Tv audiences
Aim: to investigate the target audiences for media products.
Mainstream vs Niche
Mainstream: an audience that consumes a product that appeals to a wide range of groups and cultures.
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).
Narrowcasting: aiming programmes at specific and specialist audiences as opposed to broadcasting to 'mass' audiences.
Chris Anderson: The Long Tail Theory
the theory is that our culture and economy is increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of 'hits' (mainstream products and markets).
BARB data: stands for Broadcaster's Audience Research board. They collate viewing figures for all the major UK broadcasters such as BBC,ITV and SKY.
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.
The NRS social grades are a system of demographic classification used in the UK. They were originally developed by the National Readership Survey in order to classify readers, but are now used by many other organisations for wider applications and have become a standard for market research.
Only around 2% of the UK population identifies as upper class and this group is not included in the classification scheme.
(www.barb.co.uk)
This graph shows the profile of TV set viewing for the program The Tunnel - Vengeance. For example for the first episode more people watched the program on demand post broadcast than people who watched it live. Similarly the infographic also divides the viewers by age and gender, and social group, showing that more people over the age of 45 (25%) watch the tv show than people under 45 (15%) on both on demand post and pre broadcast. The gender graphs show that roughly both men and women watch the program equally pre and post broadcast, however the total percentage for women is slightly higher. On the other hand when comparing the upper middle class to the lower middle class, there is a huge divide whereby the upper class have a higher viewing percentage of the sky Atlantic program than the lower middle class, I believe that this is due to a difference in the amount of income those who are lower class make in comparison to the upper class.
Audience needs:
Aim: to investigate needs theory, with reference to uses and gratifications.
The Uses and Gratifications Theory assumes audiences actively seek out media to satisfy individual needs. The Uses and Gratifications Theory 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/cons of this individual media use?
Why/how do we consume media?
personal identity:
Entertainment:
Mainstream vs Niche
Mainstream: an audience that consumes a product that appeals to a wide range of groups and cultures.
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).
Narrowcasting: aiming programmes at specific and specialist audiences as opposed to broadcasting to 'mass' audiences.
Chris Anderson: The Long Tail Theory
the theory is that our culture and economy is increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of 'hits' (mainstream products and markets).
BARB data: stands for Broadcaster's Audience Research board. They collate viewing figures for all the major UK broadcasters such as BBC,ITV and SKY.
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.
The NRS social grades are a system of demographic classification used in the UK. They were originally developed by the National Readership Survey in order to classify readers, but are now used by many other organisations for wider applications and have become a standard for market research.
Only around 2% of the UK population identifies as upper class and this group is not included in the classification scheme.
(www.barb.co.uk)
This graph shows the profile of TV set viewing for the program The Tunnel - Vengeance. For example for the first episode more people watched the program on demand post broadcast than people who watched it live. Similarly the infographic also divides the viewers by age and gender, and social group, showing that more people over the age of 45 (25%) watch the tv show than people under 45 (15%) on both on demand post and pre broadcast. The gender graphs show that roughly both men and women watch the program equally pre and post broadcast, however the total percentage for women is slightly higher. On the other hand when comparing the upper middle class to the lower middle class, there is a huge divide whereby the upper class have a higher viewing percentage of the sky Atlantic program than the lower middle class, I believe that this is due to a difference in the amount of income those who are lower class make in comparison to the upper class.
Audience needs:
Aim: to investigate needs theory, with reference to uses and gratifications.
The Uses and Gratifications Theory assumes audiences actively seek out media to satisfy individual needs. The Uses and Gratifications Theory 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/cons of this individual media use?
Why/how do we consume media?
- information
- personality identity
- integration and social interaction (personal relationships)
- entertainment
- education
- escapism
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
personal identity:
- finding reinforcement for personal values
- finding models of behaviour
- identifying with values others (in the media)
- gaining insight into oneself
Entertainment:
- escapism/ being diverted from your problems
- relaxing
- filling time
- emotional release
- 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; The Water Cooler Effect
- Having a substitute for real-life companionship
Ruby,
ReplyDeleteYour notes are fantastic.
With regard to the BARB infographic, you need to annotate this in detail, explaining exactly what it shows, and how a television company might use the data. This is a key skill you will need for the examination.
Mr Boon
Excellent BARB analysis - target met.
ReplyDelete