From: streeter@cs.unca.edu (Tom Streeter)
Subject: Re: BABYLON 5
Organization: University of North Carolina at Asheville
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1992 21:47:48 GMT

In article <8790.1096.uupcb@satalink.com> vince.maiocco@satalink.com (Vince Maiocco) writes:
>RR>On which channel will Babylon 5 be shown?  Will it be syndicated?
>
>It will be the flagship series for the Warner Brothers Network.  I
>believe this means it is *NOT* syndicated.
>Hope this helps.
>
>


A resounding "yes and no" on this one.  Yes, B5 will be the flagship
show for the WB network, but it *is* a syndicated show.  While there is
an FCC (and Nielsen) definition of a "network," lots of programming
providers call themselves networks, and, in the context of history,
they are quite within bounds to do so.  "Network" programming and
"Syndicated" programming are not necessarily mutually exclusive groups.
That we tend to think of them as such is more a function of technological 
practices than anything else. 

[This is going to be another one of my involved explanations, so you
might want to hit 'n' now unless you're really interested.....]

Essentially, the "network-ness" of an individual program
describes the relationship between station and
provider (the station understands that the provider will be making the
same program available to other stations in other markets), and the
degree to which the station identifies itself as a part of this group of
stations (for example, a TV station in Louisiana identifying itself as a
member of the "Houston Astro's Television Network"). While we tend to
think of network shows as being simultaneously broadcast by affiliate
stations within the same time zone, there is nothing inherent in the
relationship to require this.  Finally, being a member of a network
generally  gives the affiliate the right of first refusal for future
programs supplied by the provider (or the usage rights for supplementary
or secondary programming -- in the case of CNN and the Big Three's news
operations).  A network relationship tends to be relatively stable over
time (which is tied in with the idea of the station identifying itself
as part of the collectivity of stations).

The relationship between provider and station in the case of a
syndicated program is exactly the same as above, with the exception of
the stability of the relationship over time (and even this is more a
practical difference rather than an inherent one).  A deal that is
described as "syndication" does not imply a future relationship between
the provider and the station;  if I buy "The Wonder Year," from TPS, it
doesn't *necessarily* mean I'll get first crack at "I'll Fly Away."  TPS
*could* structure the deal that way, and they could could call them
selves a network I suppose, but they wouldn't.  It's unlikely that the
station would find much value in promoting iteslf as a "TPS Station."
(TPS, in case you're curious, is Turner Program Services:  the arm of
Turner that was formed to syndicate Turner-controlled programming, and
has since branched out into other things).

Now, if you consider that many syndicators prefer to work with stations
that they're already doing business with -- human nature being what it
is -- you come to the situation where any syndicator who wants to
increase its visibility can decide to become a 'network' merely by
getting the stations to identify themselves as affiliates, or at least
identifying the programming as being "network" programming.  In an
extreme situation -- like Fox -- you do get the simultanaity of
broadcasting associated with "traditional" networks, but both Warner and
Paramount have opted for the looser non-simultaneous model (and
Paramount hasn't really pushed for the close identification, though the
ST:YIH (your initials here) line of shows has almost done it for them.)

Just to make sure this horse is beat completely to death....

There used to be a useful distinction made between "wired" networks,
"unwired" networks, and "syndicators" that went something like this:

wired=station id'd as part of net, simultaneous programming,long term
relationship.

unwired= station id'd as part of net, non-simultaneous (or 
special, if simultaneously broadcast), short or part time relationship.

syndicated=no id as part of group, non-simultaneous broadcast, one shot
relationship.

These distinctions have blurred as satellite delivery has become more
widely available.

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.......


-- 
Tom Streeter                                |   streeter@cs.unca.edu
Dept. of Mass Communication                 |   704-251-6227
University of North Carolina at Asheville   |   Opinions expressed here are
Asheville, NC 28804                         |   mine alone.