This coming week Anna Jackson, who completed her BA and MA with us, and is now enrolled in her PhD (a double badge with Melbourne and Auckland) will present aspects of her thesis, which is looking on the world of online documentary in New Zealand. She will also talk about the broader issues around digitalization and the on-demand and mobile media culture.
A few questions to consider from our readings:
Debrett discusses what are considered the fundamental characteristics of public (service) broadcasting and how they have fared in the digital era. Take a look of some of her examples online (for example from SBS, BBC or Channel 4) -- do you know of other experimentation online that has retained public service content? Her overall argument is that the digital era poses threats and possibilities for the public service ethic? Which way do you think the cookie will crumble?
Goode (a senior lecturer with us) and Littlewood (who did his Masters degree) take a similar position, although since writing a number of major changes have occurred. They pay particular attention to the notion of the "local". If you were to update their position, what do you think has occurred to the "local" in the New Zealand media environment. How much local content do you watch?
Also, good news -- Sue Abel who attended our lecture last week has been awarded a large government grant to continue her study of Maori Television with Jo Smith.
Best
In the Debrett reading I think an interesting point is made in that On Demand services, because they enable the citizen/consumer to select what it is they would like to watch, results in public service broadcasting being less able to dictate the content its audience receives. So rather than a didactic, 'we choose what is good for you' 'eat your veges', style of PSB, you can have users pick and choose what they like. The reading states a concern this raises in the potential for users just taking the good bits, the soft infotainment rather the content which might provide traditional PS 'nourishment'. The On-Demand system could also lead to content being developed based on what is gaining the most hits, mirroring the consumer-driven style of non-PSTV. I do not really see this eventuating with a PSB of any high standing. The BBC for instance, who are so fantastically belligerent in what they consider of public service. I see this On-Demand option rather making these services more accessible. It also provides access to niche content for niche-interest users.
ReplyDeleteAs a, personal example of On-Demand services increasing the consumption of PS content, I downloaded the Radio New Zealand application (I know its not TV, but ...) for my phone the other day. Where I previously would listen to RNZ on the odd occasion, I now select a few shows to listen to through the application each week.
ReplyDeleteI second Ali, I am a big fan of on-demand content myself. I think PSB comes with the added and maybe unfair baggage of being "boring and sluggish" which will no doubt put off any user reared on web 2.0. If we are willing to pay for it, we want it right now and that is why mobile media platforms will prove vital to the sustainability of public service broadcasting. I also liked the long-tail analogy made in the article, some of these old television content can have immense relevance in current times especially for research and re-evaluation purposes. I love watching old BBC documentaries, they may be slow but they have a quaint, old-fashioned charm and it is definitely a change of pace from what we are offered nowadays.
ReplyDeleteTo answer the first question though I think it would be prudent not to disregard either PSB aspirations and nor underestimate the potentials of a fully-integrated digital era. Instead of being "didactic" as Ali puts it, I believe that if 'nourishing' PSB content were online and easily accessible people would definitely view it, at their own time and out of their own volition without feeling that they are being force-fed their most detested veggies. Awesome analogy, Alistair!
ReplyDeleteOn Demand services also interest me a lot. I believe the most fascinating aspect of On Demand services lies in its flexibility, and the second lies in its accessibility.
ReplyDeleteFor some audiences, On Demand services provide opportunities to make TV/radio schedule meet their own, whereas for some other viewers, it's just more convenient to watch or listen to the programmes they like again (and again) without recording them or worrying about copyright issue. Nowadays it's even more flexible and accessible: with portable devices like iPhone and iPad in hands, we could watch or listen to on-demand programmes anytime and anywhere (with Internet connection).
I'm kind of a big fan of TVNZ On Demand. But in my case neither flexibility nor accessibility is my first concern. I love it simply because there're no commercials inserted in the middle of programmes, although those on-demand programmes are usually divided into three or more parts (just like they are divided into small sections by ads on TV) and we cannot watch an episode coherently from beginning to end.
And, great great game, Australia and South Africa! 11 to 9! Now I'm studying at our Arts Postgraduate Lab and there's no TV here. I just watched the game online on Maori TV. I think this kind of online TV broadcasting also benefits from digitalisation of media. We could watch lots of TV channels online in "Digital TV" section of our library's website (http://www.library.auckland.ac.nz/media/tv/). If there had been no online TV broadcasting, I might have missed this quarter-final between Au and RSA! It is also from this perspective that I think digitalisation of media is really fantastic.
