Task One

Name a Public Service Broadcaster (PSB)

The British Broadcasting Company, also known as the BBC is an

example of a Public Service Broadcaster.

What is PSB?

A PSB, which is short for a Public Service Broadcaster is a

broadcasting service that broadcasts programmes for the general
public, and is funded and developed by the public. The public pay a
license fee to ‘unlock’ different programmes to watch, this money is
then given to the government, who pay the broadcaster as a way of
financing. In March, 2019, there were approximately 4.6 million
licences paid by the general public.

https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/foi-licences-facts-and-figures-AB18

Source for figures above.

What are the debates on whether PSB is relevant today?

In a world of streaming services, and so many social medias offering

endless hours of media content, it can seem as though Public Service
Broadcasters are unnecessary or past their due date. Streaming
services cost less than a license for PSB and money is a huge factor in
this debate. Not only can streaming services cost less, but they can
offer more appealing content for an ever-growing ‘youthful’ general
public. Social media allows endless watch time for the public, from a
range of platforms…from YouTube, which allows hours of footage to
be uploaded every second to TikTok, which floods the user with
hours of binge able content…all for free. Some people do not want
to, or do not have the funds available to pay for a PSB TV license so
having free ‘equivalents’ on social media is a huge win for them. If
 someone is caught not having a TV license, they can be fined up to
£1000, and for some people that risk is not worth it. While there are
many reasons why PSB isn’t relevant or needed in today’s society, it
also…is. The BBC and Channel 4, two PSBs have a greater budget
than smaller creators on different platforms, and therefore can fund
and produce amazing quality shows and movies. Even with that
‘positive’ factor, many people have stopped renewing their license
and therefore PSBs are losing their funding, meaning eventually they
will not be able to sustain their companies anymore, and will be able
to spend less creating programmes, decreasing the quality, or even
worse, go bankrupt.

Identify 3 Commercial Broadcasters. How do they obtain their

revenue compared to the BBC? What debates have recently been
about product placement on Commercial Television?

ITV
ITV is broadcaster which is funded on commercials, this means that
advertising revenue is what finances them. ITV sell advertising slots
of time for companies, that happen within the showing of their
programmes. The price companies have to pay depends on the
interest of the programme that’s playing, time of day & what month
it is.

Channel 4
Channel 4 is funded directly by themselves. Their own ‘commercial
activities’ are what funds them, while the BBC is funded by the public
paying a license.

Sky
Sky are funded (the largest portion) by subscriptions by their
customers. If someone wants to watch, they pay a monthly fee, not
to be mistaken as paying monthly for a TV license like the BBC.
 Bullet point the key benefits of Sky1

- Sky One generates Sky more revenue, which means they can
fund and produce better quality content. As Sky One is a
subscription and you pay to watch, it allows the overall Sky
company to make more money due to these ‘spin off’ channels.

- Sky One allows programmes from different parts of the world,

notably the United States of America, which creates a more
diverse catalogue that customers in the UK would not get to
experience otherwise.

- Sky One work hard to ensure they can advertise and make
merchandise on their shows but also their company, including
spin off shows with different characters, mugs, bottles,
keyrings, shirts and many more.

What is a Multi-national Conglomerate and give four

examples? Name 5 well-known companies/organisations that
they own.

A multi-national conglomerate is when a lot of different

subsidiaries that work in different industries (which can be
game developers, radio, music, television and more) all join
forces and come together to create a larger enterprise, having
their main work place (headquarters) in one country and
distributing the rest of their work places around the world, it is
a group working on a multi-national scale with ‘one parent.’

Disney:
Marvel Television, Walt Disney Studios, ABC Studios, Disney
Channel, ESP Inc, Lifetime, The History Channel.
 Time Warner:
Warner Brothers, DC Comics, HBO, CNN, The CW.

20th Century Fox:

20th Century Fox, National Geographical, Fox News, Fox, FX.

Microsoft:
Bing, Outlook, Azure, Xbox, Xbox Live, Outlook, OneDrive.

Comcast:
Sky, Xfinity, AT&T Broadband, NBC Universal Media.

What is the difference between a Monopoly and an Oligopoly

with examples?

A monopoly is when a single company or partnership dominate

the sales in the market over other rivalries, this means they
have a ‘monopoly’ over the other companies in the same field.
An example is Google, who have reign over the entire ‘search
online’ feature, beating out many different companies such as
AOL, Bing or Yahoo. All of these companies perform the same
task, and allow the public to do the same thing, yet Google is
the favourite and preferred by most. Google also has
partnerships with internet browsers which automatically
suggest their search engine to the public, meaning their
numbers will always be greater.

