SMST216-08B Lecture 2 (Week 30)

Part I: The History of Television

A Short History of Television in New Zealand

Geoff Lealand

There are two major strands of television history

1. The American history, concentrating on inventors and the development of television technology [video: Television: Window to the World]

2. The British history, concentrating on the development of broadcasting institutions eg Asa Briggs, The First 50 Years of the BBC

Note: there are two general histories of television in NZ: Robert Boyd-Bell (1985), New Zealand Television: The First 25 Years, and Patrick Day (2000), Voice & Vision: A History of Broadcasting in New Zealand. See also Lealand & Martin (2001) Chapter 1

Who invented television?

Three hundred is, in fact, a conservative figure since it took nearly a century of research before Milton Berle could show up in your living room in dragTV historian Jeff Kisseloff

(Q. Who is Milton Berle?)

The inventors of television

• Philo T. Farnsworth (USA) - scanning lines• Vladimir Zworykin (USA) -cathode ray tube• John Logie Baird (Britain) - mechanical

transmission of images over wire• The first TV remote (called “Lazy Bones”) was

developed by Zenith Electronics (US) in 1950

Television history timelinesBroadcast History Timelinewww.tvhandbook.com.History/History_timeline.htm

History of Television Timelinehttp://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_television_timeline.htmHistory of Television in New Zealandhttp://corporate.tvnz.co.nz/tvnz_detail/0,22406,111544-247-252,00.htmlTVNZondemand.co.nz

The American model of television

• From the early 1950s, television networks grew out of radio networks, controlled by large corporations (NBC,CBS,ABC)

• Minimal regulation/government control (Federal Communications Commission)

• primary content of television was domestically-based entertainment

•primary purpose and funding of television was commerce (delivering audiences to advertisers)

[video: The People’s Century; Picture Power]

The British model of television• Television was modelled on state-owned radio

(BBC), with a strong public service remit (eg the BBC’s original remit to enlighten, elevate and educate)

• Television was initially funded by fees; a mix developed with the introduction of commercial television (ITV) in 1955

• British television developed as a duopoly + Channel 4, Channel 5 + pay-TV added from the 1980s

• External regulation of commercial TV + self-regulation of the BBC (Charter)

But the distinctions are blurring…

The BBC is still regarded as a public service broadcaster, funded by a general broadcasting fee (120 pounds annually), to inform, educate and entertain. Nevertheless, it makes substantial profits from programmes it exports (eg $NZ300+ million from Teletubbies), and formats it owns and exports (eg Dancing With the Stars)

The Australian model of television

• 1956: Public service, state-funded broadcaster (ABC) developed from public radio + two commercial channels.

• Commercial channels developed into Nine Network and Seven Network; Nine Network added in 1970s

• 1979 Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) set up; 1990 Imparja TV; regional TV

• Satellite critical to national channels; digital switch-off 2012; regulation thru ACMA

• Pay TV : Foxtel, AUSTAR, Optus

The New Zealand model of television

• grew out of state-owned radio; Television New Zealand remains state-owned television (currently a Crown-owned company)

• from the beginning, there was a mix of public service broadcasting (fee) and commercial income (TVCs)

[video: 40 years of ONE)

• introduction of privately-owned channels (TV3) in 1988 and pay TV (Sky) in 1990

Part II: Television in New Zealand in 2008

Television in New Zealand, in 2008, remains a mix of public service objectives (a prime responsibility of Television New Zealand), and commercial interests (overseas-owned channels + pay TV ). There are structures and processes unique to television in this country.Set-top box, commercial-free digital service (Freeview) began in 2007, screening free-to-air channels, including TVNZ6 and TVNZ7

Television New Zealand• A Crowned-Owned Company (CROC), operating

TV ONE and TV2 under the TVNZ Charter. The transmission service BCL is now operated separately, as Kordia

• Funded primarily through advertising revenue (90%) + Charter funding from the Govt ($16m in 2005) + programme subsidies through NZOA and Te Mangai Paho

• 67% share of the FTA audience (2007). Dominates ratings (esp TV ONE)

• Pays dividend on profits to Govt

TV3 and C4• Majority shareholder formerly CanWest Global

Communications (Canada). 90% takeover by Australian private equity firm (Ironbridge Capital) in 2007. Financed through advertising + NZOA programme subsidies

• Operates TV3 (FTA channel, with younger demographic) + C4 (music video + programming strands). 19% FTA audience share (2006)

[CanWest also owns a large share of 90% takeover by Australian private equity firm (Ironbridge Capital) in 2007. Financed through advertising + NZOA programme subsidies)

Prime TV

Previously owned and operated by Prime Networks Australia; purchased by Sky Network Television in 2005. Financed through advertising revenue. Up to 5% FTA audience share.

