Attended a health education seminar yesterday afternoon where the keynote speaker was Australian health promoter Dr Rob Moodie.
He mentioned how a French television executive once outlined that the role of his channel was to empty peoples’ brains with crap programming so Coca Cola could better advertise its junk drinks.
Parliamentary Library has confirmed the quote:
In 2004 Patrick Le Lay, CEO of TF1 of his channel’s aims:
“There are many ways to speak about TV, but in a business perspective, let’s be realistic: at the basis, TF1’s job is helping Coca-Cola, for example, to sell its product. What we sell to Coca-Cola is available human brain time. Nothing is more difficult than obtaining this availability. This is where permanent change is located. We must always look out for popular programs, follow trends, surf on tendencies, in a context in which information is speeding up, getting manifold and trivialized.”
A quick look at the TF1 website shows it carries the sorts of programming that TVNZ runs – House, The Mentalist, Lost, Farm Celebrities! Did not see Hung on the programme schedule but there looked like a French equivalent.
TF1 was state-owned but was privatised in 1987 and now commands the largest European audience. So no need to worry about anything more than putting on trivia to suit advertisers and ramp up profits for its owners. Sound familiar?
maybe I’m stupid but I don’t know what point you’re making Brendon.
Nothin’ like comin’ home, crackin’ open a coldie and watchin’ a bit of Coro. Those ads have really wrecked me, I tell you.
Hopefully though, the way technology’s going ads must surely be getting through to less people. That mysky caper looks pretty damn good. My mate’s got it and he just cuts all the ads out – awesome. Feels like you’re really sticking it to the man. I’ve noticed my mate’s brains getting bigger too. I think I need mysky.
Mel, you’re not stupid ‘cos I’m lost as well.
I agree Mel. Maybe it’s that television is a business and advertisers are there customers. Who didn’t know that!
Sounds very familar Brendon. But I would actually argue that the business model you describe is broken.
Our house don’t have mysky, but we do have a dvd player and are part of a network of friends who swop series between us. We haven’t seriously watched broadcast telly for two years now. And if we do, the ads drive us up the wall.
As Anton pointed out, it is now possible to watch TV programmes when you want to, not when they are broadcasted, and without ads. I wonder if the main channels have done any research into how many viewers the media has lost over the last ten years. Not that they will ever make that public.
It’s bloody Coro, Gooner. They should bring it out in book form.
The point being made, as in past posts and releases, is that TVNZ is now commanded by the current government to only focus on making profits/paying dividends. Until now, there’s at least been some requirement to also deliver programming that maximised NZ content, reflected our identity and cultures, made some quality drama, had strong, independent news and current affairs.
We are now at the point where, for example, TVNZ’s head of news and current affairs shrugs shoulders at Paul Henry’s now acknowledged offensive comments about Susan Boyle because he pulls ratings. He has no choice but to do so when explicitly only ratings and returns matter. Sorry but I used to think the media also had other, rather more lofty values like serving the public interest, balance, taste, decency, accountability, serving the community…
Sure, you can avoid the ads or free-to-air television altogether but it is still where most New Zealanders go for programs and news – and Coke adverts.
brendon maybe I’m mistaken, but I had the impression that there were a lot of ads on TV before this National government as well. I seem to remember the last government pulled big dividends out of TVNZ too.
I’m not sure what Paul Henry has to do with your comparison with a privatised state broadcaster in France Brendon. Speaking of coke, brendon, have you been drinking a lot of it this morning?
Maybe Labour should campaign on establishing an equivalent of BBC One? Probably not populist enough though, eh?
It would be great to have an advert free public service TV broadcaster such as the BBC in the UK.
For that privelege every one of the tens of millions of UK households that has a colour TV has to pay GBP142.50 per year (approx $325). (If you only have a black and white set you get away with paying only GBP48.)
There are approx 15 times as many people in the UK as in NZ. How much per annum would we be expected to pay per head to achieve a service even half as good as that provided by the Beeb?
‘I used to think the media also had other, rather more lofty values like serving the public interest, balance, taste, decency, accountability, serving the community…’
I used to think that government and opposition did too…how far we have fallen.
Trying to think of someone in politics I could describe as a statesman … no, they seem to resign and move out of the playground.
Here, let me help clarify things for you.
http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/5jcl/5JCL59.htm
For God’s sake, Brendon, have you not been listening to your leader over the past year? People like the ‘crap’ TVNZ runs, just look at the ratings, and people like coca-cola. Please, drop the ‘we know best’ silliness. Thankfully, a Labour government passed a law that stops politicans telling TV stations what programs to broadcast. Check out the Discovery channel, get some spring water in, and leave the rest of us alone.
Thanks Draco… enjoyed that immensely
Mel, yes, Labour took TVNZ dividends but we also introduced a charter which at least was an attempt to require something more from our state broadcaster than the biggest possible profit-stream. This was a long way short of funding a BBC model. And Jennifer, nobody is talking about directing TVNZ about what programmes to run. If you only want an increasing diet of American-dominated programming fine, but personally I’m concerned to see NZ drama and doco programming hours drop in half in the last reported financial year.