An oligopoly is different from a monopoly as it is when multiple

different companies are dominating the same market, at the
same time. This means that it is far more equal and fairer, and
allows for smaller companies to have a chance of success
within the public. An example is the music industry, while it is
very hard to stand out and is very competitive, it allows many
different record companies to have a reach and audience with
equal radio support and distribution.

What is the difference between Vertical and Horizontal

integration, with examples?

Vertical Integration is where a business or cooperation

develops itself more and extends their capabilities in the same
sector but in different areas. An example is Netflix. Netflix
started as a company which the public could rent out DVDs and
it has now turned into one of the most popular online
streaming platforms after the executive manager decided that
to make more money, they could move what they were doing…
to online. From this point in time of changing to a streaming
service of other shows, they’ve now developed into making
their own original content.

Horizontal Integration is when a cooperation invest money into

purchasing a related company that isn’t as well known in the
market, or hasn’t ‘debuted’ yet. An example of this is when
Facebook bought the rights to Instagram on April 9TH, 2012. In
doing this, Facebook furthered their profits over time.

What is an Independent Production Company & give 3

examples? Name 4 TV programs that they make.

An independent production company is a company that

independently creates their content. After they have been
created, they usually sell them to a bigger company. Most
independent productions are very experimental, and play
around with different film techniques, genres and styles, more
than a regular production company would. Due to a lack of
 budget, meaning shots will be taken at actual locations,
independent production company content feels more realistic
and rawer in comparison to bigger companies doing everything
in sets or studios.

Examples of Independent Film Companies

42 (Sand Castle, In The Shadow Of The Moon, Welcome To The

Punch, Monsters: Dark Content) ,

Aardman Animations (Chicken Run, Wallace & Gromit: The

Curse Of The Were-Rabbit, Flushed Away, Arthur Christmas) ,

Eon Productions (Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Thunderball,

Goldfinger)

https://millennialstudios.co.uk/blog/top-british-film-production-companies/

Source for Information above.

Task Two

What is Channel Proliferation and Multi-Channel TV?

Channel Proliferation is when channels are persistently trying

to keep their customers satisfied, with new and better content
and constantly developing new ideas and concepts, which
means their channel will become more personalised and
customers will have a bigger catalogue of channels to choose
from.

Identify when and how Multi-Channel TV came about.

 Multi-Channel TV came about due to the 1990 Broadcasting
Act. The act passing meant that it provided a structured legal
electronic communication between the companies and
customers. In doing this, creating and offering more outlets.
The ultimate aim was to further allow customers to have the
most choice and variety possible when browsing through what
to watch. This then would generate more revenue for the
broadcasters, while allowing them to have less restrictive rules
with what they broadcasted.

How is the Internet now being used to broadcast television

programmes?

The internet has provided so many different ways for users to

have access to endless hours of content due to an endless
amount of video based social media platforms such as YouTube
and TikTok. Broadcasters have acknowledged this shift in pop
culture and have started moving into the online world, by
creating their own streaming services, such as Netflix, or Disney
putting their catalogue online with Disney Plus. The BBC have
also started to shift their content online, with BBC iPlayer.

What is the difference between satellite, digital and cable?

Satellite

Satellite is broadcasting over signals by satellites.

Digital

Digital is broadcasting through a digital device.

Cable
 Cable is broadcasting by using radio signals.
Task Three

What do the terms ‘Regulation’ and ‘De-regulation’

mean?

Regulation is a word to describe the control of mass media,

often managed by the government. De-regulation is a word to
describe when the government remove rules and strict control
for how media is controlled.

What does ‘Desensitisation’ mean

Desensitisation is when a person is immune to being shocked

by gory or violent content, due to overexposure of the content,
or similar content.

How has the concept of the Watershed become blurred?

‘Watershed’ is a time of the night in which programmes are

allowed to start showing adult themes, and adult content. The
concept has become blurred overtime as people believe
children are exposed to more inappropriate content online, at a
younger age than their generation was.

What are the main roles of Ofcom and briefly the ASA?

The main roles of Ofcom, who are a company in which make

sure the customer has the best experience possible. It focuses
on making sure the UK general public get proper
communication and are protected from being scammed. Ofcom
make sure wifi speeds are as high as they can be for the
customer, make sure everyone is treated fairly on radio and or
television shows, making sure people feel their privacy is
 protected, and making sure people are protected from
offensive and harmful content.

The main roles of ASA, also known as Advertising Standards

Authority is to make sure that advertisements are of a decent
and honest standard. ASA respond to complaints and will look
into any troubleshoots people are having about advertisements
they are exposed to.