Selling television: addressing transformations in the international distribution of television content

The market for overseas trade in television programming is changing, and this demands new ways of examining complex and evolving trends in the international distribution of content. Traditionally there have been countries that made television programs and sold and marketed primarilydrama worldwide. Traditionally as well, US transnationals have dominated this market, selling to other broadcasters and marketing their own content on video and later DVD. With the fragmentation of audiences and revenues in recent years, we have seen growth in international co-production and the sale of formats. While there have been new players, particularly in formats, the US has remained the key exporter and distributor of television content on a global scale. The latest developments center on over-the-top delivery directly to television sets, as offered by major US players Apple, Netflix, Google, and Amazon. This has led to suggestions that linear TV viewing is likely to disappear in the face of multiple multimedia platforms, and that apps will replace channels. Looking beyond the US, what does this new distribution model mean for the funding and delivery of televisual content? Is there a conceptualization of the processes and theories associated with the international circulation of content that will help explain its implications for production industries