The televiewing audience : the art & science of watching TV 9781572734876, 1572734876, 9781572734883, 1572734884

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The Art and Science

of

Watching TV

29 SEP 2005

Library Huddersfield Technical Collece New North Road

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THE TELEVIEWING AUDIENCE THE ART & SCIENCE

OF INATCHING TH Books are to be returned on or before the last date below.

LIBREX —

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THE TELEVIEWING AUDIENCE THE ART & SCIENCE OF WATCHING TU

ROBERT ABELMAN DAVID J. ATKIN CLEVELAND

STATE UNIVERSITY

HAMPTON PRESS, INC. CRESSKILL, NEW JERSEY

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Copyright © 2002 by Hampton Press, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, by any stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or g, means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recordin or otherwise, without permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Abelman, Robert The televiewing audience : the art & science of watching tv / Robert Abelman, David J. Atkin. p. cm. -Includes indexes. ISBN 1-57273-487-6 (hard : alk. paper) -- ISBN 1-57273-488-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Television viewers. 2. Television viewers--Attitudes. I. Atkin, David J. II. Title.

PN1992.55 .A24 2002 302.23'45--dc21

Hampton Press, Inc. 23 Broadway Cresskill, NJ 07626

2002068923

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CONTENTS

About the Authors

xi

Preface

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1 The Audience: Consumer and Commodity Televiewing Audience Defined 2 Mass Audience Defined 3 Why Televiewing is Not Taken Seriously 6 Summary 21 Questions to be Answered in the Next Chapter Key Concepts From This Chapter 23 Endnotes 23

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2 Symbolic Interaction: An Audience and Industry Collaboration Internal Reality External Reality Summary 656

27

31 47

Questions to be Answered in the Next Chapter Key Concepts From This Chapter 57 Endnotes 58

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3 Becoming Teleliterate How Viewers Watch 62 Why Viewers Watch 72 Implications and Ramifications of Televiewing Summary 83 Questions to be Answered in the Next Chapter Key Concepts From This Chapter 84 Endnotes 85

61 75 84

CONTENTS

viii

4 The Audience Makers The Stations 91 Television Production Houses 95 The Syndicators 101 The Networks 104 Advertisers 113 Summary 116 Questions to be Answered in the Next Chapter Key Concepts From This Chapter 117 Endnotes 117

89

116

121

5 Audience Making Branding 122 Programming 124 Promotion 131 Program Scheduling 134 Sweeps 139 Between Program Schemes 140 Within Program Manipulation 142 Summary 148 Questions to be Answered in the Next Chapter Key Concepts From This Chapter 148 Endnotes 149

148

6 Audience Measurement: Flaws and Fallacies

Free Screenings 155 Ratings 157 Ratings History 159 Alternative Measures 167 Summary 168 Questions to be Answered in the Next Chapter Key Concepts From This Chapter 169 Endnotes 170

153

169

7 Protecting the Audience’s Interest, Convenience, and Necessity

Issues Associated With Public Interest 176 Issues Associated With Public Convenience 181 Issues Associated With Public Necessity 185 Summary 190 Questions to be Answered in the Next Chapter 192 Key Concepts From This Chapter 192 Endnotes 193

173

CONTENTS

8 Televiewing as a Competitive Sport Competition From Within 197 External Competition 200 The Broadcast Network Response to the Competition Summary 208 Questions to be Answered in the Next Chapter 208 Key Concepts From This Chapter 210 Endnotes 211

