response to question 2 from the lotz reading.

The biggest difference between a commercial broadcasting system and a non-commercial broadcasting system is revenue. These “upfronts” are used so that the broadcasters can sell themselves to the advertisers so that they can get their piece of the multi billion dollar advertising pie. In a non-commercial system the broadcasters do not have to sell themselves to the advertisers because the way they determine success is not based on profits but rather the effectiveness with which people’s needs are being met. In turn the culture between a commercial and non-commercial system is much different. The culture of a commercial system is driven by advertisements. A certain show will have specific advertisements targeting the believed demographic that is viewing the show. But in a non-commercial system, since it is not driven by profit the advertisers don’t have as much of a say where the commercial will go. Companies like the BBC do not need to please the advertisers for profit, but rather please the consumers for the programming they are viewing. The difference between the cultures is that a commercial system’s culture is run by advertisements, so that they can make the biggest profit. In a non-commercial system the effectiveness of the show to the consumers is most important.

I have to disagree with the fact that the way a commercial system determines success is only through profit. Although it is believed that commercial broadcasting companies main goal is profit, that profit depends on the success of the shows and if people like them or not. So I believe that profit and the effectiveness of the show to the consumer are how commercial broadcasting companies determine success. If more people watch the show then the broadcasters rating will go up and then the advertisers will have to pay more. So even though commercial systems culture are mostly run through advertisements, the consumers still enjoy a well balanced culture of their favorite shows and advertisements.