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| Barb infographic. |
2020
December
Rusbridger opinion piece on how Tory government and Murdoch are attacking the BBC. Guardian.
BBC Bitesize - useful terms, facts, graphs...
UKTV (a brand name) description of their TV channel brands.
Wiki: TV in the UK.
UK audience share of major TV corporations, including infographic.
Cost of placing ads on different UK TV channels.
Would people miss the BBC if it was scrapped?
Description of some major TV brands for advertisers.
10 most-watched UK TV channels.
This is taken from the BBC bitesize guide; no need to try and learn all these terms, but there could be ONE in there that might be used within your pitch:
Some more useful terms - ask if unsure of any:
analogue - the free-to-air channels that all TVs could show without subscription (just the legally required license fee for all TV owners, mainly funding the BBC) - BBC1, BBC2, ITV, C4 and from 1996 C5. The analogue TV signal has now been switched off in Britain, all channels are digital, cable or satellite (or web streamed), but BBC1 etc still have unique status
BBC - the state-owned broadcaster, it doesn't carry ads; the license fee pays for its content (and its international commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, which includes BBC America, which does carry ads)
BBFC - rates DVDs and even cut scenes in games, not just films
Co-production - not as universal as it is in the film industry, but with production budgets rising it is going that way. The BBC often co-produce with an American network to enable high budget productions. DVDs and Blu-Ray remain an important secondary market for TV production. Also see watershed.
Cross-media ownership - its common for conglomerates to own TV and other media companies, for example Sky is owned by Rupert Murdoch's (now split in 2) conglomerate, which in turn owns the S*n/Times newspapers (and many more worldwide), magazines, book publishers, 21st Century Fox, Fox TV network etc. This creates opportunities for horizontal integration: different subsidiaries from different media industries owned by one conglomerate combining to mutually promote and benefit each other (synergy), as in the case of Avatar's promotion (Sun stories galore, Sky One specials, launched Sky Movies 3D channel etc)
deregulation - rules on TV ownership and content have been simplified and reduced since the 1980s. Satellite/cable and later digital channels were given minimal restrictions compared to the existing analogue, PSB channels.
digital - all UK TV channels are now essentially digital, but the term 'digital channel' still denotes a non-terrestrial, typically smaller, channel. All of the terrestrial networks (BBC, ITV, C4, C5) have their own family of digital channels, mostly nice in contrast to their wide, mainstream audiences (eg BBC3 is 15-24/youth, BBC4 is upmarket, older high culture, 5USA focuses on US TV, E4 is C4's youth brand)
license fee - the BBC is paid for through a compulsory TV license (about £150 a year) for every household with a TV
monetising - ways of 'squeezing the brand'; making money other than direct programme sales (eg freemium apps, sponsorship)
niche - channels with minority, narrow, specialist interest/audience, eg Clubland TV (see list of UK TV channels)
OfCom - the organisation that regulates TV. TV channels are licensed by OfCom, who can issue warnings, fines and remove licenses (meaning they're legally banned from UK TV)
product placement - 'is when a company pays a TV channel or a programme-maker to include its products or brands in a programme.' [OfCom] Illegal in the UK until 2011 (part of deregulation)
PSB - public service broadcasting describes the requirements and output of the terrestrial channels BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, C4 and C5 (plus the BBC's other channels), legally required to carry a minimum of news at certain times for example, unlike digital channels.
ratings - (viewing figures) these determine the fees that can be charged to advertisers. See broadcastnow, and Barb (the organisation that gathers the figures)
scheduling - a real art, this is the decision-making around when to screen programmes, including decisions such as avoiding or going head-to-head with similar rival shows on other channels. See the BBC Bitesize terms list above for more
second screening - the common habit (especially of millennials!) of viewing TV while using a gadget to chat or post on what they're watching. Advertisers like to see evidence of such engagement, and programme makers/channels often encourage this with hashtags for example.
spectrum scarcity - right up to 1982 the UK had only 3 TV channels (BBC1, BBC2, ITV). Channel 4 was launched as new technology meant a 4th station could be squeezed into the analogue signal. 15 years later, with more improvements to compression technology, C5 was added.
sponsorship - distinct from ad-breaks, programme sponsors have their own trail as a show starts and at the end of each segment
terrestrial - the term for the original free-to-air channels (essentially the same as analogue) which were available through any TV set without a subscription
timeshifting - the increasingly common practice of viewing TV through streaming or catch-up, and so ignoring the original scheduling
watershed/post-watershed - adult content (swearing, violence, sexual content) is prohibited before 9pm, the time at which younger children are expected to be in bed (though its aimed at protecting under-16s). OfCom has fined channels for breaching this law. Many 15-rated (on DVD) shows would need to be cut for pre-watershed screening
BBC Bitesize - useful terms, facts, graphs...