195

204

Author Index

213

Program Index

217

Subject Index

223

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SUBJECT INDE&

ABC Family Channel, 186 A.C. Nielsen Company, 114, 157162, 168

and National Station Index (NSI), 114-115, 157-158, 166

and National Television Index (NTI), 114, 157 see also Ratings Accelerated flow, 141 Action/Adventure shows, 18, 30, 38, 40, 41, 45, 53, 55, 126, 141 Westerns, 31, 32-33, 51-52 Action for Children’s Television, 178 Ad hoc networks, 198 Adult-oriented animation, 57 Advertising and boundary warping, 77-78 and celebrating celebrity, 53 in profile, 54 and children’s programming, 130-131, 178 and really bad comedy/variety, 34

and sole sponsorship, 99, 142-

144,177 see also make goods see also up-front sales Affiliated station, 92, 94, 104 defection of, 198-199

disadvantages of, 92-93 Age-based ratings, 187 Agenda setting, 78 Allen, Fred on television as imitation, 7 Allen, Tim, 77, 127 American Broadcasting Company (ABC), xv, 34, 46, 48, 49, 77, 123, 124, 128, 186, 158, 183, 185, 186, 196, 200 affiliates of, 92, 108, 111, 181182 and Capital Cities, 2, 90, 110113, 133, 183 and Disney, 90, 97, 133, 158, 207 audience demographics of, 200, 209

2235

SUBJECT

224 history of, xv, 89-90, 108-109,

110, 135, 181-182, 199 promotional strategies, 80-81,

132.132.1383 viewing trends of, 205 American Greetings Company, 130 American Research Bureau (Arbitron), 114, 157-160, 166167 Anderson, Christopher on television artists, 27 Anderson, Robin, 54 Aniston, Jennifer, 127 Antitrust, 184 Arafat, Yasir, 158 Aristotle, 37, 39 Arledge, Roone, 62, 124-125 on live sporting events, 62 Arnaz, Desi and Desilu productions, 98, 99 AromaRama, 96

Assembly-line production, 97 AT&T, 108, 183 Attention measures, 163 Audience and teleliteracy, 21, 55-56, 6412 as commodity, 18-19 defined, 2-6, 154 demographics, 157, 158, 197,

200, 209 fractionalization of, _, 162, 169, 199-200 manipulation of, 71-72, 132, 142-147, 166 manufacturing of, 4-6, 122-148 measurement of, 3, 153-168 satisfaction in profile, 203 viewing trends, 205 Audience expectation, 131-132 Audience flow, 137-138, 141, 201 Audimeter, 159 Audio tracks, 71-72

INDEX

theme songs, 39 Auletta, Ken

on eroding audiences, 196 on the networks being blind mice, 108 Back-end profits, 144-147, 185 Ball, Lucille and Desilu productions, 98, 99 Barron, Jerome on constitutional law, 173 Barter sales, 101, 105 Basic cable, 202 Beatles, The, 80-81 Beauty shots, 35

“Below the line” professionals, 97 Bennis, Warren

on Saturday morning programming, 131 on the entertainment society, 10 Benny, Jack, 69 Bergen, Candice, 53

BET, 133-134, 200 Beville, Hugh on ratings history, 159

Binocular disparity, 62-63 Blocking, 136, 140

Bloodworth-Thomason, Linda | on the television entertainment industry, 6 Bochco, Steven, 45 and signature shows, 127 on decency, 189 on pushing boundaries, 49 Boorstin, Daniel on TV’s assimilation, 8

Borowitz, Susan on parables, 52

Boundary warping, 76-78 and Murphy Brown in profile, 11 Boyer, Peter

on the people meter, 161 Brand equity, 123

SUBJECT INDEX

Branding, 5-6, 122-124 Bravo, 202, 205 Breaking the fourth wall, 69-70 Bridging, 136, 137 Broadcast networks and branding, 122-124 competition for, 195, 205 and ad hoc networks, 198 and emerging video distributors, 200-204 and new broadcast networks, 199-200 and station defection, 198199 defined, 90 distinctive identities, 46

history of, 104-114 in profile, 110 regulation of, 103, 145-146, 173-192 and self-regulation, 175-176, 185-186, 189-190 Brokaw, Tom, 161 Brooks, James, 101 Brothers, Joyce on TV addiction, 17 Brown, Les on deregulation, 191 on the business of television, 18, 89-90 Buena Vista Television, 104, 133

Bungalo 78, 101 Butler, Robert on Hill Street Blues, 45 — Burke, Kenneth and human drama, 37-38

Burns, George, 69 Burns, Ken, 17 Button fatigue, 64-66

Cable revolution, 183, 200-204 and children’s programming,

178-179 Callas, Maria, 16

225 Cantor, Muriel, 19 Capital Cities see American Broadcasting

Company Carey, Chase on ratings, 162 Carey, Drew, 127 Carnegie Commission, 180

Carsey, Marcy and signature shows, 126

Carsey/Werner Productions, 101 Carroll, Diahann, 129 Carter, Bill, 136

Carvey, Dana and really bad pommedyivericty, 34 Catastrophe, 37 Cater, Douglass on TV and the brain, 12 Cavett, Dick on audiences, 121 Cawelti, John on formula, 32

CBN, 200 Censorship, 176, 178 Channel allocation, 91, 107, 180, 181-182 Channel surfing, 18, 41 . Children’s television, 65, 69, 130-

131, 176 and archetypes, 131 regulation of, 177-180, 187 Children’s Television Act of 1990, 179-180 Children’s Television jos

aoa

17 Chojnacki, Jack, 130 Churn, 203 CinemaScope, 96 Cinema verite aesthetic, 65-66 Cinemax, 200 Cinerama, 96 Cliff hangers, 67, 146 Clinton, Bill, 34

SUBJECT

226

Cloning, 128-131 Clooney, George, 147

CNBC, 207 CNN, 200, 206 Cognitive complacency, 65 Cole, Barry

on the FCC, 190-191 Cole, Lewis on the hand-held camera, 45

Coleman, Dabney, 80 Collins, Richard, 19 Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), xv, 41, 46, 76, 78, 112, 123, 124, 128, 136, 137, 183, 185, 186, 196, 200 affiliates of, 92, 108, 111, 181182, 199 and Viacom, 95, 110, 133, 183 and Westinghouse, 90, 108,

109, 110, 183 audience demographics of, 197, 200, 209 history of, 89-90, 105-109, 110,

135, 181-182, 199 promotional strategies, 80, 122 viewing trends of, 196, 205

Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System, 110 Columbia Tristar Television Distribution, 97, 104, 205 Columbia Studios, 97, 198

Comedy, 10-11, 17, 30, 38, 40, 41, 45, 48, 50, 51, 53, 69-70, 71, 77, 122, 126, 141, 196 see also domcom _ see also sitcom Comedy Central, 209

Comedy/Variety, 31 and unconcealed artiface, 68 really bad programming in profile, 34

Communal viewing, 4, 8-9 in profile, 5

INDEX

Communication Act of 1934, 106,

173}-185)°187, 19% Connolly, Sean, 146 Conrad, Michael, 147 Content-based ratings, 188 Conventional settings, 40-42 Conventional trappings, 42 Corliss, Richard, 126

Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), 46 Cosell, Howard, 46, 81 Counterprogramming, 136-137 Court TV, 205 Cover film, 202 Cox, Courtney, 127 Cronkite, Walter, 46 C-Span, 200 Cultural values, 49-51 Cycles of Expression, 32-34 Czitrom, Daniel on intellectuals and television,

12 Danny Thomas Productions, 98 Danza, Tony, 98 Davis, Everette on audience calibrations, 156

on demographics, 160 de Tocqueville, Alexis

on the democratic principle, 15 Decency, 188-189

Deficit financing, 145 DeFoe, Daniel, 32 DeGeneres, Ellen, 48, 77, 127 Delayed main title, 141 Delayed premiere, 135 Demographics and cable, 209 battle for young viewers in profile, 158 of broadcast networks, 125, 156, 157, 158, 160, 197, 200, 209

