TV Film Financing in the Era of “Connected TV”

This chapter provides an economic analysis of the television broadcasting industry at the convergence of broadcast and broadband connectivity towards “connected TV”. Connected TV is the new buzzword in home entertainment and includes a wide range of technical solutions that bring linear TV and the Internet world together. This chapter explores (a) the changing nature of the TV market in the light of digital disruption, (b) the potential impact these changes may have on financing film, and (c) the key issues affecting the role of public broadcasting who are basically mandated by law to start up and refund (independent) film productions by means of “mandatory transfers”. By offering two case studies from Germany and the UK, the challenges of public funding for supporting film production are illuminated. The study also shows that the changes produced by media convergence create a complexity of business models and organizational strategies, in which “legacy” broadcasting maintains a partial immunity to change