Programming and Distribution

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Chapter 7

• Programming and Distribution

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• What Programs Are
• Programs must attract audience, meet their needs
  or desires.
• Practically anything interesting can be program
  material. Examples?
• Radio
• Between the 20s and the 50s, radio programming
  more wide ranging.
• Music
• Recorded music is top radio program content.

3

• (Radio, Music, cont.)
• Traditional (AM/FM) radio challenged by
  satellite, Internet, iPod.
• Music divided into genres and subgenres to target
  niches.
• Radio formats
• Talk, News/Information, Sports
• Dominate the AM band.
• Commercial radio has reduced emphasis on news.
• NPR offers in-depth news.

4

• Television
• More diverse than ever before.
• Still, there is a copycat tendency.
• Dramatic Series, Sitcoms, Movies
• Sitcoms have greater staying power than dramas in
  syndication (?).
• Networks dont show as many movies as in the
  past. Why?
• Reality Shows
• Less expensive to produce than scripted shows.
  Why?

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• News, Newsmagazines
• News must compete for viewers, advertisers.
• Criticism news is less substantial to save
  money, succeed in ratings.
• Today reportedly accounts for half of NBCs
  annual profits.
• In 1993, Dateline NBC showed truck exploding,
  didnt tell viewers it was rigged (?).

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• Daytime Dramas
• Soap operas began on radio, on TV from the very
  beginning.
• Slow moving, fill a lot of time.
• Sports
• Fox bumped CBS out of its NFL contract in 1994.
• Cable networks have become more competitive for
  sports.

7

• A Ratings Moment
• Programs fate rests on ratings.
• Arbitron, top radio ratings company. Nielsen, TV.
• Measurement
• Diaries, meters, People meters, Portable People
  meters.
• Results
• Rating -- of total viewers.
• Share -- of HUT (households using television)