Sky uses Prime for FTA replays of the significant sporting fixtures it has exclusive rights to (rugby)

Maori Television Service

State-funded national channel,with a brief to preserve and promote te reo Maori . Launched June 2004, and attracts between 50-70% non-Maori viewers, broadcasting up to 8 hours daily.

Programming is 90% locally producedSecond channel Te reo launched in 2008

Sky Network TelevisionPay TV service, providing 80+ channels of terrestrial

+ satellite digital service + radio channels.. 78% owned by Independent News Ltd (INL)* + 8% Commercial Bank of Australia. In 46% of NZ h/hs; subscribers=720,919, Dec 2007 ), After years on continuous losses, Sky made $35m profit in 2004. Currently 5% of income comes from advertising. 23% of the total NZ television audience (2006); 19% share of 20-54 year olds (April 2008) Introduced PVR (personal video recorders) as MySky in 2006; currently adding HDTV

* 44% owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation

Other television …

• Regional television eg NowTV, CTV (Christchurch), Nelson (Mainland TV). Channel 9 (Dunedin)

• Community television eg Triangle (Auckland and Wellington)

• From 2005, some funding available from New Zealand On Air to regional TV

Funding Agencies (1)• New Zealand On Air (under Ministry of Culture

and Heritage) est. 1989, with responsibilities for social and cultural objectives of broadcasting (radio + TV). Directly funded from Treasury ($127.5m in 2008/9; 64% allocated to funding TV programmes). Contestable funding, concentrated on ‘threatened’ or ‘non-commercial’genres (drama/comedy, children’s, documentaries). Does not fund news/current affairs nor sport.Broadcasting slot required to receive NZOA funding.

Funding Agencies (2)

• Te Mangai Paho (under Te Puni Kokiri). Promotes Maori language and culture through providing funds for programming--primarily to Maori Television Service (more than $20m annually, with 50% te reo Maori targets)

Regulation Agencies (1)

• Broadcasting Standards Authority (under Ministry of Culture and Heritage) . Est. 1989. Govt-funded, complaints-based content regulator. Regulates radio and TV, through codes of broadcasting practice, developed in conjunction with industry. Deals with around 200 formal complaints annually (average upheld=21%). Conducts audience research (as does NZOA)

Regulation Agencies (2)

• Advertising Standards Authority. Industry-based, self-regulatory body responding to advertising complaints. Incorporates Advertising Standards Complaints Board and Advertising Standards Appeals Board (both with public members)

To conclude ….

The major avenues for funding television are:•advertising (buying airtime, sponsorship, naming

rights)•fees or taxes (eg the former Public Broadcasting

Fee)•direct government funding eg MTS and NZOA in

NZ; ABC in Australia)•funding mixes (eg TVNZ)•Pay TV--pay service, channel subscriptions

The manner in which television is funded determines what kind of television

eventuates• commercial television eg American networks

NBC/ABC/CBS/Fox; Channels 7/9/10 in Australia; TV3/C4/Prime in NZ

• public service television eg BBC, ABC (Australia), NHK (Japan), YLE (Finland)

• pay TV eg Foxtel (Australia), Sky (UK), Sky (NZ)

• mixed systems (public funding + advertising) eg Television New Zealand

The current NZ model (1)

In effect channels are settling into three types:• Type 1 comprises the major free-to-air

national channels (TV One, TV2, TV3)• Type 2 consists of the smaller broad-service

channels with mainly national reach (Prime, Maori Television)

The current NZ model (2)• Type 3 comprises channels broadcasting regionally

and/or to special interest audiences, whether on UHF, Freeview or pay TV platforms (such as the 16 regional channels, C4, TVNZ6, TVNZ7, Juice TV, Stratos, Parliament TV, Alt TV)

The Sky TV subscription services collectively of course is a major competitor to the Type 1 channels in particular, but its individual channels mostly fall into Types 2 and 3, with the possible exception of sports.

From: New Zealand On Air Statement of Intent 2008-11, Wellington: 2008

The future of television?

*The Personal Video Recorder (PVR) aka Digital Personal Video Recorder (DVR) or MySky

The PVR makes timeshifting much easier, can ‘pause’ live TV, provide instant replay, and the ability to skip advertising .

*Analogue TV switch-off (NZ 2012?; USA 2009; Finland 2007),complete shift to digital TV

*New forms of delivery eg TV on mobiles, webTV

Questions

• What other factors have shaped the history and development of television in New Zealand?

• Is it possible to fund television differently from the methods described here?

• What might be other ‘futures’ for television?• What dilemmas does broadcasting regulation

face in the near and distant future?