User:Pamy1977/Tv and film where does the money come from

[This page is an assignment submitted for Coleg Ceredigion, Aberystwyth: National Diploma in Media Production, Autumn 2010]

The television and film industries are financed in several different ways, which vary from being funded completely by public bodies (namely, the government) or private enterprises (for instance, major studios or TV networks).

1. Television annoverates these funding options: - Licence fees; - Merchandise/advertising for products, services and TV programs (for instance, DVDs, mugs, t-shirts, soundtracks, ringtones, rucksacks, magazines/books, game boxes [for instance, quizzes]); - Private investors and businesses; - Public/State funds; - Subscriptions (Sky Box - Sports, Films, History channels, Crime, Music, Lifestyle-; other packages such as Virgin Media, BT or ESPN); - Pay per View (for sporting events, films, reality shows to be watched on Sky Box Office, BT Vision, ESPN, Virgin); - Sponsoring (when a product/service is connected with a specific program or show); - Advertising (promotion of a product/service not directly related to a show).

1.1 Examples of TV companies and their funding options:

- the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), funded by a set licence fee; - Channel 5 and Channel 4(private UK network), funded by private advertising, specifically "partnerships, joint ventures or mergers", with Channel 5 identified as a provider of "services as commercial networks with a limited public service commitment". - HBO (Home Box Office), a premium cable television network funded by merchandising, cable and satellite subscriptions.

2. Whether films are produced at a:

- Low budget/no budget; - Medium Budget; - High budget.

They can be funded in this way:

- National lottery; - Private investors (commercial enterprises, single investors, etc.); - Collaborations with TV companies; - Development funds (UK Film Council, or other public organizations, BARB, BFI, Skillset); - Coproductions (private or public, from one or more countries); - European Community funds; - Major studios and distributors.

For instance, the film Slumdog Millionaire (2008, by Danny Boyle) - which cost approximately £15 million but earned almost £200 million in takings - was backed by Fox Searchlight and also received funding form the EU commissioning (EU Media Program) for about E.830,000. On the contrary, Avatar (2009, by James Cameron) cost about $237 million but eventually earned approximately $1,858,000 billion at the box office: it was funded through marketing and promotion (Imax, Panasonic), New Zealand Tax Credits and received the backing of 20th Century Fox. On a different note, the British film This is England (2006, by Shane Meadows) cost about $1,5 million to make but earned significantly more: it was funded by Big Arty Productions, Film 4, UK Film Council, EM Media and Screen Yorkshire.

As with television programs, films also collect their 'recovering costs' from the sales of DVDs, gadgets and merchandise, pay-per-view, music scores (CDs, MP3 tracks, ringtones etc.), PC/interactive games, cinema tickets, copyright and licensing, magazines and books (see, for instance, James Cameron's Avatar: An Activist Survival Guide [2009]), as well as product placement and advertising.