Television Content Research Articles

Windowing television content: Lessons for digital business models

There is a market for successful distribution of television content using a Windowing strategy. This article investigates if a strategy where content is made available to consumers through different channels over time, a “Windowing” business models, is appropriate for releasing television programs. By initially exposing consumers to a controlled quantity of free content greater value can be captured at later stages as 55% of these consumers are 13–20% more likely to become paying subscribers.

The effects of screen media content on young children’s executive functioning

Children’s exposure to screen-based media has raised concerns for many reasons. One reason is that viewing particular television content has been shown to negatively affect children’s executive functioning. Yet, it is unclear whether interacting with a touchscreen device affects executive functioning in the same way as the television research suggests. In the current study, 96 2- and 3-year-old children completed executive functioning measures of working memory and response inhibition and task switching before and after a brief screen intervention consisting of watching an educational television show, playing an educational app, or watching a cartoon. Children’s ability to delay gratification was also assessed. Results indicate that the type of screen intervention had a significant effect on executive functioning performance. Children were more likely to delay gratification after playing an educational app than after viewing a cartoon. In particular instances, children’s working memory improved after playing the educational app. These findings emphasize that, for young children’s executive functioning, interactivity and content may be more important factors to consider than simply “screen time.”

Digital video recorder dodgers – Sport-viewing habits in the face of changing media reality

In an era in which viewers can record television content to be watched at any time of convenience using a variety of broadcast media, delayed viewing has emerged as a self-evident and natural option for many content-consumers. An interesting exception to this trend, however, is sport – football, in particular – which supporters insist on watching exclusively in real-time. The present study has sought to understand the obsessive dedication of sports fans with watching sport content only in real-time. This peculiar insistence results in the viewer giving up some rather useful technological amenities. Through in-depth interviews conducted with 34 soccer fans, this study aimed to explore the apparent and adamant fan refusal to "delay gratification" – that is, only watching broadcast sport content in real-time. The interview analysis offers some salient explanations for the phenomenon. For example, football fans self-identify as members of a community in a quasi-religious sense, deeply committed to rules and ceremonies to be ritualistically performed at appropriate and specific times. Indeed, to exceed these rules is to violate the norms of the community. Many fans also believe they can somehow influence the match and its outcome by their viewing presence, and must, therefore, be in front of the screen in real-time. In fact, the bond between fan and team is analogous to a relationship characterized by deep and intimate emotions. This bond can be stretched by any fan who is absent from the real-time screen-viewing experience of the sporting event, engendering feelings of treachery and betrayal of the fan-team love relationship. The dynamics of this relationship have social, media, and economic implications, as well.

HBO and the Aristocracy of Contemporary TV Culture: affiliations and legitimatising television culture, post-2007

The premiere US, pay-TV cable company HBO has done more than most to define what ‘original programming’ might mean and look like in the contemporary TV age of international television flow, global media trends and filiations. This article adopts a cultural sociological approach to make sense of the structure of the cultural field in which the company operates, framed between ‘culture’ and the ‘market’, between exclusive, qualitatively distinct television content and corporate intent. It elaborates on the ways in which the company imposes a vision of an elite TV culture on the field, in and through producing distinct divisions ad infinitum, to validate the taste values of those who validate HBO. In creating incessant divisions in genre, authorship and aesthetics, HBO incorporates artistic norms and principles of evaluation and puts them into circulation as a succession of oppositions – oppositions that we will explore throughout this article.

The Combined Effect of Captioning and Sign Language in Understanding Television Content in Deaf

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the benefits of combined use of captions and sign language interpretation in understanding television content.Methods: 30 prelingually deaf adults (25-45 y) participated in the study. Stimulus consisted of three video-clips taken from Television (TV) program “Shaktimaan” with already incorporated sign language video. Captions were incorporated in two of the video clips. The experiment was conducted in three phases. In pre-experimental phase participants were required to answer informational questions. In the Experimental phase participants were shown three video-clips in three different viewing conditions i.e. with sign language (WSL), with captions only (WC) and with both sign language and captions combined (WSL:WC). They were required to answer 10 comprehension questions after each video. In post experimental phase they were required to answer feedback questions based on the videos shown.Results: The results showed significant improvement in scores in condition with combined presence of captions and sign language (WSL:WC),than the other two conditions.Conclusion: Was concluded that providing captions and sign language together would immensely help in making television accessible to larger number of deaf adults than providing any of it alone. It was further concluded that the combined use of these devices may also be helpful in improving televised content depending on the individual’s efficiency in use of Sign language or captions, though this needs to be researched further.

