Regional variation

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A regional variation generally refers to times when a radio station or television station simultaneously broadcasts different programs, continuity or advertisements to different parts of its coverage area. This may be so as to provide programming specific to a particular region, such as local news, or may be so as to allow advertisements to be targeted to a particular area.

Contents

Some regional variations are the consequence of a federal style television network or radio network where a local station is a part of a larger broadcast network and broadcasts the network's programs some of the time and its own programming the rest of the time. The latter is therefore sometimes considered a regional variation. Examples of this include the UK's ITV network throughout much of its history, and American network affiliate stations.

Regional variation is also a common term used in British television listings publications, such as magazines and newspapers, to show the different programs broadcast in different areas of the country.

By country

Canada

Commercial television in Canada generally used a model similar to the U.S., with networks composed of first-party owned and operated (O&O) stations, and third-party affiliates. However, from the 1990s through the 2000s, including CTV Television and its gradual takeover by Baton Broadcasting, and Canwest's acquisition of Western International Communications to expand the Global Television Network and build a secondary television system, Canada's major commercial networks were largely consolidated under their respective conglomerate owners; CTV, Global, Citytv, TVA, and nearly all of their respective stations are owned by Bell Media, Corus Entertainment, Rogers Media, and Quebecor respectively.

The major English-language networks, including advertising-funded public network CBC Television, have largely used similar schedules, and consistent branding and on-air continuity, with little variation besides local newscasts and public affairs programs (for example, some CTV stations, especially in Western Canada, substitute the network's national morning show Your Morning for the local format CTV Morning Live ), and time zone variations to allow for simultaneous substitution of programming carried by U.S. broadcast stations available on subscription television in the market. There are relatively few third-party affiliate stations of Canada's commercial networks; they typically follow the schedule of an O&O in a nearby major market, but with opt-outs for local newscasts and other local programming, and may also simulcast that station's newscasts in timeslots where they do not air their own (essentially acting as a third-party semi-satellite).

Corus Entertainment's private CTV affiliates substituted CTV News programs with Global News programs, and CHEX-TV-2 additionally branded as "Global Durham" despite otherwise being a CTV affiliate. CHEX-DT/Peterborough is within the range of CTV's Toronto station CFTO-DT, and both are carried on cable locally; the stations ultimately became Global stations after the affiliation expired. [1] These stations were previously private CBC affiliates; when Hockey Night in Canada aired games regionally, CHEX aired an alternate game over CBC's Toronto station CBLT to provide an additional option for viewers where both stations were readily available.

CJON-DT has more significant variations due to having sublicensed different types of programming from Global, CTV, and Yes TV.

Philippines

Regional variation in the Philippines is more of an exception than a rule as most of a network's stations across the country simulcast the entire programming lineup seen on that network's flagship station (usually based in Metro Manila). This practice effective renders most regional stations as relay stations of their parent network's flagship station.

However, some national networks like GMA have regional variations in selected parts of the country. They feature regional news programmes (each network decides how many different regional variations it wishes to have and which provinces constitute which viewing region). Sometimes, whilst network programming is ongoing, stations may insert a ticker tape of advertisements from local/regional companies.

Prior to ABS-CBN's free-to-air stations' shut down due to the non-renewal of that network's broadcasting franchise, its regional stations used to feature regional programmes beyond news. However, most of them had been scaled back dramatically or cancelled altogether due to cost-cutting measures and preparations for the network's impending digital switchover. [2] When ABS-CBN offered regional free-to-air TV, it featured regional variations of TV Patrol, which were standalone news programmes that aired late in the afternoon immediately before the main national edition.

From 2011 to 2016, TV5 used to feature regional variations in its Cebu station DYET-TV with a local news programme entitled Aksyon Bisaya. Since then, DYET-TV has reverted to a relay station of DWET-TV.

United States

U.S. broadcast television is heavily regionalised due to the business model of its major networks, which enter into agreements with stations in each media market to carry their national programming, similarly to a franchise. As the FCC enforces a limit on the market share of broadcasters, commercial networks only have owned and operated stations (O&Os) in major or otherwise strategic markets, and rely on third-party affiliates to reach the remainder of the country. PBS—the United States' public television network—refers to affiliates as member stations instead, and does not limit them to one per market. PBS does not have owned-or-operated stations due to its structure, but certain major-market members have been considered de facto flagships of the network due to their prominent contributions to the PBS national schedule, such as WGBH-TV in Boston, WNET in New York City, and WETA-TV in Washington, DC.

