2020 | 17 | Canned TV Going Global
The international distribution and circulation of audio-visual content is one of the most relevant in recent debates in media and television studies. This area has been the subject of much previous scholarship, particularly in terms of the relevance of TV formats, their centrality for the medium and its economy, and different practices of adaptation and “localization”. However, much less attention has been devoted to so-called “ready-made content” (or “finished content”) and its circulation among different countries and markets. “Canned” programming is typically the output of a specific national TV and media system, but it spills across borders when licensed into different territories, sometimes even globally. This special issue of VIEW focuses on the international circulation and distribution of ready-made content, in the form of scripted products.
Co-edited by Damiano Garofalo, Dom Holdaway and Massimo Scaglioni
Co-edited by Damiano Garofalo, Dom Holdaway and Massimo Scaglioni
Recent Submissions
- ArticleA Vicious Viewership: Transatlantic Television Audiences and LGBTQ IdentitiesKies, Bridget (2020)This paper uses the series VICIOUS (2013–2016), which aired on the British network ITV and the American noncommercial network PBS, as a case study in transatlantic reception for LGBTQ content. I draw on critical reception for the series, the star personae of lead actors Derek Jacobi and Ian McKellen, and studies of American perceptions of British masculinities. The varied reception for the series, understood through the networks’ economic models and cultural constructions of masculinities, reveals how notions of “quality” and “social progress” change as canned television travels to different national contexts.
- ArticleBeyond Canned Television: BBC Earth’s Global Community Building and Coproduction Adventure in the Case of Tencent VideoLin, Lisa (2020)The October of 2018 saw the creation of BBC Earth Tribe, a global online brand representing BBC Natural History Unit (NHU)’s programming on Tencent Video, one of China’s leading online streaming services. Besides providing over 650 hours of BBC documentaries to Chinese online audiences, BBC Earth Tribe delivers unprecedented access to creators from BBC NHU through interactive screen forms and offline events. This article offers a study of BBC Earth’s global strategies in its partnerships with one of the largest Chinese digital platforms, Tencent, in terms of coproduction and online community building beyond traditional canned television distribution. It examines Project Penguin, which has formalised coproduction partnerships between BBC Studios and Tencent Online Media Group (OMG) since October 2018. The distribution partnerships involve not only pre-sales of BBC Earth’s flagship documentaries but also coproduction and online community building on Tencent-run platforms, from streaming services to social media platforms. By examining BBC Earth’s distribution strategies in the Chinese media landscape from the early 2000s, the paper aims to theorise distribution strategies between BBC Studios and Tencent Video and its socio-cultural implications on television distribution in the digital, multiplatform era of convergence.
- ArticleCanned Adaptations and International Success of Turkish TVZorlu, Deniz (2020)This article examines Turkish TV series’ recent success as canned programming primarily in newly developed and developing countries in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia, and South America through close textual analysis of a particularly popular Turkish adaptation, BIZIM HIKAYE (OUR STORY) (2017–2019) in comparison with its original, SHAMELESS (2011–). I argue that Turkish series’ emphasis on nostalgic and melancholic narrative frames make them particularly appealing in these regions, as they deal with relatable circumstances of swift and traumatic changes under neoliberalism. However, female protagonists are allowed only a limited range of roles because of the reliance on nostalgia, thus, ultimately serving to re-legitimize patriarchal relations of domination.
- ArticleCanned Television Going Global - The Transnational Circulation of Ready-Made Content in TelevisionGarofalo, Damiano; Holdaway, Dom; Scaglioni, Massimo (2020)This special issue of VIEW focuses on the international circulation and distribution of ready-made content, in the form of scripted products. The following essays share an interest in considering the nuances in power dynamics (adaptation, localization, revision) that are bound to any transnational movements. They also address a fruitful variety of problems and points of view that signal the wider potential of this field of research: the transnational circulation of TV content and the currently used market strategies; common ground and cultural proximity in certain cultural groups and/or regions; the role of European countries and markets in the development of international distributed content, and their impact beyond the continent; the emerging role of OTT services in the internationalization of programming; the growing role played by curation and personalization in order to gain a competitive edge; the functions of “niche” content (such as arts programming) and or particular audience groups (such as the LGBTQIA+ community and its allies), and how these adapt to border-crossings; co-productions, but also co-distributions between different countries (such as China and the UK); processes of localizing and adapting foreign ready-made content, for example through dubbing, subtitling and voice overs; and the role of bottom-up circulation.
- ArticleFrom Nordic Noir to Belgian Bright? Shifting TV Drama Production and Distribution in Small Markets: The Case of FlandersRaats, Tim; Iordache, Catalina (2020)Shifts in audio-visual production, distribution and consumption have increased pressure on broadcasters as main financiers of domestic content in Europe. However, within the context of internationalisation and digitalisation, there are also new opportunities for the export of European content. By taking a close look at the evolution and increasing popularity of Flemish TV drama, this article identifies key explanatory factors for the export of content produced in a small media market. The analysis also discusses the extent to which the rise in exports may contribute to the increased sustainability of a small and fragile, yet vibrant audio-visual industry.
- ArticleFrom PARENTHOOD to TUTTO PUÒ SUCCEDERE: Ready-Made Elements and Cultural TranslationAntonioni, Stefania; Checcaglini, Chiara (2020)In our article we propose an analysis of the Italian TV series TUTTO PUÒ SUCCEDERE, a remake of the American TV series PARENTHOOD (NBC 2010-2015). The Italian remake precisely reproduces some PARENTHOOD’s ready-made elements: the two series share the main plot, many storylines and characters’ personalities, dealing with the ups and downs of a large family, formed of four siblings, their parents and their children. We will focus on the differences and similarities of the two shows from several perspectives, such as formal and content divergences, and their cultural, social and production implications. On the one hand, the Italian remake loses the distinguishing style and the faster pace of the original series to adjust to Rai’s more basic aesthetics; on the other hand, Rai chooses to focus on specific plots and characters that match its own purposes. Indeed, we can assume that youngest characters are the means by which Raiuno tries to connect with younger viewers, and the same function is assumed by the role played by music in the series and by the on-screen presence of young Italian musicians.