Soap-opera, Parental Mediation, Perceived Reality and Antisocial Behavior

Many attentions have been spotted to the potential drive and effect of television on anti-social behavior. The main argument lies on the frequent repetition of intense violent showed by television soap opera. Previous studies showed that children with heavy viewing habit of violent soap-operas were tend to imitate anti-social behavior. Children were considered to have limited skill to differentiate facts and fictions from television content, and this is where parental mediation (restrictive, active, or viewing) should take place to moderate the impact of television violence. The research was intended to explain the effect of watching soap-opera, parental mediation, and perceived reality on anti-social behavior of children. Using survey method, the study non-randomly collect data from children of age 10-12 years old in Semarang. Research finding shows considerable effect of soap-opera viewing, and perceived reality on anti-social behavior of children. However, no effect of parental mediation appeared on anti-social behavior of children.

New Broadcasting Ecosystem and the Second Screen Phenomenon in Turkey: Case Study on the Serial Insider

Traditional television broadcasting has shown a significant change with the convergence to the new media environment. This convergence has changed the traditional ways of television content production and consumption. The audience has become the most important actor in the broadcasting industry, and new mediums and platforms, such as second screen applications and social TV, have gained importance in television broadcasting. This article discusses the transformation of television broadcasting from the second screen phenomenon and the new broadcasting ecosystem through the case of the Turkish serial Insider. The participation of the audience as a producer and consumer, the changing industry strategy, and the new ways of brand integration in this new broadcasting environment were examined through content analysis. The analysis results reveal the audience management strategies of the Turkish broadcasting industry and the audience’s position as producer and consumer in this new ecosystem.

Media and Environmental Awareness in Kenya: A Case of TV

Kenya’s economy is highly dependent on natural resources. However, these natural resources are at risk of extinction due to environmental degradation. The general perception is that environmental degradation is partly due to lack of environmental awareness. Studies have shown that many Kenyans rely on and trust the media for information. This research sought to establish the role television as one of the media channels can play in creating awareness on environmental issues.This research used the media framing theory to show how frames such as timing, audience preferences and content influence the reception of environmental messages on television by audiences. To establish this, the researchers interviewed 30 key informants who included editors, TV producers, reporters and environmentalists. The researchers also used survey method where 200 respondents from Ruai division of Nairobi filled in questionnaires regarding their perception on the role of television in creating environmental awareness. Ruai division was purposively chosen because it is a semi urban area and also because it is home to Nairobi’s sewerage plant hence bears the brunt of environmental degradation including air pollution.The findings of this study were that many of the respondents are aware of some of the environmental issues affecting Kenya today and much of this information is gotten from the media. The media was given credit for playing its traditional role of informing, entertaining and educating; however many felt that the media’s potential in raising awareness on environmental issues has not been fully explored. Many of the respondents felt that due to their commercial nature the media in Kenya were skewed towards politics, sports and soap operas as these are thought to attract audiences and ultimately advertisers. Respondents also felt that the current television content on environmental issues was very little, aired at non-prime time and of poor quality. On quality, respondents felt that current TV shows on environment used technical terms while some were simply regurgitated from foreign media houses which made the stories irrelevant to local audiences. Poor content of environmental TV shows was attributed to limited environmental knowledge among reporters and editors and lack of synergy between environmentalists and media personnel. What about lack of training of environmental journalists?Based on the findings, the research put forward a few suggestions that could help fully realize the potential of TV in raising awareness on environmental matters in Kenya. These include the introduction of an award scheme for television stations that air environmental issues to act as an incentive. The researchers also recommend a collaboration mechanism between media personnel and environmental stakeholders to ensure frequent and quality content production on environmental issues. All these, if effected will lead to an increase in the level of awareness among Kenyans and ultimately save the environment from degradation. Keywords: Environmental awareness, environmental degradation, media framing

