Free Television Research Articles

The Revolution Will Be Televised: The Italian Communist Party, Public Television Broadcasting and the ‘Free Television’ Experiment

It is a little-known fact that the Italian Communist Party invested vast financial resources in the establishment of a network of local television stations. By 1980, there were as many as twenty of these stations. This article examines how the PCI's ‘free television’ experiment developed within the context of private broadcasting in Italy, and why it was eventually abandoned. A discussion of some of the programmes produced by communist television stations, complemented by interviews with some of the experiment's protagonists, will frame the experience of communist broadcasting within the PCI's history and television policy.

Candidate Advertisements and Afro-Brazilian Political Marginalization

Television is an important political tool in Latin America. In recognition of its ability to shape public opinion and influence political behavior, Brazilian electoral authorities provide political parties with free television airtime in the weeks preceding elections. While Brazil’s publicly financed electoral program levels the playing field between parties, it may contribute to intraparty resource disparities. This article contends that racial considerations influence how party elites distribute television airtime and thus contribute to the political marginalization of Afro-Brazilians. Using original data from Rio de Janeiro’s 2012 municipal elections, it shows that party officials provide Afro-Brazilian candidates significantly less airtime than their white counterparts, even after controlling for theoretically important nonracial candidate characteristics. Moreover, it shows that there are racial differences in how candidates use the airtime they are awarded. Afro-Brazilian candidates are nearly ten times more likely than whites to focus on racial issues in their campaign ads. These results provide new insight about why Afro-Brazilians are rarely elected to public office and, when elected, the types of issues they may address.

The effect of TV viewing on children’s obesity risk and mental well-being: Evidence from the UK digital switchover

We examine the effect of screen-based activities on obesity and mental well-being for children, using a large survey dataset representative of the UK population and an event study model that exploits exogenous variation in the entry date of the digital television transition in the UK. The digital transition increased the number of available free television channels from 5 to 40, leading to a rise in television viewing time. Our results show that receiving access to digital television signal considerably increases the mental health total difficulties score among children, and that this impact grows over time. We also find suggestive evidence that the digital transition could have increased BMI for children. Underlying the net effects appear to be decreases in participation in social and physical activities.

Television, Children's Obesity Risk and Mental Well-being: Lessons from the UK Digital Switchover

We examine the effect of screen-based activities on obesity and mental well-being for children, exploiting exogenous variation in the entry date of the digital television transition in the UK. The digital transition increased the number of available free television channels from 5 to 40, leading to an increase in television viewing time. Our results show that one additional year with access to digital television signal increases BMI z-scores by 0.159 standard deviations and the mental health total difficulties score by 2.13% among children. Underlying the net effects appears to be a decrease in physical activity among children, while neither eating habits nor personal views about self-appearance seem to play a signicant role.

Analysing persuasive marketing of ultra-processed foods on Brazilian television.

This study investigated the use of persuasive advertising strategies in ultra-processed food (UPF) advertisements broadcast on the three most popular free-to-air television channels in Brazil. The programming of the selected channels was recorded on eight non-consecutive days from April 2018 (6:00 am-12:00 am). Information from each advertising piece was collected through an electronic questionnaire based on the INFORMAS protocol. Food products were classified according to the NOVA classification system. Marketing strategies were investigated in UPF advertisements and stratified into three groups. Principal component analysis was used to identify patterns of strategies. Linear regression models were employed to investigate the association between the patterns and food groups. In total, 90.77% of the food-related advertisements contained at least one UPF, and 96% of them included one or more persuasive advertising strategies. Five advertising patterns were identified and associated with the UPF food groups. The results showed that food advertising on Brazilian free television is marked by UPF, with the predominant use of persuasive advertising strategies, demonstrating a lack of enforcement of the current regulatory legislation in the country.

The evangelical role of witchcraft in some Pentecostal movements An African pastoral concern

There is enough evidence that while listening to the preaching and messages of most Pentecostal preachers or watching them on some free television channels today, the emphasis is on freeing people from the oppression of demons and witchcraft. Many people, the poor included, risk asking for cash loans to use for travelling to meet with the so-called prophets in distant areas. There is an example of those South Africans who died in Nigeria when the double storey building fell upon them. Besides promising them prosperity, these prophets also promise to protect them from those who bewitch them. This kind of message is fast becoming the driving force behind the fast-growing megachurches around Gauteng and in other parts of South Africa. The intention of this article is to check if it can be theologically justifiable to use witchcraft to make people come to church. It will be important to also investigate if this kind of advent brings the intended message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Candidate Advertisements and Afro-Brazilian Political Marginalization

Television is an important political tool in Latin America. In recognition of its ability to shape public opinion and influence political behavior, Brazilian electoral authorities provide political parties free television airtime in the weeks preceding elections. While Brazil’s publicly financed electoral program levels the playing field between parties, it may contribute to intraparty resources disparities. We contend that racial considerations influence how party elites distribute television airtime and therein contribute to the political marginalization of Afro-Brazilians. Using original data from Rio de Janeiro’s 2012 municipal elections, we show party officials provide Afro-Brazilian candidates significantly less airtime than their white counterparts, even after controlling for theoretically important non-racial candidate characteristics. Moreover, we find racial differences in how candidates use the airtime they are awarded. Afro-Brazilian candidates are nearly ten times more likely than whites to focus on racial issues in their campaign ads. These results provide new insight about why Afro-Brazilians are rarely elected to public office and, if elected, the types of issues they may address.

