Drawing from theories of the political economy of communication, this book offers readers a comprehensive data-rich assessment of contemporary sports television and its evolution. Providing an in-depth look at the ownership and regulation of sports television in the United States, William M. Kunz analyzes a range of platforms, networks, and sports, with particular focus on the way ownership has become concentrated in five conglomerates: AT&T, CBS, Comcast, Disney and Fox. The end result of years of media consolidation is that broadcast networks are now married to cable and streaming services under a single conglomerate, which has implications for the cost of contracts and the negotiation of distribution deals. Examining multiple platforms, networks and sports in an all-inclusive manner, this volume documents the evolution and current state of affairs of sports television. With historic and current data on rights fees for sports television leagues and events as well as carriage fees and subscription levels for sports-related cable and satellite services, this comparative study offers critical information for students and scholars conducting research on sports television.

This concise and accessible critical introduction examines the world of popular fairy-tale television, tracing how fairy tales and their social and cultural implications manifest within series, television events, anthologies, and episodes, and as freestanding motifs. Providing a model of televisual analysis, Rudy and Greenhill emphasize that fairy-tale longevity in general, and particularly on TV, results from malleability-morphing from extremely complex narratives to the simple quotation of a name (like Cinderella) or phrase (like "happily ever after")-as well as its perennial value as a form that is good to think with. The global reach and popularity of fairy tales is reflected in the book's selection of diverse examples from genres such as political, lifestyle, reality, and science fiction TV. With a select mediagraphy, discussion questions, and detailed bibliography for further study, this book is an ideal guide for students and scholars of television studies, popular culture, and media studies, as well as dedicated fairy-tale fans.

'Well now, prove it, Sheila. As John would say, "Put your money where your mouth is." Be a depressed widow boring the arse off everyone, or get on with life. Your choice.' In The Two of Us Sheila relived her life with John Thaw - years packed with love and family, delight and despair. And then she looked ahead. What next? Gardening, grannying and grumbling, while they all had their pleasures, weren't going to fill the aching void that John had left. 'Live adventurously', a Quaker advice, was hovering around her brain. Putting her and John's much loved house in France on the market she embarked on a series of journeys. She tried holidaying alone, contending with invisibility and budget flights. She tried travelling in a group, but the questions she wanted to ask were never the ones the guide wanted to answer. She tried relaxing - harder than you might think. Finally, heading out of her comfort zone, she found her travels, and the things she discovered, led her back to her past; to consider her generation - the last to experience the Second World War - and the kind of person it made her. Just Me is a book about moving on, but it is also about looking back, and looking anew. Sheila, whether facing down burglars and Easyjet staff or making friends with waiters and taxi drivers, whether unearthing secrets in Budapest, getting arrested in Thailand, exulting in the art of Venice or searching for a decent cup of coffee in Dorset, is never less than stimulating company. Honest - because if you can't say what you think at seventy-three, when can you? - insightful and wonderfully down to earth, she is a woman seizing the future with wit, gusto and curiosity, on her own.

It is often assumed that those outside of academia know very little about the Middle Ages. But the truth is not so simple. Non-specialists in fact learn a great deal from the myriad medievalisms - post-medieval imaginings of the medieval world - that pervade our everyday culture. These, like Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones, offer compelling, if not necessarily accurate, visions of the medieval world. And more, they have an impact on the popular imagination, particularly since there are new medievalisms constantly being developed, synthesised and remade. But what does the public really know? How do the conflicting medievalisms they consume contribute to their knowledge? And why is this important? In this book, the first evidence-based exploration of the wider public's understanding of the Middle Ages, Paul B. Sturtevant adapts sociological methods to answer these important questions. Based on extensive focus groups, the book details the ways - both formal and informal - that people learn about the medieval past and the many other ways that this informs, and even distorts, our present. In the process, Sturtevant also sheds light, in more general terms, onto the ways non-specialists learn about the past, and why understanding this is so important. The Middle Ages in Popular Imagination will be of interest to anyone working on medieval studies, medievalism, memory studies, medieval film studies, informal learning or public history.