Outside of network programming (which usually consists of two or three hours of prime time programmes per-night at a minimum, and may also include national news, sports and daytime programmes), the scheduling of each station's programming varies, and usually consists of local newscasts, programmes acquired from the syndication market, and brokered programming (including infomercials, more often in off-peak hours). Similarities may still exist in the scheduling of syndicated programmes between markets, based on factors such as "recommended" timeslots suggested by a programme's distributor, and broadcasters acquiring a particular programme for all of their stations in a group deal. Due to differing market dynamics, Spanish-language networks such as Telemundo and Univision, as well as specialty networks designed to be carried on digital subchannels, have a centralised network schedule, which stations may opt out from for local news or regulatory obligations not fulfilled by national programming (such as children's educational programming).

Affiliates may, from time to time, opt out of network programs to air special programming of local interest (such as coverage of sports or local celebrations); affiliation contracts typically contain restrictions on how often this can be done, and may require the displaced programming to be pre-empted to either a sister station, digital subchannel, or different timeslot (such as during the late-night hours or on a different night) as compensation. In the past, Westinghouse Broadcasting was known for pre-empting network programming on its stations for its own in-house programming; when reaching a major affiliation deal with CBS in 1994 (as part of a larger re-alignment of broadcast television triggered by Fox's acquisition of New World Communications), the company agreed to cease this practice and carry all CBS network programming in-pattern with no preemptions (Westinghouse would later acquire CBS outright). [3] [4]

In certain highly publicised cases, affiliates have opted out of network programmes (either individual episodes, or entire series) based on objections to their content by station management, [5] [6] such as due to the owner's religious values, [7] [8] [9] and political reasons. [10] [11]

A more straightforward equivalent to a regional variation in North American broadcasting is a semi-satellite—a co-owned rebroadcaster of a television station that is used to extend its range into a different portion of a market (typically if the main signal is not strong enough to reach it), or a different one entirely, but has more variation in programming than a straight rebroadcaster. Semi-satellites typically share the majority of their programming with a parent station (which may vary to account for syndication rights), but carry a different on-air brand, and local advertising specific to the region. Some semi-satellites have dedicated news bureaus, and may opt out from the parent's station's newscasts to carry either local news segments, or dedicated local newscasts in selected time slots.

Regional sports networks that cover large regions may similarly be carved into regional variants to account for differing broadcast rights to teams between markets. Examples include Fox Sports San Diego—spun from Fox Sports West in 2012 after it acquired rights to the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball, [16] and MSG Western New York—a Buffalo, New York-centric feed of the state-wide MSG Network that is co-owned by local team owner Pegula Sports and Entertainment. [17]

See also

Notes

  1. Kovach, Joelle (14 August 2018). "CHEX-TV newscasts rebranding as CHEX News on Global Peterborough". The Peterborough Examiner . Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  2. ralphierce (25 June 2018). "ABS-CBN Regional Cancels Agri Tayo Dito, MagTV Na". From the Tube. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  3. Zier, Julie A. (18 July 1994). "CBS, Group W form historic alliance" (PDF). Broadcasting and Cable. Retrieved 13 February 2013.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. Kandell, Johnathan (16 November 2012). "Obituary: Laurence A. Tisch, Investor Known for Saving CBS Inc. From Takeover, Dies at 80". The New York Times . Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  5. de Moraes, Lisa (1 April 2009). "Some Fox Stations Won't Air 'Osbournes: Reloaded'". The Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  6. "Channel 6 bumps Osbournes to 1 a.m., schedules drug special instead". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  7. "KSL PULLS 'PICKET FENCES,' CALLS THE SHOW 'OFFENSIVE'". Deseret News. 25 January 1993. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  8. Scott D. Pierce (26 January 1993). "AS CBS PROGRAMS BECOME MORE RISQUE, WILL KSL-CH. 5 REMAIN A NETWORK AFFILIATE?". Deseret News. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  9. Scott D. Pierce (6 March 1993). "NBC HAS BIG PLANS FOR THE 'CHEERS' FINALE". Deseret News. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  10. "Sinclair known for conservative political tilt". Seattle Times . Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  11. "Names of U.S. war dead read on 'Nightline'". NBC News. Associated Press. 29 April 2004. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  12. "WDAY takes over 5 p.m. news in Grand Forks". Grand Forks Herald. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  13. "WDAY Launching Statewide Morning Newscast". TVSpy.com. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  14. "WDAZ to merge broadcasts with WDAY". Grand Forks Herald. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  15. "The Charleston Split". WSAZ-TV. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  16. Jay Posner (16 February 2012). "Fox Sports San Diego to launch in March". U-T San Diego . MLIM Holdings. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  17. Pergament, Alan (21 June 2016). "Wide-ranging deal will keep Sabres – and other Pegula Sports & Entertainment content – on MSG". The Buffalo News . Retrieved 22 June 2016.

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