Contemporary and Historical Media Products (first teaching 2022) Notes

This subtopic is designed to take you through the many different types of contemporary and historical media products you should be aware of before you sit the Pearson Set Assignment (PSA) for Component 1.

Media products can be generally categorised into three different sectors that make up the creative industry:

1. Audio / Moving Image Media Products – any piece of electronic media that incorporates sound and/or a fluid visual component
2. Print Media Products – any piece of traditional media made available to audiences in print format
3. Interactive Media Products – any piece of digital media that functions and responds based on the actions of the consumer

Different media products become available on different platforms, i.e. they are distributed in different ways. 

For example, blockbuster films have traditionally been distributed through cinemas while video games have traditionally been distributed through physical copies.

Nowadays, it is incredibly rare for a media product to be distributed through a single platform. Furthermore, products that previously slotted into a specific sector are now distributed through multiple platforms that link to more than one sector.  

For example, films can now be distributed through the following audio / moving image platforms:

• cinemas
• TV broadcasts
• DVD
• Blu-ray
• 4K release

as well as through more interactive platforms such as pay-per-view, streaming services, digital download and mobile apps.

Certain types of content can be distributed through platforms that span all three sectors. For example, the details of a breaking news story are usually made available to audiences across television broadcasts, print newspapers and interactive web pages.

Every electronic media product will be made available through a device, i.e. a technological object.

Certain products, such as popular radio shows, can now be accessed through laptops, television sets, computers, MP3 players, MP4 players, radio sets, mobile phones, etc.

Other – more niche – products, such as certain video games, can be accessed only through a specific gaming console.

It is worth looking at the structure of these various media industries, i.e. how individual companies are organised and who owns them.

This structure will largely determine the kinds of products that a company makes and the relationships it forms with other companies.

Listed below are useful industry terms with their definitions and examples: