Programming for citizens, selling to consumers: the eternal conflict (common session A+B)
09.30-12.30
Ideally programming should always be independent from financial influence. But in the real world, if a local broadcaster depends on advertising revenue, it needs an attractive audience to “sell” to potential advertisers. The relationship between programme people and advertising people is often difficult because it is based on several fundamental paradoxes. TV channels ask their sales department or sales house to earn a maximum amount of money by granting the least amount of visibility; for their part, advertisers want a maximum amount of visibility at the lowest possible cost. Sales houses (or sales departments) constantly find themselves in the middle of this contradictory logic. How can these two worlds find common ground without sacrificing the mandate of the channel? What information do they need to exchange? What compromises do they have to reach in order to optimise advertising revenues and viewer satisfaction?
Fran CASSIDY (GB) -- Carlton Media
Programming "foreign" productions on local television (common session A+B)
14.30-16.00
Is there a place for productions from other regions in local TV? Is it within the mandate of a local television station to offer a "window to the world"? If so, how is this content to be presented to make it relevant for a local public? Can a culturally diverse programming help us reach members of our own community? What kind of "framework" or introductory programme can we produce to offer a bridge between other cultures and communities and our own? How can a local television afford buying this content? What are the new partnerships to be explored in this area?
Iso CAMARTIN (CH) -- SF DRS