MAC 143 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Concentration Of Media Ownership, Hulu, Cable Television Headend
28 Jun 2018
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Chapter 6
Terms:
● analog - 1941, FCC adopted this standard based on radio waves for all US tv sets; in
use until 2009
● digital - translate TV images and sounds into binary codes (ones and zeros) and allow
for increased channel capacity and improved image quality and sound; HD offers the
highest resolution and sharpest image -- only get this if programmer uses HD signals
and you have the equipment to receive those signals
● prime time - the hours between 8 and 11pm when networks traditionally draw their
largest audiences and charge their highest ad rates
● network era - late 1950s- end of 1970s - Big Three broadcast networks (ABC, NBC,
CBS) dictated virtually every trend in programming and collectively accounted for more
than 95% of all prime-time tv viewing
● CATV - community antenna television; first small cable systems originated in 1940s
Oregon, PA, NYC where mountains or tall buildings blocked TV signals; served about
10% of country and contained only 12 channels
○ cable advantages: eliminated over-the-air interference and running signals
through coaxial cable increased channel capacity
● narrowcasting - the providing of specialized programming for diverse and fragmented
groups; attracts both advertisers and audiences - cable programs provide access to
certain target audiences that cannot be guaranteed in broadcasting
● basic cable - hundred-plus channel lineup composed of local broadcast signals; access
channels (for local gov, education, and general public use); regional PBS stations; and a
variety of cable channels (ESPN, CNN, MTV, USA)
● superstations - independent TV stations uplinked to a satellite (such as WGN in
Chicago) and others depending on the cable system’s capacity and regional interests
● premium channels - cable offers a wide range of special programs which lure customers
with the promise of no advertising; recent and classic Hollywood movies; and original
movies or series; major source of revenue for cable companies
● pay-per-view (PPV) - 1985; offering recently released movies or special one-time
sporting events to subscribers who paid a designated charge to their cable company,
allowing them to view the program
● video-on-demand (VOD) - early 2000s; enables customers to choose among hundreds
of titles and watch their selection whenever they want in the same way as video,
pausing, and fast-forwarding when desired
● direct broadcast satellite (DBS) - 1999, presented a big challenge in rugged terrain and
isolated homes where installation of cable wiring hasn’t been possible/profitable; DBS
transmits its signal directly to small satellite dishes near or on customers’ homes; as a
result cable penetration dropped to 44% by 2012;
● time shifting - began during the VCR era, occurs when the viewers record shows and
watch them at a later, more convenient time; threatened the TV industry’s advertising-
driven business model
● third screens - new online viewing experiences; meaning that computer screens are the
third major way we view content (movie screens and traditional TV sets are the first and
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second screens); most popular site is YouTube; operate at catch-up services for fans to
“catch up” on movies and programs that played earlier in theaters or on TV
● fourth screens - smartphones and mobile video/ipads/ipods; forced major changes in
consumer viewing habits and media content creation; cable and DBS operators have
begun to capitalize on this trend: cabletelevision, time warner, and dish network released
iPad apps in 2011 for no additional charge; multifunctionality and profitability of 3rd/4th
screen devices means that consumer may no longer need tv sets
● kinescope - a film camera recorded a live TV show off a studio monitor; quality of the
kinescope was poor, and most series that were saved in their way have not survived -
some did though if they were shot and preserved on film
● sketch comedy - short comedy skits; was a key element in early TV variety shows; they
“resurrected the essentials of stage variety entertainment” and played to noisy studio
audiences;
● situation comedy - sitcom features a recurring cast; each episode establishes a narrative
situation, complicates it, develops increasing confusion among its characters, and then
usually resolves the complications; character development is downplayed in favor of
zany plots; usually static and predictable and they genuinely do not develop much during
the course of the series; fans feel a little bit smarter than the characters; characters and
settings are typically more important than complicated predicaments;
● anthology dramas - early 1950s; served a more elite and wealthier audience; brought
live dramatic theater to that audience; influenced by stage plays, offered new, artistically
significant teleplays (scripts written for TV), casts, directors, writers, and sets from one
week to the next; ended because: advertisers disliked them because they presented
stories containing complex human problems that were not easily resolved (bad for
commercials) and change in the audience - people in early 1950s could also afford
tickets to plays but then the working- middle-class families could afford TVs - prices of
sets dropped/anthologies = expensive to produce
● episodic series - first used on radio in 1929; main characters continue from week to
week, sets and locales remain the same, and technical crews stay with the programs;
comes in two types
○ chapter shows - self-contained stories with a recurring set of main characters
who confront a problem, face a series of conflicts, and find a resolution; 1970s tv
dramas became a stape, mirroring anxieties about the urban unrest of the time,
precipitated by the decline of manufacturing and the loss of factory jobs = heroic
police and detectives protecting americans
○ serial programs - open-ended episodic shows; most story lines continue from
episode to episode; cheaper to produce than chapter shows, employing just a
few indoor sets, and running five days a week, daytime soap operas are among
the longest-running serial programs in the history of TV
● affiliate stations - stations that contract with a network to carry its programs
● Prime Time Access Rule (PTAR) - April 1970; reduced the networks’ control of prime
time programming from four to three hours; an effort to encourage more local news and
public affairs programs; however most stations simply ran 30 min of local news at 6pm
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MAC 143 Full Course Notes
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Document Summary
Analog - 1941, fcc adopted this standard based on radio waves for all us tv sets; in use until 2009. Prime time - the hours between 8 and 11pm when networks traditionally draw their largest audiences and charge their highest ad rates. Network era - late 1950s- end of 1970s - big three broadcast networks (abc, nbc, Cbs) dictated virtually every trend in programming and collectively accounted for more than 95% of all prime-time tv viewing. Catv - community antenna television; first small cable systems originated in 1940s. Oregon, pa, nyc where mountains or tall buildings blocked tv signals; served about. 10% of country and contained only 12 channels. Cable advantages: eliminated over-the-air interference and running signals through coaxial cable increased channel capacity. Narrowcasting - the providing of specialized programming for diverse and fragmented groups; attracts both advertisers and audiences - cable programs provide access to certain target audiences that cannot be guaranteed in broadcasting.
