A generalist channel is a
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
or
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
channel whose target audience is not confined to a particular set of people, but instead aims to offer a wide range of programs and program genres to a diverse general public.
In radio, this is sometimes referred to as "full-format programming".
Program content
Generalist TV channels focus on general entertainment. They also tend to put an extra emphasis on news programming, regarding the provision of news and information as part of their duty.
Popularity
Generalist channels as a whole are the most watched of all television channels.
As of 2008, generalist channels were the most numerous among channel genres in Europe. There were 376 of them, followed by 324 sports channels, 269 entertainment channels and 238 music channels.
Among HD television channels in Europe, as of 2011 and 2012, generalist channels were third most numerous, with the ones specializing in sport and movies coming out 1st and 2nd respectively.
A book published in 2010 cited a study saying that generalist television channels comprised 41 percent of global television market value and accounted for 70 percent of global television market volume.
With the growth in popularity of television, generalist channels such as
full service radio
{{Unreferenced, date=October 2008
Full service (also known as hometown radio) is a type of radio format; the format is characterized by a mix of music programming (usually drawing from formats such as adult contemporary, country, or oldies) and a l ...
greatly declined in radio, and are now mostly limited to
public broadcasting
Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
stations.
See also
*
List of generalist television channels
*
Broadcast television network
*
Ethnic media
Ethnic media is media fashioned with a particular ethnic minority group or ethnic minority community in mind.
Definition
Academic Yu Shi tenders an operational definition for ethnic media: “Ethnic media are often regarded as media ''by and fo ...
References
{{reflist
Television terminology
Television genres