Constructing the Cable Television Market in Latin America: A Structurational Approach to Organizational Knowledge in U.S. Cable Networks

Scholars with a keen interest in the globalization of media content have examined trends in international entertainment flows, focusing particular attention on the market structures and business realities which sustain information disparities between the United States and other nations around the globe. However, few scholars have connected the operation of international media markets with the methods by which individuals within transnational media companies obtain knowledge about a foreign market for use in decision-making about activities in that market. This study takes a new approach, utilizing structuration theory by conceptualizing cable networks as knowledgeable, reflexive agents that make decisions within existing market and institutional structures. Using data gathered from trade publications, internal company communications, and indepth interviews, this dissertation describes and analyzes how American cable networks gather information from a new market environment, how they process data into market knowledge, and how this information is ultimately utilized in making decisions about market activities. The data were gathered through qualitative, in-depth interviews with 33 individuals working for seven different U.S. cable networks that have introduced new services in countries throughout Latin America. The qualitative data were supplemented with market data published in trade publications and with information from several cable industry observers. Results suggest that the most important types of market information for U.S. cable executives were data from two quantitative, syndicated market research studies of audience/consumer behavior, which were particularly crucial for cementing financial relationships with advertisers and local cable operators. Executives attempted to compensate for information gaps by accepting these current gaps, by estimating certain numbers, and sometimes by investing in their own market research. Very little of the market information gathered was put to use for internal decision-making regarding programming choices. Instead, audience ratings data were used by executives to build their own market reputation and to differentiate their services from their competitors’. Analysis of market data suggests that cable networks owned by large U.S. media conglomerates have begun to far outpace their Latin American-owned competitors, partially by redefining the standards for market performance. The implications of these trends for structuration theory and media globalization are discussed

Auntie knows best? public broadcasters and current affairs knowledge

Public service broadcasters (PSBs) are a central part of national news media landscapes. In many countries, PSBs are the first choice of citizens when it comes to news providers. And in perhaps more countries still, PSBs are thought of as specialists in provision of hard news. We test this proposition here using survey data from a large crossnational survey involving indicators of current affairs knowledge and media consumption. Specifically, we examine whether exposure to public versus commercial news influences the knowledge citizens possess about current affairs, both domestically and internationally. We also test, using propensity score analysis, whether there is variation across PSBs in this regard. Results indicate that compared to commercial news, watching PSB has a net positive influence on knowledge of hard news, though not all PSBs are equally effective in contributing to knowledge acquisition. This knowledge gap between PSB and commercial news media consumption appears to be mitigated by factors such as de jure independence,proportion of public financing, and audience share

Dynamics between social media engagement, firm-generated content, and live and time-shifted TV viewing

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study consumer engagement as a dynamic, iterative process in the context of TV shows. A theoretical framework involving the central constructs of brand actions, customer engagement behaviors (CEBs), and consumption is proposed. Brand actions of TV shows include advertising and firm-generated content (FGC) on social media. CEBs include volume, sentiment, and richness of user-generated content (UGC) on social media. Consumption comprises live and time-shifted TV viewing. Design/methodology/approach The authors study 31 new TV shows introduced in 2015. Consistent with the ecosystem framework, a simultaneous system of equations approach is adopted to analyze data from a US Cable TV provider, Kantar Media, and Twitter. Findings The findings show that advertising efforts initiated by the TV show have a positive effect on time-shifted viewing, but a negative effect on live viewing; tweets posted by the TV show (FGC) have a negative effect on time-shifted viewing, but no effect on live viewing; and negative sentiment from tweets posted by viewers (UGC) reduces time-shifted viewing, but increases live viewing. Originality/value Content creators and TV networks are faced with the daunting challenge of retaining their audiences in a media-fragmented world. Whereas most studies on engagement have focused on static firm-customer relationships, this study examines engagement from a dynamic, multi-agent perspective by studying interrelationships among brand actions, CEBs, and consumption over time. Accordingly, this study can help brands to quantify the effectiveness of their engagement efforts in terms of encouraging CEBs and eliciting specific TV consumption behaviors

