This book will explore the questions raised by the technological developments that have encouraged the multiplication of TV channels. TV is moving through a period of rapid change. Governments around the world are switching from analogue to digital forms of transmission to further expand the amount of content that TV signals can carry. At the same time, competition for eyeballs has also grown from outside that traditional marketplace with the emergence of the Internet. The roll-out of broadband and increased bandwidth has had the greatest impact on television because online technology can readily convey the same content. All these changes have created a great deal more competition for viewers within the traditional TV marketplace. The Internet has proven to be especially popular with young people who have adopted its applications to a far greater extent than their elders, though even the latter have now begun to take up online activities in significant numbers. Are these audiences the same? Do people make a choice between these two media or do they use them both at different times and for different reasons? Can television utilise the Internet in profitable ways to enhance its market position? Will television have to evolve from its current state to provide the kinds of content reception services to which people have become accustomed in the online world? If it does need to change to survive, will this nevertheless mean a radical new configuration of content and the disappearance of 'channels' with fixed, pre-determined programme schedules? - Examines the implications of new interactive communications technologies for the way people will use television in the future - Presents an analysis of changing styles of television viewing and changing orientations towards television - Examines the growing importance of the broadband internet as a source of information and entertainment

After a half-century of glacial creep, television technology has begun to change at the same dizzying pace as computer software. What this will mean--for television, for computers, and for the popular culture where these video media reign supreme--is the subject of this timely book. A noted communications economist, Bruce Owen supplies the essential background: a grasp of the economic history of the television industry and of the effects of technology and government regulation on its organization. He also explores recent developments associated with the growth of the Internet. With this history as a basis, his book allows readers to peer into the future--at the likely effects of television and the Internet on each other, for instance, and at the possibility of a convergence of the TV set, computer, and telephone. The digital world that Owen shows us is one in which communication titans jockey to survive what Joseph Schumpeter called the "gales of creative destruction." While the rest of us simply struggle to follow the new moves, believing that technology will settle the outcome, Owen warns us that this is a game in which Washington regulators and media hyperbole figure as broadly as innovation and investment. His book explains the game as one involving interactions among all the players, including consumers and advertisers, each with a particular goal. And he discusses the economic principles that govern this game and that can serve as powerful predictive tools.

Television audiences and its industry alike have been confused by the emergence of new ways to watch television. On one hand, the programs seem every bit like the television we've long known, while the way we can watch, what we can watch, and the business models supporting them differ significantly. Portals: A Treatise on Internet-Distributed Television pushes understandings of the business of television to keep pace with the considerable technological change of the last decade. It explains why shows such as Orange is the New Black or Transparent are indeed television despite coming to screens over internet connection and in exchange for a monthly fee. It explores how internet-distributed television is able to do new things - particularly, allow different people to watch different shows chosen from a library of possibilities. This technological ability allows new audience behaviors and new norms in making television. Portals are the "channels" of internet-distributed television, and Portals identifies how the task of curating a library of shows differs from channels' task of building a schedule. It explores the business model--subscriber funding--that supports many portals, and identifies the key differences from advertiser or direct purchase. Portals considers what we know about the future of television, even though we remain early in a process of transformative change.

Internet TV is the quintessential digital convergence medium, linking television, telecommunications, the Internet, computer applications, games, and more. Soon, venturing beyond the convenience of viewer choice and control, Internet TV will enable and encourage new types of entertainment, education, and games that take advantage of the Internet's interactive capabilities. What Internet TV is today and can be in the future forms the context for this book. Arising from collaboration between the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information (CITI) and the European Institute for the Media (EIM), this volume investigates the advent of widely available individual broadband Internet communications and their impact on the development of Internet TV. Editors Eli Noam, Jo Groebel, and Darcy Gerbarg have collected seminal papers by leaders from the U.S. and European media and technology industries that offer a critical look at the impact of interactivity on television content, and address the need for media organizations to create interactive programming in this untapped realm with unclear consumer interest and desires. Each section of the volume fleshes out key issues and concepts of television and the Internet: *Part I, Infrastructure Implications of Internet TV, discusses questions about the required network capacity for various quality grades to deliver individualized broadband to homes. *Part II, Network Business Models and Strategies, addresses the business challenges of making Internet TV a financial success. *Part III, Policy, examines policy issues, including copyright and regulation. *Part IV, Content and Culture, reviews available content, those creating it, and how consumers view Internet TV content. *Part V, Future Impacts, considers future global prospects for Internet TV content creation and distribution. Internet Television is an essential resource for professionals and scholars in new technology and media studies, media policy, telecommunication, broadcasting, and related areas. It is also appropriate for graduate seminars in telecommunications, media and new technologies, and broadcasting and the Internet.

Stake your claim in the rapidly growing IPTV market with a thorough understanding of the key trends and technological advances shaping the future of broadband video technology. Make informed business decisions with a working knowledge of changes in technology, services, and business models. Get an up-to-date picture of the industry with new forms of television delivery, the new standard for video delivery, and current market figures. With annual growth estimates at 32+% for the next six years, this is necessary reading for remaining current in the marketplace. The second edition covers the monetization of IPTV, the differences between IPTV & Internet video, trends for the future and industry expectations. Written by two leading digital media experts, each with 25 years technology development experience and global insight.

