TV: Industry contexts

Independent: British viewers can't get enough of foreign-language dramas

Read this Independent feature on foreign-language dramas. If the website is blocked or forcing you to register you can access the text of the article here. It features an in-depth interview with Walter Iuzzolino who curates Channel 4's Walter Presents programming. Answer the questions below:

1) What does the article suggest regarding the traditional audience for foreign-language subtitled media?

'Fifteen years ago, if you'd mentioned to a colleague that you'd spent Saturday night glued to a subtitled European drama, you'd have been quietly declared pretentious, dull and, possibly, a little odd.'

2) What does Walter Iuzzolino suggest is the key appeal of his 'Walter Presents' shows?
You develop a love for the distant world because while you're watching, you're in Sweden," he says. "If you see something amazing set in Argentina, then Argentina itself, the houses, the people, what they wear, what their voices sound like, the language, is one of the biggest appeals. There is a huge pleasure in that.

3) The article makes an interesting claim for the popularity of subtitles in the multi-screen age. What does it suggest?

When you read subtitles, you have to be glued to the screen," says Deeks. "That concentration gives a particular intensity to the viewing experience. You just can't multitask when you're watching a foreign-language drama."

4) What are the other audiences pleasures of foreign TV drama suggested by the article?

The idea was to unite them all in the name of great storytelling, because it doesn't matter where you come from, in the end all human stories are about love, betrayal, life, death, violence, politics: the themes are universal."

Film School Rejects: The foreign TV dramas you're missing out on

Now read this Film School Rejects feature on the foreign TV dramas you're missing out on. This contains some particularly useful background on Deutschland 83's reception internationally. If the website is blocked, you can access the article text here. Answer the following questions:

1) What does the article tell us about Deutschland 83's release schedule?

The fact Germany’s commercial RTL channel received. Deutschland ’83 five months after the US both signifies the series’ global appeal as well as foreshadows where the German crime thriller was (and is) to find its audience.

2) The article contains important statistics on viewing figures in different countries. What were the German viewing figures for the first and last episode? What were Channel's 4's viewing figures for Deutschland 83?
3.19 million in Germany , last episode - 1.63 million

 2.13 million viewers on channel 4

3) Who are the two production and distribution companies behind Deutschland 83 and what did they announce in October? 

SundanceTV and FremantleMedia finally announced in October that there will be a second series of Deutschland 83 (called Deutschland 86, more likely than not followed by the pivotal year of 89)

4) How does Walter Iuzzolino use social media to engage audiences in new international TV dramas? How does he suggest this has changed the reception of foreign productions in the UK?

Iuzzolino posting a “Weekend Pick” on his Facebook page and engaging with viewers on Twitter To help potential viewers begin to navigate the world of foreign drama, below are five of some of the most exciting foreign dramas on Walter Presents USA, and why you should watch them based on more familiar tastes.

The Guardian: How tech is changing television

Read this Guardian feature on how tech is changing television. This has some particularly useful aspects from an industry perspective - how TV is made, the different formats of TV drama and more. Answer the following questions:

1) How have streaming services such as Netflix or Amazon Prime changed the way TV drama narratives are constructed?
Other streaming networks, including Amazon, are also working on “choose your own adventure” shows. Such developments remain at the far edge of thinking, but are merely an example of how radically digital technology is changing storytelling

2) Why has the rise in streaming led to more complex storylines and an increase in cliffhangers?

Your form of storytelling has to reflect the fact that people could watch [the whole series] straight away. So the hooks at the end of every episode are very important. But you also have to think about how you give information. Now streaming services like Netflix release all the episodes in a season in one block

3) How have the "economics of production" kept TV drama largely sticking to the 45- or 60-minute episode format?

Licence fee funding permits a 59-minute uninterrupted episode, while advertising on a commercial network mandates a script of 46 minutes that is broken three or four times for ads.

4) How has "permanent 24/7 connectivity" changed both the production and consumption of TV drama?

Live-tweeting by audiences has usefully democratised criticism, but the downside of this new media interaction has been in giving the old media a stick with which to beat broadcasters.

Media Magazine: Netflix and the Cultural Industries 

Finally, go to our Media Magazine archive and read the article on Netflix and the Cultural Industries (MM63 - page 45). Answer the following questions:

1) What does David Hesmondhalgh argue with regards to how the creative industries have changed since the 1980s?

since the 1980s there’s been a significant shift in cultural production. Cultural industries have moved closer to the centre of economic action and there has been an increase in media corporations owning companies in different sectors of the industry

2) What is technological convergence? 

The process by which previously separate media technologies are brought together by digitisation and computer networks.

3) How are technology companies challenging traditional broadcasters in the TV industry?
Alphabet (Google’s parent company) and Facebook have become two of the biggest media companies in the world on the back of advertising revenues. At the same time, the global reach of the Internet can maximise their audience.Tech companies now compete directly with media companies and, can arguably, even become media companies

4) The global nature of modern television means producers are having to consider international audiences when creating content. What example from Netflix does the article use to explain this?
The monster in Stranger Things named (by the kids) the ‘Demogorgon’ after a Dungeons & Dragons demon prince. To ensure that connection transcended language barriers, Netflix’s team dug into old D&D materials to nail down how various cultures translated ‘Demogorgon’ in the mid-1970s.