Branding Television

Branding Television examines why and how the UK and US television industries have turned towards branding as a strategy in response to the rise of satellite, cable and digital television, and new media, such as the internet and mobile phone.

This is the first book to offer a sustained critical analysis of this new cultural development. Branding Television examines the industrial, regulatory and technological changes since the 1980s in the UK and the USA that have led to the adoption of branding as broadcasters have attempted to manage the behaviour of viewers and the values associated with their channels, services and programmes in a world of increased choice and interactivity. Wide-ranging case studies drawn from commercial, public service, network and cable/satellite television (from NBC and HBO to MTV, and from BBC and Channel 4 to UKTV and Sky) analyse the role of marketing and design in branding channels and corporations, and the development of programmes as brands.

Exploring both successful and controversial uses of branding, this book asks what problems there are in creating television brands and whether branding supports or undermines commercial and public service broadcasting.

Branding Television extends and complicates our understanding of the changes to television over the past 30 years and of the role of branding in contemporary Western culture. It will be of particular interest to students and researchers in television studies, but also in creative industries and media and cultural studies more generally.

Catherine Johnson lectures in Film and Television Studies at the University of Nottingham. Her research examines the Western television industries and the impact of industrial shifts on the cultural artefacts they produce. She is the author of Telefantasy (2005) and co-editor of ITV Cultures (2005).