- ArticleFrom the West to the Kremlin and Back. Development Paths of Foreign Products on Russian TelevisionPrati, Elena (2020)In the last years the arrival of international OTT providers and the development of national online digital platforms have deeply changed the Russian television environment. The constant need of both national self-affirmation and new contents has led to the development of different paths of content creation. In particular, foreign ready-made contents follow three paths: adaptation, localization and ‘Russification’, depending on their genre. The ‘Russification’ process is the most peculiar one and consists in the re-creation of a foreign product with local resources. The article will give the reader some key-concept to understand some of the most popular ‘Russification’ attempts, from the very first (THE NANNY) to the most contemporary (ADAPTATION).
- ArticleMaster of Photography: Investigating Transnational Creative Exchanges in the Production of a Ready-Made Talent ShowPerrotta, Marta (2020)Italy plays a peripheral role in the global market of ready-made shows, for historical reasons that pertain both to the marginality of the Italian language and to the scarcity of cultural and economic investments in the globalization of the products. This essay focuses on the analysis of MASTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY, a docu-talent show produced since 2015 by the Italian indie B/Arts for the pan-European production hub that Sky Limited conceived to produce suitable content for the group’s national art channels (UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy). Going beyond the analyses concerning the global TV market, this research brings together the perspective of critical political economy and the studies on television’s production routines, with the aim of unveiling both the elaborate adjustments and the necessary compromises required by a cross-cultural creative process that has to meet the expectations and satisfy the tastes of different national audiences. Although the format offers the Italian prodco the opportunity to develop a new production model, with positive effects on the company’s international reputation, its potential influence on the globalization of Italian products and on the growth of ready-made show is still to be demonstrated.
- ArticleThe Curated TV Experience with ‘Value Added’: Walter Presents, Canned TV, Curation, and Post-production CultureLongden, Kenneth (2020)Canned TV has been a television industry practice almost from the start of television itself and was a way in which local/nationally-produced television programmes gained extra revenue by travelling, under licence, around the world. As well as providing extra revenue, this process also provided, often unintentionally, various opportunities for branding – both at the broadcaster level and at the national level. However, using Channel 4’s OD platform, Walter Presents, this essay will consider the state of canned TV in more contemporary terms related to global and transnational ideas where television in general, and canned TV in particular, describe a transformed media culture.
- ArticleTransnational Television Distribution and Co-Production Challenges: A KirchMedia and Sony Pictures Television Case StudyTorre, Paul (2020)This article explores the production and distribution process for television co-productions and explains the potential benefits and risks compared to other media joint ventures, like television formatting. Using a detailed case study of one television series within a larger co-production agreement between a German rights trader and a Hollywood studio, the author analyzes production and distribution challenges and complex contractual arrangements within the context of global media trade. Co-productions are situated in between, and as a transition from, acquiring rights to canned television programs, and acquiring rights to television formats. The author contends that a range of difficulties in co-productions has contributed to a turn to television formatting, where the production process is more easily controlled and customized by the partner acquiring the property, leading to more predictable and successful distribution outcomes.
- ArticleWhen German Series Go Global: Industry Discourse on the Period Drama DEUTSCHLAND and its Transnational CirculationKrauß, Florian (2020)The article takes a closer look at the current industry discourse on the transnational circulation of German series. At its centre is a case study of the 1980s period drama DEUTSCHLAND (2015-2020), based on interviews with key executives and creatives. What is it that makes such ready-made TV fiction go transnational, according to the involved practitioners and in this specific case? Textual factors in particular are examined, such as the thematic and aesthetic extension of the historical-political ‘event’ miniseries through Deutschland. Furthermore, the article explores factors in respect to production, including screenwriting and financing, in the context of the dynamic TV landscape in Germany and Europe.
- ArticleWhy so Successful? An Audience Research on the Turkish TV Series in GreecePothou, Eleni (2020)The circulation of Turkish fictional television programs among different countries worldwide has been increased crossing over to wider audiences of different cultural regions. The last years there has been a rising production of Turkish series dealing with the foundation and the history of Ottoman Empire, militaristic series as well as drama series that go parallel to the country’s trade expansion in the region, foreign policies, Neo-Ottoman ideology and recent political events . This study deals with specific set of practices found in Turkish drama series that enable them to be cross-culturally consumed with the example of their success in Greece. The audience research presented in this paper indicates cultural proximity as a succorer for this consumption.
- Article“Lip-Sync for Your Life” (Abroad). The Distribution, Adaptation and Circulation of RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE in ItalyBarra, Luca; Brembilla, Paola; Rossato, Linda; Spaziante, Lucio (2020)The article aims to critically explore and understand the ways both RuPaul’s star persona and its program, RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE, are distributed in Italy, circulate across, and impact on the Italian television industry and media culture, it also aims to show how many forms of national mediation, professional negotiation and audience reception deeply modify, and re-shape the TV product. To tackle the manifold facets of this case, four aspects will be analyzed: (trans)national distribution; adaptation and dubbing; global/local stardom; reception and cultural impact. Over a decade, the Italian edition and distribution of the show have changed, together with the national media landscape and its audiences.