SUBJECT. INDEX

Deregulation and a fourth network, 112, 195-196 and children’s television, 178 and fairness, 177 and media mergers, 183, 191 and “must carry,” 201 and prime-time access, 103, 185 and program production, 145146, 185 and station ownership, 95, 182-183 of hard-liquor ads, 189-190 Designated Market Areas (DMA), 245-157 Desilu productions, 98 in profile, 99 Dessert, George on the economics of television, 50-51 Diamond, Selma, 147 Diane English Productions, 101 Dickens, Charles, 32 Direct broadcast satellite (DBS), 173, 203 Disconnectedness of ideas, 78-79 Discontinuity, 67-68 Disembodied shifts, 68 Disney see Walt Disney Studio Disney Channel, The, 178, 202 Documentaries, 17, 34, 35 Domcoms, 31, 42-43, 166 Don-E] Productions, 198 Dramatic formats, 31-36 Dramatic programming, 17, 31, 43, 45, 49-50, 51, 54, 55, 65, 66, 71, 91, 126, 127, 141, 154 and actualism, 45 and teenage angst, 51 Dramedy, 71° Dream sequence, 68 DreamWorks, 113

227 Dramatic triangle, 37 Dumbing down, 82 DuMont, Allen, 107, 110 DuMont television network affiliates of, 107, 182 history of, 105-108, 100, 182 Eastman, Susan on audience flow, 201 Eigenfaces, ‘166 Einstein, Albert, 82 Electromagnetic spectrum, 173, 181 Elite art, 15 Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 16 Enright, Dan, 143 Epitasis, 37 Epstein, Rob

on homosexuality on TV, 48 ESPN, 125, 133,197, 200, 207 Evanthius, 37

Evolution of televiewing, 7 Expository sequence, 37 External reality of programming, 30, 47-56, 153 Fads and fashions, 55

Fairness Doctrine, 177

—

Fall season, 6, 134-135

Family viewing hour, 185-186 Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 91, 103, 106, 144-145, 173-186, 188, 190191, 200 defining decency, 188-189 Federal Radio Commission

(FRC), 173 Ferguson, Douglas on audience flow, 201 Fields, Kim, 147 © Fili-Krushel, Pat on The City, 44 Financial Interest and Television

Syndication Rule (Fin-Syn), 103, 185

SUBJECT INDEX

228

First Amendment, 174, 176, 186, 191 First-run syndication, 91, 103

General Electric (GE) see National Broadcasting Company

Fisher, Helen on the need for television, 11 Flashback, 68

Genre, 31-36, 70-71 narrative typology, 31 non-narrative typology, 35 Genre bending, 70 in profile, 71 Gingrich, Newt, 82 Gitlin, Todd on audience measurement, 153 on comedy/variety, 31 on ratings, 115 Global synergy and promotion, 133-134 Goerlich, Bruce on ratings, 164 Goodman, Bill, 142 Grammer, Kelsey, 77 Grazing, 18 Griffin, Merv, 102 Guilt, 38 Gunther, Marc, 136

Flipping, 18 Focus group, 168 Fox television network, xv, 49, 95,

103, 122, 123, 125, 137, 183, 200, 206 affiliates of, 92, 104, 109, 111, 199 and branding, 124 and global synergy, 134 audience demographics of, 197 history of, 89-90, 109-1138, 185,

199 promotional strategies, 133134, 137 viewing trends of, 205 Foxworthy, Jeff, 127 Fractionalization, 162 Frank, Betsy _ on televiewing as communal, 12 Franz, Dennis, 77-78

Fraytag, Gustav, 37 Freud, Sigmund, 9-10 Free screening , 155-156

problems with, 156-157 Fromm, Erich

on reality and fantasy, 30

Front-end profits

.

and the quiz show scandal, 142 FX, xv, 204, 205 Game shows, 30, 35, 36, 40, 45,

Hand-held camera, 66 Haley, Alex, 125

Hammock approach, 137-138 and NBC programming in profile, 138 Harris, Neil Patrick, 138 Harvey, Steve, 127

HBO, 122, 200, 202, 203 HBO Family, 204 Hein, Jon, 146 Hemingway, Mariel, 49 Henninger, Daniel

