Ownership and funding in the TV and film industries

Ownership:
The television and film industry is owned in many different ways such as:
 Public service
 Commercial
 Private
 Corporate
 Independent companies
 Global companies
 Vertical integration/ Horizontal integration
 Monopolies

Public Service:
Public service is a public owned company funded by the general public through a TV
license fee which goes towards providing shows on channels such as BBC.
The BBC’s main job is to educate, inform and entertain. They have to provide a variety of
shows to cater for many people of different age and interest.
As members of the general public we can voice what we want the BBC to show and
whether they are providing us with interesting and useful programs.
The BBC may remove programs that are not getting enough viewers as it is their job to
show programs we want to watch! If not we have the right to complain if we think they
aren't doing there job properly because we are paying for this service.

Commercial:
These are out to make money! They are funded through TV advertising for example ITV
and channel 4.
Commercial broadcasting is the broadcasting of television programs specifically to make
money and is funded through TV advertising.
Examples of commercial TV programs are ITV and channel 4 as the majority of their
shows are sponsored and advertised by other companies such as Coronation street and
Hollyoaks.

Private Ownership:
Private ownership is owned by an individual or a group of people, although groups tend
to be shareholders.
Robert Rodriguez is an example of private ownership, at a very young age he showed an
interest in cartooning and filmmaking and devoted all of his time towards developing this
fascination. Finally, it paid off, resulting in him in making real movies; and just the first
of them - El mariachi (1992) - made him the legend of independent, ultra-low budget
 filmmaking. Since then, Robert has written, directed, edited, and/or produced around 12
movies, including: Desperado (1995), From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), The Faculty (1998)
and Spy Kids (2001).

Corporate:
Corporates are run by a company.
There is a hierarchy of directors and CEOs where within the company people are
employed and paid to run it.
As there are so many people involved in running corporate companies, only the company
name can be sued, not an individual for example the individual being Richard Branson
and the company being Virgin.

Independent Companies:
An independent company is simply owned by an independent person or group.
They get their funding through investment and private capital.
They can also pitch their TV programme with a TV Company in order to get funding for
example channel 4.
An example on a independent record label is Blast first and caters for alternative music
style bands who have a specific audience.
A major disadvantage with being a independent label is that not many people know who
you are and its hard to make money which you need in order to promote!

Global Companies:
Global companies are companies that are known and accessed worldwide.
For example the Walt Disney established itself as a leader in the American animation
industry before diversifying into live-action film production, television, and travel. In
addition, Disney has created new divisions of the company in order to market more
mature content than it typically associates with its flagship family-oriented brands.
The company is best known for the products of its film studio, the Walt Disney Studios,
and today one of the largest and best-known studios in Hollywood. Disney also owns and
operates the ABC broadcast television network; cable television networks such as Disney
Channel, ESPN, A+E Networks, and ABC Family; publishing, merchandising, and
theatre divisions; and owns and licenses 14 theme parks around the world.

Vertical Integration:
Vertical integration is when two companies work in partnership together to produce a
product.
DNA films is an example of vertical integration because DNA produces and Fox
searchlights distributes them and does their marketing.
 Another example of vertical integration is X factor. X factor is owned by Simon Cowell
who owns his own record label called syco. Syco is a subsidiary of Sony which is a major
company. This gains more money for Sony and Simon Cowell.
An advantage of vertical integration is that if something goes wrong then more and one
company faces the consequences. Another advantage is that it makes the product or
company more diverse because more people are involved.
A disadvantage is that you may not trust part of the company and therefore you may not
have good communication skills. Another disadvantage is that if one part of the company
falls then every other part of production has to stop and wait for that part of the company
to get its self back on track.

