Unit 12
Global Television

Cultural hegemony has been a major theme of this course. Not only does television market the dominant North American (primarily US) values to North Americans, it does so to the rest of the world as well. American programming is slick, cheap and readily available, but other nations have produced and are producing excellent programming of their own. In this unit, we look at alternatives to American television, both publicly funded and commercially produced. We close the unit and the course with a discussion of the spectacularly successful Latin American alternatives to American soaps.

Objectives

After completing this unit, you should be able to

1. discuss a number of different strategies for television broadcasting from around the world.
2. evaluate the extent to which American telecommunications have come to dominate the airwaves, and whether their influence has been helpful or detrimental to the networks and audiences in other countries.
3. list some of the current and possible future refinements in the industry that either hold promise for or threaten television as a medium.
4. discuss changes in the structure of the industry that have affected television’s spread and focus.