La entrevista en profundidad y la metodología Kano para conocer los requisitos de los usuarios en una unidad de quemados

ObjectiveTo determine the healthcare requirements of patients in a Burns Unit, using qualitative techniques, such us in-depth personal interviews and Kano's methodology. Material and methodsQualitative methodology using in-depth personal interviews (12 patients), Kano's conceptual model, and the SERVQHOS questionnaire (24 patients). All patients had been hospitalised in the last 12 months in the Burns Unit. Using Kano's methodology, service attributes were grouped by affinity diagrams, and classified as follows: must-be, attractive (unexpected, great satisfaction), and one-dimensional (linked to the degree of functionality of the service). The outcomes were compared with those obtained with SERVQHOS questionnaire. ResultsFrom the analysis of in-depth interviews, 11 requirements were obtained, referring to hotel aspects, information, need for closer staff relationship, and organisational aspects. The attributes classified as must-be were free television and automatic TV disconnection at midnight. Those classified as attractive were: individual room for more privacy, information about dressing change times in order to avoid anxiety, and additional staff for in-patients.The results were complementary to those obtained with the SERVQHOS questionnaire. ConclusionsIn-depth personal interviews provide extra knowledge about patient requirements, complementing the information obtained with questionnaires. With this methodology, a more active patient participation is achieved and the companion's opinion is also taken into account.

Video Marketplace Regulation: A Primer on the History of Television Regulation and Current Legislative Proposals

The television distribution marketplace has been substantially regulated since the advent of broadcast television in the 1940s and 1950s. The Federal Communications Commission and Congress have relied on several justifications for the regulatory protection of the system of local broadcasters envisioned post-World War II, namely, (1) universal service; (2) localism; (3) free television; and (4) competition. These policy goals are at odds with one another and can only be supported simultaneously through far-reaching regulations like compulsory copyright licenses, network nonduplication rules, retransmission consent regulations, and industry concentration prohibitions. We describe the history of these and other regulations. We argue that regulatory repeal would improve distorted television markets and improve consumer welfare. Finally, we describe pending video legislation and explain how various pending bills would affect the current regulatory system.

Competition between TV Platforms

The aim of this paper is to identify the factors that affect the market penetration of pay television by studying the competition that exists between three types of technology (satellite, cable and ADSL). We distinguish three groups of factors: the level of market competition, the level of competition in the industry and the quality of the product being offered. Our results seem to indicate that as market concentration increases, the television service can achieve greater penetration. This relationship is specifically captured by the level of intra- and inter-platform competition. We also examine the relationship between free television channels and pay television and find that as the amount of time dedicated to the broadcasting of advertising by the former increases, the number of subscribers to pay TV rises. Finally, we examine product quality by introducing the effect of holding the rights to broadcast Professional Football League matches and an HBO or Showtime produced series. Our results suggest that these variables are critical for the penetration of pay television.

Politics in Public Media Policies of the Thai Public Broadcasting Service

*This research was supported by grant from under the program Strategic Scholarship for Frontier Research Network for Ph.D. Program Thai Doctoral degree from the Office of the Higher Education Commission. This study is aimed to investigate the politics in the public service broadcasting policy process since free television to public television and the role of the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (TPBS) in 2008-2009. The literature on the political communication in media society proposed by Jurgen Habermas was used as a framework for the investigation. This study is a qualitative research by analysis of the official policy documents, searching for information from thorough interviews of the policy stakeholders, the audiences council of TPBS, the performers of TPBS ,the performers of media and intellectuals. The result of this study finds that the public service broadcasting issue is pushed by the intellectuals and interest groups to set the agenda. The case of TPBS was directly a การเมองในนโยบายสอสาธารณะ... | นธตา สรพงศ ทกษณ และนฤมล ทบจมพล

Major League Baseball and African American Participation: Is Free Television Part of the Solution?

Major League Baseball (MLB) continues to address the challenge of African American participation in a sports environment with increasing competition for talent and spectators. The variable that MLB most controls is how it markets its games. This essay suggests MLB needs to provide more games available on free, over-the-air television because of low cable penetration into the African American community.

A Outra face do horário gratuito: partidos políticos e eleições proporcionais na televisão

This article analyzes the impact of Free Television Advertising on proportional elections in Brazil, based on an analysis of the data for the Rio de Janeiro City Council elections in 2004. The article discusses the hypothesis raised by Schmitt, Carneiro, & Kuschnir that free TV advertising time allows political parties to organize their candidates hierarchically, establishing informal slates. The study thus links two types of evidence, concerning: 1) the efficacy of free TV time as an instrument for political communication, whereby more TV time tends to translate into more votes for a candidate and 2) the analysis of different strategies adopted by the political parties to split the free advertising time between the candidates.