65, 91, 154, 184 see also Quiz shows Gasspin, Jeff on reality programming, 35

on television as meditation, 73 Hickey, Neil ; on television audiences, 61 Hilgemeirer, Edward, 143 Himmelstein, Hal

Geffen, David, 113 General interest formats, 206

television myths, 54-55 Home Box Office (HBO), 122

SUBJECT INDEX

229

Homosexuality and Ellen, 48

Kaiser Family Foundation, 188 Katie Face Productions, 98

and Roseanne, 49 Hooper, Claude

Karp, Walter on television affinity, 30

hooper ratings, 159 Horizontal programming, 201

Katzenberg, Jeffrey, 113 Kelly, David, 66 Kernel storyline, 37-38 Kidvid see children’s television King, Martin Luther, 82 King World Productions, 102, 103, 205 in profile, 102 Kitchen comedies, 41 Kirstin, Dorothy, 16 Kogataj, Vinko, 125 Koplin, Merton, 142 Koppel, Ted, xv, 158 Kosinski, Jerzy, 7 Kudrow, Lisa, 127

Hot sell, 132-133

Hot switching, 142 Households using television (HUT), 115, 157 Howard, Ron, 110

Hudson Valley Broadcasting, 110 Hughes, Robert on conceptual memory, 141 Hughes, Howard, 110 Huston, John on visual literacy, 64

I.C.E. age, 191-192, 207 Illusion of instantaneous mass communication, 7 Image Television, 98 Immateriality, 19 Independent production house, 100-101, 144 Independent station, 91-92, 103 Infomercials, 9 Infotainment, 9, 34-35 Inheritance effects, 123 Institutional constraints, 46-47 Internal reality of programming, 29-47, 153 Ironic characters, 40, 42 in profile, 41 Jacobs, David

and signature shows, 126 Jeni, Richard, 94 Jennings, Peter, 161 Jones, Gerard, 99 Jordan, Michael, 78

Jumping the shark, 146-147 in profile, 147

Lateral movement, 42

Laugh track, 72 Laybourne, Geraldine, 179 Leader-centered characters, 40 Lear, Norman, 98 LeBlanc, Matt, 127 Lennon, John, 81 Leno, Jay, 158 Leonard, John on TV’s impact, 84 Letterman, David, xv, 158 Levin, Jordan

on WB, 113 Levinson, Richard, 97 License fees, 95 License renewal, 176, 179, 182,

189 Lifetime, 209 Light, Larry on branding Fox, 124 Lin, Caroline on cable audience attributes,

208

SUBJECT

238 Link, William. 97

Literacy, 21 Living schedule, 135 Locklear, Heather, 129 Lorimar, 98 Main titles, 141

Make goods, 115 Mander, Jerry and the elimination of television, 17 Markey, Edward on age-based ratings, 187-188 on children’s television, 178 Martin, Quinn, 98

Mass audience defined, 3-6

Marshall, Gary on the TV artist, 100 McCollough, David on the quiz show scandal, 143 McKay, Jim, 125 McLuhan, Marshall, 13 Media colonization, 82-83 Media consolidation in profile, 183

Media imperialism, 83 Merv Griffin Enterprises, 98, 102 Messaris, Paul visual literacy, 62-64 Metallinos, Nikos on brain orientation, 89 Meta-television, 70 Metromedia, 109-110, 112 as ad-hoc network, 198

MGM, 96, 97, 198 Midler, Betete, 128 Mid-season replacement, 135

Miller, Will on taking TV too seriously, 14 Mimetic characters, 39-40 Miniseries, 125, 136 Mitroff, Ian, 76-83

on Saturday morning programming, 131

INDEX

on the entertainment society, 10 Mood music, 72 Moores, Shaun on the media audience, 1 Morales, Esai

on disrespect, 186 Motion parallax, 63 Movie Channel, The, 200 Moyers, Bill on the intellectual community,

13 MTM Enterprises, 98, 126 MTV, 133, 197, 200, 209

Multi-channel programmers, 201 Murdoch, Rupert, 90, 109-112, 185, 199 on oligopoly, 112 see also Fox television network Murrow, Edward R., 46 Must carry, 200 Mythical characters, 40 Narrative enigmas, 37 Narrative structure, 36-39

