Methods of Recruitment: Unit 8 Assignment 1/LO1

BTEC LEVEL 3 Diploma in Creative Media Production

Course Title: Know about ownership and funding in the television and film industries

Unit Title: Unit 8 Understanding the Television and Video Industries

Task: 1

Learning Outcome:

1. Know about ownership and funding in the television and film industries.

My role in this set task is to individually prepare a Research report (Written Report) on the issues relating to media ownership and funding in the TV and film industry. Ownership means the ways of how companies or products are owned whereas funding refers to the money generated via people or a business within a company. My task is to find out and understand what media ownership and funding is so eventually I can apply for work experience in the industry. I will be using several different case studies that vary from within TV and the film industry to complete my assignment such as BBC, ITV, NOW TV, Netflix, Disney, Sony, Lovefilm, Graham Norton-So Television, Simon Cowell- Syco Entertainment, ‘About Time’(2013),’This is England’(2006) ‘X Factor’, ‘Ill Manors’(2012) ‘Casino Royale’(2006) and ‘Skyfall’(2012).

Media Ownership:

The TV and Film Industry is structured in many ways through conglomerates, subsidiaries, independent companies, private companies, public service and commercial ownership. In the TV industry ownership refers to how the industry is structured and owned.

Media conglomerates also known as parent companies have a substantial role in the structure of the TV industry. They are huge multinational organisations with multiple media interests. An example of a conglomerate is ITV. They “are funded by commercials; advertisements on their channel. This means that TV channels are paid to advertise certain companies or products during the adverts.” (BlogSpot 1, 17/09/13) Media conglomerates are global multinational organisations e.g. Disney is reproduced in many different media companies also known as subsidiaries that they own e.g. Marvel Studios. Media Conglomerates are multinational companies that have multiple interests in media and also they have rights and invest in a large amount of companies revolving around the mass media e.g. publishing. “An example of a media conglomerate would be Viacom and they control around 170 networks that reach around 700 million subscribers in 160 countries. Another example would be BBC because it’s only funded by annual TV license fee that charge people or organisations that acquire broadcasting. Time Warner Inc. is a global multinational media institution but also one of the largest media conglomerates. Time Warner previously owned AOL, Time Warner Cable, and Warner Music Group but these have all been spun off into independent companies.” (Wikipedia 1, 18/09/13) “Universal Studios Inc. is an American motion picture studio and is one of the six major movie studios. (Wikipedia 2, 18/09/13) “ITV is an integrated producer broadcaster. ITV Studios is an international production and distribution business which produces and sells programmes and formats in the UK and worldwide. The ITV broadcast network is made up of ITV – the largest commercial channel in the UK – and the digital channels ITV2, ITV3, ITV4 and CITV. ITV2 and ITV3 are the largest digital channels in the UK.” (ITV 1, 18/09/13) Some advantages of these media conglomerates in production and distribution would be that they can be more ambitious with films get bigger stars, have more special effects, travel to better locations and that they won’t need to collaborate to secure funding. Also they can use synergy and cross promote via games, music or toys. Synergy means when media conglomerates use their subsidiary companies to promote each other for mutual profit or gain. An example of synergy would BBC promote Top Gear magazine through the TV show and the Top Gear website. The film “Skyfall” (2012) was such a success because it had the backing of a company that was able to use cross media convergence as it owns companies within a range of industries. Some disadvantages would be that films often have to satisfy a mass market and some creative film makers can’t afford to risk that.

Media subsidiaries are smaller companies which are owned by media conglomerates because they are owned and controlled by them. Some examples of media subsidiaries from “Universal Studios Inc. would be NBC Broadcasting, E!, Universal Animation Studios and CNBC. Some of Viacom’s subsidiaries would be Black Entertainment Television LLC, Blue Sea Productions Inc. and MTV Animation Inc. Some examples of Time Warner’s subsidiaries would be AOL, Comedy Central and Warner Music Group”. (Wikipedia 3, 18/09/13) Some examples of BBC’s subsidiaries would be “BBC Worldwide, BBC Studios and Post Production and BBC World News”. (BBC 2, 18/09/13) Lastly some of ITV Plc.’s subsidiaries would be “ITV2, CITV and The Zone.” (ITV 2, 18/09/13) Advantages of Media subsidiaries would be that it is multinational globally recognized from being owned by larger conglomerates. Also it has a lot of business that’s worth a lot supporting it. An example of a media subsidiary would be The Sun because they are owned by Newscorp but they are identified as a unique brand.