The Relationship Between Different Distribution Channels for Movies: Some Lessons from the Case of Free Television

In the movie industry habit, the demand of exploitation windows next to theatres is usually related to the success in cinemas, which is assumed to orient subsequent consumption among audience. Using a data base made of 1035 movies broadcast in peak time by the six main Italian networks during the period 1993-2002, we regress movies' TV audience outcome on several independent variables as the attendance in cinemas, movie genre, country of production, temporal gap between TV and theatres, average share of the TV network on which the movie is broadcast in the transmission year. Results show a statistically significant positive relation between the success in cinemas and TV audience, nevertheless the regression prove a far more powerful positive relation with the average share of the TV network on which the movie is broadcast. In particular movies that had a scanty success in cinemas reach high audience performance if broadcast on hi-share TV networks.

Television's liberator [commercial television

C.O. Stanley, the head of Pye, was one of the prime movers behind the birth of commercial television in the UK. Drawing on material from his new biography the author reveals the remarkable story of how one of the great mavericks of the British electronics industry helped free television from the monopolistic paternalism of the BBC.

Free-TV, Abo-TV, Pay per View-TV — Organisationsformen zur Vermarktung von Unterhaltung

Firms that want to make profits from selling television entertainment to large audiences are confronted with three major problems: quality uncertainty, entertainment resale, and competition from their own future. Free television, subscription television and pay-per-view provide different solutions to each of these problems. Combining all three contractual forms of selling television entertainment enables firms to increase profits through price-quality-discrimination.

Closing a window on the world: Convergence and UK television services for schools

‘Closing a Window on the World: convergence and UK television services for schools’ is about the proven value to UK schools of the two free television services provided by Channel 4 and the BBC, and a serious threat to their future. The first part of the chapter discusses the first ‘revolution in learning’, based on the development of television as a ‘window on the world’ for UK schools since the 1960s. Research evidence for the very positive teacher attitudes to their use of the services in the 1990s is cited. The second part begins by discussing a BBC consultation exercise undertaken in the autumn of 2000, seeking support for a policy decision to develop a new ‘digital curriculum’ for schools. Recent research into the effectiveness of such technologies is reviewed. While schoolchildren enjoy using ICT (and especially video components it may include), there is as yet no firm evidence to support the confident claims being made for its effectiveness in promoting learning. The chapter concludes that the BBC decision to begin the rundown of its ‘traditional analogue’ television service for schools is premature. At a sensitive time for public service broadcasting, it threatens the future of free services teachers have used and respected for many years. Without government action to include relevant provision in forthcoming broadcasting legislation, UK schools seem likely to lose this distinctive and valued support for their work and their ICT resources are also likely to be impoverished.

Preserving Free Television? Some Empirical Evidence on the Efficacy of Must-Carry

In March 1997, the Supreme Court upheld the must-carry provisions of the 1992 Cable Act on the grounds that they insured the survival of the "free" over-the-air television. This article empirically evaluates the efficacy of must-carry in preserving free television and shows that non-network broadcast stations were able to increase viewer share after must-carry, lending support to the preservation rationale. The empirical analysis also indicates that this increase came exclusively from network stations, not cable programming.

Changes in the Field of Education — Challenges for Public Service Broadcasters

The article describes the commercial pressures faced by public service educational television and the results of poor public sector funding for core educational establishments. New commercial partnerships between the Private and Public sectors may well be developing and encouraging the use of new technologies in schools, but will the final cost be the end of ‘free educational television’ and the eventual end of public service television as we now know it?

Paying for elections: the campaign finance thicket

Public distrust of and skepticism about ten nations electoral system is widespread. The increasing costs of campaign finance have suggested to many that politics is the exclusive preserve of the rich. The simultaneous rise to prominence of political action committees (PACs) seems to allow special interest groups to determine the outcome of elections. But while calls for electoral financing reform are once again being heard, there is little consensus on what reforms are practical. In Paying for Elections, Larry J. Sabato argues that in devising reforms there is a need to distinguish between real and apparent corruption. Politics will never be as fair and evenhanded as we might like, and a failure to concentrate on those activities that seriously injure the political system can lead to even greater cynicism among the general public. Further, he argues, there are a number of problems with campaign finance-- such as the relative decline of party politics and fewer truly competitive elections due in part to the enormous fundraising advantages incumbents have over little-known challengers; that must be confronted before any attempt is made to reform the current system. Sabato also takes on issues concerning PACs and setting limitations that are workable for making campaign contributions, strengthening political parties, and restoring public confidence to the system. Of these considerations, Sabato considers fixes, such as free television and radio time for candidates and parties, a 50 or 100 percent tax credit for small donations to parties and candidates, and severe restrictions on honoraria and special-interest-paid travel for congressmen.