This is the first study of the early formative years of one of Wales's most important cultural organisations - Sianel Pedwar Cymru (S4C). The volume chronicles the decisions and activities of the channel during its trial period between 1981-5. Through a detailed study of minutes, correspondence and interviews with individuals who were key to the channel's development during its early years, it chronicles the many challenges, successes and failures which faced the S4C Authority and its staff as they aimed to create a Welsh-language television service that would meet the desires and needs of the audience in Wales. S4C is no ordinary channel, and no other period in its history portrays this more effectively than the trial period given to it at the beginning of the 1980s.

Drawing from theories of the political economy of communication, this book offers readers a comprehensive data-rich assessment of contemporary sports television and its evolution. Providing an in-depth look at the ownership and regulation of sports television in the United States, William M. Kunz analyzes a range of platforms, networks, and sports, with particular focus on the way ownership has become concentrated in five conglomerates: AT&T, CBS, Comcast, Disney and Fox. The end result of years of media consolidation is that broadcast networks are now married to cable and streaming services under a single conglomerate, which has implications for the cost of contracts and the negotiation of distribution deals. Examining multiple platforms, networks and sports in an all-inclusive manner, this volume documents the evolution and current state of affairs of sports television. With historic and current data on rights fees for sports television leagues and events as well as carriage fees and subscription levels for sports-related cable and satellite services, this comparative study offers critical information for students and scholars conducting research on sports television.

In this authoritative volume, writer and historian Scott Tracy Griffin traces the development of the history-making Tarzan franchise, from the motion-picture industry's early silent and serials, through the high point of the Metro- Goldwyn-Mayer era featuring Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan, to modern worldwide hits like Grey stoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes and Walt Disney Studios' animated Tarzan.

Professor Brian Cox is among the best-known physicists in the world. As presenter of hit television series Human Universe, Wonders of the Solar System and Wonders of the Universe, his affable charm and infectious enthusiasm have brought science to a whole new audience. Born in Lancashire in 1968, Cox was a bright but not brilliant pupil at school. He flourished at university, however, gaining a first-class honours degree and an MPhil in Physics from Manchester University before being awarded his PhD in particle physics in 1998. Alongside his studies, he played keyboards in the band D:Ream, who topped the charts in 1994 with 'Things Can Only Get Better', which was famously used by the Labour Party for its 1997 election campaign. Although an award-winning celebrity TV presenter, Brian Cox remains devoted to scientific research. He is a Royal Society University Research Fellow, an advanced fellow at the University of Manchester, and also works on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland. In 2010 he was awarded the OBE for his services to science. Featuring exclusive interviews and in-depth research, this book delves into the fascinating universe of the man who single-handedly made physics cool.

Harry H. Corbett rose from the slums of Manchester to become one of the best-known television stars of the 20th century. Having left home as a 17-year-old Royal Marine during the Second World War, he fought in the North Atlantic and the jungles of the Pacific and witnessed first-hand the devastation wrought by the Hiroshima bomb. On his return home he wandered into the local theatre company and landed a starring role - The Front Legs of the Cow. Soon becoming a leading light in Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop and a widely-respected classical stage actor, his life was changed forever by the television comedy Steptoe and Son. Overnight he became a household name as the series drew unparalleled viewing figures of over 28 million, with fans ranging from the working classes to the Royal Family. Naturally shy and a committed socialist, fame and fortune didn't sit easily on his shoulders, and for the next twenty years, until his untimely death at the age of only 57, he had to learn how to be ''Arold'. Written by his daughter, Susannah Corbett, an actor herself, this is the first biography of Harry H. Corbett, the man who was once described as being 'the English Marlon Brando'.

