BROADCAST SYNDICATION in Broadcasting, Syndication Is The
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BROADCAST SYNDICATION In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast television and radio programs by multiple television and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very nature.[citation needed] It is common in countries where broadcast programming is scheduled by television networks with local independent affiliates, particularly in the United States. In the rest of the world, however, most countries have centralized networks and/or television stations without local affiliates and syndication is less common, although shows can also be syndicated internationally. In the film industry, film distribution is handled by film distributors. Types of syndication[edit] First-run syndication refers to programming that is broadcast for the first time as a syndicated show and is made specifically to sell directly into syndication[1] (not any one particular network), or at least first so offered in a given country (programs originally created and broadcast outside of the United States, first presented on a network in their country of origin, have often been syndicated in the U.S. and in some other countries); Off-network syndication involves the licensing of a program that was originally run on network television or in some cases first-run syndication: a rerun; these are usually found on stations affiliated with smaller networks like Fox or The CW, especially since these networks broadcast one less hour of prime time network programming than the Big Three television networks. This usually occurs when a show has built up about four seasons worth or a minimum of 85-100 episodes. Successful shows in syndication can cover production costs and make a profit, even if the first run of the show was not profitable.[1] Public broadcasting syndication has arisen in the U.S. as a parallel service to member stations of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and the handful of independentpublic broadcasting stations. This form of syndication more closely resembles the news agency model, where nominally competing networks share resources and rebroadcast each other's programs. For example, National Public Radio (NPR) stations commonly air Public Radio International's This American Life, which may contain stories produced by NPR journalists. When syndicating a show, the production company, or a distribution company called a syndicator, attempts to license the show to one station in each media market or area, or to a commonly owned station group, within the country and internationally. If successful, this can be lucrative; but the syndicator may only be able to license the show in a small percentage of the markets. Syndication differs from licensing the show to a television network; once a network picks up a show, it is usually guaranteed to run on most or all the network's affiliates on the same day of the week and at the same time (in a given time zone, in countries where this is a concern). Some production companies create their shows and license them to networks at a loss, at least at first, hoping that the series will succeed and that eventual off-network syndication will turn a profit for the show. [citation needed] A syndicated program is licensed to stations for "cash" (the stations purchase the rights to insert some or all of the advertisements at their level); given to stations for access to airtime (wherein the syndicators get the advertising revenue); or the combination of both. The trade of program for airtime is called "barter". While market penetration can vary widely and revenues can be unreliable, the producers often enjoy more content freedom in the absence of network standards and practicesdepartments;[citation needed] frequently, some innovative ideas are explored by first-run syndicated programming which the networks are leery of giving airtime to. Meanwhile, top-rated syndicated shows in the United States usually have a domestic market reach as high as 98%. Very often, series that are aired in syndication have reduced running times. For example, a standard American sitcom runs 22 minutes, but in syndication it may be cut back to 20 minutes to make room for more commercials. Syndication can take the form of either weekly or daily syndication. Game shows, some "tabloid" and entertainment news shows, and stripped talk shows are broadcast daily on weekdays, while most other first-run syndicated shows are broadcast on a weekly basis and are usually aired on weekends only. Although it is common parlance to refer to the "selling" or "sale" of a show, this is a misnomer. The shows are actually licensed for a specific number of broadcasts on a station or network. The actual ownership of a show does not change hands and generally remains with the producing entity. There was a big discussion sometime in the 1990s and 2000s about whether a show could be syndicated while it was still on the air. There had been much opposition to this idea and it was generally viewed as leading to a death of the show; however, licensing a program for syndication it actually resulted in the increased popularity for shows that were still in production. A prime example is Law & Order. [2] First-run syndication in the U.S.[edit] As with radio in the U.S., television networks, particularly in their early years, did not offer a full day's worth of programming for their affiliates, even in the evening or "prime time" hours. Some stations were not affiliated with any network, operating as independent stations. Both groups sought to supplement their locally produced programming and whatever network feeds there were with content that could be flexibly scheduled. The development of videotape and, much later, enhanced satellite downlink access furthered these options. While most past first-run syndicated shows were shown only in syndication, some canceled network shows continued to be produced for first-run syndication or were revived for syndication several years after their original cancellation. Ziv Television Programs, Inc., after establishing itself as a major radio syndicator, was the first major first-run television syndicator, creating several long-lived series in the 1950s and selling them directly to regional sponsors, who in turn sold the shows to local stations. Among the most famous and widely watched Ziv offerings were Sea Hunt, I Led Three Lives and Highway Patrol. Some first-run syndicated series were picked up by networks in the 1950s and early 1960s, notably The Adventures of Superman and Mr. Ed. The networks started syndicating their reruns in the late 1950s, and first-run syndication shrank sharply, for a decade. Some stalwart series continued, notably Death Valley Days; other ambitious projects were also to flourish, however briefly, such as The Play of the Week (1959–1961), produced by David Susskind (of the syndicated talk show Open End and also producer of such network fare as NYPD). However, FCC rulings in the late 1960s curtailed the U.S. networks' ability to schedule programming in what has become known as the "early fringe", notably the 7-8 p.m. (Eastern and Pacific Time) hour of "prime time", with the stated hope that this might encourage more local programming of social and cultural relevance to communities (off-network syndicated repeats were also banned); some projects of this sort came to fruition, though usually relatively commercial and slick ones such as Group W's Evening Magazine/PM Magazine franchise, and such pre-existing national projects as the brief commercial-television run of William F. Buckley, Jr.'s interview/debate series Firing Line. The more obvious result was an increase in Canadian-produced syndicated dramatic series, such as Dusty's Trail and the Colgate-sponsored Dr. Simon Locke. Game shows, often evening editions of network afternoon series, flourished, and a few odd items such as Wild Kingdom, canceled by NBC in 1971, had a continuing life as syndicated programming tailor-made for the early fringe. The 1970s and 1980s[edit] Into the 1970s, first-run syndication continued to be an odd mix: cheaply produced, but not always poor quality, "filler" programming. These included the dance-music show Soul Train, and 20th Century Fox's That's Hollywood, a television variation on the popular That's Entertainment! theatrically released collections of film clips from the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer library. There were also many imported programs distributed this way. These include the documentary series Wild, Wild World of Animals (repackaged by Time-Life with narration byWilliam Conrad) and Thames Television's sober and necessarily grim The World at War. The Starlost (1973) was a Canadian series, apparently modified from the vision of science fiction writers Harlan Ellison and Ben Bova. Britain's ITC Entertainment, headed by Lew Grade, made UFO (1970) and Space: 1999 (1975). These two series were created by Gerry Anderson (and his associates), who was previously best known for supermarionation (a combination of puppetry and animation) series such as Thunderbirds. The most successful syndicated show in the United States in the 1970s was probably The Muppet Show, also from Lew Grade's company. Animated series from the 1980s Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds and Around the World with Willy Fog came from Spanish animation production company BRB Internacional and their Japanese co-producers Nippon Animation. Game shows thrived in syndication during the decade. Weekdaily versions of What's My Line?, Truth or Consequences and To Tell the Truth premiered in the late 1960s and found loyal audiences for many years. Several daytime network games began producing once-a-week nighttime versions for broadcast in the early evening hours, usually with bigger prizes and often featuring different hosts (emcees were limited to appearing on one network and one syndicated game simultaneously) and modified titles (Match GamePM, The $100,000 Name That Tune or The $25,000 Pyramid, for example).