The Commodity Flow of U.S. Children's Television

Abstract

This article argues that commodity flow is a defining characteristic of children's television programming, and that this flow of commodity and corporate-brand images builds into the genre a relatively coherent selling ethos. Three-hour blocks of programming, recorded on two different Saturday mornings for several broadcast and cable networks, were analyzed to highlight commodity flow within and between networks. This flow of commodities on children's television indicates a blurring of the distinction between content and promotional forms and illustrates the high level of commercialism targeted at this audience.