Deck 14: The Television Industry

Question 1

When a company pays to sponsor a program on a noncommercial station is called

A) Underwriting
B) Sponsoring
C) Commercials
D) Billboards

Answer 1

A
Explanation: Underwriting is the paying of money to sponsor a particular program in exchange for a billboard on noncommercial television. PBS uses this system.

Question 2

Stations that must find all of their programming on their own are called

A) O&Os
B) Broadcast outlets
C) Network affiliates
D) Independent broadcast stations

Answer 2

D
Explanation: Because they are not affiliated with any networks, they must fill their on-the-air hours on their own.

Question 3

In the television industry companies such as Verizon and AT&T are called

A) Telcos
B) Satellite television
C) DBS
D) Cable providers

Answer 3

A
Explanation: "Telcos" is short for telephone companies, which learned that cable television signals and internet access could be offered through their fiber optics.

Question 4

Channel creators use all of the following when determining a new channel except

A) the competition
B) the available pool of viewers
C) the interests of audiences
D) the costs of relevant programming

Question 5

A program added to a schedule that isn't meant to compete directly with programming on another channel is called

A) A hammock
B) A lead-in
C) Counterprogramming
D) Sampling

Question 6

At the start of the chapter, who said the following: "Life doesn't imitate art. It imitates bad television."?

A) Woody Allen
B) Gordon Ramsey
C) Bill Clinton
D) Simon Cowell

Question 7

Which stations make their money by selling time on the airwaves to advertisers?

A) Network Affiliates
B) Subscription Network
C) Commercial
D) Noncommercial

Question 8

According to the timeline of the television industry, in what year did the U.S. government allow business to use satellite communication?

A) 1950
B) 1946
C) 1976
D) 1967

Question 9

The 1950s, which historians have nicknamed the _______ of television, included powerful, original dramas such as Marty.

A) Pilot
B) Golden Age
C) Prime Time
D) Early Years

Question 10

Which broadcast networks regularly reach the largest number of people?

A) AT&T, RCA, NBC, CBS
B) ABC, CBS, CW, NBC
C) ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC
D) ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS

Question 11

According to Table 13.3 in the text which of the following was NOT one of the top five syndicated shows for that specific time period?

A) Judge Judy
B) Family Guy
C) Wheel of Fortune
D) Jeopardy

Question 12

Five-days-a-week placement (shows made to be shown every weekday) of a television show is called________ a show.

A) Piloting
B) Concept Testing
C) Sampling
D) Stripping

Question 13

The day part (hours) in which the Big Four broadcast networks charge advertisers the most money for commercial time is known as?

A) Daytime
B) Prime Time
C) Early Morning
D) Late News

Question 14

The Nielsen people meter is a small box that gives a snapshot of what America is watching, it is installed in approximately how many homes?

A) More than 100,000
B) 27,000
C) 37,000
D) 57,000

Question 15

Which of the following are the two largest DBS companies in the United States?

A) Direct TV, Mediacom
B) Direct TV, Dish Network
C) AT&T, Verizon
D) Time Warner, Comcast

Question 16

In the early 1950s, most network TV programs were broadcast live from

A) Hollywood
B) Chicago
C) New York
D) Boston

Question 17

The fin-syn rules

A) prohibited the radio industry from developing television as a new medium
B) prohibited the use of profanity on live television programs
C) prohibited TV networks from owning most of the entertainment programs they aired
D) prohibited radio and television news operations from operating together

Question 18

The prime-time access rule

A) covered the period from 7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
B) forced the networks to stop providing programming to local stations during a half-hour period
C) benefitted the producers of quiz shows
D) all of these

Question 19

Cable television operators pay license fees to

A) advertisers
B) subscribers
C) cable networks
D) all of these

Question 20

Cable television and satellite services

A) earn revenue from advertisers
B) earn revenue from consumers who subscribe to their services
C) benefit from a dual revenue system
D) all of these

Question 21

At the same time that new television technologies emerged

A) the number the of independent TV broadcasters declined
B) direct-to-home satellite services were replaced
C) a few conglomerates emerged as dominant industrial players
D) all of these

Question 22

A television network is an organization that

A) distributes television programming
B) exhibits television programming
C) syndicates programming produced by independent production companies
D) all of these

Question 23

Local television stations that are not owned by broadcast networks but which transmit network programming are called

A) station groups
B) MSO
C) DBS
D) network affiliates

Question 24

When a local cable television system produces its channel lineup, the system operator takes into consideration

A) the technological limitations of the system
B) the costs the networks demand from the exhibiters
C) whether the exhibiter owns a piece of the network
D) all of these

