Park, In-Kyu (2005) Public service broadcasting in the market place: the BBC and KBS in the 1990s. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/5024/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Public Service Broadcasting In The Market Place : The BBC And KBS In The 1990s In-Kyu Park (Ph.D.) Department of Film and Television Studies Faculty of Arts University of Glasgow May 2005 Public Service Broadcasting In The Market Place : The BBC And KBS In The 1990s by In-KyuPark Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Film and Television Studies Faculty of Arts University of Glasgow May 2005 Copyright © In-Kyu Park 2005 Abstract With the advent of digital era, the broadcasting landscape is radically changing. Technological development, deregulation and globalisation, as well as changes in social structure and lifestyles combine to shift the established broadcasting paradigm. In the broadband communications environment, bandwidth scarcity, the basis of public service broadcasting, is relieved and thus hundreds of channels are available. Audiences. once united in their loyalty to public service channels. are now fragmented. In these circumstances, public service broadcasting, which has been regarded as indispensable, is losing its rationale. Public service broadcasters, irrespective of region and country. are forced to battle for viewers and funding, to redraw their mission and range of activities. and to reshape themselves for the digital world. This study explores how the public service broadcasters (the BBC and KBS) of Britain and Korea have been restructuring themselves to adapt to the changing broadcasting environment. It also traces how the concept of public service broadcasting has evolved in Britain and examines the development of Korean broadcasting, proposing that the distorted operation of Korean public service broadcasting directly resulted from that country's history. Finally, it analyses the reasons why broadcasting in Korea has never been operated on principles of public service despite its proclaimed 'public service system' and explores how to secure the public-ness and public interest of Korean public service broadcasting in the future. For this study in-company research at the BBC and KBS was conducted between 1998 and 2003, along with a literature review. During this period over forty senior staff members were also interviewed, representative of both broadcasters. II Acknowledgement This study would not have been possible without the help and support of many individuals and institutions. I am indebted to the two organisations, the BBC and KBS, for their permission to conduct research and for their open-minded support. I am grateful to all of those who participated in my questionnaire survey and in-depth interview. I am particularly indebted to my supervisor Professor John Caughie who guided me throughout my study. His intellectual sustenance, advice and encouragement enabled me to complete this thesis. I would like to thank both examiners Professor Simon Frith and Professor Christine Geraghty. This thesis benefited from their invaluable comments. I am grateful to my friend Kyunghee Kim who helped me gain access to the UVic library during my stay in Canada. I would like to thank my niece Yoonyoung and my friend Rosalind for their efforts in reading the manuscript. Finally, my deepest appreciation is to my mother Songja Choi, my wife Kyunghee and my daughter Youna. I dedicate this thesis to them, and to the memory of my father. III Table of Contents Abstract ,.ii Acknowledgement iii List of illustrations VI Abbreviations VII Chapter I.Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 The public service broadcasting in question 6 1.2.1 The crisis in public service broadcasting 6 1.2.2 The causes of crisis 8 1.2.2.1 Dilemma of dual objective 8 1.2.2.2 Legitimacy of public service broadcasting is challenged 10 1.2.2.3 Competitiveness of public service broadcasting II 1.2.2.4 Fair competition II 1.2.3 The licence fee system in question 12 1.2.3.1 Social value theory 13 1.2.3.2 Market value theory 17 1.3 Research questions and methodology 19 1.3.1 Research at the BBC in 1998 21 1.3.2 Research at the BBC in 1999 23 1.3.3 Research at KBS between 2001 and 2003 24 1.3.3.1 Interview in March 2001 24 1.3.3.2 Questionnaire survey 25 1.4 Outlines of the study 27 IV II. The development and Change of public service broadcasting in Britain 30 2.1 The formation of the British Broadcasting Corporation 31 2.2 Reith and the principles of public service broadcasting 37 2.3 The change of the idea of public service broadcasting .42 III. Public service broadcasting in transition: the BBC in the Thatcher years 50 3.1 Thatcherism: pressures for change 50 3.2 The change in BBC management 55 3.3 The change in value orientation: Producer Choice initiative 61 IV. The BBC in the 1990s 67 4.1 Birtist Reform 68 4.2 The BBC in the digital age: being digital, going global.. 