TV Audiences

Mainstream vs Niche
Mainstream an audience that consumes a product that appeals to a wide range of groups and cultures

 e.g. Sky Sports, Capital, Disney

 Niche The audience of a specialist interest media product that may only appeal to a small number of people or those who fall within a specific demographic profile (e.g. age, ethnicity)

e.g. Fishing channels, Horror stations, Gardening magazines

More niche media products now than there was 20 years ago as theres more people producing products, people want to be original, easy accessibility to obtain. 

 Narrowcasting Aiming programmes at specific and specialist audiences as opposed to broadcasting to 'mass' audiences.

 e.g. loose women
Chris Anderson: The Long Tail Theory 

  • Devised by Chris Anderson of Wired magazine 
  • First published 2004, then as a book in 2009
  • Concerns mass vs niche products and audiences  

the head represents one shop that has 50 consumers, the long tail represents 50 websites that have one customer.
BARB data

Barb stands for Broadcasters' Audience Research Board.
They collate viewing figures for all the major UK broadcasters such as BBC, ITV and Sky.

BARB data can then be used by television companies to assess how well  a television series is performing - compared wit previous series, for example, or with rival shows on other channels.

Demographics 
In which media producers study the breakdown of their target audiences based on variables in age, ethnicity, gender, economic status/class, level of education, hobbies and interests, and lifestyle choices.

Psychographics 
Profiling of audiences based on personal beliefs, values, interests and lifestyle.

BARB Data Analysis

From the viewing report in 2017, (most current) evidence suggests people are TV viewing less during summer times than any other time of the year, though it peaked just before summer for the UK general elections at 1.4billion. On demand television seen to be a much more popular format of viewing than live television, throughout the trend of the graph averaging at 0.75 billion minutes per week.






A study in 2018 looked at the way people viewed the Sky Atlantic show 'SAVE ME'. The most drastic change was from Episode 1 to Episode 2 with a rapid increase of 0 viewers to over 1000 views watching on demand via TV pre-broadcast. A constant trend with >100 viewers watching live proved that other methods of TV watching were much more popular. There was an overall negative trend in the falling numbers of on TV demand post-broadcast from around 1,500 viewers in episode 1 to just >100 by episode 5. 

From the viewing report in 2018, evidence suggests that Tablets were the most popular form of non-tv set viewing ranging at an average at 45%. Smartphones were the least yet, most consistent form of non-tv viewing at around 25% throughout the time of day. Interestingly, the non-tv set viewing of PC's begin as low as 18% in the early hours of the day, when no one has started working yet, but raise to just under 40% at around lunch time.

The Uses and Gratifications Theory

The Uses and Gratifications Theory assumes audiences actively seek out media to satisfy individual needs.
i.e. Passive and Active audiences

It looks to answer three questions:
1. What do people do with the media?
2. What are their underlying motives for using said media?
3. What are the pros and cons of this individual media use?

Information
  • Finding out about relevant events and conditions in immediate surroundings, society and the world
  • Seeking advice on practical matters or opinion and decision choices
  • Satisfying curiosity and general interest 
  • Learning; self-education
  • Gaining a sense of security through knowledge
E.g. documentaries, national geographic, history channel, newspapers, the news

Personal Identity 

  • Finding reinforcement for personal values
  • Finding models of behaviour 
  • Identity with valued others (in the media)
  • Gaining insight into oneself 
E.g. sports (individual players, teams), celebrities, artists

Entertainment

  • Escapism, or being diverted, from problems
  • Relaxing
  • Filling time
  • Emotional Release (romcoms, horror)
  • Sexual gratification 
Integration and Social Interaction 

  • Gaining insight into circumstances of others; social empathy
  • Identifying with others and gaining a sense of belonging 
  • Finding a basis for conversation and social interaction 
  • Having a substitute for real-life companionship 


Comments

  1. JCoSS Media DeptAugust 31, 2019 at 4:22 AM

    Some good work here Marni. Good analysis of one piece of BARB data - the exam will require you to analyse/identify/discuss aspects from different pieces of data.
    You were required to analyse 3 pieces, so moving forward ensure you complete all tasks.

    Well done!
    Miss C

    ReplyDelete

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