Economic differences among regional public service broadcasters in Spain according to their management model. An empirical analysis for period 2010-2013

Víctor Orive Serrano,Juan Artero Muñoz,María Latorre Martínez

doi:10.3926/ic.722

Abstract

Purpose: This piece of research quantifies and analyses empirically the given economic differences among public service television in Spain according to the adopted management model (classic or outsourced). Design/methodology/approach: In so doing, an average contrast of different economic variables studied in the literature is conducted (audience share, total assets, public subsidies, cost of personnel, suppliers spending and profit after taxes). In addition, these variables are related so as to calculate productivity obtained by each two groups of television operators. This analysis is conducted for period 2010-2013, featured by a crisis context in the Spanish economy. Findings: Management model adopted by each regional broadcaster impacts on different economic variables as obtained share, total assets, public subsidies, cost of personnel, suppliers spending or profit after taxes. Moreover, those public corporations adopting an outsourced management model present better productivity values. Research limitations/implications: Only one country has been analyzed for a 4 years period. Practical implications: Regional public service broadcasters with an outsourced model present less economic losses and require less public subsidies by their corresponding regional governments. Social implications: Outsourcing part of the value chain can be useful so as to guarantee sustainability of regional public service television. Originality/value: It has been proven empirically that the management model of a regional public service television impacts its economic results.

Highlights

To analyze the economic differences of the regional televisions according to their management models, we first compared differences between the means of the two groups of broadcasters
The productivity levels of the broadcasters were analyzed based on their management models
This paper analyzes the influence of the management model adopted by public television networks to manage their production activities, using several economic variables

Summary

Introduction

In Spain, national and regional public-service broadcasters have been criticized for different reasons, such as the lack of pluralism in the content they broadcast, their dependence on their government, the audience they achieve, their management efficiency, and the excessive budgetary deficits resulting from their production activity (Muñoz, 2011; Fernández Alonso & Fernández Viso, 2012; Artero, Orive & Latorre, 2015). Regarding the latter, production activity, there are two different models for managing regional television networks: the traditional model and the outsourced model (Bustamante, 2009). The main purpose of this paper is to analyze and quantify the economic differences that characterize the regional public-service television bodies in Spain according to the management model they use (traditional or outsourced), for the 2010-2013 period, when Spain was in the midst of an economic crisis

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Results

Conclusion