the next few years. Furthermore, they imply higher than usual risks in terms What is more, the volume of inter-European co-productions is sustained by only three countries out of five: Germany (50% of titles in 2000), France (30%) and Italy (15%). Spain has only just begun operating in this field (3 co-productions with other European countries in 2000), and the United Kingdom continues to show little interest in production agreements with continental European partners, as we see in the case of the mini-series Monsignor Renard, one of the British successes in 2000, which Carlton Television shot entirely in France without wishing to involve a French partner. cogent conditions and a declared willingness on the part of many operators.

The results of the year 2000 confirm the stability of the pattern. Over the whole day, fiction of north American origin amounts to more than a half of programming on German, French and Spanish channels, with a peak of little less than two thirds in Italian schedules. The only country which diverges from this structure — although it is gradually approaching it - is the United Kingdom, with a quota of domestic fiction rather higher than north American imports, but in turn less than the entirety of acquired programmes (American and Australian). As is now widely-known, the largest part of American and in general non-domestic fiction supply filling the off-prime time slots is made up of reruns, often shown for the umpteenth time. Their repeated use is, among other things, a way of lessening growing programming costs.

The results of the year 2000 confirm the stability of the pattern. Over the whole day, fiction of north American origin amounts to more than a half of programming on German, French and Spanish channels, with a peak of little less than two thirds in Italian schedules. The only country which diverges from this structure — although it is gradually approaching it - is the United Kingdom, with a quota of domestic fiction rather higher than north American imports, but in turn less than the entirety of acquired programmes (American and Australian). As is now widely-known, the largest part of American and in general non-domestic fiction supply filling the off-prime time slots is made up of reruns, often shown for the umpteenth time. Their repeated use is, among other things, a way of lessening growing programming costs.

the evolution of formats and genres — considerable slices of fiction which are suitable for exportation. However, TV movies and German series have a wide circulation and reasonable success, taking advantage not only of the greater similarity to American products and specialisation in crime and action genres, but above all, of the credit and recognisability acquired thanks to powerful locomotives such as Derrick. The German case clearly shows that the cultural discount — the devalorisation and at worst the loss of attraction and interest that domestic products undergo when transferred to other cultures — can be significantly reappraised, and reconverted into an albeit partial cultural proximity. For this to happen, the influence of one or more “locomotive-programmes’ able to produce the swarm effects which are so typical of televisior environment, is obviously crucial. But we also have to take into account the broadcasters acquisition and scheduling policies, which are not always appropriate, as far as choice and exploitation of European products are concerned. Two cases in 2000 can be quoted as examples. In Italy, the thirc public channel broadcast in summer prime time the French soap Cap de: pins, which had already been cancelled months before by France 2. The programme was cancelled because of lack of success, after only a week. Ir the UK Le Compte de Montecristo arrived on BBC2 in December; broadcast in the late afternoon of the week between Christmas and New Year, it started with a share of 4% and never went over 7%. Events of this type provide an easy confirmation of the widespread belief that European fiction domestic or co-produced, “does not travel” in Europe, but we are dealing here, obviously, with a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. concerned. Two cases in 2000 can be quoted as examples. In Italy, the third

the evolution of formats and genres — considerable slices of fiction which are suitable for exportation. However, TV movies and German series have a wide circulation and reasonable success, taking advantage not only of the greater similarity to American products and specialisation in crime and action genres, but above all, of the credit and recognisability acquired thanks to powerful locomotives such as Derrick. The German case clearly shows that the cultural discount — the devalorisation and at worst the loss of attraction and interest that domestic products undergo when transferred to other cultures — can be significantly reappraised, and reconverted into an albeit partial cultural proximity. For this to happen, the influence of one or more “locomotive-programmes’ able to produce the swarm effects which are so typical of televisior environment, is obviously crucial. But we also have to take into account the broadcasters acquisition and scheduling policies, which are not always appropriate, as far as choice and exploitation of European products are concerned. Two cases in 2000 can be quoted as examples. In Italy, the thirc public channel broadcast in summer prime time the French soap Cap de: pins, which had already been cancelled months before by France 2. The programme was cancelled because of lack of success, after only a week. Ir the UK Le Compte de Montecristo arrived on BBC2 in December; broadcast in the late afternoon of the week between Christmas and New Year, it started with a share of 4% and never went over 7%. Events of this type provide an easy confirmation of the widespread belief that European fiction domestic or co-produced, “does not travel” in Europe, but we are dealing here, obviously, with a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. concerned. Two cases in 2000 can be quoted as examples. In Italy, the third

areas where the fiction broadcast in the sample week comes from. What stands out is the monolingualism of the British programmes — between domestic products and American and Australian imports — and the basically bi-lingual German programmes (since non-domestic and non-American fiction is under 10%). Compared to Anglo-Saxon countries, Latin countries offer a relatively more extensive and varied range of origins and original language as regards the fiction broadcast: European (mainly in the French case), Spanish and Portuguese, thanks to telenovelas which in Spain and Italy are enjoying a revival in popularity. The second constituent of the structural supply model is also confirmed in the 2000 results. Domestic programmes keep the lion’s share in prime time, whose profile is just the opposite of that of the entire day: in four countries out of five, more than half prime-time supply, with a peak of 75% in France, is made up of national fiction production. The exception in this case is Italy, with more American Tv movies and series than local programmes, also due to the fact that over the sample week domestic fiction is totally absent on the three commercial channels. In every country, the fiction scheduled in prime time is, on the whole, new fiction: the fresh and the most valuable product provided by national industries, offered for the enjoyment of the largest possible audiences.

areas where the fiction broadcast in the sample week comes from. What stands out is the monolingualism of the British programmes — between domestic products and American and Australian imports — and the basically bi-lingual German programmes (since non-domestic and non-American fiction is under 10%). Compared to Anglo-Saxon countries, Latin countries offer a relatively more extensive and varied range of origins and original language as regards the fiction broadcast: European (mainly in the French case), Spanish and Portuguese, thanks to telenovelas which in Spain and Italy are enjoying a revival in popularity. The second constituent of the structural supply model is also confirmed in the 2000 results. Domestic programmes keep the lion’s share in prime time, whose profile is just the opposite of that of the entire day: in four countries out of five, more than half prime-time supply, with a peak of 75% in France, is made up of national fiction production. The exception in this case is Italy, with more American Tv movies and series than local programmes, also due to the fact that over the sample week domestic fiction is totally absent on the three commercial channels. In every country, the fiction scheduled in prime time is, on the whole, new fiction: the fresh and the most valuable product provided by national industries, offered for the enjoyment of the largest possible audiences.

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