From scheduling to trans-programming

Abstract

Based on findings from a production study, this article explores and discusses the impact of streaming on television scheduling. Especially within public service television companies, scheduling for traditional linear television is currently transforming into what this article terms trans-programming. This development makes the work of the schedulers more important as well as more difficult than ever. The article argues that this development is a result of the integration of linear channels and non-linear services within the companies’ portfolios, which is leading to a merger between linear and non-linear promotion and distribution strategies for the content. A trans-programme is being produced, and this is becoming the key competitive tool in the current transformation of the television industry. The focus on the trans-programme involve organisational changes, but in train with this it actualises new and familiar issues and dilemmas in the production culture involving commissioning. These issues call for further research.

Television documentaries as spearheads in public service television: Comparing scheduling practices on the linear channels and video-on-demand services of Danish TV 2 and DR

“…Reaching an audience of some scale in the way the genre is produced and scheduled is therefore also politically important for DR and TV 2. As mentioned above, Bruun's (2021) analysis of the transformation of scheduling at TV 2 shows that Danish-language documentaries are helpful in the production of synergy between the two modes of watching television. Popularity and institutional branding needs seem to merge in this particular case.…”

“…However, the Norwegian strategy is not mirrored in the Danish context. In Bruun's production study of how the interplay of linear channels and in-house VoD services impacts the scheduling practices at Danish PS company TV 2 (Bruun, 2021(Bruun, , 2020, the new practices are aimed at securing a mainstream audience for the VoD services, for economic as well as cultural-political reasons. According to Bruun's (2021) findings, at Danish TV 2, this transformation has an impact on what kind of content is being produced to secure the continued competitive role of the schedule for linear service as well as the VoD services.…”

“…In Bruun's production study of how the interplay of linear channels and in-house VoD services impacts the scheduling practices at Danish PS company TV 2 (Bruun, 2021(Bruun, , 2020, the new practices are aimed at securing a mainstream audience for the VoD services, for economic as well as cultural-political reasons. According to Bruun's (2021) findings, at Danish TV 2, this transformation has an impact on what kind of content is being produced to secure the continued competitive role of the schedule for linear service as well as the VoD services. This new task supports the development of new scheduling practices and means that the schedulers are now focusing increasingly on demanding specific genres and new kinds of formats to support synergies of the linear channels and VoD services.…”

“…According to Bruun's findings, the kind of content that does well on both linear channels VoD services is fairly stable. The schedulers have learned that Danish-language fiction, Danish-language reality series, and Danish-language documentaries are of utmost importance for securing high ratings, and for the ability to retain the VoD subscribers at the same time, because the viewers tend to switch between linear and on-demand viewing of the same programmes (Bruun, 2021). This kind of knowledge about the synergy between the two modes of watching television is now informing scheduling practices.…”

“…This kind of knowledge about the synergy between the two modes of watching television is now informing scheduling practices. The lesson learned at TV 2 is that even if the professional tasks and skillsets acquired are changing, scheduling is still extremely important in the television industry (Bruun, 2021).…”