Thursday, 11 October 2012

Sources of income in the Media


Every sector of media makes some sort of profit this is done through many ways. These are the media industry's methods of income;
  • Premium telephone lines
  • Merchandise
  • Licensing
  • DVD Rental
  • CD and DVD sales
  • Franchises
  • Cinema box office
  • License fees
  • Product placement
  • Sponsorship
  • Downloads
  • Advertisements
Some examples of company's using these would be the BBC charging a license fee. This gives them a source of income other than advertising. Another example would be product placement. This is huge in the U.S however the laws of it in the UK are very tight. However rights on product placement in the UK are slowly becoming more open. 

Here is an example of product placement used recently in UK television.


Television

The television industry gets their income from a range of various places. There main source being from either advertisements or license fee's. Whether they get their income from advertisement's or license fee's depends on the channel or the production company. For example due to he fact that BBC channels do not show advertisements they need to earn money from elsewhere. The money lost through advertising is made up through the licence fee scheme.This means that every t.v owner has to pay a monthly fee for the right to watch BBC channels. Other channels will gain their money from companies which pay them to air their advertisements on the channel. Other than this the television industry will get their income from various other places such as :

  •  Premium telephone line - Many television shows will give viewers the option to participate in the show itself. This can be done through getting them to call into the T.V show. This is done on many television programmes such as the X-Factor were viewer call to vote for performers. They make money of this by making the line a premium telephone line. This means that the phone owner will be charged a premium rate for each call.
  • Merchandise - If a show becomes popular enough, then this means a brand identity could be formed. This results in the show being able to sell merchandise related to the programme to fans of it. For instance possibly t-shirts or mugs related to the show.
  • CD and DVD sales - with the majority of television shows (if they are successful  DVD'S will be sold of the series. This means that people can buy the series on DVD format and watch them at home. Also sometimes songs of the show or the soundtrack may be sold on CD.
  • Product placement - As I explained earlier in the post companies will pay television shows to host there products within the show.
  • Sponsorship - Many companies may pay to sponsor a T.V show. This helps the company advertise their brand by endorsing a popular programme.
Publishing

The publishing industry relies heavily on advertising and the endorsement of products or services. Many newspapers or magazines may include advertisements for particular products . The publishing company will gain money from the company just for the right to advertise the clients company in their publication. Also they are often paid to commission journalists or writers to publish articles about a specific product, brand or company. The writer if the article will endorse the product and speak fondly of it. The rest of the publishing industries income will come from the selling of the publications themselves.

Interactive media

The interactive media industry's main source of income is downloads. This is due to the fact it interactive media products are almost always digital. Therefore, the products will be sold for a set price so the consumer can download them to a device. A prime example of this would be Apples 'App store.' This is were Apple device owners will pay to download user created applications. Royalties will be given to the creator and the company will keep most of the profits. Advertising is also commonly used in this industry as a means of income. This is an especially effective route to take if the application is free to download. Due to the fact that, they can make up from the money they would be making of sales through advertising. Less commonly, some interactive media products can earn money from merchandise. This is seen a lot in interactive games, for instance the Apple application 'Angry Birds.'

Radio

The radio industry acquires their income from a range of different sources. One source would be (like most sectors) advertising. They will be paid to air a companies advertisement in-between their show. Another source which is popular with radio is premium telephone lines. They will get people to call in as part of their show and the phone line may charge a premium rate. They will encourage people to call in due to competitions ad prizes. Downloads in another possible source. For example a station may sell their pod casts on iTunes and earn royalties for selling the product.

Film

Similar to t.v the film industry has money to be earned through product placement. This is apparent in many films in which characters may use a specific companies product. The company will pay the film company for advertising their brand name. As with many other sectors films can earn money from merchandise DVDs and CDs related to the production. They will also earn money from the box office by selling there films to cinemas. The cinemas will get a percentage of this revenue for hosting there film in there building.

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