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From Local Utility to Global Commodity

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Platform Power and Policy in Transforming Television Markets

Part of the book series: Palgrave Global Media Policy and Business ((GMPB))

Abstract

This chapter provides an historical overview of television distribution and its shift from a local utility to a global commodity. It describes the role of cable in the early days, which extended the reach of over-the-air television and was considered to serve the public interest. It shows how cable developed into pay-television systems that directly competed with free-to-air channels. It depicts how the cable industry became gradually privatised and liberalised, with local monopolies merging into national operators and being sold to private investors. It exemplifies how distribution has lost its local character and turned into a business that is increasingly reigned by international corporations active in large parts of the world. Geographical expansion has further driven industry consolidation, resulting in the formation of a handful pan-European distribution groups. Liberty Global is presented as a case of a global cable conglomerate expanding into activities along the audiovisual value chain.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. imec-mict, Department of Communication Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Tom Evens

  2. imec-SMIT, Department of Communication Sciences, Free University of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium

    Karen Donders

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  1. Tom Evens
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  2. Karen Donders
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Correspondence to Tom Evens .

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Evens, T., Donders, K. (2018). From Local Utility to Global Commodity. In: Platform Power and Policy in Transforming Television Markets. Palgrave Global Media Policy and Business. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74246-5_2

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