National Self-Sufficiency in Broadcast Television Programming: Examining the Airtime Shares of Homemade versus U.S.-Made Programs

Abstract

Building on economic and cultural theories about transnational media flow, this study investigates individual countries' self-sufficiency in broadcast television programming. It traces and predicts the airtime shares of domestic and American programs, using longitudinal data taken at decade-long intervals during 1962–2001 for 20 countries or territories worldwide. Regression analysis reveals that the airtime share of homemade programs is an increasing function of the size and affluence of that country's domestic audience. That of American shows is, in contrast, negatively related to not only the same economic descriptors, but also the cultural distance of that country from the U.S.

Notes

Note. *p < .05.

**p < .01.

***p < .001.

Note. *p < .05.

**p < .01.

***p < .001.

Note. *p < .05.

**p < .01.

***p < .001.

¹They are Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, China, Columbia, France, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and Venezuela.

² Home/UsforAD _cy = HomeShareforAD _cy /USShareforAD _cy

Home/UsforPT cy = HomeShareforPT cy /USShareforPT cy