Theories of the Information Society, Third Edition - Cryptome

INFORMATION AND THE MARKET
relatively cheap to produce and very appealing). In such circumstances it is no
surprise to find information providers backing the proven success. Moreover, it
must be remembered that, when it comes to this arena, mass sales are essential
since each household is, in relative terms, a poor source of revenue for the information
industry. Given this, those addressing the domestic realm must aim to
supply a mass market, since it is only when individual homes are aggregated as
the ‘general public’ that they have any real market attraction. Once they are
aggregated, however, the ‘general public’ must be offered information products
which are relatively undifferentiated – hence the familiar television monitor and
the plethora of game and chat shows, soaps, movies and sport. Further, the
‘general public’ has proven itself reluctant to pay anything direct for television
programming – that has been subsidised by the advertiser and/or sponsor. Again,
though, with rare exceptions, advertisers who use television are interested in
reaching mass audiences which in turn impels the programming towards ‘more
of the same’ to ensure multimillion audiences. As such, any idea that the information
needs of households may be varied and sophisticated is lost, the major
conduit for information provision being dedicated to entertainment and lowestcommon-denominator
programmes.
Much the same story pertains to cable and satellite services. While there has
been a lot written about the prospects of television responding effectively to the
different needs of the public, with thirty and more channels offering drama for
those interested in theatre, ballet for those drawn to dance, news and current
affairs for those keen on politics, and education for those wanting to improve
themselves, the real history has shown, in the words of Bruce Springsteen, ‘57
channels and nothin’ on’. Overwhelmingly, cable television channels offer entertainment
programming: sport, soft pornography, action adventures, rock music
videos and movies predominate. The fact is that the sophisticated and specialist
channels dreamed about by the futurists in the early 1980s have come to naught,
failing because they were too expensive for other than a tiny proportion of the
population, and even these in aggregate were inadequate to fund the specialist
stations. The channels which have survived have tapped into the one rich vein,
mass entertainment, where large audiences can be attracted for modest subscriptions
or where advertising revenue can be commanded on promise of delivery
of big numbers of viewers. Can anyone seriously suggest that the information
environment has been enriched by the introduction in Europe of Rupert
Murdoch’s Sky TV?
While such instances readily demonstrate that the ‘general public’ constitutes
the ‘information poor’ which is worth supplying only when lumped together as
mass audiences, it has to be added that application of commercial tenets to cable
and satellite television can have marked effects on public service broadcasting. I
discuss this further in Chapter 7, but observe here that the commitment of cable
suppliers to seeking out mass audiences clearly has important implications for
television providers such as the BBC. Not least is that programming supplied on
the public service channels ‘free’, where it achieves audiences of several million,
quickly comes to the attention of cable suppliers who endeavour to provide
it themselves – on an ability-to-pay basis. The UK has seen this especially with
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