Abstract
Most histories of British television date the emergence of a trade in programming to the mid- to late 1950s when recording technologies turned previously ephemeral programmes into exchangeable goods and ITV brought a commercial impetus to British broadcasting. However, this historicisation of British broadcasting fails to acknowledge that the BBC was engaged in selling the rights to its programming before the arrival of commercial television in 1955. By exploring the sale of rights to two key programmes in the period between 1946 and 1955 (the radio serial Dick Barton and the television serial The Quatermass Experiment) this paper demonstrates the ways in which the BBC operated within a broader set of commercial industries and engaged in commercial practices even while it had a public service monopoly on broadcasting. However, this paper argues that the BBC's trade in rights was not primarily motivated by financial gain, but rather by the corporation's need to protect the integrity of its programming and its corporate identity. While contemporary accounts of the trade in intellectual property equate it with an increased commercialisation in British broadcasting, this history points to the importance of propriety in understanding the function of the trade in intellectual property historically and today.
Highlights
In most histories of British television, the trade in programming is seen to be tied to two developments: the emergence of recording technologies and the arrival of commercial television
Briggs locates the emergence of a trade in television at the BBC to the mid-‐ 1950s, citing the development of the Overseas Film Unit in 1956 which supplied telerecordings and films to the US and Europe, and seeing the emergence of commercial television as the catalyst for the development of trade in television programmes in the UK.ii
These historical accounts belie the extent to which the BBC engaged in commercial practices during the years when it had a public service monopoly on broadcasting and, as Johnson and Turnock (2005) have argued in relation to the history of ITV, create a false dichotomy between public service and commercial values
Summary
In most histories of British television, the trade in programming (when it is discussed at all) is seen to be tied to two developments: the emergence of recording technologies and the arrival of commercial television.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.