Strengthening Canadian Television Content: Creation, Discovery and Export in a Digital World

In April 2016, the Canadian government announced a consultation on how to best create Canadian content in a digital world. On September 28, 2017, the government released its Creative Canada Policy Framework, a high-level overview of cultural policy direction that summarized initiatives to date and announced some new directions and next steps. Among the next steps is a review of the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Acts, preceded by a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) review of new and traditional distribution models and their capacity to support Canadian programming. This examination and modernization of cultural policy is timely. The world of Canadian content regulation was developed in an earlier analog environment. Broadcasting was largely a closed system. This meant that all parts of the broadcasting system could be regulated and most were. In addition, there is a system of subsidies designed to help create more domestic content. But the broadcasting system is no longer closed. High-quality television programming is available from the Internet and Canadians are avid consumers. When TV is delivered over the Internet, none of the Canadian regulations apply. This state of affairs creates two related problems. First, if Internet-delivered TV continues to increase in popularity, this could lead to a significant decline in the amount of available Canadian television content, at least in the regulated system. Second, if Canadian broadcasters and cable companies are regulated, and Internetdelivered competitors like Netflix are not, it will be difficult for Canadian providers to compete or even to survive, especially if foreign competitors face no Canadian tax. We recommend several changes to regulatory rules to address the challenges ahead. The Canada Media Fund, an important source of subsidies particularly for drama, effectively requires the recipients of those subsidies to have Canadians in all important on-screen and production roles. Changing those rules and rewarding export success, will allow more of those products to be exported. Canadian broadcasters are excluded from fully exploiting the fiction programming they commission as they are required to rely on independent producers in ways that limit the retention of ancillary rights and up-side to this content. By relaxing these rules, and giving the broadcasters more “skin in the game,” the quality of the programming may increase. As revenues decline in the broadcasting system, the subsidy mechanisms, such as the Canada Media Fund, will need to be topped up with additional funding. One idea is requiring a subsidy from Internet service providers while reducing the subsidy broadcasters pay. However, such a tax would be overly broad, as only a portion of the Internet is used for media purposes. We think a better idea is to use the proceeds from the auction of wireless spectrum. In the US, the majority of the auction proceeds were paid directly back to broadcasters from the government, which is not happening in Canada. Finally, the government should conduct a periodic review, perhaps every five years, by a group outside of the CRTC that could determine the health and necessary reforms of the broadcasting system and its ability to support Canadian content.

Islamic Content On Malaysian TV: A Case study of TV Al Hijrah

Religion and media are converging and frequently becoming a subject matter for news content and popular entertainment programmes in television and film, publishing, music as well as the new media. Religion, arguably has become part and parcel of the media environment today. In Malaysian context, during the millennium era, many locally produced ‘Islamic programmes’ started to gain popularity among Malaysian audience especially within the entertainment genre such as television drama. With the establishment of Malaysian first Islamic free-to-air television, TV Al Hijrah in 2010, this paper aims to understand the nature of Islamic content available on the station. The preliminary findings of this paper suggest that there are varieties of television programmes created and aired on TV Al Hijrah cutting across different genres meant for disseminating Islam as a way of life. Programmes available are mainly about showcasing the values of Islamic teaching and beliefs with the ultimate goal to highlight Islam as a beautiful and peaceful religion.

Connected Co-viewing on Facebook: A Brazilian Telenovela and the Perception of Media Realism

Co-viewing refers to the practice of sitting together in front of a TV set, watching and making meaning from television content. New media amplifies the possibilities for co-viewing, by allowing people to do it virtually. This study explores the reflexive perception of media realism that emerged when Facebook users engaged in connected co-viewing in two unofficial Facebook groups dedicated to the Brazilian prime-time telenovela Babilônia. The series’ controversial plot led to political discussions and prompted debate where viewers frequently used their perceptions of realism to counter the notion of media effects.