National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), 185

National Broadcasting Company (NBC), xv, 18, 46, 48, 77, 78, 95, 112;°128:91245 136.0137, 138, 146, 183, 185, 186, 190, 196, 200, 205, 206-207 affiliates of, 92, 108, 111, 181182 and General Electric, 90, 108,

109, 110 and RCA, 43, 90, 108, 109, 110 audience demographics of, 125,200,209 history of, 89-90, 105-109, 110, 135, 181-182, 199 promotional strategies, 122 viewing trends of, 205 National station index (NSIJ),

114, 157-158, 166

SUBJECT. INDEH

National television index (NTI), 114, 157 Near-video-on-demand, 20, 203 — Network loyalty, 123, 126 New World Communications, 111, 199

News/informational programming, 34, 35, 41, 65, 68, 74,

76-77, 139, 176 Nickelodeon, 178, 200

and branding, 122 in profile, 179 Nielsen nirvana, 138 Noble, Edward, 108, 110

Nonepisodic, 36 Non-excludable, 20 Nonnarrative programming, 34-36 Novelty, 19-20 Nutter, Chris, 48

O’Brien, Conan on intimacy, 8 Occlusion, 63 Oettinger, Mal on the FCC, 190-191 Off-network syndication, 91-92 Oligopoly, 169, 183, 196, 197 see also media consolidation Olson, Scott on self-reflexivity, 69 O’Neal, Shaq, 53 Oppenheimer, Jess, 99 Origen, 16 Overmyer Network, 109 Ovid, 16, 32

Papazian, Ed on new technology, 195 on ratings, 163 Paramount Studios, 90, 97, 102, 107,-108,.109,.110, 113, 133, 200, 205 see also UPN Paraproxemics , 63 Parenti, Michael on network competition, 198

Passive people meter, 166-167 Passive spillover effect, 73 Pay-per-view, 203-204 People meter, 114, 115, 159-162,

163, 164 and sampling error, 160-162 in profile, 161 Perceptual continuity, 63-64 Perry, Matthew, 127 Person engineering, 78 and Eau de Toilette in profile, 79 Personality reduction, 82 Phillips, Irma, 101 Pilot episode, 39, 49, 155 Plato, 16 Playboy Channel, The, 200 Plot conventions, 42-43 Poe, Edgar Allan, 31 Point-of-view editing, 67-68 Pollution, 37-38 Popular art, 15-16 Premium cable services, 178,

202-203 Prevailing ideologies, 52-55

Padden, Preston on affiliated stations, 111

Prime-time access rule, 103, 184-

Paley, William, 41, 46, 110, 112 and cloning, 128 on intriguing characters, 127 programming philosophy, 124 Palmer, Edward on televiewing as an intellect-

Prime-time soap operas, 5, 31,

ual act, 17

185 53, 127 in profile, 129 Production houses, 95-101

and back-end profits, 145 and non-exclusivity, 127 Production license fees, 95

SUBJECT

232

INDEX

Program-length commercials, 131 Program scheduling, 134-138, 139-140, 164 Programming precedents, 154

Radical simplification, 82 Radio Act of 1927, 173, 185, 191 Rapid product innovation, 20

Promotion, 5, 80-81, 122-123,

Ratings, 19, 157-167, 188

131-134 Proscenium aesthetic, 65-66 Protasis, 37 Public airwaves, 173-174 Public Broadcasting Act of 1967,

180 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS),

46, 89 and branding, 122 history of, 180-181 promotional strategies, 122 viewing trends of, 205 Public convenience and prime-time access, 184-185 and station ownership, 182183 and UHF stations, 181-182 defined, 174-175 Public interest and children, 177-180 and fairness, 177 and public television, 180-181 defined, 174, 176 Public necessity and decency, 188-189 and the family viewing hour, ' 185-186 and hard liquor, 189-190 and the V-chip, 187-188 defined, 175 Purification, 38-39