Independents are companies that run themselves and not by larger successful institutions so it’s very hard for them to compete against larger conglomerates. British Films find their own funding via The UK Film Council, private investors or ratings travel via word of mouth e.g. social networking sites or trailers on specific channels. “Independent production companies that are not attached to a general studio may have to work hard after the film is made to get successful and distributed from a studio.” (BlogSpot 2, 17/09/13) An example of an independent company would be So Television Graham Norton’s Production Company has been bought by ITV in a deal that has been estimated to be worth up to £17million depending on future profits via ratings for the show. Independent companies are companies that find their own funding and do not belong to anyone e.g. British Films which eventually run out of business because of harsh competition from famous American Film Institutions/Conglomerates. An example of an Independent company would be some of the production companies that helped the film ‘Ill Manors’ (2012) because it tried to push the boundaries so it could receive a lot of success even though it didn’t have a high budget would be ‘Microwave’ and ‘BBC Films’. The film was made through a micro-budget feature film making scheme so it was aimed at introducing the next generation with film making talent. The film wasn’t a part of a major conglomerate so it could take more risks but it could compete with competing American Films because of viral marketing. They used interactive media on the audience to entice them into viewing the film. Some advantages and disadvantages of an independent company would be that the production often has to secure extra funding and finance. Also when a film has fewer budgets the film will be less ambitious because it is stuck with basic resources. Some advantages and disadvantages of distribution with Independent companies would be that the film has to be carefully advertised to its audience as less money is spent on the campaign for distribution. Also the film can’t withstand losses with Box Office revenue.

Private companies help structure the TV and Film Industry because they “are a company owned by non-governmental or a small number of shareholders. An example of a private held company would be Simon Cowell’s company because he is a conglomerate himself as he has had multiple successes in the industry. He is the owner of Syco Entertainment which has produced one of the most well-known and successful show in Europe “The X Factor,” Syco Entertainment also produces the hit competition show America's Got Talent.” (BlogSpot 3, 17/09/13)

Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) is a type of media ownership whereby its funding is generated by the tax payer through the license fee funds which is standardly “£145.50 for a colour and £49.00 for a black and white TV Licence.” (TV Licensing 1, 17/09/13) An example of a Public Service Broadcaster would be BBC because they have principles to inform, educate and entertain their target audience within the shows. They have a duty to be honest and impartial in its content, offering quality programming that inform and educate. The BBC has some “public purposes and purpose remits such as sustaining citizenship and civil society, promoting education and learning and representing the UK, its nations, regions and communities.” (BBC 1, 17/09/13)

Commercial ownership are channels that broadcast adverts which helps fund in the TV industry because these companies that advertise have to pay a fee to for their advert to be shown on a particular channel.

Another type of ownership would be Vertical integration which is when a company becomes partners with another to further the business so they are progressing at the same time. Examples would be Disney and MGM. Disney makes profit from creating, producing and distributing their own movies in their own studios so that can publicize their products globally and internationally. Another example would be Time Inc. and Warner Bros becoming Time Warner even though Time Warner is the subsidiary to Warner Bros. There are some advantages with vertical integration such as each institution can share out the work amongst one another but a disadvantage would be that both institutions don’t get the same equal amount of profits e.g. 60%:40%

In contrast to Vertical integration another type of ownership would be Horizontal integration which is one major company that owns a variety of companies that work as one on a specific project. Examples of film companies working together would be DreamWorks Animation being working with 20^th Century Fox and another merge of film companies working together would be Columbia Pictures being and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Films are funded in many ways by the UK Film Council which include private investors such as producers or actors attracting their name to a product. Also government bodies such as The UK Film Council and co-productions with Hollywood studios such as Sony. An example of Horizontal integration would ‘Casino Royale’ (2006) which is mostly made by Sony owned companies such as Columbia Pictures. The film of this partnership expanded into other companies during the making of the film such as MGM.