Adult Recall of Childhood and Adolescent Television Viewing

Department of Psycholog

Strategic questions in the development of interactive television programs

The aim of this research was to identify questions that a person developing interactive television programs could ask himself. The topic was chosen because it is currently an emerging issue in many of the countries launching digital television. The previous research in this field was reviewed including academic research, field trials in Finland, selected field trials abroad, consumer attitude surveys and expert panels. As it turned out, not much academic work had been done in the subject. The most promising work had been done in the fields of distance education and interactive narration. Five other fields were surveyed as potential sources for suitable ITV development strategies. These fields were linear drama, infomercials and homeshopping, multimedia production, www-production and virtual communities. A group of potential strategies were identified from these fields. Several methodological choices were considered. Among them were predicative methods, scenario analysis, case study method, action research, knowledge brokering and Zetterberg’s method. Finally a combination of knowledge brokering and the Zetterberg’s method was found most suitable for this research. The initial strategies were picked by the researcher from the above mentioned fields. They were then tested with a survey form that was presented to persons involved with the ITV industry. The respondents were identified from various sources and also the snowball method was applied to gather more respondents. Altogether 103 responses were received from persons in significant posts in key companies and institutions of the field. The research can be considered valid and reliable. The main conclusion of this study is that it pays in ITV-development to use the questions that have been found useful in developing film and TV scripts, www-applications, multimedia productions, virtual communities or home-shopping advertisements. Different sets of questions are useful for different ITV-genres. A useful set of questions could be identified for six different ITV genres. These genres were ITV advertising, computer game type of ITV applications, News on Demand applications, Electronic Program Guide (EPG), distance learning applications and background information for TV programs. Other results were also discovered. The following three questions were found important for all genres: 1) How can we make the program aesthetically appealing as possible? 2) How can we make the program visually compelling? 3) What type of an interface should the program have? Another result was that the following two questions that are central in film industry were not considered important for any of the ITV genres: 1) How can we have a three act structure in the program? 2) How can we arrange a happy ending for the program? The identified sets of questions will provide a good starting point for a person developing a program in the respective genre

Reading The Apprentice: Commerce, Culture, and the Manufacturing of Reality

This study examines the six original seasons of the reality television series The Apprentice as a postmodern, cultural artifact. Grounded in Burke’s (1967) “literature as equipment for living,” and Brummett’s (1984) consideration that televised content constitutes literature, the theory of “televised discourse as equipment for living” provided the guide to examine the series. Hall’s (1980) “reading against the grain” oppositional reading technique was utilized to interrogate both the manifest and latent content. The content of the series may indeed provide the audience with a guide to ideological beliefs of both commerce and culture, thereby creating a manufactured reality for its viewers. Discussions include the genre of reality television, marketing techniques that utilize modern sponsorship with product/brand placement, consumerism, social commentary, business discourse, and the mythos of the American Dream

Tweeting as a Marketing Tool: A Field Experiment in the TV Industry

© 2017, American Marketing Association. Many businesses today have adopted tweeting as a new form of product marketing. However, whether and how tweeting affects product demand remains inconclusive. The authors explore this question using a randomized field experiment on Sina Weibo, the top tweeting website in China. The authors collaborate with a major global media company and examine how the viewing of its TV shows is affected by (1) the media company's tweets about its shows, and (2) recruited Weibo influentials' retweets of the company tweets. The authors find that both company tweets and influential retweets increase show viewing, but in different ways. Company tweets directly boost viewing, whereas influential retweets increase viewing if the show tweet is informative. Meanwhile, influential retweets are more effective than company tweets in bringing new Weibo followers to the company, which indirectly increases viewing. The authors discuss recommendations on how to manage tweeting as a marketing tool.National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 71372045)National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 71602033

The Impact of Television Program Diet on Children\u27s Achievement

In this study, three waves of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics’s Child Development Supplement were used to examine patterns of children’s early TV exposure and its influence on middle childhood and adolescence. Analyses examined the pathways of influence depending on whether a dosage (hours of exposure) or diet (proportion of content to total TV time) variable was used. Results revealed that, in a dosage model, violent hours of early TV exposure were associated with decreases in independent reading and increases in externalizing behavior problems, but these did not predict later achievement. Early educational TV amount of exposure was unassociated with intermediate behaviors and was only related to later math achievement. In the diet model, total time spent viewing television was related to decreases in independent reading and prosocial behavior and increases in internalizing and externalizing behavior problems whereas violent TV diet was no longer related to any outcome. Educational TV diet, on the other hand, was positively associated with reading and math achievement. When the effects of early educational TV viewing were modeled on achievement over time, positive associations between educational TV diet and achievement in reading and math endure over time in significance and magnitude. These results suggest two conclusions: educational television viewing (particularly diet) is positively associated with achievement 10 years later even while controlling for socioeconomic status. Second, the methodological issue of which type of viewing variable to use is one that may have serious implications for the findings of research on media impact