This essay discusses the merits of public intervention in the provision of television broadcasting services. I argue that intervention was justified in the past, when there were just a few channels and when advertising was the sole source of commercial funds. However, the advent of subscription television overcomes many of the market failures that once existed. Moreover, asymmetric treatment of broadcasters acts to distort the incentives of commercial broadcasters. Finally, viewers have an increasing ability to avoid unappealing, but perhaps socially desirable, content, which further weakens the case for public intervention in the market.
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Article provided by Institute for Fiscal Studies in its journal Fiscal Studies.
Volume (Year): 26 (2005) Issue (Month): 3 (September) Pages: 281-299 Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML
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Find related papers by JEL classification: D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities L15 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Information and Product Quality L33 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Boundaries of Public and Private Enterprise; Privatization; Contracting Out L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media
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