79 4.3 Birt legacy...... ........................................................................... 90 V. The evolution of broadcasting in Korea 99 5.1 Emergence of Korean broadcasting under the Japanese Imperial Rule 100 5.2 The period of state-run broadcasting 104 5.2.1 Broadcasting under U. S. Army Military Government in Korea 104 5.2.2 Broadcasting after the formation of the Republic of Korea •..................... l 07 5.3 Mixed system of state-run and private-run stations under the Rhee's regime 108 5.4 Broadcasting under the Park's regime: state/private-run and public/private-run system .110 5.5 Period of public broadcasting under the Chua's regime 114 5.6 Korean broadcasting in the 1990s 118 v VI. Problems in the legacy of Korean broadcasting and how they can be solved 120 6.1 Regulatory framcwork 121 6.2 Economic structure 126 6.3 Programming 132 6.4 Necessity of a different approach 144 VII. KBS in the 1990s: changes and limitations 147 7.1 New Demands in the Changing Environment of KBS 149 7.1.1 Expansion in KBS 149 7.1.2 Demand for change 150 7.1.3 Limited funding and fierce competition 152 7.1.4 Independent production quota 153 7.1.5 Out-of-date network system 154 7.2 Modernising KBS 155 7.2.1 Reorganisation in 1998: department reduction 156 7.2.2 Reorganisation in 2000: specialisation of management and production 157 7.2.2.1 Two vice presidents 157 7.2.2.2 Organising the Production structure by genre 158 7.2.3 Reorganisation in 2001: the establishment of a digital infrastructure 159 7.2.3.1 Setting up New Media Headquaters and the Commissiong department 160 7.2.3.2 Forming the Business Betterment and Promotion Team 161 7.3 The organisational culture of KBS and the value-orientation of its members 162 7.3.1 Research on KBS's culture and value system 165 7.3.1.1 Questionnaire su rvey 165 7.3.1.2 Questionnaire distribution, respondents and reply mode 166 7.3.1.3 Subsequent interview 167 7.3.2 Research findings 167 7.3.2.1 The type of culture 167 VI 7.3.2.2 The value orientation of KBS producers · 169 7.3.2.3 Opinions on KBS financing , 172 7.4 Reinventing KBS from the cultural angle 175 VIII. Conclusion 177 S.l Summary and conlusion 177 S.2 Changes at the BBC and KBS in the 1990s, and their implications 184 S.3 Rethinking the existence of public service broadcasting 188 Bibliography 198 Appendix 215 vii List of illustrations Tables 1.1 Correlation of market share performance and funding for public service broadcasters ...................................................................................................... 16 1.2 Research outline (at the BBC in 1998) 21 1.3 People interviewed (at the BBC in 1998) .22 1.3 People interviewed (at the BBC in 1999) 23 1.4 People interviewed (at KBS in 200 1) 25 1.5 Questionnaire 26 2.1 Main broadcast committees of inquiry 34 5.1 Programming guideline directed by the Ministry of Culture and Information 113 6.1 Public funding in the television broadcasting market. 127 6.2 A comparison of licence fee 129 6.3 The composition ratio of KBS revenues 130 6.4 Programming ratio of terrestrial channels 134 6.5 The diversity of programmes 136 6.6 The share of independent production in total broadcast time 144 7.1 The number of television sets registered in Korea 149 7.2 The staff number of KBS 151 7.3 Weekly broadcast time per producer 154 7.4 The department and career of respondent producers 166 7.5 The sociability and solidarity of KBS producers 168 7.6 The first priority of programming and scheduling 169 7.7 Relationship between ratings-oriented programming and licence revenue 170 7.8 Desirable financing structure for KBS 157 VIII Figures 4.1 The organization of the BBC (1994) 83 4.2 The organization of the BBC (1997) 84 4.3 The BBC Production family tree (1998) 85 4.4 Two dimensions, four cultures 96 6.1 KBS local stations (1998) 132 7.1.