FINAL EXAM
Incentives for producing made-for-TV-movies:
- (1963-1964): Movie companies began asking for higher prices for their TV films. Following this, the networks decided to release "made for TV movies". - The networks controlled these movies' scripts, length (90 min or 2 hour slot), and they will now have future syndication rights. - 1st made for TV movie = "The Killers" with Ronald Regan and was based off Ernest Hemingway's short story. However, it could not air on TV because it was "too violent". Therefore, it was released as a feature film and sold to foreign markets. - 6 studios dominated the feature film field by 1973: Universal TV, Aaron Spelling Productions, Paramount TV, 20th Century Fox TV, Columbia's Screen Gems, and Metromedia. - In the 70s, these 6 companies made movies for primetime slots on all 3 networks: NBC's World Premiere Movies, CBS's New Friday Night Movie, and ABC's Movie of the Week. - Also, in the late 1960s- early 1970s, these made for TV movies always had the potential to be created into a weekly feature. - called "back-door pilot episodes" and created more like TV series with producers and show runners running the show.
Syndication Business
- By 1961, TV now seen as an important ancillary market (new media source to sell the same stuff). - 3 Types... 1. Off-Network: Came from an established network originally. Examples = "I Love Lucy" (originally on CBS). 2. First-Run: A new program, sold individually, and never on a network. Example = "Stark-Trek: Next . Generation" (1st run = 1987-1994). It was produced by Paramount and sold to 210 stations. 3. Strip-Syndication: When you would run the show 5 days a week at the same time (Mon-Fri). Example = "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", "The Big Bang Theory", "Seinfeld". *Strip = scheduling*.
Rupert Murdoch
- Australian-born U.S. citizen and founder of FOX - His corporation was the first to announce an ambitiuous satellite broadcasting channel "The Sky Channel" in 1989. - started signing up affiliates for FOX in 1986, anticipated the network's huge success.
Stable Network Era, 1955-1985
- 1955 marks the era of which makes us think of "American TV" - All about the Big 3 Networks - Fall 1966 = virtually every tv has universal color production - Space Race begins in the late 1950s. -The 1960s = first presidential debate to be televised (Kennedy and Nixon). Kennedy is known as the first "telegenic" president. - Cable TV introduced in 1975 but does not gain popularity until the 1980s. -Dumont Network fades in 1955 - Most influential 70s sitcoms on ABC, which brought the network to the top of the Big 3 ratings for the first time ever. - 1985 = end of the classic network system. - Based on ideas of "Vertical Integration": Owning directly all of the pieces you need to own and produce your own products. It "cuts out the middle man". Government Interaction: 1. FCC's "50/50" rule, 1965: kept network-ownership to no more than 50% of Prime-Time non-news networking. 2. FCC's "Prime-Time Access Rule" (PTAR), 1970 - Desilu (Individual TV Producer), Quinn-Martin (Independent Cop, action, and private-eye shows), and Danny-Thomas Productions ("Andy-Griffith Show". All three companies with sole customers = the big three networks because the 3 big networks were in an oligopoly with each other. - Popular TV shows types: 1. "Genre-Machine": think Western boom of the 60s. 2. "fantastic family sitcom": space race and the domestic family sitcom 3. "recombinant genres": a hybrid of 2 different genres. 4. The Civil-Rights movement in the 1960s aids in the rising integration of African American characters on TV. - The Vietnam War = the "TV War" - Daytime newscasts increased in length and freuquency.
HBO
- 1972: first made its local debut as the 1st satellite cable channel delivered. - 1978: Time Inc. purchases HBO and becomes the first viable pay-cable channel. - 1980: HBO begins 2nd pay-cable service = "Cinemax" - Known for having high-quality aspects with "R-Rated" cut shows.
Mark Fowler
- 1980 FCC chairman who sought to repeal the Fairness Doctrine because it violated broadcasters 1st Amendment Rights. - says satellite/ cable TV provides more options, so "scarcity" period is over. Scarcity should no longer be an important rationale for any type of regulation. - used the term "TV Toaster": not federal regulation for your toaster (everyone has one) therefore, no more federal regulation for your TV (since everyone now has one).
End of the Classic Network Era
- 1985: the end of the classic network era with a combined audience share totaling less than 75%. - reasons... 1. Cable viewing/penetration rose significantly between 75-85. 2. VCR (being able to watch movies at home).
Diahann Carroll
- 1st black woman to star in her own series; "Julia" (1968)
The Sopranos
- 1st for "high-quality" TV standards, similar to a movie and it is a serial TV drama. Each season = 40 million $ - Rejected by all 4 networks ( due to language and nudity) and then picked up by HBO in Spring 1999. It was an instant hit. - aired on HBO and received immense popularity for its complicated storyline and complex characters with a cult following.
Telestar
- 1st successful American satellite, launched in 1962 by AT&T. - offered TV and cell signals. - 1964: made it possible to transmit the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo coverage globally with satellite.
CBS's "Turn to Relevance", 1970-1971
- A call for TV programs to not just have goofy, comedic TV, but it must also inform the youth of social, cultural, and political contact. - CBS began to implement this drastically changing their programming and appealing to a different audience. - CBS head James Aubrey decided to cancel a dozen top-rated shows to change their demographics. CBS does not just want numbers, they want better demographics of white-collared folks in urban cities with education. - Relevance Shows: The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977) and "All in the Family" (1971-1978).
Charlie's Angels
- ABC 1976-1981 - "Jiggle" show; produced by Aaron Spelling and rose to 5th in the overall rankings in its first 1976 season. However, high-culture critics and feminists alike disdained it. - It captured the contradictions of 1970s feminism and led to the first wave of female action heroines. - The show remained widely popular among both male and female audiences. - about 3 girls who worked as spies / detectives
"Batman"
- ABC, 1966- - big hit for ABC network and had a huge merchandising boom popular with both kids and adults. - The show really exploited color due to the Fall 1966 turn-around when virtually every TV was in color.
"Soap"
- ABC, 1976-1979: comedy parody of daytime soap operas. The show is most notable for Bill Crystal's character who was the 1st openly gay character and regularly reoccurring figure on a network TV series.
Roseanne
- ABC, 1988-1997 - family sitcom about a working class family who are struggling. The show brings their struggles into the mix of the show. It was not warm and fuzzy.
"Roots"
- ABC, January 1977 - 8 part mini-series based on black journalist Alex Haley's book. - Creators were unsure whether the show would be a hit or not; therefore, they decided to run it on 8 consecutive nights from Sunday-Sunday. They thought if it did not work out, it would be over in a week. However, this was not the case. The show was a stupendous hit. - Over 1/2 the US population watched all or part of the series, with the 1st episode having the lowest shares and the last episodes having the highest shares. - The cast was made up of TV stars; with one break-out star: Levar Burton. Point was to make the cast of all white and incredibly beloved/ famous Hollywood figures from previous productions and place them on this show as terrible villains.
Fred Silverman at ABC
- ABC, Network President 1975-1978 - The only person to head the programming at all 3 networks, with the ability to assert his own particular views and tastes across the wide canvas of American TV in a way that may never again be rivaled by any one person. - responsible for ABC's "turn-around" success. - His shows = "Charlie's Angels", "Fantasy Island", and "The Love Boat" - began to de-emphasize "serious" dramas with the exception of placing more emphasis on creating made- for- TV movies. - responsible for the introduction of the "mini-series" on TV, which he picked up from British TV and their hit "The Prisoner"
"Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment"
- Aired on ABC in 1963 - Produced by Robert Drew Association - Documentary film that followed JFK during the time sensitive issue of desegregating The University of Alabama - Came about after the "Quiz Show Scandal". Networks were trying to get on good terms with the Federal Government, so there was a spike in documentaries that were in the "public's interest". - Done in "Cinema Verite" style: "fly on the wall" style of recording
"Beverly Hillbillies"
- CBS, 1962-1971. This show was CBS's biggest show during the 1960s, but with its big demographic numbers coming from C&D counties (midwest, small towns, rural areas with less income and education). - During time of the show, head of CBS = James Aubrey. From 1970-1971, CBS cancelled a dozen top rated shows, including this one, despite it being a large hit, to change the network's demographics.
"The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
- CBS, 1970-1977/ Relevance Program. - Mary Tyler Moore was on the Dick Van Dyke Show prior. - Show's original idea: have Moore played a divorced woman, but the network pushed-back on the idea. The solution = to have Mary starting off fresh after a bad break-up.
"All in the Family"
- CBS, 1971-1978: Relevance Program that brought politics into the living room. Produced by Norman Lear. - 1st episode: had no plot because it was just introducing the characters. - Archie Bunker (father) played by Carroll O'Connor = iconic character with incredibly conservative views. - Lionel (African-American neighbor): reoccurring figure from the Jefferson family, which gained their own "spin-off" sitcom called "The Jeffersons" CBS, 1975-1985 - While it was not the intention, the show was popular with Archie speaking form the conservative stand-point, which aligned with many viewers.
Ted Turner
- Cable TV pioneer and CNN founder - owned superstation WTBS
Multiple Systems Operator (MSOs)
- Cable companies that bought and consolidated local systems. - By 1980, several large MSOs emerged including Cox Cable, Warner Amex, Telecommunications Inc., Westinghouse, Viacom, etc.
CATV
- Community Antenna Television that was brought into the home via wire and had a monthly fee. - by 1975, 1/6th of the nation's homes were wired for cable, making it a significant threat to the networks. - FCC released clear rules about CATV in 1972 1. Could expand into the top 100 markets. 2. Cables operators had to offer at least 1 public education/government access channel. 3. "Must Carry" rules - the cable clicker tuner aided in giving independent stations viewership. - HBO = 1st to emerge as a viable pay cable channel in 1978. - Pay cable economics resembled that of the movie industries. - basic cable had channels mostly supported by advertisers. - brought more foreign-produced films to the American Market.
Aaron Spelling
- Executive producer of several shows for ABC - "Charlie's Angels" debut in 1976 and rose to 5th in overall ratings that season.
Prime Time Access Rule (PTAR), 1971
- Implemented in 1970 and freed up an hour of the Prime-Time schedule (mon-sat) and gave it back to the network's affiliates to program. it opened the doors for scheduling syndicated or locally produced programming. - This rule was intended to weaken the industry's vertical integration.
Merger and Convergence/ Digital Age, 1985-present
- In 1985... 1. General Electric bought NBC 2. Capital Cities Communication bought ABC 3. Lawrence Tisch (head of Lowes Corp) buys 25% stake in CBS. In 1986, he forced the removal of chairman Thomas Wyman. By doing this, Tisch stabilized CBS's finances and opened it to other fields such as cable. CBS Records sold to Sony. - 1986: TV household viewing at an all-time high of 7:08 hours/ day 4. Tisch sells CBS to Westinghouse in 1995. 5. Disney-ABC Conglomeration in 1995. - Warner Brothers combines with Turner Co. in the mid-1980s, just before the Time Warner merger. - Mega-mergers 2018-2019... 1. Nov, 2018: AT&T buys Time Warner 2. Mar, 2019: Disney buys FOX Entertainment. (Murdoch family still controls FOX Corp = Fox News, TV stations, sports, and business).
MTV Music Videos
- Launched in Sept 1981 and was an instant success. - Originally was owned by Warner Brothers. - aimed at teenagers with 24/7 programming. - Vital importance = "afternoon-fringe" and "primetime". - 1st music video to ever air on the station = "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles. - Madonna = the 1st star really "made" by the station. Her videos and music went hand-in-hand. - However, did have problems. All performers were white. The only black performer was Michael Jackson and Prince. - In 1992, they switched gears and created the popular reality show "The Real World" (1992-2017). This is when MTV shifted from music to TV. - To still keep music relevant, the station added VH1: a station that played early 80s videos.
Geo-stationary satellites
- Makes CATV and Satellite Delivery of phone, TV, radio, and internet possible with its orbit 22,300 miles above Earth. - Had a "footprint" and which is its terrestrial coverage area.
"Narrowcasting"
- Media programming on cable TV or the Internet that is focused on one topic and aimed at a particular audience. Examples include MTV, ESPN, and C-SPAN. - made possible by local cable operators paying the cable channel a monthly fee for its service.
"The Monkees"
- NBC, 1966-1968: a comedy geared towards the youth market and simulated a pop-rock group The Monkees.
1960s Apollo 11 News Coverage
- NBC: covered the 1969 moon landing. - This coverage shows the 1st big boom in network news coverage.
Carroll O'Connor
- Played Archie Bunker on the CBS sitcom "All in the Family". Known for his character having an extremely conservative opinion
Norman Lear
- Producer of the CBS 1971-1979 hit "All in the Family". - His success with the show granted him a great deal with the CBS Network, in which he went on to produce the satiric Soap, "Mary Hartman" and "Mary Hartman" for syndication. - The transgressive humor of All in the Family inspired other popular hits such as "Roseanne", "The Simpsons", and "Married....With Children". - Instrumental in organizing "People for the American Way" (PAW): defended TV but argued for shaping it in a more responsible, ethical direction.
NBC's "Saturday Night at the Movies" (1961)
- Sept 1961; aired "How to Marry a Millionaire" on primetime as the first of a package of 32 20th Century-Fox feature films - set the precedent for other networks to air popular Hollywood films on TV. Now, less people are going to the movies and, instead, waiting for them to come on TV.
Rise of the New Networks (FOX, UPN, WB/CW)
- Starting in late 1980s, FOX, UPN, WB/CW become huge competition for networks with their OTA (over the air broadcasting). - UPN parent = Paramount 1995 - WB/CW parent = Time Warner 1995 - both of these headed by former FOX executives. - FOX really took off, posing as a major threat to the networks. By 1992, FOX became a 7 night a week network.
A.C. Nielsen Co.
- The prime contractor for the network and local stations with what their viewers were like/ how many were watching. - Later shifted to demographic research and targeting. - used the rating system to set advertising rates. - In 1976, added the category "working women" to its demographic groupings due to the 2nd wave feminist generation of professional working women whose incomes made them desirable consumers.
"I Spy"
- This popular 1960s espionage series had one white and one black co-leads being spies around the world. - It introduced Americans to Bill Cosby, who played TV's first heroic African-American leading man.
Superstation WTBS
- UHF Atlanta-based system bought by Ted Turner. - Known as a "superstation" because of cable. Cable took over the pre-existing over the air broadcasting local station and made it national. - Ted Turner also owned the Atlanta Braves. With this new superstation, he aired the Braves' games on WTBS, gaining a national audience. Turner pushed for the Braves to be known as "America's Team" because of its national audience.
Nat 'King' Cole
- Very popular African American mainstream TV host. - His 1956 Variety show on NBC made him the 1st African American TV host, but he could not gain any national advertisers. However, some regional sponsors did sponsor the show, but no national ones which led the shows cancellation.
"Smothered" doc excerpt
- about the primetime comedic show produced by Tom Smothers; "Smother Brothers" - Smother Brothers aired on CBS, 1967-1970: a point in time when TV experimented more with comedy TV with subversive humor and increasingly overt political stances. - Style: like a variety show with costumed dancers, marching band, a comedy skit intro, and well-known guest-stars. Musical groups took the show in unmistakeably left-winged political direction. - It was canceled while still receiving respectable ratings. - The show received in-house censorship from the offices called "standards and practices": a unit that would vet shows for sex, violence, etc. - The government did not force CBS to censor it, but networks used "in-house" censors because their licenses depended on networks working in the public's interest
"Julia"
- aired on NBC, 1968 and starred an African American single mother and starred actress Diahann Carroll. - This show took off with the Civil Rights/Black Power Movement in thee late 1960s and received lots of criticism from African Americans because they believed the main character's persona was "not black enough"
Syndication of Old Hollywood Movies
- back to the 1920s, the Hollywood productions wanted to get into broadcasting, but radio networks did not want them in broadcasting. - David Sarnoff and RCA in 1928 created major Hollywood studio "RKO", which made "King-Kong, 1933", "Citizen Kane, 1941", and did film noir and horror films all throughout the 1940s. - In the 1948 Hollywood studios supreme court case (US v. Paramount), the studios were ordered to divest one of their exhibition legs and sold off their theater chains. David Sarnoff sold RKO to Howard Hughes in an all-cash transaction. - William Boyd paid for the rights to old Hollywood Westerns and other low-budget films, which he later syndicated to local TV stations. - in 1949, Columbia Pictures creates "screen gems" to syndicate their films and produce content for TV (ex: "The Three Stooges", 1957 comedy shorts appearing in afternoon fringe). - 1957: Screen Gems acquires vintage Universal Movies and Horror films for syndication. Universal signed away the rights to tons of 1930s/40s Universal films, making Columbia Productions large amounts of money. - 1960: Ronald Regan president of SAG and made the deal and conclusion that actors would make no residuals on movies made before 1948.
pay-per-view
- cable tv service started on HBO in 1975, in which paying members could rent movies and sporting events. - "The Thrilla in Manilla": 1975 Ali v. Frazier fight broadcasted via pay-per-view for 25$ on HBO. Huge fight.
Day-Parts
- day time scheduling, exploded in the 1990s with daytime talk shows
The 1980s Reagan De-Regulation
- deregulation in the 1980s that called for... 1. revocation of the Fairness Doctrine. 2. Repeal of Financial Interest and Syndication Rule (Fin/Syn). 3. Expiration of the Prime-Time Access Rule (PTAR). 4. Push for lifting of the weakened remaining limitations on ownership not only in broadcasting but in telecommunications and cable. - Regan's election in 1980 began a "business-dominated" era. - "Fairness Doctrine" officially repealed in 1987. - begins the age of "synergy":when media used both vertical and horizontal integration brought about by mergers and acquisitions, expanding global conglomerates, the efficiencies of scale that could be produced when cross-media holdings and combinations of production and distribution were used to cross-promote, create greater profits, and keep these profits in-house.
Newton Minow
- early 1960s FCC head known for giving the "Vast Wasteland" speech. - the speech was seen as FCC trying to clean its own image rather than TV as a whole's image. - gave Vast Wasteland speech to the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) in 1961. - the speech attacked shows such as sit-coms, quiz-shows, and westerns by labeling them as "low TV" . He was also critical of the networks' concentration of power and the products they produced. - He believed educational and pay channels would ensure cultural uplift.
The Osbournes
- early 2000s reality TV show following Ozzy Osbourne and his family. It was unique because each episode was treated as if it was an episodic sitcom.
"The Jetsons"
- fantastic family sitcom cartoon was done by Hannah Barbara. - Notable for having great credits and the ability to attract both child and adult audiences with the prime-time cartoon. - example of a recombinant genre: combines different genres or formats into one; like a hybrid.
Ellen ("The Puppy" episode)
- named the "Puppy" because writers thought the show was missing something, like a puppy. - in this episode, the main character, Ellen DeGeneres, comes out on the show and in real-life as gay. - this is one of the last instances in which in-house censorship and outside watchers called for the show to not air the episode. - Originally broadcast as a 1-hour long episode - For 5 or 6 years after coming out on TV, Ellen believed her carer was hurt. Also, Laura Dern, who appeared as Samantha (the female in-love with Ellen), believed playing a gay character, despite not being gay in real-life, hurt her career.
Cable Head End
- part of a cable system that receives the satellite signal. Then, it takes the signal and converts those to cable systems.
Financial Interest and Syndication Rules (Fin-Syn), 1970
- passed in 1971, but took a while to be implemented. - Intentions: - the financial part: limit the number of prime-time programs that a network could own to only 15 hours a week of nonnews shows it produced in-house itself. - The syndication part: carried over this principle over into subsequent sales. The networks were only allowed to buy such independently produced programming for a limited, one- two run. After its network run, all the rights would return to its producer, who could sell it into syndication and keep all the profits. - Syndication = when most producers break even, so this = big boom for production companies. - This goes along with the PTAR rules passed in the early 1970s
Cable "Must-Carry" Rules
- released in 1972 - FCC had authority to tell any cable operator that when they go into a city, they must carry certain channels (networks, PBS, ind. stations (UHF/VHF)) - regulated that all "significantly view" local stations had to be transmitted over the cable wires.
Fred Silverman
- started as the head of daytime programming at CBS in 1963 and changed the dynamic from game shows and sitcom reruns to set the schedule to be filled with half-hour soaps starting at 11:30 am-4:00pm. CBS's shares of daytime viewership rose to 40% and was promoted to vice president of all programming in 1970. - revitalized CBS's Saturday morning children's hours with a new first-run cartoon series "Children's Film Festival". His emphasis on youth and female viewership changed the game for CBS primetime lineup. - 1975: accepted the post of president of programming at ABC. He took ABC to the top of the ratings for a few seasons. - he knew it was important to attract the female audience at night. he combined "jiggle", "sex", and "female action-heroes" to draw attention from both women and men. EX:"Charlie's Angels", 1976. - In 1977 he produced the hit "Love Boat" and in 1978 "Fantasy Island". - behind the ingenious scheduling of the 1977 week-long show "Roots". - 1978: Silverman leaves ABC for NBC. Brought NBC high acclaim with the show "Hill Street Blues". Left NBC in 1981 and became an independent producer.