Funding:

Some media conglomerates like BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are funded in several different ways. BBC is funded differently from commercial channels like ITV and Channel 4 because they don’t show adverts. BBC only preview short segments of new upcoming shows that will be distributed on the channel in between when a programme has finished and the next show scheduled to come on. Also unlike other commercial channels, the BBC is funded by the TV license which they use “the income from the licence fee to provide services including 10 national TV channels plus regional programming, 10 national radio stations, 40 local radio stations and an extensive website. Also profits from BBC Worldwide are returned to the BBC for investment in new programming and services.” (BBC 3, 19/09/13) Commercial channels like ITV or Channel 4 are funded by advertisements which can be short segments of a film. Another form of funding for television is sponsorship which is when a company pays for their business to be promoted e.g. TalkTalk is always shown before ‘X factor’ comes on and this happens so that people are more encouraged to go and get TalkTalk. This helps profits because ‘X Factor’ is a very popular show with many viewers across the country. Subscription is another form of funding for television e.g. Sky and Virgin which is paid monthly for Satellite TV, product placement which when a product is featured by a company e.g. on ‘X factor’ on the panel the judges have Coke mugs allocated in front of them and pay per view e.g. sporting customers where they pay a fee to watch a channel for a particular time.

The function of Pay per view TV is that it “provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it (as opposed to video-on-demand systems, which allow viewers to see recorded broadcasts at any time). Events can be purchased using an on-screen guide, an automated telephone system, or through a live customer service representative. Events often include feature films, sporting events and entertainment.” (Wikipedia 4, 21/09/13) An example of Pay per View TV would be Sky’s new Pay per View TV called “NOW TV.” This service now gives customers an option to “either subscribe to the Sky Movies Pass service or purchase a Sky Sports Day Pass. The Sky Movies Pass gives you access to a great range of on-demand content and movies channels with no sign-up fee. There's a monthly subscription fee which you pay when you sign up and then each month after that until you cancel. The Sky Sports Pass is slightly different because this gives you access to live streamed Sky Sports channels via a compatible registered device for a 24 hour period although there's no sign-up fee. You will just need to pay each time you purchase a Sky Sports Day Pass.” (NOW TV, 21/09/13) Also people can pay to watch a TV programme or film on a specified channel via Sky Box Office at any time but for a price instead of paying for all the channels especially ones not watched.

Subscriptions are very important for the funding of the TV and Film Industries because it is “an action of making or agreeing to make an advance payment in order to receive or participate in something”. (Google, 22/09/13) Two main widely known subscriptions are Netflix and Lovefilm. Netflix’s members can enjoy “one billion hours of TV shows and movies per month, including original series. For one low monthly price, Netflix members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on nearly any Internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.” (Netflix, 02/10/13) Lovefilm members pay just £4.99 a month where they can “choose from thousands of hours of the latest and greatest film and TV entertainment from major Hollywood – and international – studios, streamed instantly through Lovefilm Instant directly to hundreds of Internet-enabled devices, including games consoles and tablets.” (Lovefilm, 02/10/13)

Product Placement is very important and crucial to have in the funding of the TV and Film industries because of it’s an opportunity companies seize to promote their products via adverts the public watch. Some companies have to pay in order for a product to be displayed either in a film or show. It’s a controversial issue that gets argued, companies’ abuse entertainment to sell products. Some examples of product placement in TV would be “the programme ‘The Biggest Loser’ which has Brita and 24 Hour Fitness USA. Also in ‘America’s Next Top Model’ which has 7-Up and CoverGirl.” (Business week, 03/10/13) Some examples of product placement in films would be ‘Skyfall’ (2012) the brands included are “Aston Martin, CNN, Range Rover and BBC. Another film would be ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (2012) and the brands used are Doritos, Rolls Royce, Xfinity and Samsung.” (Brand channel, 03/10/13)

In the Film Industry there are many types of funding like private investors e.g. wealthy people who have enough funding to invest in a film to help it get a lot of budget, distribution companies e.g. Revolver Entertainment who help distribute a film in the industry and development funds such as UK Film Council who help films with lack of a lot of money and equipment by providing them with a small loan of money. UK Film Council “is the link between UK films and filmmakers and new international audiences. Together with the British Council’s global network overseas they work to profile the innovation, diversity, creativity and excellence of British films around the world, and work to find opportunities for creative exchange between UK filmmakers and international counterparts.” (British council, 03/10/13)These two films featured below were both made in England and were mostly funded by Independent companies. The film ‘This is England’ (2006) was funded by the “UK Film Council and another development fund such as Film 4. However it was also funded by some distribution companies such as A-Film Distribution (2008) and Netflix (2007). Also ‘About Time’ (2013) was funded by two development companies called- Translux and Working Film Titles just as well as being funded from some distribution companies such as Solar Entertainment (2013) and Universal Pictures (2013)”. (Imdb, 03/10/13)

What I’ve learnt about ownership and funding is that there’s several ways to fund in the TV and Film Industry through ‘parent companies’ to independent companies. Or even private companies and private investors. That there’s a two way relationship from programmes to the audience. Each way to fund the TV and Film industry has benefits and disadvantages e.g. TV license provides channels with quality TV but you do have to pay a fee to receive it. Also I learnt if you make a film and you don’t have enough money you can get money from the UK Film Council. I learned about oligopoly which is when the market is dominated by a small number of companies.

My personal opinion on ownership and funding of the TV and Film Industry is that there are a lot of options the audience can use to pay for the TV via subscriptions, pay per view or TV license. Commercial channels like Sky or Channel 4 use adverts to promote products whereas in Public Service Broadcasting like BBC which has duties and principles to cater for their target audience there is the license fee. I think funding a Film is more complicated than funding a TV because e.g. Independent companies struggle to survive for long because of big media conglomerates and that’s why you don’t really see British Films in box office sales unless it’s synergized with an American Film Company. Also when Film Companies work together there can be some conflict within them, when they share the profits because each institution has contributed with different roles.

I think over the years the TV and Film industry services has developed a lot. The red button on the Sky remote has upgraded better providing customers with more access to information. Even on Sky when you can pause or record live channels like their slogan, “Never miss a thing.” To make paying customers happy and find ways to compromise with their needs as they are paying a lot every few months depending on what they have. Even though there’s catch up channels, catch up websites or Sky Plus I think Sky and other providers are thinking of better up-to-date services in the future that suits the way we live because technology is moving fast. In the Film industries equipment is getting better because now there’s better editing equipment e.g. Mac computers and specialised software added onto software’s and even smart devices. There are better cameras with good adjustments and as the years go on filming a TV programme or an actual movie will be much easier as it sounds because technology is growing alongside people.

Bibliography

BlogSpot 1: makedaroberts.co.uk (Accessed on 17/09/13)

BlogSpot 2: makedaroberts.co.uk (Accessed on 17/09/13)

BlogSpot 3: makedaroberts.co.uk (Accessed on 17/09/13)

TV Licensing: www.tvlicensing.co.uk, (Accessed on 17/09/13)

BBC 1: www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust, (Accessed on 17/09/13)

Wikipedia 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Warner, (Accessed on 18/09/13)

Wikipedia 2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Studios, (Accessed on 18/09/13)

ITV 1: http://www.itvplc.com/about/what-we-do, (Accessed on 18/09/13)

Wikipedia 3: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media Subsidiaries, (Accessed on 18/09/13)

BBC 2: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust, (Accessed on 18/09/13)

ITV 2: (http://www.itvplc.com/about/what-we-do, (Accessed on 18/09/13)