A barker channel is a form of
digital signage, operating in the form of a
television channel
A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the terrestrial or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with ...
that is entirely composed of
sales promotion
Sales promotion is one of the elements of the promotional mix. The primary elements in the promotional mix are advertising, personal selling, direct marketing and publicity/public relations. Sales promotion uses both media and non-media marketin ...
and
advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
, usually
marketing
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...
various features of the service carrying the channel. The name is derived from the
circus barker, who stood outside a
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...
and shouted to passers-by to encourage them to enter to view the entertainment being provided by the attraction.
The systems are similar to
character generators (CG), incorporating features such as
motion graphics and have the ability to play
video clips controlled by
broadcast automation systems.
Overview
Several barker channels exist on
digital cable systems, and especially on
direct broadcast satellite
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...
systems such as
DirecTV
DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...
. On
interactive television
Interactive television is a form of media convergence, adding data services to traditional television technology. It has included on-demand delivery of content, online shopping, and viewer polls. Interactive TV is an example of how new informatio ...
systems, these also allow for
ordering of
pay-per-view program selections or other
pay television
Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...
services. Prior to its 2008 purchase by
Lions Gate Entertainment and subsequent conversion into a general entertainment channel (eventually leading to its rebranding as
Pop in January 2015), the TV Guide Network – along with featuring listings for upcoming programs – functioned essentially as a barker channel with film and program descriptions. During its years as
Prevue Guide/Channel, it served as a barker channel outright, incorporating video
program promotions and short-form
film trailers at the top half of the screen.
In its Prevue incarnation, the channel operated a sister barker service,
Sneak Prevue
Sneak Prevue was an American pay television network that served as a barker channel to provide previews of pay-per-view films and events to cable television providers. The channel launched in 1991 and existed until 2002.
History
Sneak Prevu ...
, which provided information on pay-per-view programming along with ordering information, which utilized a commercial form of the consumer
LaserDisc format for each provider to run video and purchase content airing over the channel; the service operated until 2002 (three years after its parent network evolved into the TV Guide Channel), as a result of the rise in in-house barker channels operated by pay-per-view services to promote their content.
Barker channels are normally
free-to-view
Free-to-view (FTV) is a term used for audiovisual transmissions that are provided free without any form of continual subscription . It differs from free-to-air (FTA) in that the program is encrypted.
Free-to-view vs. free-to-air
The free-to-vi ...
or occasionally
free-to-air
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscripti ...
, even without a
subscription; this also indicates success in the installation of satellite systems, and particularly in aiming small
satellite dishes.
An example of a barker channel is the NBA League Pass Preview Channel, which is used to advertise and promote the
NBA League Pass
NBA League Pass is the National Basketball Association's direct-to-consumer subscription-based product that gives basketball fans access to NBA games, live and on-demand, for the entire NBA season. League Pass is available to viewers in the Un ...
out-of-market sports package
In North America, an out-of-market sports package is a form of subscription television that broadcasts sporting events to areas where the events were unable to be seen by viewers on other broadcast and cable television networks due to the games no ...
available to digital cable and satellite systems. In a technical form,
specialty channels focused on a single sport such as
NBA TV
NBA TV is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit. Dedicated to basketball, the network features exhibition, regula ...
,
NFL Network
NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NF ...
,
NHL Network and
MLB Network
The MLB Network is an American television sports channel dedicated to baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball, with Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit, Comcast's NBC Sports Group, Charter Communications, and Cox C ...
could be considered barkers, which may push devoted viewers into ordering those leagues' respective pay-per-view packages to watch complete game broadcasts.
In some occasions, the barker method is used on
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...
s, looping 30 to 60 second messages leading to a pending
format change, a process called "
stunting".
Sirius XM also contains an always-open barker channel encouraging a new vehicle buyer to activate a
satellite radio subscription, and off-hours, its sports play-by-play channels carry a looping track promoting the channel locations of that day's games.
See also
*
Community bulletin board
A community bulletin board (CBB) is a digital signage system via cable television for public, educational, and government access to keep communities up to date of events listings, weather and other news.
The electronic bulletin board concept is ...
*
Local insertion
In broadcasting, local insertion (known in the United Kingdom as an opt-out) is the act or capability of a broadcast television station, radio station or cable system to insert or replace part of a network feed with content unique to the local st ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker Channel
Advertising
Television terminology