Discus brief history of cable television

Discus brief history of cable television
1. In The Image: Or What Happened to the American Dream, the late Daniel Boorstin
described a celebrity as “a person who is well-known for his well-knownness.”
Boorstin wrote this in 1961.
z Has the definition of a celebrity changed since then?
z Would you want to be a celebrity? Why or why not?
2. Assume that you work for Time Warner, the large media and entertainment conglomerate. Time Warner wants you to develop a new cable television station.
z First, you must identify a viewing group that is underserved by the current cable
television lineup. (Remember, most currently underserved viewing groups are
unattractive to advertisers, but this does not mean that all underserved groups
are.) Describe why you think this group would be an attractive market for Time
Warner and its advertisers.
z Next identify at least three types of programming that this group will be attracted
to, and explain why.
z Finally, identify at least three types of advertisers who would be interested in using
your channel to reach that group, and explain why.
3. Timothy McVeigh was executed on June 11, 2001, for the murder of 168 people
at the Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City. A Gallup poll revealed that
about 23 percent of Americans would have watched the execution if it was
broadcast.
z Assume that Osama Bin Laden is taken into custody, tried and convicted for the
events of 9/11. He is to be executed. The government is interested in allowing Bin
Laden’s execution to be televised.
Discus brief history of cable television
z Imagine that you are an executive at one of the major television networks. Would
you pay for the rights to broadcast Bin Laden’s execution? Why or why not?
z Regardless of your decision, which advertisers do you believe would buy
commercial time during the broadcast? Explain why.
4. In a 2002 New York Times article entitled, “The Remote Controllers,” Marshall Sella
wrote: “With the aid of the Internet, the loftiest dream for television is being
realized: an odd brand of interactivity. Television began as a one-way street winding
from producers to consumers, but that street is now becoming two-way. A man with
one machine (a TV) is doomed to isolation, but a man with two machines (TV and a
computer) can belong to a community.”18
z What benefits does Internet-based interactivity between television programmers
and television viewers bring to viewers?
z What benefits does this interactivity bring to television programmers?