COMPETITION FROM OTHER NETWORKS

BIG THREE TELEVISION NETWORKS

The Big Three Television Networks are the three traditional commercial broadcast (over-the-air) television networks in the United States: ABC, CBS and NBC. From the 1950s to the late 1980s, the Big Three networks dominated U.S. television.

BACKGROUNDS

NBC and CBS were both founded as radio networks in the 1920s, with NBC eventually encompassing two national radio networks, the prestige Red Network and lower profile Blue Network. They gradually began experimental television stations in the 1930s, with commercial telecasting allowed in 1941.^[1] ABC was spun off from NBC in 1943 when the U.S. government determined that NBC's two-network setup was anticompetitive; NBC chose to sell off the Blue Network operations, which became ABC.^[2]

All three networks began regular, commercial television broadcasts in the 1940s. NBC and CBS began commercial operations in 1941, followed by the DuMont Television Network in 1944 and ABC in 1948.^[3] The three networks originally controlled only a few local television stations, but they swiftly affiliated with other stations to cover almost the entire United States by the late 1950s.

COMPETITION FROM OTHER NETWORKS

For most of the history of television in the United States, the Big Three dominated, controlling up to 99% of television broadcasting. During the 1950s and lasting until the early 1990s, every hit series appearing in the top 20 Nielsen ratings and every successful commercial network telecast of a major feature film was aired by one of the Big Three networks.^[4] There were attempts by other companies, such as the Overmyer Network, to enter the television medium, but other than the DuMont Television Network, all of these ventures lasted for brief periods. The prohibitive cost of starting a broadcast network, coupled with the difficulty of competing with the massive distribution of the Big Three networks, and the infancy and complexities of UHF broadcasting before cable television became commonplace in the 1980s, led to the downfall of almost all new companies. Those that did have the resources to compete, such as Canada's CTV Television Network (which briefly attempted an American expansion via WNYP (channel 26) in Buffalo, New York, now a religious station), were forced off the air through legal threats.

Although PBS could be considered a "fourth network", a viable fourth network would not again become competitive with the Big Three until Fox was founded in October 1986 (from some of the assets/remnants of the DuMont network, which became Metromedia after DuMont folded, and were acquired by News Corporation earlier in 1986). Since its founding, Fox has surpassed ABC and NBC in the ratings during the primetime hours in which it competes, becoming the second most-watched network behind CBS. During the 2007-2008 season, Fox was the highest-rated of the major broadcast networks, but it lost the spot as a close second in the last 2008-2009 season.

Although Fox has firmly established itself as the nation's fourth major network with its ratings success, it is not considered part of the Big Three. Among Fox's differences with the Big Three is its weekday programming, which lacks a morning newscast, daytime programming, an evening newscast (Fox has a news division that airs on cable and radio, but not on the broadcast television network other than an affiliate news service for its stations called Fox News Edge), a third hour of primetime, late-night talk shows, and (since 2009) Saturday morning children's programming (although Fox had an extensive lineup of children's programs throughout the 1990s before selling its children's division to The Walt Disney Company in 2001 as part of its sale of cable network Fox Family Channel). Local affiliates either produce their own programming during these times or run syndicated shows. Fox is also the only one of the four major networks to include a regular block of infomercials on its lineup, via the Weekend Marketplace Saturday morning block. However, given the network's success in its prime time and sports offerings, it has been occasionally included with the Big Three, in which case the phrase "Big Four" is used.

Infomercials, also known as Direct Response TV (DRTV), are television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length.[1][2][3] Infomercials are also known as paid programming (or teleshopping in Europe). This phenomenon started in the United States where infomercials were typically shown overnight (usually 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.), outside of prime time commercial broadcasting peak hours. Some television stations chose to air infomercials as an alternative to the former practice of signing off. By 2009, most US infomercial spending is during early morning, daytime, and evening hours. Stations in most countries around the world have instituted similar media structures. According to tapebeat.com, over $150 billion of consumer products in the US are sold through infomercials.

The word "infomercial" is a portmanteau of the words "information" and "commercial". As in any other form of advertisement, the content is a commercial message designed to represent the viewpoints and to serve the interest of the sponsor. Infomercials are often made to closely resemble actual television programs. Some imitate talk shows and try to downplay the fact that the program is actually an advertisement. A few are developed around storylines and have been called "storymercials". However, most do not have specific television formats but craft different elements to create what they hope is a compelling story about the product offered.

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 826