Broadcasting and Programing
Steiner's Model
Steiner's model on programming preferences and broadcasting choices tries to show how stations come to the conclusion of what programming to show. This model goes on the assumption that broadcasters will go after the largest audience possible. Going on the information given about this hypothetical situation, we can predict what each of the four stations in this market will show.
There are three distinct audience preferences. The first groups of 1200 viewers has a first programming preference of sitcoms and a second choice of soaps. The second group numbers 900 viewers and would pick cops first and soaps second. The third group, 500 viewers, likes soaps first and sitcoms and their second choice.
This model says that the audience will watch their first choice first and then the second choice, but only is their first choice is not available.
Let's say that the Federal Communications Commission licenses station A in their market. Looking at the viewer preferences, station A would start to broadcast soaps. By show soaps, it would capture a market of 2600 viewers. All viewers would watch because soaps is their first choice or it is their second choice but their first is not available.
The FCC then offers a license to station B. After examining the audience sizes, stations B also starts to show soaps. By programming to this audience, it splits the soaps market with station A and both of them have 1300 viewers.
Station B does not pick another programming because no other choice can offer more than 1300 viewers.
When the FCC offers a license to station C, things will definitely change in this market. Station C sees the biggest audience available is the sitcom market with 1200 viewers.
But when station C takes that 1200 viewers from the soap audience which hold sitcoms as their first choice, station A and B will both drop to 700 viewers.
They now have to make a decision. Both can find larger markets elsewhere.
One station, and it does not matter which one, will switch to cop shows. For this hypothetical, station B would choose cops for 900 viewers.
Station A, who still is showing soaps, now only has 500 viewers. It does not like that, so it starts to show sitcoms. Audience 3, with 500 viewers, now is watching sitcoms because there are no soaps out there. Station A and C are both showing sitcoms and are splitting a viewer audience of 1700 for 850 each.
Now that the viewers are confused about what station is showing what, the FCC offers a fourth license to station D.
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TVbytheNumbers. Sara Bibel, 29 Apr. 2014. Web. 01 May 2014. 7.
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...are watching is reality television, I believe that this allows a great amount of influence to be placed on the individuals that are watching. Although we can prevent reality television from having a negative effect on society, we tend not to because of our own hidden agenda. This is our new form of entertainment. Even though we complain about it and criticize reality television, we still continue to watch it and give these networks the rating to continue making shows.
11 Ellen Seiter and Mary Jeanne Wilson, “Soap Opera Survival Tactics”, in Thinking Outside the Box: A Contemporary Television Genre Reader (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 2005), 138.
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