Derek's journey to Albert Square has proved to be an eventful one. A bone fide East Ender, born within the sound of Bow Bells, Derek grew up during the Blitz in a tight-knit, working-class family. In this candid memoir he describes those tough early days, his stint in the police, life on the wrong side of the law and how he turned his dream of being an actor into a reality. But not before trying his hand as a professional gambler and acting as a runner for the notorious East End gangster Charlie Kray, brother of twins Ronnie and Reggie. Determined to be an actor, Derek began his hugely successful stage and screen career firstly as a stuntman; before landing memorable TV roles in series such as Law and Order, Minder, King and Castle, The Governor and doomed soap Eldorado. In this frank and revealing tale, Derek pulls no punches as he admits past mistakes and describes his remarkable transformation into one of our best loved actors. Meet the man behind the character as he shares with readers his heartbreak over two marriage break ups and his devotion to his twin boys. An East End Life is a truly remarkable story spanning nearly seven decades, packed with tears and laughter that will endear you to this popular star.

David Fincher: Mind Games is the definitive critical and visual survey of the Academy Award- and Golden Globe-nominated works of director David Fincher. From feature films Alien 3, Se7en, The Game, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Gone Girl, and Mank through his MTV clips for Madonna and the Rolling Stones and the Netflix series House of Cards and Mindhunter, each chapter weaves production history with original critical analysis, as well as with behind the scenes photography, still-frames, and original illustrations from Little White Lies' international team of artists and graphic designers. Mind Games also features interviews with Fincher's frequent collaborators, including Jeff Cronenweth, Angus Wall, Laray Mayfield, Holt McCallany, Howard Shore and Erik Messerschmidt. Grouping Fincher's work around themes of procedure, imprisonment, paranoia, prestige and relationship dynamics, Mind Games is styled as an investigation into a filmmaker obsessed with investigation, and the design will shift to echo case files within a larger psychological profile.

Contemporary television has been marked by such exceptional programming that it is now common to hear claims that TV has finally become an art. In Appreciating the Art of Television, Nannicelli contends that televisual art is not a recent development, but has in fact existed for a long time. Yet despite the flourishing of two relevant academic subfields-the philosophy of film and television aesthetics-there is little scholarship on television, in general, as an art form. This book aims to provide scholars active in television aesthetics with a critical overview of the relevant philosophical literature, while also giving philosophers of film a particular account of the art of television that will hopefully spur further interest and debate. It offers the first sustained theoretical examination of what is involved in appreciating television as an art and how this bears on the practical business of television scholars, critics, students, and fans-namely the comprehension, interpretation, and evaluation of specific televisual artworks.

Since the early 2000s, Disney Channel has been dominated by original live-action programming popular among tween girls. The shows' successes rely not only on their popularity among girl audiences, but also on the development of star personae by girl performers, such as Raven-Symone, Miley Cyrus, and Selena Gomez. In addition, these programs and their performers have spawned lucrative media and merchandising franchises for the Walt Disney Company. This book includes analyses of this Disney Channel programming, as well as Disney corporate reports and executive statements, together with Disney Channel stars' performances, promotional appearances, media production, philanthropic efforts, and entrepreneurism. Analyzing these texts, performances, activities, and personae, it considers the ways in which they reproduce celebrity, visibility, and feminine performativity as central to successful twenty-first century girlhood.

Popular film and television hold valuable potential for learning about sex and sexuality beyond the information-based model of sex education currently in schools. This book argues that the representation of complicated-or "messy"-relationships in these popular cultural forms makes them potent as affective pedagogical moments. It endeavours to develop new sexual literacies by contemplating how pedagogical moments, that is, fleeting moments which disrupt expectations or create discomfort, might enrich the available discourses of sexuality and gender, especially those available to adolescents. In Part One, Clarke critiques the heteronormative discourses of sex education that produce youth in particularly gendered ways, noting that "rationality" is often expected to govern experiences that are embodied and arguably inherently incoherent. Part Two explores public intimacy, contemplating the often overlapping and confused boundaries between public and private.

This critical anthology sets out to explore the boom that horror cinema and TV productions have experienced in Spain in the past two decades. It uses a range of critical and theoretical perspectives to examine a broad variety of films and filmmakers, such as works by Alejandro Amenabar, Alex de la Iglesia, Pedro Almodovar, Guillermo del Toro, Juan Antonio Bayona, and Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza. The volume revolves around a set of fundamental questions: What are the causes for this new Spanish horror-mania? What cultural anxieties and desires, ideological motives and practical interests may be behind such boom? Is there anything specifically "Spanish" about the Spanish horror film and TV productions, any distinctive traits different from Hollywood and other European models that may be associated to the particular political, social, economic or cultural circumstances of contemporary Spain?

