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Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 178-182). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in electronic version.

In the United States, regional sports networks broadcast games of home teams to audiences in specific communities, or geographical areas. Ownership of regional sports network by sports teams presents a unique type of vertical integration. Regional sports networks use distinctive programming to connect to local sports culture. This dissertation explores the historical significance of New England Sports Network (NESN), a team created, owned and operated regional sports network, which broadcasts Boston Red Sox baseball games and Boston Bruins hockey games throughout the New England region. Using elements of cultural studies, specifically political economy and textual analysis, this dissertation examines the impact of the ownership structure of NESN on NESN programming and how NESN uses programming to connect to local sports culture. This dissertation employs the theoretical frameworks of the sports/media complex and the base and superstructure model to support the argument that regional sports networks function not only on an economic level, but on a political economic and cultural level as well. Historically, NESN is the first successful team created, owned and operated regional sports network. NESN's creation established a new form of sports media ownership where sports team owners could essentially form private media corporations to increase earnings and extend operations across industries. NESN utilizes specific visual and aural techniques to differentiate NESN programming from other national and regional sports broadcasters. NESN also uses the same techniques to connect to local sports culture and to the everyday lives of sports consumers. The televised sports text offers NESN a space where the network can function on both a political economic and cultural level. Additionally, NESN presents a real world example of how the sports/media complex has become a more intricate theoretical framework.

This thesis examines broadcast policies and policy documents in Canada and the United States to determine whether and to what degree they make provision for the public's access to television. Government policies and policy documents are examined at the federal and local level, and a case study of two cable systems, one in Vancouver, B.C. the other in Seattle, Washington, supplies empirical data to corroborate how policy provisions for public access to television are interpreted and implemented. A neo-Gramscian concept of ideological hegemony broadly frames this study of the impact of public policy, specifically broadcast policy, on social structure and behaviour. Because a very small portion of the general population have access to television production and programming, they dominate the television discourse. Research that documents television’s pervasive stereotypic and derogatory treatment of women and “racial"/ethnic "minorities" as well as its perceived effect of contributing to the social and economic subordination of these populations in North American society is used as a basis for this study. This thesis argues that broadening the body of people who have access to the television production and programming process might encourage more accurate, positive and/or relevant television images and relations with positive social consequences. On one level, this is a matter of having broadcast policies which ensure such broadened access. Canada and the United States each have policy provisions for the general public's access to television which are based on notions of civic democratic participation in society. Analysis and comparison of these policies results in the conclusion that although both countries provide access to the public through policy, many of these provisions limit access in four areas: access to production, access to distribution, access to input, and access to viewing. Because television access policies limit the public's access increasingly, the broadening of the access base is impeded along with the challenge to the current structure, message and function of television. On this account, traditional agendas and images continue to dominate the airwaves and their educational power. Further study should be undertaken on: 1) the effects of television, 2) the public's use of community television/public access television, 3) the effects of community channels on viewers and whether they are different than the effects of broadcast television and 4) the effects of broadcast policy on the structure and function of television. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

Noise and distortion limit the channel capacity and degrade the system performance in AM-VSB SCM CATV Distribution Networks. The use of star couplers and fiber amplifiers is an approach to overcome these problems and meet the increasing demand for large capacity and high quality. The capacity and performance analyses of three different network configurations are compared based on the results of computer modeling. In practice, the best configuration depends on the optical amplifiers and the pump lasers used in the system as well as the requirement on the number of channels and the number of subscribers. It is found that in a two-stage star network the largest improvement in the capacity and performance may be achieved when the optical amplifiers between the stages are individually pumped. For example, a capacity of 200 channels and 572 output nodes may be obtained. There is an optimal length of the erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) and there is also an optimal position where the EDFA is located between the two star couplers. The modeling is based on an extensive analysis of noise and distortion in the system. A discrepancy in the power behavior of laser relative intensity noise (RIN) is pointed out. A previous analysis on reflection-induced noise is extended to include the effect of quadruply-reflected light and optical amplifiers. Since chirp-dispersion distortion and gain tilt distortion are found to be negligible, clipping distortion is the main limitation on the system capacity. Optical amplifier noise provides an additional limitation to the system. Because the gain and amplified spontaneous noise depend on the input signal power and pump power, the gain and spontaneous emission factor are modeled for the comparison of the different systems. / Master of Science

