Broadcasting

Radio and television have been important features of modern life. For the twentieth century, these mass media transmitted information and entertainment electronically, complemented by print media and cinema. This all continues, but the digital revolution is changing the landscape substantially. New information and entertainment pathways have expanded the choices of users, but the process also thereby creates new challenges. This chapter examines the economics of traditional broadcasting, the changes being wrought by new technology, and the changing policy settings being obliged by these changes. It discusses the distinctive features of the broadcasting sector and the implications for policy settings through law and regulation, and through public broadcasting and finance. The difference that is made to the sector when online platforms transmit information and entertainment too, and what this means for the associated policy settings, completes the analysis of the chapter.