UNIT 8- Task 01B

In this topic, I will be discussing two independent Companies, from Film and TV. I will learn about their structure and funding sources. The two companies I have chosen are Marvel Studios, and HBO [Home Box Office.]

Marvel Studios

“About Marvel Studios”http://marvel.com/corporate/about“Marvel-Overview”http://marvel.disneycareers.com/en/about-marvel/overview/“Marvel Studios”http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Marvel_Studios

Marvel Studios is the independent creator of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. [MCU] Based from the Marvel comics. Together, they create Marvel Entertainment, LLC, Marvel Entertainment is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies.

Originally known as Marvel Films, Marvel Studios, LLC is an American television and film-picture studio. Based in Manhattan Beach, California. Marvel Studios is a subsidiary company- a smaller company entrusted on providing television and motion picture Media entertainment to the fan base of Marvel. But, as the end of the “Spider-Man” trilogy ended, the company lost a lot of viewing figures, so Marvel took a risk, thus creating Marvel Studios. Marvel Studios is apart of Marvel

Entertainment, wholly owned by The Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios have released six independent produced films, all with a shared timeline, cast and characters, making up the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Walt Disney Company purchased Marvel Entertainment on the 31st of December, 2009. This continued on the 18th of October, 2010 when Disney bought the distribution rights for The Avengers and Iron Man 3 from Paramount Pictures. Upon the release of The Amazing Spider-Man, Disney and Sony negotiated a two-way agreement. Disney would receive full merchandising ancillary rights to future Spider-Man in exchange for Sony purchasing out Marvel’s film participation rights. The struggle to who has what rights over which characters still remains a prominent struggle for both Marvel Studios and Disney. Rights over characters has lasted though out Marvel Studio’s history. Battles with companies like Paramount and Sony and other big companies are the main influence on the company to what they do and what part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe can be unlocked. Marvel did a number of things to keep viewers interest flowing so they would pay to watch the next film. They did something no other company did-or as done since, they left “Sneak Peaks” of their next film, often having one key scene with the main characters that left the Audience hungry for more. Now, after years of producing films, it is expected that Marvel puts a teaser at the end of each Marvel produced film.

Marvel achieves their funding in many ways. Mostly, it is pay per view- as their main source of funding is though their films. However, recently Marvel has issued it’s own Spin off series-relating to the recent Avenger’s film, “Marvels: Agent’s of S.H.I.E.L.D” has only made one series, yet it is raking in even more money for Marvel Entertainment, as they even have their own Television company: Marvel Television, which was devised to help produce the TV series. Apart from the TV Series, Marvel also finances them selves though advertising to the younger market; Merchandise, such

as lunchboxes, masks, costumes and even Toothbrushes help Marvel become who they are today. Not only that, but Marvel has issued a number of games linking to the Marvel Cinematic Universe; LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, and Marvel Heroes on Disney’s Infinity series has also appeared. This links and appeals to the younger audiences of Marvel. Which is what most Merchandise aims at.

The cultural phenomenon of Media being highly accessible to the public has created a phenomenon for the box set. And recently, online streams. Website companies like Netflix and Amazon Prime thrive off the fact that their viewers pay to watch recent film releases and old time favourites. Television series; like The Simpsons and Supernatural has stated that people tend to wait for the Box sets to be released, rather than wait for a new episode each week. This shows how impatient we are as a society, that we thrive of having Media given straight to us via download, and, compared to previous generations, we do not have to wait. This creates an even more competitive place for companies such as Marvel- even more so as they leave their viewers with hints of possible movies to come. However, this is not a real exact problem for Marvel, as most of their Entertainment is issued in the cinema, even though some may decide to wait for the DVD release, most Marvel fanatics see the movies in Cinema, as marvel tend to spread out their movies over the years, making viewers eager to see the next instalment. But as for advertisement, Marvel relies heavily on the fan base, from both the comics and film releases to most of the advertising for them. Fan made trailers, concept art, fan fictions, and latest gossip from social media sites; like Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook. Having such a heavy fan base means that there is a large support for having more and more characters introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which essentially always ensures that there is an interest for Super-heroes.

