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MIP04
Television Industry and Production
PP 235
Industry Practices When Buying International Television Content
C. Navarro
1
, E. Prado
2
1
Autonomous University of Barcelona, Departament de Comunicació Audiovisual i Publicitat, Barcelona, Spain
2
Autonomous University of Barcelona, Departament de Comunicació Audiovisual i Publicitat, Bellaterra, Spain
European television has a significant amount of international content in its schedules, from fiction to factuals, and this presence has social and cultural
impact. Furthermore, there are some established practices in the television industry which condition the sort of international programmes that channels
broadcast. These practices condition the imported genres and the countries where the programmes are purchased. In order to understand this process
and comprehend the reasons behind television flows, we have interviewed the people in charge of making these decisions: the heads of the acquisitions
departments at the main general interest channels of the United Kingdom and Spain. These executives act as cultural intermediaries and select content
for the audience from all the audiovisual content available around the world (Negus, 2002). Samples of this research include the commercial channels ITV,
Channel 4, Channel 5, Telecinco, Antena3, Cuatro and La Sexta and the national public broadcasters BBC and TVE. The results of the study show that the fac‑
tors taken under consideration by the executives are the same in both countries which creates a high level of standardization in the decision making process
when buying television programmes. However, we can find a difference between commercial and public channels where in latter social and cultural aspects
are more considered. This standardisation homogenises the international content aired by the channels and limits the range of programmes audiences can
be exposed to.
PP 236
Transnationalisation of Television Production: Structures and Practices in Networked Production Companies
J. van Keulen
1
1
Free University of Brussels, Media and Communication Studies, Brussels, Belgium
Within the debate around television and globalisation more and more scholars speak of transnationalisation, in order to overcome the limiting dichotomy
of global versus local (e.g. Chalaby, 2009, 2015; Crane, 2002; Dowd & Janssen, 2011; Esser, 2007; Kuipers, 2011; Straubhaar, 2013). While transnationalisa‑
tion seems to be a fruitful concept and it is increasingly used for describing the current television industry, it has remained theoretical and not well opera‑
tionalized. What does transnationalisation mean for media companies and how does it manifest itself? Through examining the organisational structures,
strategies and day-to-day practices of transnational television production networks, certain characteristics of transnationalisation can be identified. Next
to being international distributors of content, companies such as FremantleMedia and Endemol Shine Group have in-house production arms, partner‑
ships or joint ventures with production companies in several countries. As a result, these companies form transnational production networks, not only
because of ownership structures but also through for instance co-productions, meetings of executives, the cross-border training of production personnel
and the production of format adaptations, that all demonstrate the increased connectivity and exchange among them on different levels. This study maps
the structure of transnational production networks, examines the characteristics and purposes of their organisational structures, and explores the oppor‑
tunities and restraints that a transnational-networked structure entails. Using Warner Bros International TV Production as a case study, data are collected
from documents (websites, business reports, etc.) in combination with interviews with employees on all levels.The interview transcripts and documents are
analysed using a thematic analysis. This inductive approach includes coding the material, identifying themes, and exploring and interpreting the patterns
among them.This analysis enabled a comprehensive understanding of how the notion of transnationalisation ties into the organisational structures ofWar‑
ner Bros and how transnationalisation is manifest in day-to-day practices of TV production companies. Results indicate that transnationalisation is defined
as risk-reduction, efficiency and resource-management strategy, but also know-how, experience, customs and beliefs represent transnationalisation. Addi‑
tionally, instead of experienced tensions, the emphasis seems to lie with convergence of universality and specificity, commerce and creativity, economy and
culture.The logics, structures and strategies of these production networks, and the characteristics of the connection and co-operation between transnation‑
al conglomerates and their local subsidiaries, provide a more empirical foundation for the concept of transnationalisation.
PP 237
Where Is the Audience in the Production Process of Television? Practices and Discourses of Television Producers
M. te Walvaart
1
1
University of Antwerp, department of communication studies, Antwerp, Belgium
This contribution is situated within the academic discussion about the potential shift in power dynamics for television producers, which results from con‑
verging media and the participation of audiences. The central question is to what extent the production process of television is changing into a media
ecology where audiences are able to engage and participate online, become producers and gain power to present their perspectives as well (Jenkins 2014,
Deuze 2011, Hermes 2013, Adrejevic 2009, etc.). This is richly discussed within new media studies and audience studies. In addition, the small but growing
field of production studies (Paterson, et al. 2015) specifically allows us to provide an insiders’perspective, with in-depth understanding of the practices and
discourses of television producers. Therefore, this project provides an empirical contribution analysing the practices and discourses of television producers
to understand the value television producers assign to their audience and the ways in which they include their audience in the production process. Current
affairs programme De Afspraak (The Appointment) in the Dutch speaking part of Belgium is studied during the first season it was broadcast (fall 2015) as
a case in point.The new format was part of a revamp of the public broadcast channel Canvas, which aimed at broader digitalisation and a younger audience.
The revamp, and consequently the start of this new format, gave producers the opportunity to the re-think common sense routines and goals related to
the way they interpret the news nowadays. Using an ethnographic approach allowed us to centralize the production process itself as a form of culture.
Participant observations from September 2015 until January 2016, multiple interviews with each producer in the editorial office, and documents that were