From Networks to Netflix: A Guide to Changing Channels

Now in a second edition, this textbook surveys the channels, platforms, and programming through which television distribution operates, with a diverse selection of contributors providing thorough explorations of global media industries in flux.

Even as legacy media industries experience significant disruption in the face of streaming and online delivery, the power of the television channel persists. Far from disappearing, television channels have multiplied and adapted to meet the needs of old and new industry players alike. Television viewers now navigate complex choices among broadcast, cable, and streaming services across a host of different devices. From Networks to Netflix guides students, instructors, and scholars through that complex and transformed channel landscape to reveal how these industry changes unfold and why they matter. This second edition features new players like Disney+, HBO Max, Crunchyroll, Hotstar, and more, increasing attention to TV services across the world.

An ideal resource for students and scholars of media criticism, media theory, and media industries, this book continues to offer a concrete, tangible way to grasp the foundations of television―and television studies―even as they continue to be rewritten.

Derek Johnson is Professor of Media and Cultural Studies in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His books include Transgenerational Media Industries: Adults, Children, and the Reproduction of Culture as well as Media Franchising: Creative License and Collaboration in the Culture Industries. He is also the co-author of Television Goes to the Movies, and the co-editor of books including Point of Sale: Analyzing Media Retail.