COM 110

Broadcast and Cable/Satellite TV

Today

Television Now• More than 98% of homes in

America have at least one TV

• 3/4 have more than one

• Average American home has the TV on for more than 7 hours a day

• 66% of all homes subscribe to cable

• 26 million subscribers to DBS systems

Types of Television Stations

• Commercial and noncommercial station: the primary distinction is the way in which they obtain funds to stay on the air

• Commercial stations make money by selling time to advertisers

• Noncommercial stations are not allowed to sell advertising; survive through donations from individuals, businesses and the government

VHF, UHF and DTV stations

• VHF very high frequency, chs. 2-13

• UHF ultra high frequency, chs. 14 +

• UHF signal was considered inferior

• The advent of DTV has eliminated any distinction in quality; customers on cable never experienced a difference in quality

VHF, UHF and DTV stations

• Two types of TV business: network television and local television

• Network: a system in which ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX develop program schedules for their affiliate stations; networks sell most of the advertising in the programs, which is how they make most of their money

• Local: revolves around scheduling programs and selling advertising in the community/region

Fox and other new networks

• Currently, all major networks combined get around 40% audience share

• Fox was launched in 1986, first broadcasting on Sundays

• Motivated by Fox's success, other networks started in the 90's: UPN, WB - eventually combining to form CW

• MyNetworkTV, PAX

The end of network television?

• Seven major networks, along with cable and all other options for entertainment; very competitive

• Unlikely to ever go away, despite annual profit decline

• Networks draw large audiences

Local Television• Various types of local TV stations:

• Network O&Os

• Big Four network affiliates

• CW/PAX affiliates

• Independents

• Low power TV

Network owned and operated stations

• Stations that are owned outright by the parent network

• Traditionally, the most profitable stations

• Examples: KABC (Los Angeles), WNBC (New York)

• Ownership by a network guarantees a steady supply of programming and a high profile for advertisers

Major network affiliates

• Second most profitable class of TV stations

• Affiliated with a network, but owned by a separate entity

• Currently, about 200 stations each are aligned with CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox

• CW, MyNetwork and i affiliates are next in profitability

Independents

• An independent TV station is one that does not align itself with a major network

• Have to develop their own programming, do not rely on affiliation for content

• Rare, less than 50 in the US

LPTV: Low Power TV• FCC authorized LPTV for service in 1982 to

create openings for minority ownership of TV stations, and to increase the number of TV stations serving a community

• FCC places power restrictions, which limit the range of broadcast

• More than 2000 operate in the US, and mostly in rural areas; the most LPTV stations are in Alaska

• Now they broadcast digitally, but are still referred to as a "low power TV station"

TV Station Ownership

• Most are owned by companies, networks and investment groups

• Relaxed ownership rules permit owning as many stations as one likes, as long as the total number of households reached does not exceed 39% in a market

• CBS is the largest owner, then Fox, and NBC Universal

Public Television• PBS is noncommercial,

serves 348 member stations

• Operates similar to a network, as PBS provides programming to member stations

• Viewers pledge nearly $500M a year to PBS stations

• Offer award-winning children's and educational programming

Cable Programming• Basic cable services: backbone of cable, lowest

subscription charge, contain local and regional broadcast signals and advertiser-supported cable services

• Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act (1992): broadcasters had to choose either "must carry" or "retransmission consent"

• Must carry: cable company is required to carry the local TV station's program schedule in its entirety, but the broadcaster receives no compensation

• Retransmission consent: requires some negotiation for compensation from the cable system in return for their signals being carried on the cable

Cable Programming

Cable Programming• Advertiser-supported

basic cable services: cable networks that are supported by commercials

• Pay services: subscribers pay an additional fee to receive these services, original programming not available on networks, typically commercial free

Packaging Cable• Tiering: creation of different service levels

through packaging programming in groups, increasing in price

• Homes passed (HP): all households that could subscribe to a cable system, if they wanted to

• Cable households: HPs that choose to subscribe

• Pay households: cable homes that pay an extra fee for pay services

• Multipay households: homes that subscribe to more than one service

• Pay-per-view: ordering programming as desired from the cable company

Cable and MSO Ownership

• Multiple system operators

• Single system operators/cable system operators

• MSOs dominate the cable business

Direct Broadcast Satellites: DBS

• Two main companies: DirecTV, Dish Network

• Typically priced less than cable for similar services

Working in Television

Working in Television

• Sales: in charge of traffic and continuity, if a commercial doesn't air, sales must make a "make-good"

• Engineering: responsible for the maintenance of equipment, transmitter.

• Business: accounts payable, accounts receivable, reception/secretary

• Programming: responsible for the purchase of all new programming, scheduling of broadcast day. Includes program director, floor managers, lighting directors, art directors and videographers, producers, directors and production personnel

• News: responsible for all original news programming for a station

Working in Television

• Cable system organization

• System manager oversees the operation

• Chief tech is responsible for all technical issues

• Marketing manager is responsible for all sales and promotion

• Office manager will oversee customer relations and accounting