Media Industry

Task 1: Using the questions below to help you structure your essay, answer the following question………….

How have advances in technology effected the TV industry and how have audiences changed as a result?

With the world of technology always advancing and evolving in news ways to watch television and films it would seem impossible for even the biggest of advertisement companies to keep up. This is because of the still mass audience of television, with millions watching everyday.

Even with all the new technologies and ways watching TV, there are still set channels which every TV will be able to receive due to the frequency being analogue. The channels for analogue are channels 1-5 (BBC 1- aimed at a mass target audience, BBC 2- aimed at 25- 90, ITV 1 – aimed at teens to 50, Channel 4 aimed at teens - 35 and Five aimed at men aged 25 - 50). This means that advertisers are more likely to reach a mass audience as they are guaranteed that they can be shown on every TV set in the country; however this does not mean it will be viewed by everyone and obviously the advertisements can not be shown on a BBC channel. Mass audience still exists in analogue channels as we see in Xfactor, strictly come dancing and soaps.

The introduction to digital TV and free view meant that mass audiences decreased and became more audience specific. Due to this introduction of free view we find it a normal necessity to buy a new TV with it built in. That’s how popular it has got, that there is such a high demand for more channels, more options and audiences become more particular. This means mass audiences have dramatically decreased resulting in more audience specific adverts and programmes.

Satellite TV is becoming more and more common with More than 85% of UK homes (21.4 million) already having digital TV. Satellite TV is a subscription service which provides the public with thousands of TV channels and other services such as games, teletext and on demand films programmes and music. It is one of today’s main developments and has become so popular that soon every TV will become digital and the analogue system will be eliminated. This could be seen as a bad thing however due to the reduce in mass audiences meaning more and more money would be needed to be spent on adverts and new programmes for each new channel. These are subscriptions from services such as Sky, Virgin and BT Vision. Each of these services provide; on demand services (films, music and programmes). Also they provide you with the ability to pause and rewind live TV; furthermore you can record your programmes at your choice or even whole series of them. All these services are digital and soon the entire UK will be moved into the digital era, it is planned that this will happen by the end of 2012. Also there is a service in the states that is trying to move across to the UK, this is a service where you record the shows you want, however it removes the adverts this results in the adverts not reaching out TV screens. At the moment this is illegal in the UK however due to its popularity in the USA this could soon change. This is dangerous for the advertising companies and products being advertised as soon the country will not be viewing adverts via the TV.

Just watching TV isn’t enough anymore, now people want more control and more interaction with television. We can do this through the ‘red button’... Interacting with the TV allows you to: participate in shopping channels, be interactive, watch x rated programmes such as babestation and other porn programmes, view different events, watch a variety of music channels, join debates, ring in, and text in your vote for many shows such as xfactor, and big brother, this also allows you to enter competition the show might be holding. The ‘red button’ also allow you to view ‘mulitscreen’ where you can choose a selection of events or commentaries and camera shots. This enables you to watch different sport events that are being played at the same time. It doesn’t stop there; you can also play games, view recent news and get involved with celeb entertainment.

Internet television is also now available to the public and means that they can view TV programmes anywhere due to easy access from laptops. On demand websites have been made which provide a catch up service of programmes you may have missed. Some websites include: channel4.com/4od, itvplayer.co.uk, and bbc.co.uk/iplayer. These services are free to watch and are available to everyone with the internet, whether it is on a laptop, computer or mobile phone. Other services include torrent sites in which people illegally download any TV series, films or music that they require. You can also pay for films, TV and music through the iTunes store and other subscription sites. This again makes it both easier and harder for advertiser to reach audiences. It’s difficult as some of the shows take out the adverts, like torrents and some TV sites. However on the legal sites it makes it easier to reach a specific audience as you can put the adverts in with certain shows.

