Table Of Content

An Introduction to Television Studies This comprehensive textbook, now substantially updated for its fourth edition, provides students with a framework for understanding the key concepts and main approaches to Television Studies, including audiences, representation, industry and global television, as well as the analytical study of individual programmes. This new edition reflects the significant changes the television industry is undergoing in the streaming era with an explosion of new content and providers, whilst also identifying how many existing practices have endured. The book includes a glossary of key terms, with each chapter suggesting further reading. New and updated material includes: ■ Chapters on style and form, narrative, industry, and representation and identity ■ Case studies on Bon Appétit’s YouTube channel, Insecure, British youth television, ABC and Disney+, fixed-rig observational documentary, streaming platforms’ use of data to shape audience experience, Chewing Gum, Korean drama and The Marvelous Mrs Maisel ■ Sections on medical drama, YouTube creators, Skam and scripted format sales, the global spread of streaming platforms, prestige TV and period drama With individual chapters addressing television style and form, narrative, histories, industries, genres and formats, realities, production, audiences, representation and identity, and quality, this book is essential reading for both students and scholars of Television Studies. Jonathan Bignell is Professor of Television and Film at the University of Reading, UK. He authored three previous editions of An Introduction to Television Studies and was co-author of The Television Handbook, second edition. His many other publica- tions include co-editing the book A European Television History. Faye Woods is Associate Professor of Film and Television at the University of Reading, UK. She is the author of the books Period Drama and British Youth Television. Praise for the previous editions: ‘At a time when the question of what constitutes “television” is being ever more keenly debated and as the medium continues to be reimagined, I can think of no other book to so adroitly meet the needs of students new to Television Studies. Engaging, accessible, and with a diverse series of activities and case studies that capture both the history and dynamism of this subject, Bignell’s invaluable new edition provides a comprehensive entry into the most significant debates in the field.’ Dr Deborah Jermyn, Reader in Film and Television, Roehampton University, UK ‘In covering key areas of Television Studies, ranging across history, aesthetics, genre, production and reception, this book remains a key touchstone for students entering and studying the field. Accessibly written and well- illustrated with the addition of up-to-date examples, Bignell manages to span the core concepts and concerns of the discipline in an engaging and stimulating manner. At a time when the very idea of “television” as an object of study is undergoing significant shifts, An Introduction to Television Studies succeeds in taking us on a journey which maps out longstanding aspects of television (and Television Studies), whilst embracing the “new” context of television’s dispersed screens and digital culture.’ Su Holmes, Reader in Television Studies, University of East Anglia, UK An Introduction to Television Studies Fourth Edition Jonathan Bignell and Faye Woods Cover image: Getty Images / Hector Roqueta Rivero Fourth edition published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Jonathan Bignell and Faye Woods The right of Jonathan Bignell and Faye Woods to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. First edition published by Routledge 2004 Third edition published by Routledge 2012 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-1-138-66581-1 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-66582-8 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-61967-5 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781315619675 Typeset in Janson and Akzidenz Grotesk by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India Contents List of illustrations ix Acknowledgements xiii Introduction 1 Using this book 1 Television Studies 2 The organisation of chapters 5 Bibliography 9 1 Studying Television 11 Introduction 12 Beyond broadcasting 13 Television nations 16 Studying programmes 17 Television and society 20 Television audiences 26 Case study: television past and present 29 Summary of key points 33 Bibliography 34 2 Television Style and Form 37 The language of television 38 Connotations and codes 40 Mise-en-scène 41 Image 49 Sound 53 Structure and editing 56 Case study: Bon Appétit’s Gourmet Makes 62 Summary of key points 68 Bibliography 68 3 Television Narrative 69 Introduction 70 Identification 71 Story/plot 73 Structure 75 vI C ontEnts Narrative forms – serial 75 Narrative forms – series 76 Narrative forms – hybrid 77 Transmedia storytelling 78 Case study: Insecure 79 Summary of key points 84 Bibliography 85 4 Television Histories 87 Introduction 88 Collecting the evidence 89 Inventing television technologies 