The advent of the transnational TV format trading system: a global commodity chain analysis

What is it about?

This study argues that a transnational TV format trading system formed at the onset of the 21st century, which is defined as a singular transnational space structured by networks of interdependent economic agents, firms, institutions and places. Following the global value chain approach set out by Wallerstein and developed by Gereffi and colleagues, this article then examines each dimension of the global TV format commodity chain that runs through this trading system. Beginning with the governance structure, this article counter-intuitively asserts that despite the current boom in TV production, it is a buyer-driven chain with power resting firmly in the hands of those making the acquisitions: the broadcasters. Considering the chain’s geographical configuration, this study identifies three tiers of format exporters and specific trade routes along which most TV formats travel. These findings enable us to reassess the claims made by the cosmopolitanization thesis about the nature of media globalization. Contrary to this thesis, this article asserts the need to comprehend media globalization within the context of an expanding capitalist world-system, and shows that the new transnational TV format trade and its commodity chain replicate the inequalities and power structures of former trading systems.

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