QM Productions, 98 Qualitative research, 168 Quayle, Dan in profile on Murphy Brown, 77 Quiz shows, 106 and scandal, 142-144 QVC, 201

Rather, Dan, 161

alternatives to, 167-168 calculation of, 114-115 history of, 159-162

new technology for, 166-167 problems with, 162-166 see also Sweeps Radio Corporation of America (RCA) see National Broadcasting System Reality programming, 35, 68, 74, 76,78,144 © Reciprocal symbolic interaction,

75-76 Redemption, 38 Rigging, 35, 142-144 and Geritol, 143 and Revlon cosmetics, 142 Rip-off, 128, 129 Rites and rituals, 51 Rivera, Geraldo, 46 Rocca, Mo, 158 Romano, Ray, 127 Romantic characters, 40 Rushin, Steve

on Wide World of Sports, 125 Sajak, Pat, 102 Salvianus, 161

Sampling frame, 161 Sampling error, 160-162 Sassa, Scott, 186 Satellite storyline, 37, 43 Savage, Fred, 147 Scan America, 167

Schechter, Danny on network image, 46 Schroder, Ricky, 147 Schwimmer, David, 127

.

SUBJECT INDEX

233

Sci-fi programming, 11, 30, 31, 154, 200

Sophocles, 32 Spelling, Aaron, 66, 98

Segmentation, 66-67, 140 Seinfeld, Jerry, 127 Self-sealing universe, 80-81

and the recycled program in profile, 129 Spelling Entertainment, 98 Spielberg, Steven, 113 Spin-off, 128-129 Sports programming, 17, 35, 36, 40, 54, 62, 66, 109-111, 124125, 136-137 and Fox, 109-111, 137 and Roone Arledge, 124-125 Star-based production house, 98100

and the 1995 prime-time lineup in profile, 81 Selective inattention, 141 Serials, 67, 146 Series, 67, 146 Shapiro, Esther on TV as a little business, 96 Share, calculation of, 114-115 Shields, Brooke, 138 Short shelf life, 20 Showtime, 201 Shumpeter, Frederick, 195

Siegler, Scott on axioms about audience, 154 Signature characters, 127-128 Signature shows, 126-127 Silverman, Fred and promotion, 132 on the televiewing audience, 9 programming philosophy of, 125 Simpson, O.J., 5, 78 Sitcoms, 31, 32, 41, 42, 65, 70,

84, 200 Ellen in profile, 48 Sixth Report and Order, 181 SMART TV, 167 Smith, Emmitt, 54 Snodgrass, James, 143 Soap operas, 17, 31-32, 43, 44,

45, 53, 55 see also prime-time soaps Social actors, 36 Social norms, 47-49 Sohmer, Steve and the “hot sell,’132 on hype, 133

Sole sponsorship, 99, 142-144

Starz Encore, 202 Station identification, 123 Station license fee, 101

Stations defection of, 111, 198-199 duopolies in profile, 93 ownership of, 91-93, 182-183 Stationary multi-camera configuration, 65

Status conferral, 78 Status quo, 37 Stempel, Herb, 143 Steven Bochco Productions, 101 Stock characters, 39-40

Strawberry shortcake strategy, 130-131 Studio production house, 96-98 Studio USA, 104 Stuffed Dog Productions, 98 Sullivan, Ed, 16 Surveillance, 74

Suspension of disbelief, 65 Sweeps, 115, 139-140, 157, 166 Symbolic corroboration, 30, 56 Symbolic interaction, 27-29, 75-

