Television technology can be used for many purposes from surveillance to education. Overwhelmingly since its invention it has been used to broadcast programmes from a central transmitter to people watching at home (see Technology). Providing both entertainment and information in different combinations, these programmes are organised into scheduled series across a growing number of channels as television has evolved. In Europe, programme production, scheduling and transmission have typically taken place within national boundaries, and are usually seen as nationally or regionally specific. Stars and personalities, characters and stories can be known to almost everyone within one country but virtually unknown beyond their borders. Even the character of the daily schedule varies too. ‘Daytime’ television may now have become a universal category across Europe, but the nature of the programmes considered appropriate for it may differ. Reflecting these national differences, it has become the habit of the television industry to trade in formats rather than programmes. Key aspects of a programme (such as concept, characters, setting, themes and narratives) are copyrighted and sold as a format to be adapted for specific national contexts.

Yet it is possible to overplay the national specificity of television’s programming. There are significant examples of television programmes being successfully exported beyond their national context, even if they have been dubbed or subtitled and scheduled at times to fit local tastes. Furthermore, within the European context there have been specific attempts, such as The Eurovision Song Contest, to create ‘European’ television programming events (see Institutions and Events). Meanwhile the practice of co-production between companies in different countries becomes more and more common. There are a number of ways, therefore, to consider the tensions between national specificity and the transnational Europeanness of television’s programming.

Flowing through the schedule:

The schedule is the means through which programmes are organised into the flow of broadcasting. Television programmes are not experienced as isolated texts when initially transmitted, but flow seamlessly into interstitials (announcements and trailers), adverts and other programme texts. To understand television’s programmes, their place and function in the schedules needs to be constantly borne in mind. From the beginnings of television, programmes were made for different parts of the national audience and their scheduling reflected this. Agricultural information programming was placed at times that did not conflict with early morning or end-of-day routines of farmers, often at 7am. Arts programmes for city-based intellectuals were often shown late at night, assuming that the core audience had a more nocturnal lifestyle.

In general the schedule reflected and shaped shared national patterns of life (particularly meal times) as well as the variations within them (different times of getting home from work as commuting became the norm for many middle class office workers) (see Watching). Schedules were also constructed to lead viewers from one type of programming to another in what, in the earlier years of television, was a conscious attempt to mould and ‘improve’ the national culture. Programmes themselves make many assumptions about their viewers. They assume a wide degree of common knowledge which is often quite temporary in nature and has been almost forgotten since. There are frequent references to contemporary events and people, often events and people that have themselves been seen recently on television. In doing this the television schedule and its programmes seemed right up to the moment. From our perspective, it makes them seem very much tied to a historical time that has now passed. They are perhaps our best key to what it felt like to be living in a particular time.

Genres and programme categories:

Television programmes take a wide variety of forms. Genres are one of the key ways in which television programmes are classified and distinguished. Television announcers often name the genre of a programme as a ‘documentary’ or a ‘comedy’ or ‘news’ to alert its viewers to what to expect. But these expectations change over time, so that anyone working with the expectations of documentary of the 1950’s would be thoroughly perplexed by contemporary documentaries. Even the categories of genre change over time, so that a programme understood as a thriller in 1955 may be classified as a science fiction in 2005. Television also broadcasts a wide variety of genres, from factual (such as news and documentary), to comedy (such as satire and situation comedy), and from entertainment (such as variety and quiz shows) to drama. Some programme categories, such as children’s television, can include a number of different genres (such as news, drama, factual and so on). Furthermore, the boundaries between different genres are not always clear cut as television programmes are often prone to generic hybridity, drawing on two or more genres within one programme. While some genre categories are broadly transnational (such as news), others are more nationally specific, and we cannot assume that genre terms can easily be translated across different television cultures.

Aesthetics:

The look and feel of television programmes has always varied between European countries, and has also changed remarkably over time. These differences are not only due to budgetary restrictions or technological changes, though these are important factors. Different national cultures are attuned to subtle differences of pace in performances, of friendliness and formality in their presenters, even of different colour schemes in their studio sets. There have been attempts across Europe to develop a specific audio-visual language for television. This was a particular concern in its early years when television was often seen as inferior to more established media such as cinema, radio, theatre and literature. As such, the aesthetics of television also raises questions of quality and value, and these can vary across national boundaries, over time and between genres.

Exchange:

Trade in television programmes can be traced back to the 1950s and increased once recording technologies for television became more commonplace. Examining the movement of programmes, formats, stars and production personnel across national boundaries can help us to understand the ways in which national specificity and difference is negotiated and constructed. Meanwhile, looking at co-productions and programmes created for pan-European broadcast can help us to understand how broadcasters have attempted to construct a broader ‘European’ address.

 John Ellis and Cathy Johnson

Royal Holloway, University of London