An important problem for economists and policy-makers concerning the cable industry is whether the cable industry faces widespread direct competition. Only one roughly comparable, nation-wide competitor exists, Direct Broadcast Satellite ("DBS"), and there are some indications that DBS does not constrain cable prices. The model presented in this paper indicates that DBS and cable compete imperfectly in terms of monthly prices, if at all, but compete more directly in terms of the premium-level services they offer. Other factors may indicate whether a community is open to advanced services like DBS, such as whether the cable operators offers high-speed Internet access. / Master of Arts

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH / Bibliography: leaves 42-43. / by Katherine Elizabeth Lo. / M.C.P.

by Leung Chi Wai, Wong Shan Ki. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-104). / Questionnairies also in Chinese. / ABSTRACT / TABLE OF CONTENTS / LIST OF TABLES / LIST OF FIGURES / ACKNOWLEDGMENT / CHAPTER / Chapter 1. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Overview --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.1 --- Reason for Study --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.2 --- Approach for Study --- p.2 / Chapter 1.2 --- Market Overview --- p.4 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Market Definition --- p.4 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Competitions --- p.5 / Chapter 1.2.3 --- Market Size --- p.7 / Chapter 1.3 --- Company Profile --- p.11 / Chapter 1.3.1 --- Overview --- p.11 / Chapter 1.3.2 --- Product --- p.12 / Chapter 1.3.3 --- Pricing --- p.13 / Chapter 1.3.4 --- Distribution --- p.14 / Chapter 1.3.5 --- Promotion --- p.15 / Chapter 1.3.6 --- Market Share and Penetration --- p.15 / Chapter 1.4 --- Research Objectives --- p.16 / Chapter 2. --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.17 / Chapter 2.1 --- Market Segmentation --- p.17 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Benefits of Market Segmentation --- p.18 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Characteristics of a Market Segment --- p.19 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- Psychographic Segmentation --- p.20 / Chapter 2.2 --- Cable TV Industry --- p.27 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Reasons of subscribing Cable TV --- p.27 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Comparison of Cable subscribers and non-subscribers --- p.29 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Other related issues --- p.30 / Chapter 3. --- RESEARCH OBJECTIVES --- p.33 / Chapter 3.1 --- Strategic Problems --- p.33 / Chapter 3.2 --- Research Problems --- p.33 / Chapter 4. --- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY --- p.35 / Chapter 4.1 --- Exploratory Study --- p.35 / Chapter 4.2 --- Questionnaire Design --- p.36 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Basic Construct --- p.36 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Pilot Survey --- p.36 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Final Version --- p.37 / Chapter 4.3 --- Sampling --- p.38 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Survey Subject --- p.38 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Sampling Size --- p.39 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- Sampling Method --- p.40 / Chapter 4.3.4 --- Representativeness Enhancing Arrangements --- p.40 / Chapter 4.3.5 --- Fieldwork --- p.42 / Chapter 5. --- IDENTIFICATION OF MARKET SEGMENTS --- p.45 / Chapter 5.1 --- Survey Result --- p.45 / Chapter 5.1.1 --- Summary of Data --- p.45 / Chapter 5.1.2 --- Response Rate --- p.47 / Chapter 5.1.3 --- Weighting System --- p.47 / Chapter 5.2 --- Factor Analysis --- p.48 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Needs of Factor Analysis --- p.48 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Factors Identification --- p.49 / Chapter 5.2.3 --- Interpretation of Factors --- p.51 / Chapter 5.3 --- Cluster Analysis --- p.53 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- Preliminary Transformation --- p.53 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- Determination of Number of Clusters --- p.55 / Chapter 5.3.3 --- Clusters Identification --- p.58 / Chapter 6. --- INTERPRETATION AND PROFILING OF MARKET SEGMENTS --- p.59 / Chapter 6.1 --- Overall Profile --- p.59 / Chapter 6.1.1 --- Demographic Information --- p.59 / Chapter 6.1.2 --- Media Consumption --- p.60 / Chapter 6.2 --- Segmentation Analysis --- p.61 / Chapter 6.2.1 --- Segment 1 - Conservative TV Dependents --- p.61 / Chapter 6.2.2 --- Segment 2 - Fashion Followers --- p.62 / Chapter 6.2.3 --- Segment 3 - Yuppies --- p.63 / Chapter 6.2.4 --- Segment 4 - Value Minders --- p.64 / Chapter 6.2.5 --- Segment 5 - Conservative TV Satisfiers --- p.65 / Chapter 6.2.6 --- Segment 6 - Community and Family Carers --- p.66 / Chapter 6.3 --- Media Consumption Pattern --- p.70 / Chapter 6.3.1 --- Daily Media Usage & Cable Subscription Patterns --- p.70 / Chapter 6.4 --- Other Findings --- p.75 / Chapter 6.4.1 --- Most Favorite Television Programs --- p.75 / Chapter 6.4.2 --- Reason for Cable subscription --- p.76 / Chapter 6.4.3 --- Reasons of not subscribing Cable --- p.76 / Chapter 7. --- LIMITATION OF THE STUDY --- p.80 / Chapter 8. --- DISCUSSION --- p.82 / Chapter 8.1 --- Current Achievement --- p.82 / Chapter 8.1.1 --- Product Life Cycle --- p.82 / Chapter 8.1.2 --- Image Built --- p.83 / Chapter 8.2 --- "Who Subscribe, who not?" --- p.84 / Chapter 8.3 --- Reasons of Subscribing --- p.86 / Chapter 8.4 --- Reasons of Not Subscribing --- p.87 / Chapter 8.5 --- Marketing Niches --- p.88 / Chapter 9. --- RECOMMENDATION --- p.90 / Chapter 9.1 --- Target Segments --- p.90 / Chapter 9.2 --- Product Strategy --- p.91 / Chapter 9.2.1 --- General Aspects --- p.91 / Chapter 9.2.2 --- Program Mix --- p.91 / Chapter 9.3 --- Promotion Strategy --- p.96 / Chapter 9.3.1 --- Personal Selling --- p.97 / Chapter 9.3.2 --- Advertising --- p.97 / Chapter 9.3.3 --- Free Trial --- p.98 / Chapter 9.4 --- Pricing Strategy --- p.99 / Chapter 9.5 --- Distribution Strategy --- p.99 / Chapter 10. --- CONCLUSION --- p.100 / BIBLIOGRAPHY / APPENDICES / Chapter APPENDIX A --- DESCRIPTION OF CABLE CHANNELS / Chapter APPENDIX B --- SUBSCRIPTION PACKAGES OF CABLE TV / Chapter APPENDIX C --- PILOT QUESTIONNAIRE / Chapter APPENDIX D --- FINAL VERSION QUESTIONNAIRE (ENGLISH) / Chapter APPENDIX E --- FINAL VERSION QUESTIONNAIRE (CANTONESE) / Chapter APPENDIX F --- INTERVIEWER GUIDELINES / Chapter APPENDIX G --- LIST OF AIO STATEMENTS / Chapter APPENDIX H --- CHOICE BROAD / Chapter APPENDIX I --- FACTOR MATRIX / Chapter APPENDIX J --- PSYCHOGRAPHIC PROFILES OF SIX SEGMENTS / Chapter APPENDIX K --- DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILES OF ALL RESPONDENTS / Chapter APPENDIX L --- DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILES OF SIX SEGMENTS / Chapter APPENDIX M --- MOST FAVORITE TELEVISION PROGRAM TYPES / Chapter APPENDIX N --- MOST FAVORITE CABLE TV CHANNELS

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration