WJEC/Eduqas GCSE Media Studies: Revision Guide

Industry and Audience in The IT Crowd • The IT Crowd was produced by Talkback Thames and broadcast on Channel 4. • The set product is Episode 2 from Series 4. • Channel 4 is a commercial public service broadcaster with fairly broad appeal, which also has a reputation for showing more ‘alternative’ content. Reminder Industry factors in relation to The IT Crowd are detailed on pages 150–151 of the student book. Link Answer the questions and explain the significance of the facts given. 1 Talkback Thames is owned by Fremantle Media, part of RTL. How do production companies benefit from being part of a conglomerate? 2 Graham Linehan was previously involved with the Channel 4 sitcoms Black Books and Father Ted. How might Linehan’s work attract an audience to The IT Crowd ? 3 The IT Crowd was recorded in front of an audience. What impact did this have on the production of the programme? 4 The set episode was broadcast at 10pm on Friday 2 July 2010. Why are many sitcoms broadcast on a Friday evening? 5 The set episode gained 2.2 million viewers (BARB statistics) and only Big Brother achieved higher viewing figures on Channel 4 in the same week. What does this suggest about the audience reach of The IT Crowd ? 6 The series has been distributed to some countries outside the UK (it is available on Netflix and has been broadcast in the USA, Australia and in parts of Europe). How might The IT Crowd appeal to a global audience? Which elements of the set episode might target a primarily British audience? 7 The set episode was awarded a 12 certificate by the BBFC when it was released on DVD. How might this certificate allow producers to reach a wide audience? 8 Channel 4 broadcast an ‘IT Crowd Night’ in 2013, and an ‘ultimate’ DVD box set was released in 2016. What does this suggest about the audience for the programme? Have a Go 5.21 Production, distribution and circulation of The IT Crowd Distribution and marketing of The IT Crowd The marketing of the set product includes: • Official Channel 4 IT Crowd webpages: links to the episodes, clips and ‘extras’, Character profiles • A dedicated YouTube Channel with clips from the series • Trailers, such as for Season 4, featuring the opening scene of ‘The Final Countdown’ • Social media, such as an official IT Crowd Twitter page. Reminder 131 5 Component 2: Understanding Media Forms and Products