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My problem is that they are competing with private companies. Operas are state-sponsored, because they cannot compete in a free market and would die. But there

My problem is that they are competing with private companies. Operas are state-sponsored, because they cannot compete in a free market and would die. But there are plenty of soap operas on private networks, too. We would not lose anything if they would stop producing those. Same with sport events. I think the private networks are right: It is unfair and wasteful to create a state-sponsored entity, which has an ridiculous amount of funding and can therefore out-compete private companies, which would create the same service.

cm3 10y ago
Exactly. If they really want to fund expensive content, which is not produced by private media, then focus on things like documentaries. I don't mean the stuff that's broadcast on current day Discovery or History channels, but the stuff ZDF and BBC show where unsurprisingly a disproportionately large amount are synchronized-to-German BBC productions. It seems that the Brits do it better. I also agree about theater and opera, though the tickets for those aren't cheap and you don't get a free ticket just because you paid for public broadcasts.
Xylakant 10y ago
State sponsored broadcast by definition compete with private companies by offering alternative content. Operas do as well. They compete with movie theaters, private stages, TV and all alternate forms of entertainment. > But there are plenty of soap operas on private networks, too. We would not lose anything if they would stop producing those [...] private companies, which would create the same service. Which is questionable at least: Take Lindenstraße for example: I personally dislike it but without question is has been on the forefront of bringing important topics to the TV screen and probably the most diverse cast of all soap operas produced in germany. The english wikipedia page only has a short paragraph, read the german page if you can: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindenstra%C3%9Fe#Cast https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindenstra%C3%9Fe#Cast Notable example are showing homosexuality in 1986, the first homosexual kiss in 1987 (the actors received death threats as a consequence), ... No private soap opera in germany dares to touch sensitive topics. American soaps are a bad substitute.

cm3 10y ago

Exactly. If they really want to fund expensive content, which is not produced by private media, then focus on things like documentaries. I don't mean the stuff that's broadcast on current day Discovery or History channels, but the stuff ZDF and BBC show where unsurprisingly a disproportionately large amount are synchronized-to-German BBC productions. It seems that the Brits do it better. I also agree about theater and opera, though the tickets for those aren't cheap and you don't get a free ticket just because you paid for public broadcasts.

Xylakant 10y ago

State sponsored broadcast by definition compete with private companies by offering alternative content. Operas do as well. They compete with movie theaters, private stages, TV and all alternate forms of entertainment. > But there are plenty of soap operas on private networks, too. We would not lose anything if they would stop producing those [...] private companies, which would create the same service. Which is questionable at least: Take Lindenstraße for example: I personally dislike it but without question is has been on the forefront of bringing important topics to the TV screen and probably the most diverse cast of all soap operas produced in germany. The english wikipedia page only has a short paragraph, read the german page if you can: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindenstra%C3%9Fe#Cast https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindenstra%C3%9Fe#Cast Notable example are showing homosexuality in 1986, the first homosexual kiss in 1987 (the actors received death threats as a consequence), ... No private soap opera in germany dares to touch sensitive topics. American soaps are a bad substitute.