92 Television institutions 94 Reception contexts 97 British approaches to commercial television 99 Professional cultures in a ‘Golden Age’ 101 Programmes and forms 103 The ten most popular programmes in March 1958 104 The ten most popular programmes in September 1964 104 The ten most popular programmes in November 1974 105 The ten most popular programmes in November 1984 105 Case study: a history of British youth television 107 Summary of key points 110 Bibliography 110 5 Television Industries 113 Introduction 114 The funding structures of television 114 Public service broadcasting in the British market 115 Television regulation in the UK 117 The structure of television industries 119 Channel brands in digital and cable 121 Streaming platforms 123 British public service streaming: BBC iPlayer 126 Case study: ABC and Disney 128 Summary of key points 132 Bibliography 132 6 Television Genres and Formats 135 Introduction 136 Identifying genre and format 138 The generic space of soap opera 140 The medical drama 142 Sitcom and the problem of humour 144 Genre hybridity and reality TV 147 Case study: adult animated series 150 C ontEnts vII Summary of key points 155 Bibliography 155 7 Television Realities 157 Introduction 158 Factual television 158 Realism and television technologies 160 British soap opera and realism 162 Realism and ideology 165 News and liveness 166 The documentary mode 169 Case study: docudrama 174 Summary of key points 177 Bibliography 177 8 Television Production 181 Introduction 182 Development 183 Pre-production 185 Production 191 Post-production 196 YouTube, user-generated content and the amateur-professional creator 198 Case study: ‘fixed rig’ observational documentary 201 Summary of key points 204 Bibliography 205 9 Television Audiences 207 Introduction 208 The economics of watching television 209 Ratings: measuring audiences 211 Targeting audiences 213 ‘Protecting’ audiences 213 Active audiences 214 Attention and involvement 215 Qualitative audience research 217 Fan audiences 220 Case study: data, algorithms and interfaces – shaping streaming audiences 224 Summary of key points 228 Bibliography 229 10 Television Representation and Identity 231 Introduction 232 Intersectionality and othering 233 Representation and stereotype 235 vIII C ontEnts Meaningful diversity and plastic representation 237 Ideology 239 Television as cultural forum 241 Reality television and identity 242 Who makes TV? 244 Diversity as brand management 246 Case study: Chewing Gum 249 Summary of key points 251 Bibliography 252 11 Television Cultures and Globalisation 255 Introduction 256 Global television 257 National television in global contexts 260 International unscripted format sales 262 The scripted format trade and localisation 265 Global power and streaming platforms 267 The global and local interrelationship 269 Case study: Hallyu and Korean drama 272 Summary of key points 276 Bibliography 276 12 Television and Quality 279 Introduction 280 Identifying ‘quality’ 282 Channels and brands in American television drama 285 Television and authorship 288 The ‘cinematic’, legitimating television and complex serial drama 291 Visual style and the Doctor Who brand 293 Period drama as prestige genre 296 Case study: The Marvelous Mrs Maisel 298 Summary of key points 300 Bibliography 301 Glossary of key terms 303 Index 315 Illustrations Figures 1.1 the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle, 19 May 2018 21 1.2 Famous, Rich and Homeless 22 1.3 A political debate during the 2019 General Election 22 1.4 television rehearsals at Alexandra Palace, 1946. Photograph courtesy of the Daily Herald Archive/science Museum Group 31 2.1 Krishnan Guru-Murthy delivers the Channel 4 news 40 2.2 the brothers’ cramped apartment in It’s Okay to Not Be Okay 42 2.3 Moon-young’s large family mansion 43 2.4 ItV news reporting from outside the Us senate on 6 January 2021 44 2.5 Costume and colour signifying women’s social categories in The Handmaid’s Tale 44 2.6 Conventional late night chat show presenting on Late Night With Seth Myers 45 2.7 Laid back presenting style on Desus & Mero 46 2.8 Lighting in The Great British Bake Off allows contestants to be evenly lit as they bake 47 2.9 Low-key lighting in Peaky Blinders provides high contrast between light and dark 47 2.10 Unbalanced lighting of a Black actor in Stranger Things 48 2.11 Insecure’s use of reflected light in night scenes to accentuate Black skin 48 2.12 Establishing shot in Happy Valley 49 2.13 Long shot framing and blocking express emotional distance in Master of None 50 2.14 Close-up and shallow focus in Normal People 51 2.15 Low angle communicating Arabella’s emotional state in I May Destroy You 51 2.16 High angle and unbalance framing communicated Issa’s unsureness in Insecure 52 2.17 A point of view shot in Peep Show 52 2.18 A conversation between three characters in Starstruck 57 2.19 A conversation between three characters in Starstruck 57 2.20 A conversation between three characters in Starstruck 58 2.21 A conversation between three characters in Starstruck 58 2.22 Editing maintains the 180-degree rule in Ru Paul’s Drag Race 59