Intellect

Albert Moran's New Flows in Global TV is a book that has already caught the attention of many scholars for it's dazzilingly inciteful take on the structures of the global television industry, and now in her review Kay Hearn describes the book as being 'essential to understanding global TV as a transnational cultural industry... a key text for those interested in the process of globalisation and television.'

'New Flows in Global TV makes a significant contribution to understanding the dynamics of the cultural, social and economic exchanges that take place via the distribution of world television. Albert Moran charts the workings of the global trading system of television 170 Media International Australia programming and formats and highlights the significance of local adaptations.

Many of the previous studies on television have focused on reception or organisation, production and programming, and Moran’s focus on distribution illuminates the multidirectional flows of both canned and format programming through well researched case studies. The formats that make up the case studies include Survivor, Big Brother, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Ugly Betty.

Moran uses medium theory to explore the global regional and global national distribution of television programming, and argues that though there is a global trading system of TV formats, it is not all-encompassing and is subject to the need to adapt to local languages and cultures. In short, global formats must adapt to local conditions, and this study provides excellent insights into the workings of the trade and flow of global TV.

The book is divided into ten chapters that investigate the institutional arrangements associated with the circulation of global television. The book begins with an ethnographic description of the markets and trade fairs that are staged regularly throughout the year.

Chapter 3 focuses on the way in which the television market speaks to itself through its marketing material and examines the tropes used to articulate the industries own sense of purpose.

Chapter 4 looks at three of the main players in the global television industry and the way in which their personas are used to embody the industry as a whole. Chapter 5 examines the interaction between the centres and margins of production and broadcast, paying particular attention to the way in which formats are adapted to local markets. The main example is Ugly Betty and the way in which the program has been remade in different markets and the distribution of the original and its remakes.

Chapter 6 is concerned with negotiations of customising and indigenising content for local markets. Chapter 7 and 8 are centred on the protection of copyright, litigation and piracy. Chapter 9 is a case study of the Australian market as a part of the global television industry and the way in which the industry here has become a branch of a larger cross-border business.

One of the shortcomings of the book is the omission of any discussion about the increasing convergence of television and the Internet. How will the market adapt to the changes taking place as a consequence of the Internet, not just in terms of piracy but also programming on demand from multiple sources?

New Flows in Global TV is essential to understanding global TV as a transnational cultural industry and will be a key text for those interested in the process of globalisation and television.'

— Kay Hearn, Communications and
Arts, Edith Cowan University

Are you intrigued by television? Take a look at some of Albert Moran's other work on the subject.