The growth of direct broadcast satellite television distribution to the home as a viable competitor to cable and terrestrial broadcast has fostered the availability of special interest or niche channels and therefore provided greater choice to the viewer. This study, based on uses and gratifications theory, examined the relationships among ritual and instrumental viewing motivations and satisfactions, viewer religiosity, and viewing attentiveness as they related to the selection of a niche television channel, Brigham Young University Television. The uses and gratification approach provides an appropriate framework for studying "media consumption, the interrelated nature of television user motives, and the relationships among viewing motives and viewing patterns" (Abelman, 1989, p. 57). Data was gathered by way of an online survey of non-random, self-selected BYU Television viewers. Participants answered 67 questions about their motives for choosing to view BYU Television and the gratifications they received from their viewing. The 596 valid responses to the survey were analyzed. The study results are in harmony with previous uses and gratifications studies examining ritual and instrumental viewing patterns. The data found positive relationships between instrumental viewing motives and instrumental viewing satisfactions, as well as instrumental viewing motives and viewing selectivity. There was no support for those hypotheses that dealt with the level of viewing attention as it related to religiosity or instrumental viewing motives. Future topics of study are suggested including the opportunity an expanded media universe provides to increase the depth and breadth of uses and gratification theory, as well as to study the role of niche television services in community building.

Thesis (M. A.) --University of Limpopo, 2021 / This is an exploratory study conducted to assess the effectiveness of the digital migration in South Africa. This study focused on two areas of domicile, which embarked on the process of migrating in Limpopo Province i.e. Shayandima Village in Thohoyandou and Rapotokwane Village in Bela-Bela. The theories that were used to guide the study were the diffusion of innovations theory, political economic theory and media policy theory. These theories were employed to assist in assessing the process, the effectiveness and the importance of Digital Migration. The results for this study are revealed that 85% of respondents asserted that digital broadcasting is very effective and easy to use compared to the analog broadcasting systems, as it shows clear pictures, quality sound and access to more television channels. This help television viewers to get quality television programs. It was interesting to note that respondents mentioned that they did not regret migrating from analog to digital broadcasting because of the benefits and impact that the Set Top Boxes Set (STB)s have on their televisions. The findings reveal that the STBs are effective and affordable and enable to watch more television channels. There is also a need for the Department of Communication and Digital Technologies to ensure that every household in South Africa migrates to digital broadcasting system

Le phénomène des télévisions satellitaires a fait son apparition dans le monde arabe en 1990-1991. Date de l’instauration du Nouvel Ordre Mondial. Une progression foisonnante s’est produite, par la suite, profitant d’un espace géolinguistique étendu, d’une ouverture sans précédent et d’un financement généreux. Sont-elles l’expression d’un changement ou bien celle d’une adaptation ? Et au service de qui ? L’étude des chaines d’information en continu Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya ou « flexibles », Abou Dhabi et Al Manar est particulièrement intéressante pour répondre à cette question. Comprendre le fond de ce phénomène, les intérêts qu’il représente, qu’il sert, et les limites du changement qu’il est capable de produire, exige de dresser un état des lieux panoramique, une étude de la géopolitique qui a donné lieu à la naissance de ces télévisions, et qui a dicté les évolutions qu’elles ont subit. L’analyse du contenu et du discours vient repérer les expressions d’une culture démocratique, ou anti démocratique, dont dépend la nature du changement / Since 1990-1991, the number of satellite channels and viewers has grown exponentially in the Arab world, taking advantage of a geolinguistic space that afforded unprecedented degree of openness in a field previously dominated by t ightly-controlled state-owned television stations. The date also coincides with the inception of the New World Order, the waging of the first Gulf War which established a new regional order, and the stirrings of the society of communication. This study of news channels (Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya) and “flexible” channels such as (Abu Dhabi and Al Manar), aims to examine whether they are an expression of change or adaption and whether they serve to perpetuate the status quo of the powers that fund them.