The collision of new technologies, changing business strategies, and innovative storytelling that produced a new golden age of TV. Cable television channels were once the backwater of American television, programming recent and not-so-recent movies and reruns of network shows. Then came La Femme Nikita, OZ, The Sopranos, Mad Men, Game of Thrones, and The Walking Dead. And then, just as “prestige cable” became a category, came House of Cards and Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video, and other Internet distributors of television content. What happened? In We Now Disrupt This Broadcast, Amanda Lotz chronicles the collision of new technologies, changing business strategies, and innovative storytelling that produced an era termed “peak TV.” Lotz explains that changes in the business of television expanded the creative possibilities of television. She describes the costly infrastructure rebuilding undertaken by cable service providers in the late 1990s and the struggles of cable channels to produce (and pay for) original, scripted programming in order to stand out from the competition. These new programs defied television conventions and made viewers adjust their expectations of what television could be. Le Femme Nikita offered cable's first antihero, Mad Men cost more than advertisers paid, The Walking Dead became the first mass cable hit, and Game of Thrones was the first global television blockbuster. Internet streaming didn't kill cable, Lotz tells us. Rather, it revolutionized how we watch television. Cable and network television quickly established their own streaming portals. Meanwhile, cable service providers had quietly transformed themselves into Internet providers, able to profit from both prestige cable and streaming services. Far from being dead, television continues to transform.

Where do program ideas come from? How are concepts developed into saleable productions? Who do you talk to about getting a show produced? How do you schedule shows on the lineup? What do you do if a series is in trouble? The answers to these questions, and many more, can be found in this comprehensive, in-depth look at the roles and responsibilities of the electronic media programmer. Topics include: Network relationships with affiliates, the expanded market of syndication, sources of programming for stations and networks, research and its role in programming decisions, fundamental appeals to an audience and what qualities are tied to success, outside forces that influence programming, strategies for launching new programs or saving old ones. Includes real-life examples taken from the authors' experiences, and 250+ illustrations!

Television is the last mass medium to be disrupted by the Internet. Given the intricacies of the industry, it's also going to be the most resistant to change. Alan Wolk, an industry veteran and longtime analyst and observer, lays out how the television industry is adapting to the digital era, explaining what's really happening in a tone that will appeal to laypeople and insiders alike. In the first section, Wolk takes us through how the industry works today, focusing on how the various players actually make money and who pays who for what. The next section deals with the changes that are taking place in the industry today-everything from time shifting to binge viewing to cord cutting-and how those changes are starting to create some seismic shifts. In the final section, Wolk reveals his predictions for the future and what the industry will look like in ten years time. Andrew Wallenstein, co-editor-in-chief of Variety says "Alan Wolk is one of the most insightful observers writing about the media business today. There's no better expert to help you navigate the confusing, complicated nexus of TV and the Internet." David Zaslav, President and CEO of Discovery Communications says "Alan Wolk has a deep understanding of the complex nature of television today... this is a fantastic primer of the business and one of the most educated perspectives on the future of our rapidly evolving industry." Adweek says "If you know anything about television, you probably know Alan Wolk." Writing in a cover story for The New York Review of Books, Slate Editor-In-Chief Jacob Weisberg said "[to find an evidence-based analysis] [a]n excellent place to start is Alan Wolk's book Over the Top: How the Internet Is (Slowly but Surely) Changing the Television Industry.

Computers, the Internet, Web, mobile, and other digital media are increasingly important technologies in the production and consumption of sports media. Sport Beyond Television analyzes the changes that have given rise to this situation, combining theoretical insights with original evidence collected through extensive research and interviews with people working in the media and sport industries. It locates sports media as a pivotal component in online content economies and cultures, and counteracts the scant scholarly attention to sports media when compared to music, film and publishing in convergent media cultures.

There is no area of business that is more dramatically affected by the explosion of web-based services delivered to computers, PDAs and mobile phones than the film and television industries. The web is creating radical new ways of marketing and delivering television and film content; one that draws in not simply traditional broadcasters and producers but a whole new range of organizations such as news organizations, web companies and mobile phone service providers. This companion volume to Andrew Sparrow's Music Distribution and the Internet: A Legal Guide for the Music Business focuses on the practical application of UK and EU law as it applies to the distribution of television and film through the internet. This includes terms of contract and copyright as they affect studios, broadcasters, sales agents, distributors, internet service providers, film financiers, and online film retailers; as well as areas such as the licensing of rights. It also covers the commercial aspects of delivering film and television services to a customer base, including engaging with new content platforms, strategic agreements with content aggregators, protecting and exploiting intellectual property rights, data and consumer protection, and payment, online marketing and advertising. The opportunities for companies operating in this area are extraordinary (as are the legal implications) and Andrew Sparrow's highly practical guide provides an excellent starting point for navigating through what is a complex area of regulation, contract, copyright and consumer law.