The theory of uses and gratification has never been more relevant to today’s TV. This is due to the more audience specific channels producing a sense of personal identity for many viewers meaning they can relate to the program and characters they are watching for example being able to watch TV online. Also a sense of diversion is used regularly in films and some fictional television programmes. Considering the huge advances in technology the personal relationships theory has been increased as we continue to question and debate the rise in technology and the latest news and gossip on TV.

Films as a whole can also be accessed in many ways same as TV shows. Firstly through digital TV such as Sky and Virgin Media, there are channels set aside from the rest just to show movies and these channels are separated by the films that are shown on them: genre, most recent, and target audience (Skymovies Premiere, Skymovies Action Skymovies Comedy ect...). Also movies can be bought through digital TV services such as On Demand and Sky box office. This again breaks down mass audiences and allows digital TV to choose and select film to our advantages. Its not only digital TV but also online, you can purchase films from various websites such as; film4.com and lovefilm.com. However you can also illegally download films from some sites.

Advances in technology hasn’t only helped film makers it has opened a completely new world for them to explore for example 3D with Avatar which has been a massive success even breaking records, it was released in cinema theaters twice. Also animation and CG have enabled films makers to exceed normality and advance technology for ever. Also being able to make the characters in the film do anything not just stick the laws of reality. It is new technology that will be able to bring mass audiences back together through its magnificent development.

http://pgslearning.co.uk/media/curriculum-zone/btec-tv-and-film/7-understanding-industries/task-1/

www.film4.com

www.lovefilm.com

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

www.itvplayer.co.uk

www.channel4.co.uk/4od

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4248774.stm

http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/when_do_i_switch

Task 2: Choose a TV broadcasting organisation, such as, Sky, BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and create a short case study on how your chosen organisation uses technology at the moment and how it is looking to use technology in the future.

How Sky uses Technology

At the moment Sky is at the frontline of using technology to improve its broadcasting, quality and accessibility to TV. First of all sky one of Sky's most common service is Sky+ this alows you to record shows or entire series using the series link option, also you have a huge library to save your shows to which you can keep their for as long as you like. Another feature of Sky+ is the ability to pause and rewind live TV, this is a huge attraction to customers. Sky was the first of the TV companies to use this technology which is why they are still the leading company over Virgin and BT who shortly followed with similar technologies. Furthermore what sky do, is offer full HD for a lot of its channels, which as a lot better viewing quality,this also attracts customers to buy their packages. What sky is doing, improving their viewing quality and expanding their already established service is diversification in the same market. Although as all these improvements and upgrades will cost a lot more the investment will be worth it as more and more people are wanting the most cutting edge service especially for something as big as television. Also there is 'Sky Anytime' This is where sky takes a view key programmes, series and films and will keep them in anytime for you to watch when ever you have the time. The feature that makes Sky so popular and successful has to be the huge variety of channels it offers, by signing up to one of their packages you can have access to all the Sky Movies, Sky Sports, Kids, Sky News, Music, Documentaries and many more.

Next, other technologies used by Sky to improve their service is the accessibility to their services. The biggest way of this is through the internet via the Sky Player, through this you can watch numerous programmes all online and when ever you like. This seems vital in todays world as the internet is such a big part of nearly everyone life. As Sky is the leader in the technology, other companies actually pay Sky for the ability to braodcast Sky's programmes mostly Sky movies and Sky sports. This further funds Sky giving them more to invest into more technologies ot give them the edge over companies.

Now looking at the future of sky, their biggest development is Sky 3D. Sky are currently trying to make 3D TV the 'new big thing'. I think this is a huge task as very few people actually have 3D televisions but who knows what the future holds, in 5 years we all might have a 3D tv in our living rooms.

