Description
Book SynopsisMedia critics invariably disparage the quality of programming produced by the U.S. television industry. But why the industry produces what it does is a question largely unasked. It is this question, at the crux of American popular culture, that
Switching Channels explores.
Trade ReviewThis book is a successful effort to subject to economic analysis an industry that has undergone substantial organizational changes within a short time and that is marked by quite peculiar structural properties and production practices. Caves ingeniously sorts out the industry's peculiarities and reads the economic meaning and implications of its "tribal customs." -- Dick Netzer, Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University
In
Switching Channels, Richard Caves has done a great job bringing together a vast amount of disparate information to provide a comprehensive framework for the study of television broadcasting. The book covers everything from syndication through the rise of cable networks. -- S. Mark Young, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California
Richard E. Caves [is] the don of entertainment economics. -- Austan Goolsbee * New York Times *
Table of ContentsContents Preface Introduction I. TV PROGRAMS AS CREATIVE GOODS 1. The Market for Broadcast Network Programming 2. Syndication 3. The Public Broadcasting System II. SWITCHING CHANNELS AND PROGRAM QUALITY 4. The Squeeze on Broadcasters' Rents 5. Cable Networks and Upgraded Cable Programming 6. Broadcast Networks, Stations, and Rents III. BARGAINING TABLES AND MEDIA CONGLOMERATES 7. Program Supply, Integration, and the Fin-Syn Rules 8. Broadcast Stations: Lengthening the Chains 9. Cable Networks and Cable Operators: Ownership Links and Carriage Decisions Epilogue Appendix A. Determinants of Affiliates' Compensation Appendix B. Gains for Chains in Radio Notes Selected References Index
