A Short History + Television in New Zealand

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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 BoydBell (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 drag
TV 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 timelines
Broadcast History Timeline
www.tvhandbook.com.History/History_timeline.htm
History of Television Timeline
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_television
_timeline.htm
History of Television in New Zealand
http://corporate.tvnz.co.nz/tvnz_detail/0,22406,111544247-252,00.html
TVNZondemand.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 domesticallybased 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 + selfregulation 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 the NZ radio
market (RadioWorks, Radio Pacific, More FM)
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 produced
Second channel Te reo launched in 2008
Sky Network Television
Pay 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 200811, 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?
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