The thematic channels: an alternative to the programming of the generalist television

Abstract

Last decades of past century, there appeared a double-sided phenomenon. On one hand a crudest competence among general TV networks and therefore, with hardly some exceptions, TVnetworks marginalized cultural programs to the borders of timetable grids. On the other they appeared TV thematic channels devoted to different elements of culture with an aim of high quality products. The broadcast of this internationalist network TV arrive everywhere thanks to digital TV platforms. These new TV networks are in a continuous process of renovation both of searching new content and image. The previous balance in TV broadcast where genres were distinguised and there was a coherent timetable have disappeared. Now the system mixes genres and formats. The economic context also is confusing with the high increase of production costs combined with a policy of downsizing. As a result, cultural approaches have been decreasing in public network TV and previous criteria for culture in TV have been left aside. Thesecultural approaches never existed in private network tv because its principal aim is to achieve the highest share by means of raw products in new formats such as talk-sohw, reality show and lateshow.