As a further measure of the value to the UK economy resulting from the use of spectrum for broadcasting, we have estimated the revenue and employment generated in different parts of the TV value chain. For the purposes of our analysis we have considered five activity areas (as illustrated in Figure 4 .21 below):
Content production: the production of programming. Content may be produced in-house by the broadcasters themselves, or specially commissioned from third parties by the broadcasters, or it may be existing content to which the broadcasters acquire the transmission rights.
Advertising and sponsorship: the production of content which the broadcaster is paid to transmit. This is the primary source of revenue for free-to-air commercial channels, and a significant source of revenue for many subscription channels.
Content distribution: the operation of the platforms used to distribute programming – e.g. operation of DTT multiplexes or the DTH satellite broadcast platform.
Equipment: the supply of TV sets and set-top boxes to viewers.
Figure 4.21: The value chain for TV broadcasting [Source: Analysys Mason, 2012]