This collection explores how film and television depict the complex and diverse milieu of the eighteenth century as a literary, historical, and cultural space. Topics range from adaptations of Austen's Sense and Sensibility and Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (The Martian) to historical fiction on the subjects of slavery (Belle), piracy (Crossbones and Black Sails), monarchy (The Madness of King George and The Libertine), print culture (Blackadder and National Treasure), and the role of women (Marie Antoinette, The Duchess, and Outlander). This interdisciplinary collection draws from film theory and literary theory to discuss how film and television allows for critical re-visioning as well as revising of the cultural concepts in literary and extra-literary writing about the historical period.

Dine like the lords and ladies and bring the high society meals and treats home with these 100 delicious recipes inspired by Netflix's most-watched series of all time-Bridgerton. Blue satin ball gowns, chocolates and high tea, five course meals with family, scandal, and romance. Welcome to the dashing world of Bridgerton. Grosvenor Square is buzzing with ladies and lords dressed to the nines, promenading in the park, and sharing lemonade at the evening's ball. And while you might not be able to score the jewels and frocks of the Bridgertons and the Featheringtons, you can still eat like them with The Unofficial Bridgerton Cookbook. From dazzling canapes, savory meat pies, sparkling wine, gooseberry pie, delicious finger sandwiches, and more, you'll be eating like a Bridgerton in no time. Nevermind what Lady Whistledown says, it's time to eat! These 100 recipes inspired by the delectable foods from Regency England will have you dining Duke and Duchess style with recipes like: -Daphne's Lemonade -The Duke's Gooseberry Pie -Penelope's Cucumber Sandwiches -Queen Charlotte's Cakes -And many more! Now you can feast like high society and devour these delectable recipes perfect for any social event.

This book offers a new, interdisciplinary model for understanding audience engagement as a type of behaviour, a form of response and a cost to audiences that, combined, offer value to the screen industries. Audience 'engagement' has become the key priority of the screen industries. Understanding Engagement in Transmedia Culture explicitly asks what audiences and screen practitioners mean when they say content is 'engaging' and uses audience focus groups and practitioner interviews to offer a model for understanding the relationship between the screen industry, the content it produces and its audiences. In particular, the model addresses engagement within transmedia culture. As digital screen technologies proliferate, audiences move seamlessly across and between different devices, content formats and distribution platforms, blurring the boundaries between film, television and videogames. This book offers a way of understanding audience engagement that is not restricted to a single media but instead accounts for and adapts to the various ways in which screen content is experienced. Offering a unique approach by presenting practitioner and audience perspectives, it is perfect for students and scholars working in film and television studies, as well as media industries and audience studies.

Tropical Gothic examines Gothic within a specific geographical area of 'the South' of the Americas. In so doing, we structure the book around geographical coordinates (from North to South) and move between various national traditions of the gothic (Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, etc) alongside regional manifestations of the Gothic (the US south and the Caribbean) as well as transnational movements of the Gothic within the Americas. The reflections on national traditions of the Gothic in this volume add to the critical body of literature on specific languages or particular nations, such as Scottish Gothic, American Gothic, Canadian Gothic, German Gothic, Kiwi Gothic, etc. This is significant because, while the Southern Gothic in the US has been thoroughly explored, there is a gap in the critical literature about the Gothic in the larger context of region of 'the South' in the Americas. This volume does not pretend to be a comprehensive examination of tropical Gothic in the Americas; rather, it pinpoints a variety of locations where this form of the Gothic emerges. In so doing, the transnational interventions of the Gothic in this book read the flows of Gothic forms across borders and geographical regions to tease out the complexities of Gothic cultural production within cultural and linguistic translations. Tropical Gothic includes, but is by no means limited to, a reflection on a region where European colonial powers fought intensively against indigenous populations and against each other for control of land and resources. In other cases, the vast populations of African slaves were transported, endowing these regions with a cultural inheritance that all the nations involved are still trying to comprehend. The volume reflects on how these histories influence the Gothic in this region.

- A concise and engaging textbook for students offering an original perspective on a concept that is a site of much industry and scholarly debate. - Combining work on both political media and entertainment, with an emphasis on social media, this is ideal for a range of undergraduate courses, particularly those exploring media audiences, media industries, social media and society and political engagement. - Each chapter includes a brief introduction, a conclusion with key points, sub headings, and a broad range of international case studies that show how the points of the chapter can work in practice for media engagement analysis.

The brilliantly funny Sunday Times top ten bestseller. Alan Carr tells his life story in his own words, from growing up in a football-mad family in Northampton to his rise as one of Britain's best-loved comedians. 'Puberty had been unkind. Whereas it had come in the night and left the other boys with chiselled, stubbly chins and deep masculine voices, I'd been left with a huge pair of knockers and the voice of a pensioner.' Alan Carr Alan Carr grew up in one of the most boring towns in England - Northampton. A place known for making shoes. It was also known for its football club, Northampton Town FC. Alan's dad as manager of the club was a local hero. A dream come true for most lads, but not Alan. Alan wore glasses and had man boobs at 14. He did not like P.E. In his very first book, Alan tells his life story, ('oh and what a life') with his unique twist of natural, observational humour - 'I'm not saying I'm a fantasist but there have been times when things that I've seen on television when I was younger have tended to seep into my subconscious and blended into my own life. I remember telling my Mum about the time I stopped that woman from having a diamond encrusted necklace stolen and she'd say 'No Alan, that was Poirot.' With his tongue-in-cheek, end of pier humour that made him famous, Alan describes an ordinary life in bursts of technicolour. His journey from awkward schoolboy hiding his man-boobs on the pitch, drinking tea with the dinner ladies and working in a call centre, to becoming one of our best-loved comedians likened to the great Frankie Howerd, make his book a guaranteed tickler with a laugh-out-loud gag on every page.

A fully illustrated and authorized episode guide celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the hit-television show Friends, including a look behind-the-scenes of cult-favorite episodes, exclusive photos from Warner Bros., brand new interviews with show creators Marta Kauffman, David Crane, and set designer John Shaffner, and more. The beloved show Friends introduced the world to six young New Yorkers living together, falling in love, breaking up (cue Ross's "We were on a break!"), and getting into hilarious shenanigans, which became an instant classic formula that inspired dozens of "hangout sitcoms" long after the show's reign. But no sitcom has ever come close to the series that started it all, spawning iconic looks like "the Rachel" and timeless catchphrases like "How you doin'?" while creating a cultural sensation that catapulted the cast members to instant mega-stardom. Throughout the show's ten- season run, viewers watched Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Ross, Chandler, and Joey navigate their twenties and thirties with unwavering friendship, determination, and, of course, plenty of sarcasm. Friends Forever takes fans back to the set where it all began with exclusive photos of the sitcom that won four Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series, eleven People's Choice Awards, and a Golden Globe for Jennifer Aniston for Best Lead Actress in a Television Series. This fully illustrated episode guide will treat readers to nostalgic flashbacks of the top one hundred episodes and sneak peeks of how popularly referenced lines from the show came to be. Friends Forever also boasts new interviews with show creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman on how the show got its start and set designer John Shaffner who reveals his inspirations behind the iconic looks behind Monica's and Rachel's apartment and Central Perk. It's no wonder why the Friends cast was chosen by TV Guide readers as the Best Comedy cast of all time, while countless other publications such as Vanity Fair named the show one of the best sitcoms of all time. Fun, hilarious interactives include: Joey's fake resume vs real one Countdown to the funniest Thanksgiving foods Trivia game Q&A from "The One with the Embryos" (Seriously, what is Chandler Bing's job?) Follow Ross's infidelity trail from "The One with the Morning After" Who's that celebrity? A comprehensive guide to some of the most famous celebrity guest stars from all ten seasons