Task one

Name a Public Service Broadcaster

An example of a Public Service Broadcaster would be Channel 4

What is PSB?
A PSB or Public Service Broadcaster is a broadcasting service which broadcasts programs to
benefit the public rather than to serve purely commercial interests.

The BBC (who is mostly funded by the TV Licensing fees that the public pays) is most notable
for being the first PSB in the Uk. The BBC was launched on the first of January, 1927 and was
directed by the newly knighted John Reith.

The first commercial broadcaster to launch was ITV, which was launched 1955. ITV was
launched after the Television Act 1954 was passed in order to break down the monopoly of
the BBC who held a huge presence over television broadcasting at the time.

With the launch of the first commercial broadcaster ITV in 1955, the government required
that the local franchises fulfilled a similar obligation, mandating a certain level of local news
coverage, arts and religious programming, in return for the right to broadcast.

The next commercial television broadcasters in the UK (Channel 4 and S4C) were set up by
the government in 1981 to supply different types of public broadcasting. Channel 4 was
intended to be a public service alternative to the BBC. S4C was to be a mainly Welsh
language programmer. Neither of the broadcasters were required to become commercially
successful.

What are the debates on whether PSB is relevant today?

Probably the largest debate if PSB (Public Service broadcasting) is still relevant today is
whether people are still interested in what they are being offered. Due to the huge rise in
the use of social media such as Facebook and Youtube, people are finding alternative places
to get their entertainment programs from. With a decrease in people having TV licenses,
this is resulting in Public Service Broadcasters loosing large sums of money. This could result
in some broadcaster being unable to sustain themselves and as a result having to shut
down, decreasing the relevance of PSB over time. On the other hand, some people believe
PSB will always be relevant and have a place in the media industry.
 Identify 3 Commercial Broadcasters. How do they obtain their revenue compared
to the BBC? What debates recently have there been about Product Placement on
Commercial Television?

Channel 4
Channel 4 receives no public funding. It gets its funds by its own commercial activities. Most
of their income comes from advertising revenue. This is unlike the BBC which gets funded by
the public paying a license fee.

S4C
"In addition to public funding, S4C generates around 2% of its income through commercial
sources, such as advertising. S4C is controlled by the S4C Authority, an independent body
unconnected to Ofcom, the regulator of other UK television channels such as ITV and
Channel 4." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S4C

ITV
"ITV is a commercially funded broadcaster which means that it is financed by advertising
revenue . Independent commercially funded broadcasters, such as ITV , sell time slots for
adverts. The price of each advertising slot varies according to the day it goes out and the
time." - https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zc8tv4j/revision/1
Bullet point the key benefits of Sky1
- Sky 1 has the ability to broadcast programs from the United States of America, which
would not normally be seen by UK audiences.
- Sky 1 offers multiple channels for the customer to watch
- Sky 1 gains money from advertising & merchandising rights
- You have the ability to catch up on shows you may have missed
- There is a wide range of shows that fits everyone's needs
- You are able to enjoy the programs in high definition
 What is a Multi-national Media Conglomerate?
A multinational conglomerate is a collection of two or more companies that are working on
businesses that all fall under the same corporate group, usually involving a parent company
and many subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company.

Some examples of this are shown below

-20th Century fox own - 20th century fox, Fox, FX, National Geographic, Fox News and
MyNetTv

-Disney own - Walt Disney studios, ABC studios , Marvel television, ESPN inc and Disney
Channels.

-Comcast own - Universal Studios, Universal Television, NBC, NBC Sports group and NHL
network.

-Time Warner own - Warner Bros, The CW, HBO, CNN and DC comics.

What is the difference between a Monopoly and an Oligopoly

A monopoly is a situation which one entity dominates a certain market while on the other
hand with an oligopoly is dominated by a small group of large sellers. The reasons
monopolies and oligopolies end up existing could be for a few reasons such as for example,
the product in question being a lot better, or at least perceived to be than its competitors.
An example of this would be how most people use Google over Bing. Although both services
do the same task at the same efficiency, Google is perceived to be a lot better than its main
competitors Yahoo and Bing.
 What is the difference between Vertical and Horizontal integration?
"Horizontal integration" is a term used where two companies in the same industry morph
together. A prime example of this would be the popular social media Facebook buying &
then acquiring ownership over Instagram. "Vertical integration" on the other hand is where
two companies merge together where the acquiring company acquires another company
that operates before or after them in the production process. An example of a company
that is vertically integrated is Target, which has its own store brands and manufacturing
plants. They create, distribute, and sell their products—eliminating the need for outside
entities such as manufacturers, transportation, or other logistical necessities.
What is an Independent Production Company?
An "independent production company" is a company that creates different forms of media
entertainment, where it be a tv series or a movie, while being some what or completely
outside of the major film studio system. This type of content which is produced by these
studios are distributed out by independent agencies.