HBO

https://www.homeboxoffice.com/cmp/about_hbo.shtml

“About HBO” Found on the 27th of December, 2014http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HBO“HBO”Found on the 27th of December, 2014

http://www.sky.com/tv/channel/skyatlantic/article/hbo“Sky and HBO Confirm New Deal” Found on the 27th of December, 2014

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=hbo's+top+shows“HBO’s top shows”

Found on the 27th of December, 2014

HBO, (Home Box Office) is a prime American broadcaster that broadcasts nationwide. They are a division of Time warner Entertainment Company (TWE) , L.P. HBO offers more than ninety theatrical motion pictures, that range from top box office hits- such as Game of Thrones, to a broad spectrum of popular films. Also, HBO offers exclusive programming. This includes original movies, series, comedy, documentaries and family shows, as well as world-class sporting events.

HBO achieves their funding by Subscriber fee’s. Which is available mostly on basic and premium forms in the United States. However, though HBO may not be a broadcaster option in the UK- HBO programmes such as Game of Thrones, is broadcasted into the UK via Sky Atlantic- a key partnership, which helps bring more money to the independent broadcaster, as Sky is also a Subscription-paid service. HBO, like every other broadcaster advertises by, obviously, advertisements; these are shown everywhere. From YouTube adds, to full television adds. However, HBO has yet to advertise fully in the UK. Most people seem to know about the channel via their hit TV shows that have been a major success worldwide. Shows such as Game of Thrones, True Blood and The Sopranos, allow HBO to be broadcast worldwide to a wide range of different audiences, from Teens to Adults. However, word of mouth and social networking has allowed HBO to grow in size, more than the advertisements would have done-as the culture, as a society, we tend to watch TV shows recommended via our friends, as they share similar interests.

As for product placement, HBO has a strict policy against it, as they do not accept advertising, and product placement is a form of advertisement for other brands. As there is no advertisements for other TV shows during programmes broadcasted by HBO.

However, there are some issues that revolve around HBO, as of the digital divide. Different generations, will consume HBO’s media differently. Like I have previously discussed, HBO obtains their advertising mostly by word of mouth, via social networks, like Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. Because of this, they mostly aim, naturally to teenagers and young adults-as they are the main generation that consume their type of media. But because of this online culture, this leads to series; like Game of Thrones being watched illegally online. And because of their subscription-based fee’s being so high, they almost force people into finding other ways of watching their favourite shows without paying the heavy price. This also links to the idea of “binge watching” like I have also previously discussed. As modern life becomes more hectic and fast to keep up with, more and more people-especially young adults, will find themselves waiting for the box set to be realised, so that they can watch it at a convenient time for them. But also, it allows them to keep on top of the series, as some do find that having one episode a week, or even two weeks, leaves you feeling like you can’t remember what has happened in the previous episode, and so they will be forced to re-watch to keep up with the series.

Conclusion

I have found out some interesting facts about both HBO and Marvel Studios.

For Marvel, I have learnt about their history, and the struggle they have had in the past about claiming rights over characters, and battles with over broadcasters in the film business.

However, for HBO, I have learnt more about the struggle of advertisements via product placement. And how they more feature on the Television side, rather than that of the Film. However the information available to me for HBO was very limited, and so it was disappointing that I could not write as much as I could have potentially done.

However, I have learnt more about consumer culture with both independent programmes. I have found out how more and more people seem to wait for the box set to come out, rather than actively watch on the day that the TV programme is broadcasted, but also, it has shown me a lot about how the elderly, and older generations are not so much as consumed by these programmes. As the main source of finance and advertisement comes from Social media and technology, which is aimed at the younger generation. But this also shows the greed of our generation. As technology has become more advanced, we want more and more from our media. However, this also highlights a money issue, as the poor seem to also be missing out on box sets and exclusive programmes, as they could not afford to keep up a subscription based channel, and so they turn

to watching their favourite shows illegally, which leads to bad news for companies, like HBO-as they are a subscription based service.