UKTV (a brand name) description of their TV channel brands.
Wiki: TV in the UK.
UK audience share of major TV corporations, including infographic.
Cost of placing ads on different UK TV channels.
Would people miss the BBC if it was scrapped?
Description of some major TV brands for advertisers.
10 most-watched UK TV channels.
This is taken from the BBC bitesize guide; no need to try and learn all these terms, but there could be ONE in there that might be used within your pitch:
Some more useful terms - ask if unsure of any:
analogue - the free-to-air channels that all TVs could show without subscription (just the legally required license fee for all TV owners, mainly funding the BBC) - BBC1, BBC2, ITV, C4 and from 1996 C5. The analogue TV signal has now been switched off in Britain, all channels are digital, cable or satellite (or web streamed), but BBC1 etc still have unique status
BBC - the state-owned broadcaster, it doesn't carry ads; the license fee pays for its content (and its international commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, which includes BBC America, which does carry ads)
BBFC - rates DVDs and even cut scenes in games, not just films
Co-production - not as universal as it is in the film industry, but with production budgets rising it is going that way. The BBC often co-produce with an American network to enable high budget productions. DVDs and Blu-Ray remain an important secondary market for TV production. Also see watershed.
Cross-media ownership - its common for conglomerates to own TV and other media companies, for example Sky is owned by Rupert Murdoch's (now split in 2) conglomerate, which in turn owns the S*n/Times newspapers (and many more worldwide), magazines, book publishers, 21st Century Fox, Fox TV network etc. This creates opportunities for horizontal integration: different subsidiaries from different media industries owned by one conglomerate combining to mutually promote and benefit each other (synergy), as in the case of Avatar's promotion (Sun stories galore, Sky One specials, launched Sky Movies 3D channel etc)
deregulation - rules on TV ownership and content have been simplified and reduced since the 1980s. Satellite/cable and later digital channels were given minimal restrictions compared to the existing analogue, PSB channels.
digital - all UK TV channels are now essentially digital, but the term 'digital channel' still denotes a non-terrestrial, typically smaller, channel. All of the terrestrial networks (BBC, ITV, C4, C5) have their own family of digital channels, mostly nice in contrast to their wide, mainstream audiences (eg BBC3 is 15-24/youth, BBC4 is upmarket, older high culture, 5USA focuses on US TV, E4 is C4's youth brand)
license fee - the BBC is paid for through a compulsory TV license (about £150 a year) for every household with a TV
monetising - ways of 'squeezing the brand'; making money other than direct programme sales (eg freemium apps, sponsorship)
niche - channels with minority, narrow, specialist interest/audience, eg Clubland TV (see list of UK TV channels)
OfCom - the organisation that regulates TV. TV channels are licensed by OfCom, who can issue warnings, fines and remove licenses (meaning they're legally banned from UK TV)
product placement - 'is when a company pays a TV channel or a programme-maker to include its products or brands in a programme.' [OfCom] Illegal in the UK until 2011 (part of deregulation)
PSB - public service broadcasting describes the requirements and output of the terrestrial channels BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, C4 and C5 (plus the BBC's other channels), legally required to carry a minimum of news at certain times for example, unlike digital channels.
ratings - (viewing figures) these determine the fees that can be charged to advertisers. See broadcastnow, and Barb (the organisation that gathers the figures)
scheduling - a real art, this is the decision-making around when to screen programmes, including decisions such as avoiding or going head-to-head with similar rival shows on other channels. See the BBC Bitesize terms list above for more
second screening - the common habit (especially of millennials!) of viewing TV while using a gadget to chat or post on what they're watching. Advertisers like to see evidence of such engagement, and programme makers/channels often encourage this with hashtags for example.
spectrum scarcity - right up to 1982 the UK had only 3 TV channels (BBC1, BBC2, ITV). Channel 4 was launched as new technology meant a 4th station could be squeezed into the analogue signal. 15 years later, with more improvements to compression technology, C5 was added.
sponsorship - distinct from ad-breaks, programme sponsors have their own trail as a show starts and at the end of each segment
terrestrial - the term for the original free-to-air channels (essentially the same as analogue) which were available through any TV set without a subscription
timeshifting - the increasingly common practice of viewing TV through streaming or catch-up, and so ignoring the original scheduling
watershed/post-watershed - adult content (swearing, violence, sexual content) is prohibited before 9pm, the time at which younger children are expected to be in bed (though its aimed at protecting under-16s). OfCom has fined channels for breaching this law. Many 15-rated (on DVD) shows would need to be cut for pre-watershed screening