MODERN TELEVISION IN SYSTEM OF PARENTAL EDUCATION

The article discusses the use of television in the system of educating parents at the present stage of its development. This stage began in 1991 with Ukraine gaining independence. It is characterized by a sharp decrease in the state's participation in the process of forming a broadcasting grid with the simultaneously growing commercialization of the media. The analysis of publications on researched topic made it possible to establish that researchers primarily pay attention to the study of parents' education at the stage of the formation and development of television (the second half of the 20th century), without accentuating it in the modern period. The aim of the article is to establish the role of television in the system of forming parental awareness at the present stage of development of parents' education by the mass media with the subsequent identification of ways to improve the quality of such activities. As a result of the analysis of the modern television content of the enlightenment direction, three main groups were identified according to the format of the presentation of educational material: cognitive-entertaining television programs, entertainment reality shows fnd television talk-show. The analysis of the themes of the most popular TV shows for parents made it possible to establish that at the present stage of television development, educational activities among parents are carried out mainly in an entertaining manner, appealing to feelings and instincts, in accordance with the rapid pace of modern life. The article suggests recommendations on increasing the efficiency of production of such activities.

Towards a contextual approach: Audiences, television and ‘offensive’ humour

The fine line between humour and offence has long been of interest for scholars and media outlets alike. While some argue for an avoidance of offence at all costs, others defend the ‘right to offend’ as an essential part of humour. By bringing critical sociological studies in humour into dialogue with feminist writings on affect and the politics of emotion, this article argues for a more nuanced and contextualised understanding of offensive humour. Based on empirical data from an audience study about offensive television content in Britain and Germany, we consider what exactly people do with humorous content they find offensive, not what it does ‘in general’. Such a contextualised approach illustrates the ethical and transformative potential of so-called negative affect. Thus, rather than perceiving offence as an ‘ugly’ feeling with merely negative consequences for society, this article contends that the avoidance of offence can also operate as a strategy for evading responsibility and action, thereby hindering social change.

Television and Content Censorship: The Impact of Violent Content on the Developmental Stages in the Personality of the Nigerian Child

Erik Erikson’s theorization of the psychosocial developmental stages of humans, reveal the fragility of children with special attention to their biological and psychosocial characterization. The adolescent age is the period where the child is adventurous, curious and eager to explore, as he becomes fascinated with the media and begins to try out behaviours and lifestyles of his opinion leaders. The Nigerian child is more or less enthralled about foreign movies, shows and musical videos characterized by violence, thuggery, gangsterism, drug abuse, obscenity, and even promiscuity which are sometimes too much information for him to handle given his developing, immature and fragile psychology which makes it easy for these contents to influence his behaviour in every stage of his personality development as he is exposed to them. This Too Much Information (TMI) seems to be a product of media imperialism as local television contents in Nigeria, camouflaged in the concept of Americanisation and westernisation and devoid of censorship, are persistently consumed by adolescents in Nigeria. Hinged on Erikson’s theory of personality developmental stages in a child and Bandura’s social learning theory, this paper employs secondary data and a critical document analysis of previous research works to objectively opine and conclude that exposure to too much information (violent contents) on television can influence the psychosocial development of the personality of the Nigerian child.

Ordinary People on Television

AbstractBy using a longitudinal design and measuring television content and the occurrence of ordinary television and ‘ordinary’ participants at four different points in time from 1982 to 2011, this study investigates the alleged shift towards ordinariness in the 1990s. Using Sweden as a test case, three research questions are posed: To what extent did ordinary television programming increase during the 1990s? To what extent did the participation of ordinary people increase as a consequence of this shift? To what extent has public service television adapted to commercial competition through broadcasting more ordinary television? The analysis confirms the alleged shift towards ordinariness. Ordinary television and ordinary participants did increase during the studied era, but a key argument put forward is that this shift occurred gradually and that one should avoid using overdramatic epithets to characterise it. The results also suggest that the public service broadcaster (SVT) also moved towards ordinariness but that this change was modest and occurred later than expected in Sweden.

