Deterritorializing Television Broadcasting: What Models for National Broadcasters?
In the battle between national broadcasters and online platforms for audience share, the playing field appears to be tilted against the broadcasters. That’s because by limiting them to a specific geographic area, the distribution model also limits them to a relatively small potential audience.
While the BBC recently celebrated another anniversary of its 2007 partnership with YouTube, it also announced earlier this year that it would be discontinuing the BBC iPlayer video-on-demand service because it was simultaneously facing a “decline in the number of users and an increase in costs.”
The massive influx of BBC viewers to YouTube, where the BBC has close to 15 million subscribers to its main channel and 16.2 million subscribers to the BBC News channel, certainly had something to do with the decision, not to mention the more than 40,000 videos broadcast on its two YouTube channels since day one. It also explains the drop in user interest for the BBC iPlayer app.
In comparison, Radio-Canada’s YouTube channel counts just 89,000 subscribers and 3600 videos, while the CBC tallies up only 487,000 subscribers and 6000 videos. Both channels date back to 2007.
News everywhere 24/7
Meanwhile, the mega success of international series such as Squid Game highlights the impact local specificity can have on platforms like Netflix. The huge success of the series with a wide range of transnational audiences was a significant boon to its creator, South Korean film director Hwang Dong-hyuk, who had far greater resources at his disposal than if the series had been produced strictly for the national market. Season 1 of Squid Game cost close to $30 million, averaging more than $3 million for each of its nine episodes.
Deterritorialization is nothing new in the world of television. For over 30 years, news channels such as CNN, France24, BBC World News, RT News, and Al Jazeera have been producing content designed to reach transnational audiences. Their news stories are developed and analyzed to be read, viewed, and heard around the world.
With the exception of CNN, most of the above broadcasters depend on government support and subsidies, which they justify by virtue of the role they play as platforms for disseminating culture internationally. According to Jean K. Chalaby, professor of international communication at the University of London, “The cross-border coverage of transnational television networks, their multinational audience and international production operations tear apart the relationship between place and television and challenge the traditional relationship between broadcasting and the nation-state.”
World leader in news and information CNN reaches more than 300 million households worldwide, while generating an annual profit of some US$1 billion in the process.
Creating for global consumption
While a number of news broadcasting models have emerged in recent years, general-interest TV and drama series still struggle to adopt similar approaches. Unfortunately, this is where you’ll find the competition – both legal and illegal – most intense between national broadcasters and digital platforms.
According to a 2023 report published in Variety, the number of piracy sites is surging. A MUSO study predicted an annual increase in film piracy of some 39% for last year. “From a technical perspective,” it noted that “digital piracy is another form of content delivery, because it allows for the distribution of content to a broad audience, however, the difference being that delivery can take place regardless of their geographic location or financial means.” Another study, by New Zealand-based Vocus Communications, has shown that making content cheaper and easier to access is the best way to stop piracy and not by implementing more punitive laws and rules.
The best strategy for Canadian television broadcasters is to take a page from news broadcasters, think of themselves as cultural exporters, and start disseminating their product internationally online free of charge. It no longer makes any sense in 2024 to go ahead with rights agreements without anticipating worldwide dissemination and marketing.
If the objective of national broadcasters is to make their culture accessible, especially in Canada where production is largely financed by public funds, tax breaks, and fees on cable providers, decisions should be made that take this factor into consideration. From a long-term macroeconomic perspective, we would all benefit from facilitating the international distribution of our content.