"Independent film productions raise money from a variety of sources. Some small
production companies may collaborate on the production by sharing industry skills and
financial resources. Independent production companies can secure funding from private
investors but usually they are funded by arts agencies, such as the British Film Council or the
British Film Institute. Some television broadcasters, like BBC Films and Film Four, also fund
independent films. The internet has enabled independent filmmakers to seek funding from
online donations or crowdfunding." - BBC

Examples

-All3Media: Fresh Meat, Cash Cab, The Village, Wolf Hall

-Walsh Bros. Ltd: Toy Soldiers, Don’t Make me Angry, Trex, Monarch
-Warp: This is England 86, The Midnight Beast, Care, The Sniplist

Example 2
Explain what is meant by Channel Proliferation and Multi Channel TV?
Channel proliferation is when there is an increase in the amount of channels which then
leads to a larger selection of channels for the audience to choose from.
A multichannel television service or a "television provider" is a kind of service provider of
which distributes TV programming to their audience by them having to pay a subscription
fee (the audience)

Identify when and how Multi Channel TV came about

 Multi-channel television is the result of the broadcasting act of 1990 which is one of the
largest reasons that there was a growth in multi-channel television & this was called the
"1990 Broadcasting Act". The act supposed that the uprise would increase efficiency and
lead to a larger consumer choice in what they view on TV. The 1990 Broadcasting Act
accompanied by the 1996 broadcasting Act, helped lessen the regulations around
independent television.

How is the Internet now being used to broadcast television programmes?

Since the increase in the amount of people using social media in recent years, this has lead a
large sum of the television customers to feel no need anymore for a TV subscription, or TV
at all. As a result of this a vast library of different online streaming services have surfaced
and as a result become extremely popular to regular TV consumers. An example of this
would be Netflix. TV broadcasters have also started putting their shows online to watch for
free rather than having to solely depend on the television to watch the show. An example of
this would be the likes of BBC iPlayer.
What is the difference between satellite, digital and cable?

Satellite
"At the broadcast center, the TV provider receives signals from various programming
sources and beams a broadcast signal to satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The satellites
receive the signals from the broadcast station and rebroadcast them to Earth. The receiver
processes the signal and passes it on to a standard TV." - cssdtv
Digital
Digital television uses a digital signal instead of a radio signal to transmit programmes.
Information in a digital signal is transmitted as 1s and 0s

Cable
Cable television is broadcasted through radio frequency signals.
 Task Three
What do the terms ‘regulation’ and ‘de-regulation’ mean?
The term "regulation" is a term commonly used in the media industry is the control of mass
data which is mainly managed by the government. "Deregulation" is a term in the media
industry for the process where the government removes controls and rules for how media is
owned and controlled.

What does ‘desensitisation’ mean?

Desensitisation is a term in which a person is no longer affected or in any way shocked by
violence or gore etc (they become numb to it). This is the result of the person viewing too
many TV shows or movies in which a large or even small amount of violence is shown. Over
time this will add up and inevitability desensitisation the viewer to real life violence.
How has the concept of the Watershed become blurred?
The "watershed" is a time, mainly late at night, in which programs that are shown include
adult themes such as adult language and adult content. Many people argue that the
watershed is pointless currently due to children being exposed to this sort of material from
a way younger age than maybe their parents or older siblings were. This is all due to the rise
of the internet ."The Watershed has become blurred because of the changes in society."
 What are the main roles of Ofcom and briefly the ASA?
OFCOM is mainly a regulation body in the UK of which has a very wide range of duties that
they must follow to ensure the viewer has the best content . It ensures that people in the
UK get the absolute highest standard of communication services and are completely
protected from being scammed out of their money. They do this while also ensuring that
the competition in the industry is still there. Some of the duties that OFCOM undertakes
include:
- Make sure that the people watching and listening to are protected from offensive and
harmful content.

- Television and radio services are provided by a range of different organisations

- Ensures that the Uk has a wide range of communication services such as high speed
internet

- Making sure people are protected from being treated unfairly in television and radio
programmes, and from having their privacy invaded.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) was founded in 1962 to ensure that all
advertisements - whether on television, radio, newspapers or billboards - are "both honest
and decent". It is independent of government and is funded through an anonymous levy
raised from advertisers. The ASA will take into account the impression created by marketing
communications as well as specific claims. They look into complains made by customers,
The ASA has to respond to these complaints and check that there are no issues with privacy
protection.