Question 25

Cable television operators pay license fees to

A) advertisers
B) the FCC
C) cable networks
D) all of these

Question 26

The process of multiplexing gives broadcast stations the opportunity to produce lineups

A) that are similar to cable TV lineups
B) that are exclusively analog
C) that require a very narrow bandwidth
D) all of these

Question 27

To measure television viewing, the Nielsen company uses

A) diaries
B) people meters
C) audimeters
D) all of these

Question 28

A local or network television programmer makes production decisions based on

A) the competition
B) the available pool of viewers
C) costs and interests of sponsors
D) all of these

Question 29

Network television programmers attempt to

A) maximize audience flow across programs in day parts
B) avoid overly strong lead-outs
C) discourage viewers from sampling
D) all of these

Question 30

The setting, characters, plots, and general tone of a TV series is called a

A) format
B) sample
C) lineup
D) strip

Question 31

In the TV industry, the term "pilot" refers to

A) the executive producer who guides a series
B) the central character in a prime time series
C) a test program
D) the major investor in the production of a series

Question 32

Off-network syndication

A) helps assure the production companies can cover costs and make profits on their series
B) occurs when production companies no longer own the rights to program series aired on networks
C) usually requires a production company to produce no more than 50 episodes of a series
D) all of these

Question 33

New methods of television distribution include

A) VOD
B) Downloading
C) DVR
D) all of these

Question 34

The television exhibition system

A) is experiencing the development of new multiple outlets
B) is in the midst of a major upheaval
C) is experiencing tension as the conversion to digital TV takes place
D) all of these

Question 35

The term "tonnage" refers to

A) the number of programs
B) the number of conglomerates
C) the number of viewers
D) the number of commercials

Question 36

The commodification of audiences means that

A) daily life is shaped by commercialism
B) the media foster participatory citizenship
C) advertisers are packaging key demographics
D) all of these

Question 37

Spanish language telenovelas

A) are soap operas
B) are rarely seen in the U.S.
C) have been dropped from the Univision lineup
D) all of these

Question 38

To take advantage of the new media environment, production companies have done all of the following except:

A) produced material specifically for the web
B) made shows downloadable on services such as iTunes
C) embraced file-sharing platforms such as bit torrent
D) use much less product placement

Question 39

Early television shows were recorded live before a studio audience and then broadcast over the air.

Question 40

ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox are considered to be vertically integrated operations.

Question 41

Both satellite and cable providers offer the convenience of video-on-demand (VOD).

Question 42

The most expensive programming and the highest advertising costs occur during the prime-time programming slot.

Question 43

Store checkout lines and airport waiting areas are called captive audience locations.

Question 44

In the early days of U.S. television, most of the network TV stations were located in the ultrahigh frequency (UHF) band.

Question 45

The I Love Lucy series demonstrated the value of filmed series that could be syndicated.

Question 46

One of the big differences between network radio and network television is that network TV executives decided to plan their own programs rather than letting advertising agencies plan them.

Question 47

In the television industry, an o and o station is typically independent.

Question 48

Cable and satellite services benefit from two sources of major revenue.

Question 49

The term "MSO" is the acronym for Mutual Satellite Organizations, a lobbying group for satellite services.

Question 50

Digital technology makes it possible to compress several signals into a single channel.

Question 51

High definition TV signals use substantially less bandwidth then standard TV signals.

Question 52

Cable television operators use a technical process called tiering to get their signals over mountains.

Question 53

Cable/satellite channels are not allocated by any government agency and are not rooted in specific locations.

Question 54

In the television industry, the term "sweeps" is used to describe the prime time programming scheduled by the Big Four.

Question 55

Cable television networks avoid the strategy of trying to appeal to niche audiences.

Question 56

A household share represents the percentage of households in which the channel was turned on compared to the number of TV-owning households in the area where the channel can be viewed.

Question 57

Although the Nielsen company can supply audience data about programming, it cannot provide clients with data about the viewing of commercials within the programming.

Question 58

Counterprogramming is the placement of a program that aims to attract a target audience that is similar to that of other shows in a particular time slot.

Question 59

Network licensing agreements typically do not pay the full costs of each episode in a series.

Question 60

Out-of-home locations are sometimes called captive audience locations.

Question 61

The viewers of programs on DVRs up to three days after the original airing on a network or cable program are added to the program's Nielsen rating.

Question 62

Television producers have started to make original material available on the web.

Question 63

Critics say that the 1996 Telecommunications Act put too many constraints on U.S. media conglomerates.

Question 64

Explain the effect of advertisers on television industry in the 1960s.

Question 65

What are the considerations that influence the production of channel lineups in television? Explain.

Question 66

Describe the steps involved in producing a program for television.

Question 67

Discuss the three major concerns about TV content raised by critics and the replies of the industry.