Challenging U.S. Leadership in Entertainment Television? The Rise and Sale of Europe's International TV Production Groups (original) (raw)
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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.
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The market for overseas trade in television programming is changing, and this demands new ways of examining complex and evolving trends in the international distribution of content. Traditionally there have been countries that made television programs and sold and marketed primarily drama worldwide. Traditionally as well, this market has been dominated by US transnationals, who sold to other broadcasters and marketed their own content on video and later DVD. With the fragmentation of audiences and revenues in recent years, we have seen growth in international co-production and the sale of formats. However, while there have been new players, particularly in formats, the US has remained the key exporter and distributor of television content on a global scale. The latest developments focus on over-the-top delivery directly to television sets, as offered by major US players Apple, Netflix, Google, and Amazon. This has led to suggestions that linear TV viewing is likely to disappear in the face of multiple multimedia platforms, and that apps will replace channels. Looking beyond the US, what does this new distribution model mean for the funding and delivery of televisual content? Is there a conceptualization of the processes and theories associated with the international circulation of content that will help explain its implications for production industries?