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Evaluating the Contribution of PSBs to Children’s Media

Prof. Jeanette Steemers, University of Westminster, UK

Why consider the question of value?

• ‘Sleepwalking’ ‘into a situation where we do not have UK-generated content of a high quality for our kids’ (Colette Bowe, Chairman, Ofcom)

• Anna Home, Chair, Save Kids’ TV argued that “children today see a huge amount of the world, particularly of the American world, and relatively little of their own”. She pointed to drama “where children see themselves reflected, their own lives reflected, in a context which they comprehend”, which she said was “hugely important, both for their education and for their cultural development as citizens” (Q 1489). (Select Committee, 2010: 52)

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Children’s Televisual Media – Transnational Players

• Children’s TV one of most globalised forms of content

• Dominated by:– Disney – Time Warner (Cartoon

Network) – Viacom (Nickelodeon)

• New Players - Netflix, YouTube, Amazon – are beginning to invest in original content.

• Online content – Moshi Monsters (UK), Angry Birds (Finland)

On the surface little sign of crisis or creative destruction in UK

• 2011 UK PSBs broadcast 12,547 hrs• 2011 commercial multichannel broadcasters 115,922 hrs• PSB expenditure on first run originations falls from

£107m in 2006 to £88m in 2011 (97% by BBC)• PSB First run hours fall from 1584 hours in 2006 to 777

hrs in 2011 (Ofcom, 2012).• Programme expenditure on originations by commercial

multichannel broadcasters £25.5m in 2011 (Coba, 2012)

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Transnational children’s channels in Europe: Broadcast output by country of origin (aggregated data)

Sample weeks: 21- 27 September 2009 ; 22-28 February 2010 (Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr and Playhouse Disney). . There are no Dutch versions of Cartoon Network, Disney Channel and Playhouse Disney. The German, Italian and French versions of Nick Jr were not included in the sample, because these channels were brand new at the time of the analysis, having launched in January 2009, August 2009 and January 2010 respectively, and therefore very likely not to have yet adopted any significant localisation strategy. Localisation strategies are typically implemented only gradually and after an initial launch period

PSB Children’s Channels in Europe: Broadcast output by country of origin

Source: Authors; Notes: Sample weeks: 21-27 September 2009, 22-28 February 2010; Sample channels: Gulli in France; KiKa in Germany; Rai Gulp and Raisat YoYo in Italy; CBBC and CBeebies in Britain; and the Z@ppelin and Zapp blocks in the Netherlands.

Transnational Channels – Broadcast output by Form

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PSB Channels – Broadcast Output by Form

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Children’s content in a globalised, digitised and convergent media landscape?

What is the value to children and society at large?

•Domestic commercial channels seek to abandon children’s content.•PSB’s role not always clearly defined.•Little definition of what origination means – made for international marketplace; produced overseas; hides national origins.•How do we define children’s content/audiences?

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Types of value – Children’s content

• Social and Cultural Value• Educational Value• Economic Value

Types of value – PSB TV• Social and Cultural Value – little evidence –

children like homegrown content, but what are its benefits?

• Educational Value – little evidence (some in US) – costs and time associated with educational testing.

• Economic value – some evidence – exports of content, generation of ancillary revenues (consumer products). Perception of unfair playing field results in new Tax Reliefs in UK – but limited to animation, and driven by industry concerns rather than concerns/needs of children.

Conclusion

• Transmission and production quotas might raise levels of homegrown output – but what is the impact on the ‘socialization and healthy cultural development of children’?

• Need research which looks at industry perspectives (what do they bring to a production that overseas producers do not?)

• And crucially we need children’s perspectives (how do they form a sense of belonging, identity and knowledge through their use of media?)

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Conclusion

• Transmission and production quotas might raise levels of homegrown output – but what is the impact on the ‘socialization and healthy cultural development of children’?

• Need research which looks at industry perspectives (what do they bring to a production that overseas producers do not?)

• And crucially we need children’s perspectives (how do they form a sense of belonging, identity and knowledge through their use of media?).

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