Influence Of Programme Department On Operations Of Broadcast Media

1.1 Background to the Study

The hallmark of a television station is the ability to have programs that will endear it to its viewers; this is because good programs are what distinguishes one station from another, whenever a station is mentioned, what engages the mind is ‘programs’ because what the large chunk of viewers understand is that a television station is established to beam out good programmes, news inclusive. Where such programmes are coming from is immaterial (Ogunsola and Olayinka, 2021).

According to Ogunsola and Olayinka (2021), program department is the unit of the station that oversees the content creation for the station. Program department takes control over various programmes that feature on the station, be it in-house programme, commercial programme or syndicated ones, either on live mode or recorded format.

Zeepedia (n.d) write that television program (US), television programme (UK) or simply television show is a segment of programming in television broadcasting. It may be a one-off broadcast or, more usually, part of aperiodically returning television series.

It should be noted that programming department, in conjunction with the production and news departments, acquires and schedules programs that the audience consumes, which in turn allows the sales department to create revenue, which in turn allows the general administration department to facilitate station operations (Encyclopedia, 2019). The programming department is responsible for filling the entire broadcast day with programming and is therefore saddled with arguably the most challenging job in television.

According to Encyclopedia (2019), programming is second only to general administration in terms of operating expenses. The department, if its station is affiliated with a network, needs almost 25 percent of the total budget of the station to function. However, an independent station may give as much as half of its total operating budget to the acquisition of programs.

Encyclopedia (2019) equally noted that program department may consist of a program director, a videotape librarian, a ratings researcher, an acquisitions staff, a continuity standards staff, and on-camera personalities for use in locally originated programs. The program director, helped by the acquisitions personnel, may obtain the majority of the programming of a station from syndicators and other program suppliers. If a station is affiliated with a major television network, then programming will have the luxury of choosing how much programming it will schedule from the network. In a larger market, viewership research may be conducted to help the program director select a programming plan that will attract a substantial audience.

Community feedback also aids in planning decisions. However, all decisions concerning program acquisition are ultimately controlled by the amount of revenue gained from sales and the resulting budget allotted the programming division. Another responsibility of programming besides program acquisition is program creation. Many stations produce public-affairs programming in order to meet their public-interest obligations. The programming department is usually given the job of preparing and producing these programs.

According to Zeepedia (n.d) noted that there are varieties of programs which includes but not limited to Animated series, Awards shows, Celebrity Shows, Children’s television shows, Comedies, Comedies without laugh tracks, Cooking shows, Comedy-drama television series, Fantasy programs, Game shows, News programs, Reality programs, Satirical news programs, Science fiction sitcoms, Sketch comedy shows, Soap operas, Talk shows and Musical shows. It is against this background that the study investigated the impact of program department on operations of Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC).

1.2 Statement of the Problem 

One of the most important departments in every broadcast media is program department because it generates and fill the airtime with contents except news and current affairs programs. Thus, the success of every broadcast media station lies in the passionate power of program department.

It is against this backdrop that the study investigated the impact of program department on operations of Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC).