America 1982-Chapter 272 - 8: We Understand Humanistic Care Better

BT Television’s staff count wasn’t large; even including the janitors, it had just over forty employees. This was the case with Tommy adopting a serious demeanor to start a television station. If he had modeled it after the cartoon TV station owned by an NBA star next door, the staff needed probably would have been four to eight people.

The reason for needing so few employees primarily stemmed from the television industry in America being taught a lesson by the film industry, or rather, the giants controlling both the TV and movie industries kept all the profitable businesses firmly in hand.

The United States television industry has a series of unique Television Program Constraint Acts. This Act is the result of Hollywood’s major film studios spending a lot of money to hire several lobbying firms to work on the United States Congress, which took years to finally get passed.

Perhaps the most bizarre stipulation in the Television Program Constraint Act is the prohibition on television networks or stations independently producing non-news and non-talk show programs.

That is to say, apart from broadcasting news and talk shows, if BT Television wants to produce a reality show or shoot an American drama series, it strictly could not do so under the name of BT Television.

Instead, it needed to register a separate company, BT Film Production Company—even if it were just a shell company—to hold the program in the name of that company. Then, if BT Television wanted to air the reality show, it would have to purchase the television rights to the program from BT Film Production Company in the name of procurement.

Perhaps it might seem confusing as to why Hollywood Movie Companies would spend tens of millions of dollars and several years lobbying the United States Congress just to pass a law that, on the surface, seems to be nothing more than a way of shifting money from one hand to the other, apparently harming themselves more than anyone.

However, upon the promulgation of this Act, media professionals in America unanimously believed that the film industry had defeated the TV industry and successfully dismembered it.

This Act meant that hundreds of television stations in America, if they wanted to produce their own programs, must register hundreds of program production companies. First of all, the film industry had split the television industry into two groups: a group of buyers called the television stations or networks, and another group known as the program production sellers.

Secondly, not all television stations would register their own program production companies; they preferred to directly purchase from other production companies. The Hollywood studios had already established their television production departments in anticipation of the Act and were welcoming television stations and networks to collaborate with them.

You might think all TV stations would simply shuffle funds from one hand to the other, but in reality, only the financially strong Big Three networks did so. Most other stations became long-term clients of the television program production departments of those Hollywood film companies.

The reason is simple: the programs produced by film companies were of a higher standard than those from small companies registered by the TV stations themselves, and the modes of cooperation were very diverse. If a TV station had plenty of cash, they could indeed finish procurement with a one-time payment, but if funds were tight, the film companies would inspect the TV station’s prospects and might opt for a share of future advertising revenues, videotape sales, and so forth. In short, whether the TV stations as buyers had money or not, film companies always had a way to suit their needs and guarantee a partnership.

This Act essentially forced the television industry to open its doors wide for the film industry to rush in, taking the jobs of TV industry personnel and their money.

Thus, the exciting reality shows and popular American drama series that audiences see on the market today are almost always backed by film companies. Originally seen by the TV industry as hostile outsiders who should be united against, these interlopers have now become sought-after partners. Several major television networks are vying to collaborate with them to develop high-quality programs, hoping to leverage their strength to capture more viewers.

It’s both ironic and harsh that from the moment that Act was enacted, all the television stations and networks had already lost, while the movie moguls counted their money and laughed heartily.

The film industry’s Old Money taught the television industry’s New Money a costly lesson.

Some TV stations might think it’s no big deal. "We have plenty of good ideas," they say. "We can build our own team, control costs, and create audience-attracting programs without relying on those big companies."

Unfortunately, in reality, only talk shows that can operate within small studios have the chance to emerge without depending on those big companies. This is also why many independent TV stations’ flagship programs are talk shows.

Because as soon as your program requires a slightly bigger studio, a few more actors, somewhat unique settings, or outdoor activities, you’ll find it impossible to avoid the clutches of those big companies.

Take a simple example: you want to shoot an outdoor reality show on a location with breathtaking scenery. When your TV station’s producer tries to rent the location, you learn that it’s either owned by Warner Bros. or Columbia Pictures—or some other sufficiently large company with priority usage rights. If you want to rent it, you have to contact them first to see if they are willing to lend it to you.

The film industry, with decades longer history than the television industry, has much more experience in how to restrict and suppress others. In the end, you either let them have a chance to make money off you, or you won’t be able to find a suitable location near your TV station without incurring substantial costs.