Global Television and Film: An Introduction to the Economics of the Business

M. Wayne Cunningham is a past executive director of the Saskatchewan
Arts Board and the former director of Academic and Career Programs at
East Kootenay Community College.

Written by three University of Alberta professors, this introduction to
the business side of the television and film industry discusses
background and trends, trade volumes, product distribution, export
pricing, government interventions, public policy, co-productions,
business strategies, and the new media/new markets.

A recurring theme is the uniqueness of cultural products and services
within the broader context of traditional thinking about economic
outputs. The authors pose—and answer—such questions as “Why is it
musical chairs in the Hollywood studio executive suite?”, “How do
you get ‘suits’ to work with ‘flakes’?”, and “Why can a
superstar earn $20 million for one movie?” In a chapter entitled
“The New Media and New Markets,” they address the thorny issue of
the World Wide Web and its implications for regulation and censorship.

Those interested in the cultural industries, and especially in the
business side of television and film, should find this readable and
well-documented book a worthwhile addition to their library. Tables and
charts, and nine pages of references, are included.