Market conditions and public affairs programming: Implications for digital television policy

This study investigates whether market conditions affect the provision of public affairs programming by television broadcasters. The study examined a random sample of 112 commercial broadcast stations in order to determine whether station characteristics, market size and demographics, and competitive conditions affect the quantity of public affairs programming provided. The results suggest that market conditions have very little effect on the quantity of public affairs programming provided by individual broadcast stations and that if regulators wish to increase the amount of public affairs programming in the digital broadcasting realm, specific government-mandated programming requirements may be necessary.

Duke Scholars

Author Philip Michael Napoli Sanford School of Public Policy