The static model of advertising using television is adapted in a dynamic scenario. This model consists of the profit-maximizing problem of a television network that works in a competitive environment. This network sells its commercial time to the advertisers and viewers are heterogeneous about what they prefer on the types of products sold by the industries. There is a rule introduced that gives a reflection of consumers’ possible preference changes where they are rational and there is a variation on their types of utilities at different times.
The evolution is concerned with crucial variables such as total broadcasting time allocated by the network to advertise and revenues that satisfy the profit-maximizing condition. The development of television commerce had the idea of helping all media industry sectors understand opportunities and issues that are presented by new revenue streams of the television. (Kleingartner, 1993 pp45-46)
The average American who is able to subscribe to cable has a greater selection of available programming than it was twenty years ago. Devices for digital video recording allow viewers to be able to watch programs at their convenient time and store the programs indefinitely. In the process, all customers who make use of DVRs skip commercial messages from companies that have already paid in order to subsidize the program. The economics of this model is breaking down and a new business model needs to be created by the industry in order to survive. (Kleingartner, 1993 pp47-48)
Today, programs of television are being created by studios that form part of the television networks or have contracts to put their programs on the air. Studios make payments to writers, producers, actors, and the crew who are directly associated with their programs. Television networks make the choice of the shows they want to put on air at different times according to the programs that will draw more attention to the viewers at that particular time.
Television wants to draw more attention from the viewers because they want to sell commercial air time to the advertisers who are willing to pay a higher price. Commercial air time is used by advertisers to send information to customers concerning the products and services they offer in order to create awareness of a given product or service to customers that the product is fit for their consumption and they should consider purchasing it. Fundamentally, television programming and all networks are funded by businesses to be able to send messages to their potential customers all the time. (Slune, 1992 pp12-13)
The current environment of advertising is increasing fragmentation of audience in order to increase the complexity of identifying programs that audience who are targeted have a plan to watch. Advertisers may identify programs that are most desirable but they might be skipped by the audience who are targeted due to their use of DVR and this defeats the main purpose as to why the program was funded. (Slune, 1992 pp14-15)
The dynamics of the television industry are being changed by technology but these changes are not negative. The technology has led to increased profitability in the question of the industry and also created opportunities for creating new value. Advertisers are always willing to convey a message to their customers so much that they are willing and ready to pay large amounts of money for it. Most of the time, customers are in need of watching programs on the television to be entertained and are interested in learning about the new products in the market and services. Television studios and their staff enjoy making programs on television and are paid for it.
All that is necessary here is a model that can transfer great value between these players which is driven by firms involved in controlling access to viewers and are in good relationship with advertisers and studios. (Curran, 2002 pp26-27)
Viewers should pay their service providers such as cable companies in the future to access the programs they are willing to watch because currently, these companies offer commercial video free of charge for certain programs and many customers are paying for it. This model is able to cut out advertisers resulting in sub optional solution where the value created for everyone is less, specifically the advertisers.
A superior solution combines the benefits of the demanded video with the targeted approach used for advertising. The mechanism used to offer video on demand requires customers to send requests to their service provider, for a particular program to be sent to their television and the service provider responds by sending the program. The service provider knows what the particular viewer likes to watch and will be in a perfect position to get specific advertisements that the viewer will be interested in seeing. (Curran, 2002 pp23-25)
Consumers and advertisers enjoy enormous benefits. Countless resources are spent by advertisers in determining the kind of people who are likely to purchase the product and how they can create awareness for them. This makes advertisers send messages directly to the targeted customers rather than playing averages and they prefer to send messages to a particular person instead of sponsoring the particular program.
For example, producers of hygiene products for females use huge amounts of money in buying air time to use in commercials that most men view. Although televisions are watched by both men and women, plenty of men watch television alone and will not purchase the products. This air time would have been used to advertise anything else, but due to targeting the large market, fertile women, spending extra money is not a problem to the companies in order to reach their potential customers. (Conradie, 2001 pp13-15)
The solution would be for customers to indicate who they are and the products they are interested in knowing about. Advertisers and service providers target commercial messages to individuals rather than groups. If only advertisers knew that they are communicating to current customers, a different message would be conveyed if they are talking to competitors customers or potential customers. In order to target audiences at the individual level, data mining and feedback from viewers is important to make investments for advertisers to yield above the average returns.
Service providers will be more integral partners in consumer or business communications. Improved programming will fit the taste of viewers depending on the actual decisions of what would be watched by the consumers. Technology brings about significant challenges to the television industry but it also helps to enhance value for the players who are involved. (Conradie, 2001 pp16-17)
Conceptual debates concerning media industry and media change
There are political and cultural debates about the internet as a new medium and digital media that serve as a technological and new cultural practice. Considering interdisciplinary perspectives, there are multiple contexts in which new technologies of the media have been developed and consumed. Key themes in new media technologies such as privacy, censorship, surveillance, gender, subjectivity, and work are looked into. Programs involved in the media production component help to demonstrate understanding of research methods and cultural theory and show evidence of the original research. (Chen, 2006 pp19-20)
The implications and processes of convergence in the media, telecommunications, information, and regulation, and policymaking in converged sectors are debated. Key forces and actors are looked into in order to shape communications policy and draw upon the approaches to study of policymaking and regulation. The key issues considered include competition, market entry, content and service delivery. Implications of globalization and liberalization are addressed and debate between public service and models of communication in the market and information policy. (Chen, 2006 pp21-22)
The media literacy movement have held debates where they note the differing ideologies among media educators, activists and organizers in the diverse community so that a movement can be built in which the points of view are respected and accommodated. Recently, there is explosion of curriculum resource materials and educational practices that use media literacy where there is ability to access, evaluate, analyze and communicate wide variety of messages.
Traditional literacy has been expanding to include symbolic forms which are used by educators and scholars in referring to the process of critical analysis and creating ones own message through learning in multimedia by emphasizing teaching and learning the skills using texts of mass media in school-based contexts. (Curran, 2002 pp28 par1-4)
Media literacy has diverse approaches due to its broad definition and the range of application which creates intriguing tensions and conflicts. Parallels have been drawn between movements of media literacy that is emerging in United States. Scholars and educators who have disciplinary background in the media studies, psychology, literary analysis and sociology are able to defend their understanding of the meaning of accessing, evaluating, analyzing and creating media texts even if they are not aware of the complexity, integrity or depth of other approaches. (Curran, 2002 pp29 par1-3)
There were meeting held at the station of public television where diverse motives and goals generated conflicts and instructional practices were apparent. The anti-media tone offended many people and some of academics felt remarks of non-profit representatives and teachers were superficial and not informed sufficiently by theory. The believe by participants was that, objective of critical education is supposed to reverse unhealthy dependence of young people on media messages and try to persuade them shift their interests to alternative media arts but some understood consumption of mass media as a natural and normal part of development of childhood. (Siune, 1992 pp16 par3-5)
More than fifteen events at national levels have been exploring media literacy and there has been evidence of tensions of kids with consistent tensions. The first day involves politeness and the second day ends with argument, personal conflicts and vigorous debate. The diversity of philosophies, approaches and goals of education through the media are inevitable result of a field that is emerging at intersection of the media education and studies.
The open definition of media literacy and broad terrain bring individuals together who have common interest of working together with young people in order to critically analyze and also create media. In the whole world, there are many efforts that focus, narrow and give definition of media literacy and as a result educators have agreed on appropriate media education goals and instructional techniques. (Chen, 2006 pp24 par1-2)
Media messages are supposed to be constructed and produced within social, political, economic, aesthetic and historical contexts. The reception of message should contain interaction between reader, text and culture that help people to understand languages and communication systems. These concepts have generated consensus and increase in collaborative activity among media educators and made it possible to hold education programs at national teacher level in different geographical regions and educational background. (Chen, 2006 pp23 par2-4)
Participatory media
The roots of participatory media are in critical theory traditions and new media theory that was developed recently. Critical theorists contributed to mass media theory. Mass media helps in social control and television automates behavior of individuals, manipulates the use of language and weakens forces of resistance by altering expectations of reality subversively. Media and technology is not a development force in a public sphere of democracy.
Public sphere is destroyed by media through replacing deliberations which are rational with manipulative and manufactured opinions of the media experts. Media limits, shapes and constructs public disclosure to the themes that media corporations validate. Thus, rational democratic participants are transformed into citizen-consumers who passively absorb and ingest information and entertainment. (Siune, 1992 pp17 par1-3)
New media theorists consist of public intellectuals, who build conceptual framework to analyze, predict and describe social ramifications of new technologies that are used by the media. New media theory has taken step in trying to advent technological systems and tools that alter production, consumption and distribution of media but it is only technology of the internet that has caused great change in the media. Internet has made media theorists develop conceptual framework for exploring social meaning of changing from the traditional mass media to more participatory media.
The era of participatory media was introduced by popularization of internet and alters social network structure and media so that dismissing media as positive force is not universally applied to each and every form of media. (Conradie, 2001 pp19 par1-4)
When radical changes in media production, consumption and distribution are given; authors are writing and theorizing about contemporary phenomenon. The media is an institutional force of capitalists in contemporary societies because it mediates between social life, economy and state and mainstream broadcasting media does not promote democracy or serve public interest and forfeit its structural importance in the construction of democratic society.
New technologies and globalization further development of public sphere. Individuals should be taught how to use new technologies in articulating their own interests and experiences and promote democratic diversity and debate by allowing full range of ideas and voices. Media democratization is possible and essential because it occurs through media literacy and mass education. (Conradie, 2001 pp.18 par3-5).
References
Conradie, D (2001): Reactions to globalization by the television industry: Information world, pp. 13-19.
Chen X. (2006): Dynamics of news media regulations; explanations and implications: Journal of comparative development, pp. 19-24.
Curran J. (2002): Media and power; Globalization, Social change and television reform: Routledge, pp. 23-29.
Kleingartner A. (1993): the transformation of industrial relations in the motion picture and television industry: Industrial and labor relations review, pp. 45-48.
Siune K. (1992): Dynamics of media politics; Broadcasts and Electronic media: Sage Publications, pp. 12-17.