Reasons for the US dominance of the international trade in television programmes

The extent of US dominance of the international trade in television programmes has been documented by Varis (1985). In terms of hours of programming, he gives the US share of exports in 1983 as 77 percent for Latin America, 44 percent for Western Europe, 42 percent for Arab Countries, 47 percent for Africa (south of the Sahara), 70 percent for Canada and nearly 90 percent for the Philippines. The Eastern Bloc is the only region where the US is not the dominant exporter. One estimate by value credits the US with 75 percent of programme exports in 1983.1 The UK is usually acknowledged to be the United States closest rival although in some markets Brazil with its successful telenovelas is the main competitor, while Japan has established a market niche in cartoons and now outsells the US in this programme format (MatteIart et al., 1984: 96). Ostensibly the major concern with US dominance has been cultural rather than economic, although we note that the artistic communities, who often express such cultural concerns vocally and articulately, invariably stand to gain economically from policies (protection and/or production subsidy) advocated on cultural grounds. The nature and extent of the influence of US television programmes on viewers is open to dispute (see Schlesinger, 1987).