(Oh, BTW, I really love those commentators on Maori TV!)
I think digital TV is a word which has differnent meanings , sometimes we take the channel from TV but must be transmitted by some sepecial digital signal as digital TV, but in my opinion, the traditional channel but has the on-line form can also be called digital TV, actually ,digital TV is a cross of TV and internet. When I was a junior student , I always saw some on-demand music programme via TV ,I found the interface was just like a operating system . Audiens used telephone to control the system and select the music. In that case ，I think digital TV can be seen just like a interim and all TV signal will become on-line form in the future.
ReplyDeleteI am quite optimistic about the future of public service broadcasting in the digital age, but a few of Debrett’s main points do have some merit. As Alistair mentioned, there is a concern that new programmes may be developed based around which online content has been viewed the most times. This may lead to decreased content for minority audiences and may also minimize the amount of innovative new programming that would see the light of day.
ReplyDeletethe SBS and BBC websites look just like any other news sites to me. 3news, Stuff.co.nz sort of look similar to that format, except the on-demand function. I do think that the on-demand function is useful in our increasingly mobilized society, where everything is on the go, and with on-demand, it is like a time-capsule that record your show or program for you so you can watch it outside of the temporal order.
ReplyDeleteI am with Alistair regrading the on-demand function is more of reaching a broader audience, but i am not too sure about how well will it goes for the PSB. To be honest, i think you will actually have to be familiar with the tv scheduling in order for you to find on-demand useful, because on-demand is sort of design for audiences that miss out on shows so that they can re watch it on a different platform. But before that, it still require the audiences to be familiar with the content on TV before they can even find out what they have miss out on.
I see the fact that having program tailored towards audiences' orientation is a good thing rather. In this era that is filled with choices and freedom, it will be rather unwise for PSB to continue to do their own program without attracting any audience. The spoon fed technique that old fashion TV used to do are no longer applicable in digital era. The concern of having broadcasters only produce contents that people watch the most has always been there. I believe PSB will want to make contents that they think will attract their targeted audiences as well as fulfilling their role as PSB. I think it is still an act of balance for the PSB, although it is deem to be difficult.
As a child in the states, I used to to watch PBS (Public Broadcasting Service). This, of course, was before the internet had become such a popular medium. I just ventured over to their website (http://www.pbs.org) and I was quite impressed. It seems that PBS has fully integrated itself into the digital era. From their website:
ReplyDelete"PBS has transformed itself from a solely broadcast organization to a multi-platform leader that serves Americans through television, mobile TV, the Web, interactive whiteboards in the classroom and more. PBS reaches more than 124 million people through television and more than 20 million people online each month."
... and a few more.
ReplyDelete- Traffic to PBS.org from a mobile device has increased 146% in the last year. Traffic to PBS.org from an iPad was up 436% in the same time frame. (Google Analytics, 6/2011)
- PBS general audience mobile apps average nearly half a million video streams a month. And the PBS KIDS iPad app, which launched in May 2011, averages 45 million video streams a month. (The Platform, 6/2011)
- PBS has nearly 900,000 fans on Facebook and nearly 800,000 followers on Twitter. In addition, the PBS channel on YouTube features nearly 4,000 videos that have been viewed more than 103 million times.
There is definitely something that can be learned from the success of PBS.
Argh. I'm experiencing blogging issues for the first time. This post here should go before the one right above it.
ReplyDeleteExamples given of the online presence of PBS:
- Traffic to PBS.org from a mobile device has increased 146% in the last year. Traffic to PBS.org from an iPad was up 436% in the same time frame. (Google Analytics, 6/2011)
- PBS general audience mobile apps average nearly half a million video streams a month. And the PBS KIDS iPad app, which launched in May 2011, averages 45 million video streams a month. (The Platform, 6/2011)
- PBS has nearly 900,000 fans on Facebook and nearly 800,000 followers on Twitter. In addition, the PBS channel on YouTube features nearly 4,000 videos that have been viewed more than 103 million times.
Fantastic that you guys are blogging so much -- my first time using it in class and it has been useful to me, and I hope to you.
ReplyDeleteI too grew up watching PSB content before and after school. I'm a huge fan of on-demand services because it allows me to access and catch up on episodes of favourite television programmes that I may have missed during the week; although MySky pretty much takes care of that problem for me. No doubt in the near future will TV be consumed predominately online. I firmly believe, as Alistair put it, that "the on-demand system could lead to content being developed based on popularity and the number of hits received."
ReplyDelete