New Strategies in Finnish Independent Television Production

Abstract

This article investigates independent television production and business strategies used by small and fairly new companies in that industry. It reintroduces Mintzberg’s concept of emerging strategies and emphasizes the role of network, both as a theoretical approach and as an important real-life strategy for small companies. In empirical terms, we identify five general strategies applied by independent companies: (1) Quality, (2) Specialization, (3) Broad market scope, (4) Beyond broadcast, and (5) Networking. Our categorization is based on personal interviews with 26 independent television production companies in Finland. Our main findings show that an increasing part of the business activities are designed for other purposes than traditional broadcasting. However, many companies manage to keep one foot in traditional television and the other in the emerging niches of television and new media hybrids. The global crisis of public service television will make independent companies even more inclined to redirect their strategies and to go increasingly beyond broadcast. When analyzing national and global television systems, the growing importance of independent companies needs to be recognized.