Horizontal Integration:
Horizontal integration is when a company owns and produces its products by itself.
An example of a horizontal integration is EMI as they own their record producers and
music publishing companies. It is the world largest independent music company.
Another example of this is Apple who build all their own stuff from the hardware to the
iPhone, iMac, iPod, iPad. They also own all the programmes which you find on these
items such as iTunes. An advantage with Apple is that they gain all the profit due to the
fact they don’t need to pay any other company. Another advantage is that they also have
more control over everything that’s being done with no communication lost.
A disadvantage of horizontal integration is that if something goes wrong within Apple
with part of there software then that’s Apples fault and they have to pay out due to the
fact there the only company involved.

Monopolies:
A monopoly is a company that own other companies and many different media
businesses. An example is Disney which is an American diversified multinational mass
media corporation and the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue.
The company is best known for the products of its film studio, the Walt Disney Studios,
one of the largest and best-known studios in Hollywood. Disney also owns and operates
the ABC broadcast television network; cable television networks such as Disney Channel,
ESPN, A+E Networks, and ABC Family

Funding:
The television and film industry is funded in many different ways such as:
 Licence fee
 Subscription
 Pay per view
 Sponsorship
  Advertising
 Product placement
 Private capital
 Financial aid
 Development funds

License Fee:
A television licence is an official record of payment required in many countries for the
reception of television broadcasts, or the possession of a television set. The licence is
sometimes also required to own a radio or receive radio broadcasts.
A TV licence is therefore a tax for the purpose of funding public broadcasting, allowing
public broadcasters to transmit television programmes, it also funds TV channels for
example the BBC.

Subscription:
This is where you pay a monthly fee to watch extra channels for example Sky.
Disadvantages are that the minimum Sky Digital contract is 12 months, which makes it
not suitable if you are only going to be staying in the location for less than a year. There
are no pay as you go options for people who are only living in an area short term.

Pay per view:

With Pay-Per-View, you have the ability to enjoy first-run movies and special events such
as love film and sky sports at a time that is convenient for you with a one off payment!
Also, unlike renting a movie from a video store, there is no movie to return and you pay
no late fees!

Sponsorship:
Sponsorship usually means any kind of support from any private source. This will mostly
be with a profit making company in return for benefits (usually marketing related).
Sponsorship is a two way process and in return for money or sponsorship in kind
(services, goods or expertise) a company will expect some benefits. Typical benefits to
the company can be:
inclusion of the company logo on publicity material (branding),
the opportunity for the sponsor to make direct contact with a particular audience and
enhanced reputation, profile raising and press contact for the business, especially in the
case of high profile events or projects.
For example TV programmes that are sponsored are shows such as Hollyoaks and
Coronation street.
Advertising:
These are regular TV adverts that are shown in between TV programmes to advertise and
sell products.
Maintaining advertising on TV is important to ensure that broadcasters have sufficient
funding available to sustain their investment in the UK television industry.

Product Placement:
When products appear in shows, the company that owns the product have paid to have
them used and appear in TV shows and films.
For example Volvo paid the Twilight films to use their Volvo cars in the film to boost car
sells and in the Volvo TV adverts there are video clips of the Twilight film featured in it.

Private Capital:
A private capital investment will generally be made by a firm or investor who has its own
set of goals, preferences and investment strategies.
They provide working capital to expand a company, introduce new-product development,
or restructure the company’s operations, management, or ownership.
Investors will invest in TV and film companies and provide the company with everything
they need and then take a share of the profit.

Financial Aid:
This is government help for example TV tax relief- for scripted television projects with a
minimum core expenditure of £1 million per broadcast hour, you can claim a rebate of up
to 25% of qualifying UK expenditure!
TV Tax Relief is available for British qualifying scripted television. TV projects must
either pass the Cultural Test or qualify as an official co-production and TV projects must
be intended for broadcast (including internet).

Development Funds:
This is where you give money to independent companies to fund shows and films.
The biggest public funder of films in the UK is the BFI (British film institute) which
invests Lottery funds across a diverse mix of projects. The production and development
fund offers financial assistance to established filmmakers, emerging talent, and every
level in-between.