01-04-2023, 08:10 AM
I'd go so far as to say the big three American networks have deeper pockets than ITV and the BBC so they can afford to spend more on flashy promotions. Of course they started in radio and built their TV networks by bring their radio stars over to the new visual medium, and now they have much more viewers, a larger market and generally charge more in the first plac.
Various rules over the years will have limited broadcasters over here the ability to make flashy promotions, a key one being restrictions in the number of hours you could actually broadcast in the first place (that and the fact ATV was losing so much money in its ITV London days to the point where it ultimately ran out of the stuff and Lew Grade had to flog anything and everything he owned to keep it going). I believe American networks were pretty much 24hrs from the 1950s onwards, but as I say they had deeper pockets. UK networks were restricted hours wise until somewhere around 1972, and 24hr wasn't a thing until the 1980s.
It is however a different culture over here compared to America TV wise. Its why we pretty much sucked at Product Placement for years compared to the US.
Various rules over the years will have limited broadcasters over here the ability to make flashy promotions, a key one being restrictions in the number of hours you could actually broadcast in the first place (that and the fact ATV was losing so much money in its ITV London days to the point where it ultimately ran out of the stuff and Lew Grade had to flog anything and everything he owned to keep it going). I believe American networks were pretty much 24hrs from the 1950s onwards, but as I say they had deeper pockets. UK networks were restricted hours wise until somewhere around 1972, and 24hr wasn't a thing until the 1980s.
It is however a different culture over here compared to America TV wise. Its why we pretty much sucked at Product Placement for years compared to the US.