Task 3: How is the TV industry funded and how does this effect programming? (Include a breakdown of British TV – who are the main players?)

http://pgslearning.co.uk/media/curriculum-zone/btec-tv-and-film/7-understanding-industries/task-3/

http://www.productsandservices.bt.com:80/consumerProducts/displayTopic.do?topicId=24694&tduid=e67f35ccfc978a6a175eb85623335ece&vendorid=TDG&s_cid=con_cic_aff_tradedoubler_vidTDG_broadband

The entire media world is funded in many ways. The number way of being funded is through advertising, how ever the BBC is different. They are funded by the general public paying for a TV license. This means that the public pay £145.50 a year and in return the BBC will produce programming that will be interrupted by advertising. Also theirs news programming along side ever other program they show will be unbiased. BBC follow the remit 'the inform, to educate, to entertain' and they also try to produce television and radio that everyone will like since it is everyone who pays for the BBC.

The Main reason in why PBS is important is because it isn't owned by anyone like Rupert Murdoch owns Fox and Sky. This means that the BBC will not be biased. Also as the BBC don't make any money they have the possibility to run risks especially in the TV shows the produce. They took chances with such shows as Little Britain, QI and especially The Office as Ricky Gervais was a unheard comedian with no writing experience and the BBC gave him the chance to make his show, which now is one of the biggest shows to hit TV and now the BBC have sold The Office to America and now it has made millions in the states as well. As the BBC aren't afraid of losing money they have the opurtunity to invest in shows other companies wouldn't for example 'Planet Earth'.

Another way of funding TV is through subscription. This is where you will pay monthly for a service which can give you hundreds of channels. The range of shows you get on these channels is massive, most channel has its own genre of shows such as ; sports, documentaries, comedy. The services you could get and pay subscription to are ; Sky TV, Virgin Media, and BT Vision. The price for subscription television, can range from as little as £6.50 a month up to £52 a month, the reason for the price change depends on what service you choose and what package you choose. Different packages will come with different channels. Once you have subscribed to one of these companies, they will keep asking you if you would like to upgrade your package either by adding more channels, going HD or 3D. Also they might ask you to sign up to there other services such as broadband, talk time of mobile phone packages. So after you have signed up with them they will still try pretty hard to get even more money from you. Although the freedom and choice you get with subscription TV you get is quite amazing and worth the money if you watch a lot of TV. The perks with subscription for example Sky+, you have hundreds of channal with a huge range of shows for everyone. You also have the ability to record and show of your choice and keep in stored on the system and you can also set a 'series link', to record a every episode of a series. Also an advantage of having subscription TV is you have the opurtunity for Pay-per-view. This is where you would pay an one of payment for a certain event or film for example; sky BoxOffice, Movies on Demand, live Boxing & Wrestling. Live sport events are the biggest kind of shows people, also films with adult content is available in pay-per-view. This is a lot bigger over in u.s as they boradcast shows like Wrestling (which is bigger in the states) boxing and UFC, so mainly live sporting events. HBO in 2007 generated

$255,000,000 with 4,800,000 PPV buys.

Another example of funding is sponsorship, this would be where a company would sponsor a show, film or strands of programming, for example 'webuyanycar.com sponsors motoring on Dave', 'Harvey's Furniture sponsors Coronation Street' and 'Head & Shoulders sponsors Soccer AM' The reason why a show might want to sponsor a show could be because normal TV advertisements are often skipped or much attention isn't really applied, however if you're watching a show you will more often see and pay attention the sponsorship advert. Some particular products or companies will want associate them selves with certain shows, for example, top gear is a well liked, and well trusted motoring show so comoanies like webuyanycar.com will want to be related to that show as it will reflect them as being trusted and liked. This appears with alot of sponsorships such as 'Black and Decker with Extreme Makeover'

One if the biggest ways of funding is thriugh advertising, TV companis will allows hundereds of products and companies to advertise of there channels. Although TV companies cant promise a huge amount of viewers like they could 20 years ago then can give them audience that are linked with the genre of a show or channel this allows advertisers to know about their demographic. Niche audience will be attractive to advertisers becasue as they are a niche audience it will be easer to know their demographic and what products will interst them. For example...

