Regulating contracts in the independent television production industry: a cross-national case study
ANA LOURENÇO, SIMON DEAKIN, STEPHEN PRATTEN
Portuguese Catholic University (FEG) and University of Cambridge; University of
Cambridge; King’s College, London
Resumo:
This paper adopts a socio-legal perspective to explore the interaction between regulation
and contracts in the independent television production industry. It reviews two sets of
theories - new institutional economics and autopoietic social systems theory - that are
shown to be reconcilable and to provide a common ground regarding the interaction of
contracts and regulation. This question is then investigated through the use of a case
study that analyses the role of regulatory change in creating a competitive market for
television production in the United Kingdom and Portugal. Case study evidence indicates
that there has not been a straightforward move from in-house television production to a
competitive market in either country. The elements of regulation intended to introduce
competition in television production have so far accommodated norms that sustain
contracts and which have emerged to safeguard quality in television programming. But as
independent production firms increase their commercial orientation, television
programming is reconfigured as a commodity, and the need to redefine public service
broadcasting becomes critical. Changes in terms of trade and legal rules are having an
effect on the boundaries of markets, but the norms that sustain contracts in television
production are also influencing the way in which legal rules and terms of trade are being
redesigned and interpreted. In conclusion, our analysis suggests that regulation and
contracts interact in a mutually constitutive way: regulation and contracts co-evolve.
Palavras-chave:
Television production, regulation, co-evolution
ANA LOURENÇO, SIMON DEAKIN, STEPHEN PRATTEN
Portuguese Catholic University (FEG) and University of Cambridge; University of
Cambridge; King’s College, London
Resumo:
This paper adopts a socio-legal perspective to explore the interaction between regulation
and contracts in the independent television production industry. It reviews two sets of
theories - new institutional economics and autopoietic social systems theory - that are
shown to be reconcilable and to provide a common ground regarding the interaction of
contracts and regulation. This question is then investigated through the use of a case
study that analyses the role of regulatory change in creating a competitive market for
television production in the United Kingdom and Portugal. Case study evidence indicates
that there has not been a straightforward move from in-house television production to a
competitive market in either country. The elements of regulation intended to introduce
competition in television production have so far accommodated norms that sustain
contracts and which have emerged to safeguard quality in television programming. But as
independent production firms increase their commercial orientation, television
programming is reconfigured as a commodity, and the need to redefine public service
broadcasting becomes critical. Changes in terms of trade and legal rules are having an
effect on the boundaries of markets, but the norms that sustain contracts in television
production are also influencing the way in which legal rules and terms of trade are being
redesigned and interpreted. In conclusion, our analysis suggests that regulation and
contracts interact in a mutually constitutive way: regulation and contracts co-evolve.
Palavras-chave:
Television production, regulation, co-evolution
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