83 Syndication and prime-time access, 184-185 first-run, 91, 103

King World in profile, 102

234 off-network, 95 price of, 105 to cable, 205 Syndicators, 101-104

Talk shows, 35, 40, 41, 42, 53, 54, 65, 82 Tandem Productions, 98 Tartikoff, Brandon on studying TV, 11 Ten commandments of programming in profile, 126 Taylor, Elizabeth, 80 TBS, xv, 204, 205 Technological innovations and hand-held cameras, 45, 66 and The City in profile, 44 and videotape, 43-45 Fox Box, 111 Fox Trax, 111 Telecommunications Act of 1996, 14, 91, 182-183, 187, 191 Telegeneric devices, 65-72 Teleliteracy, 21, 55-56, 64-72 Teletherapy in profile, 14 Televiewing as a learned activity, xiv, 21, 61-65 as habitual behavior, 75 as human communication, 28-29 as medication, 17 as right-brained activity, 12 as ritual, 72-75 evolution of in profile, 7 implications of, 75-83, 175, 187, 188-189 not taken seriously, 6-21 reasons for, 72-74 taken too seriously in profile, 14 Television as commodity, 19-20 as elite art, 16-17 as popular art, 16-17 as step-child, 7-8

SUBJECT INDEK

Televisual flow, 66 Tent-poling, 137-138 Terrorism, 5

Texture gradients, 63 Thomopoulos, Tony on characters, 127 Thoreau, Henry, 10 Time frames, 45

Time leaps, 68 Time-shifting, 18, 68 Time Warner, 102, 183 Tinker, Grant, 98, 125-126

TNN, xv, 133-134, 204, 205 TNT, xv, 1384, 204, 205, 209 Tomlinson, Mike on ratings, 166 Townsend, Robert, 94 Trendex, 159 Trends in media, 51 Westerns, 52 Twain, Mark, 16 20th Century Fox, 96, 97, 109,

185, 200, 205 see also Fox television network Unconcealed artiface, 68-70

in comedy/variety, 68 United Artists, 97, 198 United Network, 109

United Paramount Network (UPN), xv, 103, 122, 183, 200 affiliates of, 92 audience demographics of, 200 history of, 89-90, 109-113) 185, 199 premiere lineup, 94 promotional strategies for, 133-134 : viewing trends of, 205 Universal Studios, 97, 110

Ultra-high frequency (UHF), 91, 181-182 and public television, 180 Up-front sales, 115

235

SUBJECT INDEX

USA Network, xv, 200, 204, 205, 209

V-chip, 14, 187-188 Van Doren, Charles, 143

history of, 89-90, 109-113, 185,

199 premier lineup for, 94 viewing trends of, 205

Variable single-camera config-

Warner Bros. Studio, 18, 90, 96,

uration, 65-66 Vaudeville, 4, 31, 96

Warner, Jack, 96

Verisimilitude, 30, 47, 62, 66, 7576 Vertical movement, 43

Vertical programming, 201 Very high frequency (VHF), S107. 18% VH-1, 133 Viacom see Columbia Broadcasting System Video-on-demand, 203 Videot, 7 Viewer inertia, 123 Visual literacy, 62-64 Voice-over narration, 72

Voyeurism, 74-75 Walt Disney Studio, 90, 109, 110, 113, 133 and Ellen, 48 entry into television, 97 see also the American Broad-

casting Company Walters, Barbara, 46 Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution, 102, 104 Warner Bros. network (WB), xv, 103, 122, 183, 200 affiliates of, 92 and Paramount, 90 and Warner Bros. Studio, 90

audience demographics of, 200

104, 109, 110, 113, 200, 205 Wayans brothers, 94 Weather Channel, The, 200 Weaver, Pat, 112-113 and programming philosophy,

124 Westinghouse see Columbia Broadcasting System Weiss, Michael on sweeps, 139 Werner, Tom and signature shows, 126 White, Byron on broadcast licensing, 175 White, Vanna, 800, 102

Williams, Cindy, 147 Williams III, Huntington on audience calibrations, 156

on demographics, 160 Williams, Vanessa, 129 Wilson, Tom, 130 Winn, Marie, 17 Witt-Thomas, 101 Wright, Bob, 112

Zapping, 141 Zettl, Herbert on the television aesthetic, 47 Zook, Kristal Brent on TV integration, 49 Zucker, Jerr, 137

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