There are a few ways in which advertisers have taken advantage in many new formats in which we can now watch TV. One way they have done it is online, before the shows starts it forces you to watch a/some adverts. This is probably the biggest advatange advertisers get from the different formats. Advertisers also get a disadvantage from the progress of televiosn, especially with the ability to pause and record TV, because most people will fast forward the recorded show as soon as they reach the commercials. this results in none of the adverts or even sponsorships being watched.

Product placement is another form of funduing for a tv programme. The way it works is a company will pay a tv show to place their prodcuts or show the brand name in the show. Product placement is actually illegal in the UK but very big in the US. An example of this in films is here ;

PP helps avertise a product by always having it on show to the audience with out them actually being aware of it. The advantage of having product placement is that it makes a show/film weem more realistic as the real world has brands everywhere. A disadvantage is that sometimes it seems the show/film has been made around the product just so it shows the product.

Task 4: Write a report on the film industry covering the following points…..

· The difference between mainstream and independent cinema.

· What is Bollywood?

· The studio system in Hollywood, who are the big players?

· The British Film Industry – who are the main players?

· What has happened to the British Film Council and how might this effect the British film industry?

Firstly the main difference between mainstream and independent cinema is that one produces niche films which are generally more open to the world and more direct. This would be the independent films, they have no helping or funding from the big film film companies such as Warner Bros and Disney. Although these films are made for a niche audience and not mainstream story lines, some of these films do become very successful such as; The Terminator, 28 Days later and Paranormal Activity. On the other hand mainstream cinema has the funding from the big companies and the huge budgets to make higher quality films with the famous actors and best technology. Also the kinda of films these make are very repetitive ron-coms and action packed hero films.

The main reason why mainstream cinema is so successful and makes billions each year is purely because they have the budget and the access to technology independent films don't have. They have the ability for 3D, HD quality and CG, the major companies can lure in audiences time after time. This is what makes the cinema so popular, why you find your self always going with your friedns and family, becuase it can offer you a different experience to what TV and independent films cant. Also with the advancement of the media which we can see today its no wonderwhy people will go pay to the next groundbreaking special effect film such as 'Avatar' which had a budget of $237 million and had a huge gross revenue of $2,782,275,172. Every mainstream filmed made will be played in popular minstream cinemas such as Vue and Odeon and then sold on blu-ray and DVD in popular stores.

Independent films are films that only attract pacific target audiences. Also the biggest difference between independent films is the budget the film has to produce their films. Although this lowers the quality of the film it gives a chance for new directors and actors and crew members who work in the film industry a chance to shine. A film would be taken to film festivals around the world and if that film becomes a success they would be noticed by mainstream producers and maybe even given a job through this. Due to the fact that independent cinema is aimed at niche audiences, you can see how its artistic vision and culture themes make the films noticed with in the media entity.

Another type of cinema that almost makes as much as mainstream cinema is Bollywood. The best way to describe Bollywood is as Indian cinema, but a real definition is as follows "Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai. It is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing films in regional languages, however is one which is highly recognized among the film industry. Bollywood is the largest film producer in India and one of the largest centers of film production in the world."

Bollywood is the biggest film corporation in India and plays a huge role in Hindi culture. Although not typically genre'd, most Bollywood films use musicals as a central theme. In Hindi culture, Bollywood is mainstream cinema.

Much like companies in Hollywood, Bollywood sets many trends, its attracts millions of fans through popular singers/actors in the movies. Bollywood is the answer to commercial mainstream films in which they are there to attract the masses and make a profit as a result. Anywhere out of Hindi culture, Hollywood is the biggest supplier of films, especially in western societies. The 'big six' are the six companies that own most Hollywood and the films supplied to our cinemas. The 'big six' are;

'News corp, Warner Bros, General Electric, Viacom, CBS and Time Warner'

The British film industry also has some sway in the production of films in not only the UK but also around global cinema. Seen by the Americans as weird and somewhat niche we also bring huge blockbusters such as 'Harry Potter', 'James Bond' and of course 'Star Wars'.The main players in the BFI are Pinewood, Shepperton, Elstree and Ealing. £15 million has been invested in over 900 British films by the Government. Part of this was the research the highs of Hollywood and incorporate them into British cinema. However due to the recession the Government has had to pull out of the BFI and put it on hold. This has upset the most of the BFI and has actually stopped some films making the cut. This has also resulted in many people losing their jobs alongside many starts losing their frame.