The Relations between Television Exposure and Executive Function in Chinese Preschoolers: The Moderated Role of Parental Mediation Behaviors.

The present study examined the relations between preschoolers’ television exposure and executive functions (EF). One hundred and nineteen 3- to 6-year-old children and their parents participated. Parents filled in a questionnaire regarding children’s television viewing time, television content and parental mediation behaviors about their child’s television viewing. The children were asked to finish six EF tasks, including the backward digit span task, the spatial span task, the boy–girl Stroop, the Simon task, the flanker task and the Tower of Hanoi task that assessed working memory, inhibition and planning, respectively. Children’s vocabulary was tested using Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and included as control variables in addition to socioeconomic status of the participated families. The results showed that television viewing time and child-directed educational programs were positively associated with EF. In addition, television content fully mediated the effect of television viewing time on EF and parental restrictive approach strategies moderated the effect of television viewing time on EF.

Netflix, Amazon, and branded television content in subscription video on-demand portals

Branding has been described as the defining industrial practice of television’s recent past. This article examines publicly available industry documents, trade press coverage, and executive interviews to understand the place of traditional television network branding in subscription video on-demand (SVOD) portals as represented by Amazon and Netflix. Focusing on materials relating to licensed rather than original content and this content’s role within the US domestic SVOD market, two distinct approaches emerge. For Amazon, the brand identities of some television networks act as valuable lures drawing customers into its Prime membership program. For Netflix, linear television networks are competitors whose brand identities reduce Netflix’s own brand equity. Ultimately, Amazon’s efforts to build a streaming service alongside network brand identities and Netflix’s efforts to build its own brand at the expense of such identities demonstrate the need to think about contemporary television branding as an ongoing negotiation between established and emerging practices.

Regulatory Expectations of Offended Audiences: The Citizen Interest in Audience Discourse

In this article we analyze fieldwork with 90 people in the UK and Germany, exploring the expectations audiences articulate about regulatory processes behind television content they find offensive. First, mapping people’s responses on to the conceptual pairing of citizens and consumers, we find audiences aligning themselves with citizen interests, even when, often on the surface, they respond to media regulation and institutions with suspicion. Second, we find that complaints that make it to media regulators are just the tip of iceberg. Third, in investigating people’s expectations of actors and institutions in their responses to television content that startles, upsets, or just offends them, we note that it is crucial to treat a conversation on free speech and censorship with caution.

Mexican teleteatros: the cultural politics of prime-time series

This article focuses on the ideas and discourse of some early television critics regarding the content and direction of television drama specifically teleteatros, the first prime-time dramas in Mexican television. Their opinions reflect the divisions among the Mexican intellectual elite in regard to the meaning of Mexican culture. Professionals and intellectuals advocated for television dramas that would reflect the Mexican culture as cosmopolitan and modern. In their writings and public statements, folkloric aspects such as ranchera music were considered unworthy for the medium. In opposition to the critics was the business class whose interest in television content had two purposes: to develop programs with the widest appeal possible and to represent Mexican culture in a way that did not challenge the discourse of the PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional) that ruled the country from 1928 until 2000. Thus, television during the 1950s, and into the 1960s, wrangled not only with the usual growing pains of a new technology but also the contradictory perceptions of how Mexico and Mexican culture should be portrayed in television dramas.

‘We pretty much just watched it all back to back!’

This article offers an empirical account of audience’s experience of television viewing and television flow, with a specific focus on parents as the audience group. It approaches the study of the medium from the standpoint of researching television as a lived experience, offering an insight into how television viewing practices and the experience of television flow are influenced by the complex experiences of parenting. In particular, this article addresses questions such as how audience’s specific experiences and circumstances, such as parenting, influence the ways in which television content is accessed and viewed; what is parents’ experience of flow when it comes to television viewing; and whether broadcast flow of television is becoming a contested and insecure concept in its own right, with audiences making a distinction between ‘broadcast television in the background’ and ‘watching television’.