P4

a) Distribution Channels

The Wire was distributed by HBO who aired all five seasons of the sow over a span of six years, from 2002 to 2008. Every new episode of The Wire was released once a week with the show sometimes being delayed due to other shows that were getting aired as well. In 2006 HBO released season 4 of The Wire on their HBO demand service, allowing subscribers of the premium service to watch it early. 

In 2008 the complete series of The Wire was released and distributed on DVD in region 1 and region 2, it was later released in region 4 in 2010. The Wire's DVD sales exceeded expectations due to its very low ratings on HBO. DVD viewing also allows for more flexible viewing, compiling a series aired over months or years into a more compressed timeframe. The entire series was remastered in HD format and was given a series of re-runs on HBO in 2014. The series became available for digital purchase in 2015 along with being made available on Blu-Ray the same year.

During the time that The Wire was still on TV, the show famously failed to find its audience whilst it was on the air. In the U.S. Each episode would only attract around 4 million viewers on average, and in the U.K. it only managed to attract around 70,000 viewers for the final season. It was only over time that The Wire would go on to discover its audience after being broadcast. Digital technology has made it much easier for The Wire to find its audience. The Wire was mostly promoted by television critics and fans of the show, advocating for the series online through blogging and online articles. Through these media outlets The Wire has been able to reach a broader audience than its original ratings on HBO might suggest.



b) Advertising

The poster for The Wire uses stark, black and white imagery which carry connotations of the racial themes presented in the show. The poster's main image features all of the key cast members from the first season, highlighting their importance to the show. The poster also shows that the show has a predominantly black male cast of characters that are focused on in the show. The police badge on the women on the right and no badges on the characters on the left, tells us that this will focus on both cops and criminals. The muted are colours and character stances in this poster tell the audience that this is a crime drama series.

The trailer for the complete series of The Wire gives a complete rundown of all the elements that the show covers, the key characters featured throughout, and does not reveal how any of it fits together whilst still being entertaining and appealing as a piece of advertising. This trailer succeeds as a piece of advertising because it is able to appeal to its audience without explaining the whole thing to them.

When The Wire was originally airing in America it did not receive a very big marketing/advertising campaign. Unlike other HBO shows such as The Sopranos or Deadwood, The Wire was not given a mainstream press coverage during the time that it was on the air. Whilst there were trailers and tv spots made for the show they were not easy to find like it would be for a show like The Sopranos.