Task 5: Ownership and control – Does it matter who owns the media?

• Who are the big six media conglomerates and how much of the world’s media do they own?
• How have the Big Media conglomerates used horizontal and vertical intergration, in order to become the major players in media industries?
• Why is it dangerous that a few companies provide us with the majority of our media?
• What is globalisation and how can huge media conglomerates contribute towards cultural hegemony?
• The recent News Corp – BskyB takeover has caused much controversy – summarise the story and the discuss the way the British media has responded.

The big six media conglomerates consist of General Electric, Walt Disney, News Corp, TimeWarner, VIACOM and CBS.

General Electric is one of the biggest conglomerates in the world with branches such as Universal Pictures, Television networks NBC and Telemundo, 26 Television stations in the United States and cable networks MSNBC, Focus Features, Bravo and the Sci-fi channel and finally General electric owns 80% of NBC Universal. Owning all these corporations GE have made a big name for them selves, in 2009 they made revenue of $158 billion this is the largest out of this six. As they own so many, this gives a huge amount a power, especially with NBC, as they are able to produce biased opinions to the nations, by doing this they have such a heavy influence on the population to a point where they can control what people believe. The reason they have got so big is through vertical and horizontal integration. An example of this could be GE bought film studio and then didn't have to keep loaning one, this an example of horizontal integration. An example of vertical integration would be if GE bought radio station and branched out from their existing TV and film industries.

News Corp also a member of the 'big six; owns many station, companies, businesses etc. The Fox Broadcasting Company; television and cable networks such as fox, Fox Business Channel, National Geographic and FX, print publications including 'the wall street journal', ' the new york post' and 'TV guide', The magazinesBarron's and SmartMoney, Book publisher HarperCollins, Film production companies 20th Century Fox, Fox searchlight pictures and Blue Sky Studios, numerous websites including MarketWatch.com, and non-media holdings including the National Rugby League. Theses are all examples of Rupert Murdoch's hand in media. And just shows why he is one of the most powerful men in media. Recently RM has positioned to by 100% of the stakes of Blue Sky Studios, this is an example of horizontal integration and an example of how RM keeps gaining power. The effect of this take over bid would be that he owns very high percentage of media in the UK, and with this power he could influence masses of the population to believe his personal opinions. This is a example of cultural hegemony as he is overtaking over media industries and leaving them in the shadows of his companies, If he continues to do this and to gain more powers it will be soon hard to find a media source that hasnt come from one of his companies therefore he would control the whole media to fully influence the population with is personal opinions. All this is further globalisation which is where already established companies expand and buy out the competition therefore gaining more powerful and making it impossible for anyone else to be successful in their industry. News Corp hold revenue of $30.4 billion

Disney seems like an unlikely source to hold so much power in the media but they own a lot more than you may think. The Walt Disney company owns the following; ABC television network, cable networks including ESPN, the Disney Channel, SOAP-net, A&E and lifetime, 277 radio stations, music and book publishing companies, production companies Touchstone, Miramax and Walt Disney pictures, Pixar Animation Studios, the cellular service Disney Mobile, and numerous theme parks around the world. It seems strange that the once so happily ever after films with talking animals have now become a source of power amongst the media industries.

"Media competition today is far more intense than at any time in history" said Bruce Owen a professor at Stanford university.

The reason why a lot of people are against globalisation and how 6 conglomerates hold so much power is because of how much influence they own in the media. It is so easy for them get their personal views across to the nation and to get the population to believe what they want them to believe. It also can lead to disruption in the way the media presents true information. The news broadcasts become biased and opinionated instead of sitting on the fence.

Task 8: Explain some of the different types of jobs and contracts that are being advertised currently at the BBC.

Explain the notion of confidentiality and exclusivity agreements and provide relevant examples.

A Voluntary contract in the BBC is a role that requires no payment and would be most likely be; runners and extras due to the constant demand for these job roles. Runners are usually young people who are just beginning in the film industry, they will usually shadow the director or producer. The roles are normally tea making, sandwich runs and cleaning up. Extras, are generally voluntary due to the fact that they play minor roles in the production, which requires little skill. A voluntary job can be very helpful in the beginning stages upon entering the media industries as it gives you more experience, gives you chances to meet successful workers already established in the industry for example and Journalism student at university may offer to write an article for a local paper for free.

Confidentiality - Confidentiality in the BBC and any other sector in the media world is where a employee may have keep quiet about a number of things. When filming a member of the crew must not reveal any information about the upcoming story lines or narrative An example of this could be a camera man telling either friends or other media broadcasts such as newspapers and magazines. If this would ever happen the suspect may find them selves fired and even have to face the legal penalties.

Exclusivity - Exclusivity is where star vehicles are contracted to endorse a brand or company, on a commercial scale. This is usually where the celebrity has to use/where the product or equipment from the brand. A classic example of this would be David Beckham contracted with Adidas, and there having to support the brand, this is done by wearing Adidas football boots on the pitch. Another example of this would be Morrisons employing Richard Hammond to act as a celebrity figure had towards the brand.

For task 9 see Unit 21 task 11, health and safety.

Task 10: Provide definitions of and examples relating to the following terms of Media Legislation…….equal opportunities; Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006; employer’s liability; employee rights; belonging to a trade union; Intellectual Property: copyright; trademarks;

Employment equality (age) regulations 2006

This was designed so that nobody within the media would be sacked or looked down on because of what age they were. For example in 2010 Ms O'Reilly was reportedly axed from her Sunday prime-time TV slot because of her age. She was eventually replaced by a younger women and she eventually took legal action against the BBC. In the end she won her case. This shows the modern day look on age within the work place and also hat sex you are.

Employers liability

The reason behind this act is that a company or business is responsible for their employee's. For example if them or an employee is taken ill or seriously injured they have to make sure that they were contracted to that particular business and that anything that does happen to them will be the full responsibility of that company. If a member of staff does become seriously injured and it is the company's fault for not taking the correct health and safety precautions then they will be held responsible for that incident.

Employee rights

Employee rights are taken extremely seriously in the modern day work place. For example if you are over the age of 21 you are entitled to a minimum wage of £5.93. Also an employee is entitled to pay when off work sick or on holiday as long as the holiday is within the workplace and employee's agreement. In the media most jobs are minimum wage until you become employed at the top end of your particular work. For example you may start off in the media as a runner which is basically someone who just sweeps up and makes the tea. Obviously some will work their way up and some will just move on to another job.

Belonging to a trade union

A trade union is basically a group of people who once every month or week come together and suggest new ideas on how their workplace can maybe be improved. They also talk about issues that may have occurred in the workplace that shouldn't have and how they can stop this from happening again. They speak on behalf of all their colleges and if they think they need a pay rise of think their in titled to more holidays then they will voice their opinions to people higher in the work place.

Intellectual property copyright

Intellectual property copyright is basically a company that protects people's ideas. It can include many things including music, TV shows, broadcasting etc but mainly music. The most recent and most famous case of intellectual property copyright is when Simon Cowell reportedly stole Simon Fuller's idea of the highly profitably "POP idol." Simon Fuller claims he came he came up with the idea and Simon Cowell stole them. Simon Cowell is now a multi-millionaire and has had other successful TV programs with "American idol" and "X-factor."

Trademarks

A trademark is a sign or logo that distinguishes a product or logo from other company's. For example no other company except NIKE can use that logo to enhance their sales. The NIKE logo is known all over the world and if any other company were to use it's logo or slogan in any way shape or form they would probably have to pay a huge sum or compensation and also be warned about their future conduct.