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Authors
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
In UK public service broadcasting, recent regulatory change has increased
the role of the private sector in television production, culminating in the
BBC’s recent introduction of ‘creative competition’ between in-house and
independent television producers. Using the concept of ‘cognitive distance’,
this paper focuses on the increasing role of the independent sector as a
source of creativity and innovation in the delivery of programming for the
BBC. The paper shows that the intended benefits of introducing new
competencies into public service broadcasting have been thwarted by, on the
one hand, a high level of cognitive proximity between in-house and external
producers and, on the other, a conflict in values between the BBC and the
independent sector, with the latter responding to a commercial imperative
that encourages creativity in profitable genres, leaving gaps in other areas of
provision. While recent regulatory reform appears to have had a limited impact on the diversity of programming, it does suggest a closer alignment of programme content with the imperatives of capital. Implications for the literature on communities of practice are noted.
Description
Keywords
Cognitive distance Governance Public sector reforms Networks
Pedagogical Context
Citation
TURNER, Simon ; LOURENÇO, Ana - Competition and Public Service broadcasting: stimulating creativity or servicing capital?. SSRN Working Paper nº 408. (2010) 39p.
Publisher
Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge