LFTVD Industry - Curran & Seaton

CURRAN AND SEATON

• The idea is that the media is controlled by a small number of companies who, for the most part, are driven by money and power.
• Curran and Seaton state that such media concentration limits creativity, variety and quality.
• The counterpoint is that more socially diverse ownership would allow more varied and adventurous media productions.

CONGLOMERATION

• Curran and Seaton argue that the media industry follows the normal capitalist pattern of increasing concentration of ownership into fewer and fewer hands. Media brands are taken over by large companies who, in the turn, are absorbed by even larger institutions.
• This leads to narrowing of the range of options presented. The conglomerates are in a position to control the media messages and content delivered to the audience. To maintain their power they need money. Therefore they will prioritise money over creativity.

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CONTEXTS OF LFTVD

• The contexts in which television has been produced, distributed and circulated has changed over time.
• We know this is partly due to the impact pf new technologies...
• But what about changes in politics and the economy?

THE UK

• Up until 1955, the BBC had a monopoly over television production and circulation.
• This meant that the public service broadcaster (PSB) did not face any competition and could impose Reithian values of 'inform, educate and entertain'.
• Political pressure led to calls for competition in broadcasting, leading to the introduction of ITV in 1955 and Channel 1982.
• What are the drawbacks of competition?
• Audience shared amongst broadcasters
• What are the benefits of competition?
• More impetus to create quality programming - audience benefits more.
• Drive to improve business model by introducing vertical and horizontal integration and new technologies.
• Ultimately, the BBC, among with commercial channels, commission most of their production to independent/ subsidiary companies:
• Have I Got News for You - Hat Trick Productions
• QI - Thames
• Would I lie to You? - Zeppotron
• These independent companies are almost always owned by a larger company which owned by a larger company and so on...

This reflects Curran and Seaton's idea that political and economic contexts based on capitalism leads to the increasing concentration of ownership in fewer and fewer hands.

HOWEVER...

• In the UK, there is still the mediating force of PSB in television media.
• The BBC is regulated by OfQual and it also serves to uphold its own remit and values, meaning that it strives to meet the needs of niche audiences.
• Foreign-language dramas which were once tucked away on BBC Four are now available and accepted by wider UK audiences as evident in the success of Danish/Swedish co-production, The Bridge, on BBC2.
• More recently on BBC2, the critically acclaimed Giri/Haji (a British production with large proportions in Japanese). Released internationally on Netflix.

THE US

• In the US, PSB operates on a very small scale, often tailored to educational productions rather than competing for prime-time entertainment viewers.
• So, with the dominance of commercially-minded broadcasters in a free-market economic system, Curran and Seaton's theory definitely applies.
• In fact, for many years, a handful of big networks have dominated American television: NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox and CW television.
• Ex owner and chairman of 21st Century Fox, Rupert Murdoch, is perhaps the most notorious media mogul of our generation and his influence on the political messages represented on TV and in the papers is massive. Proof that Curran and Seaton's theory works?

THE RISE OF SUBSCRIPTION SITES

• An important counter to Curran and Seaton's theory is the rise of alternative subscription and cable TV providers, most notably HBO (owned by a large media conglomerate WarnerMedia)
• This company broke from the traditional model of television by allowing audiences to pay directly for quality media products rather than miking money from advertising.
• In fact, many would argue that HBO paved the way for LFTVD as we know it today, producing seminal dramas in the genres such as The Wire and the Sopranos. HBO relied on critical acclaim to generate long-term profits rather than creating superficial dramas which would get instant money from large viewing figures.
• Indeed, subscription sites provide an alternative to the television media produced by the conglomerates but, ultimately, they seek to make profit. The difference being that they focus on creative and high quality production to maximise profits - does this discredit Curran and Seaton's theory?

REVIEW

Do you think Curran and Seaton's ideas are still relevant in today's evolving media landscape?

How does the theory apply to your independent research of Stranger Things and Deutschland 83?

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS

Conglomerate - A conglomerate is a multi-industry company – i.e., a combination of multiple business entities operating in entirely different industries under one corporate group, usually involving a parent company and many subsidiaries. Conglomerates are often large and multinational.

Monopoly - A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity (exclusive control).

Vertical Integration - An arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is owned by that company (chain of production, marketing, distribution and exhibition)

Horizontal Integration - The process of a company increasing production of goods or services at the same part of the supply chain (by buying companies that produce the same goods e.g. Disney)

Public Service Broadcaster - Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. In many countries of the world, funding comes from governments, especially via annual fees charged on receivers (it is free from political or commercial influence e.g. BBC)

Free Market Capitalism - A society in which an open market sets prices for the sole purpose of profits. This type of society operates on the principles of supply and demand. Prices are set, and goods are bought and sold based on the demand of the people.