Cable Era Begins, 1975-1985
- the academic study of TV took off from this decade. - By 1975, almost 1/6th of the nation's homes were wired for cable. - Pay v. Basic Cable 1. Pay: you pay for quality with no advertising. 2. Basic: subscribe to a tier package. Most basic cable channels are supported by advertising. - A few companies began to buy and consolidate local cable systems, becoming the first MSOs - The Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984: brought to fruition various attempts to free the technology from its bondage to broadcast TV, as well as acknowledging its new potential with satellite distribution. This act virtually eliminated all federal restrictions that had affected program offerings, subscription rates, and franchise fees. - Cable penetration reaches 50% of homes by 1985
Sony Betamax
- the first home video recorder developed by Sony and released in 1975 first in Japan, then the US.
"From Domestic Space to Outer Space: The Fantastic Family Sitcom" by Lynn Spigel
- the moon-landing was fully enmeshed in political, social, cultural, and economic struggles, which led to the creation of the 60s rise of the fantasy-family sitcom. -suburbs were glorified in pop culture and the fantastics were used to gently satirize American TV and life. -"Space race" concept developed by the Kennedy Admin and used it as an image placeholder, representing abstract ideologies of freedom and defeating Soviet Power. -Instead of presenting documentary style shows about space, after the quiz show scandal, producers presented a highly irrational and supernatural discourse on private life. - In 1955, Disneyland made space travel into family fun with their "Tomorrowland" section of its theme park. -Space and domesticity converged with space-themed recipes, car commercials, baby names, and songs. -The fantastics presentations of fantasy-based characters represents the urban, immigrant class remaining in city areas due to their lack of acceptance from white-communities. The shows portray sci-fi characters as just like the common . nice folk, but they are feared and shunned because of their outside traits.
Susan Harris
- writer and producer of ABC's "Soap"
Types of TV Broadcasting Stations, 1960-1980:
1. Network O&O (owned and operated): A station owned and operated by one of three commercial networks. Each station could own up to 7 TV stations. Income = all advertising time sold adjacent to both network programs and syndicated/local programs. Most profitable part of network business. 2. Network Affiliate: A station affiliated with a network but owned by another company: individual or group owner. Income = sell local ad time adjacent to network programs; sell all time for syndicated and local programs. 3. Independent Station: A station unaffiliated with a network. Owned by an individual or group owner. Income = all derives from sale of advertising slots adjacent to syndicated or locally produced programs, or sale of time to programmers. 4. Public TV Station: A station affiliated with the PBS network. Owned by nonprofit groups, universities, or cities. Noncommercial; income = from CPB, state govs, foundations, corporate underwriting, and "viewers like you"
Married with Children
FOX, 1987 primetime sitcom similar to "All in the Family", with its transgressive humor. - mainly young-adult male audience. - criticized by many, but captured the FOX formula: hip, irreverent, and often obnoxiously satirical.
The Simpsons
FOX, 1990-current: Longest running primetime entertainment cartoon show. Created by Matt Groening.... it was an expansion of a skit seen on Tracy Ullman. - Bart Simpson soon appeared on t-shirts/ lunchboxes nationwide and teachers spoke out against the poor example set by the smart-mouth underachiever. - Also, captures the FOX formula of a show that was hip, irreverent, and obnoxiously satirical.
Ratings v. Audience Shares
Ratings: the number of people who could be watching TV in the TV universe (all TV owners) . The number would be a percentage of available viewership does the program get? Share: What percentage of the total people ACTUALLY watching TV. Share numbers always going to be larger than ratings.
designated market areas (DMAs)
The geographic areas in which TV stations attract most of their viewers.
Telecommunications Act of 1996
the sweeping update of telecommunications law that led to a wave of media consolidation