The Television Audience

• Industry data from BARB show that average viewing for the 12 months ending December 2000 was 26 hours per week.  Most viewers watched between 15 and 35 hours per week.

• Heavy viewers (35 hours+) made up more than one fifth of respondents in this survey. In the regions, Scotland, Wales and the Midlands had the most heavy viewers .

• Light viewers (15 hours or less) made up almost one in five respondents and were found most frequently in Northern Ireland.

• Multi-channel growth was slow.  New subscribers were most likely to be Light viewers and from social groups AB.

• Those interested in obtaining a multi-channel service were outnumbered almost three fold by those who were not.

• A declining minority of multi-channel subscribers had more than one television connected to receive the services and this was lowest among digital subscribers.

Technology in the Home

• Over one half of children now have a television in their bedroom.  Highest rates were reported by parents who were Heavy viewers or multi-channel subscribers.

• Internet access rose dramatically to 18% in the 2000 survey, due mainly to increased availability in the home.

• Over one half of ABs and Light viewers had Internet access, more than three times that of Heavy viewers or DEs.

• Two thirds of viewers claimed never to have used the Internet.  Of these, nine out of ten said they had no intention of getting such access in the next six months.

• One in five respondents were willing to pay extra for Interactive services such as home banking/shopping/the Internet.

• There has been a modest increase in the number of subscribers using Pay-Per-View, with more interest shown for films than sporting events.

• Video recorder ownership and especially VCR use showed a decline year on year.

• Interest in Soap operas and Quiz shows has increased while interest in Situation comedies and older/classic films has declined.

• Among those claiming they did not have enough chance to watch television were parents, ABs and C1s and Light viewers.

 Programme Standards

• The majority (59%) thought that programme standards had not changed.  Twice as many said programmes had got worse as said they had improved (28% + 13% respectively).

• Multi-channel subscribers were more satisfied than terrestrial only viewers.

• Heavy viewers were the most likely to think that programmes had improved.

• Women, those over 35 years old and broadsheet readers were most likely to say programmes had got worse

• Viewers complained about increased repeats, swearing and offensive language and violence.

• Praise was given for better quality, wider range and more interesting programmes.

• Multi-channel viewers were far less critical of their subscription services than terrestrial-only viewers were of their television opportunities.

Offence and Acceptability

• Viewers reporting offence at programme content continues to fall.  In 2000 it was the lowest in the survey’s history at 29% of respondents reporting offence.  The decline is notably in the older age groups.

• The most common cause of offence was swearing and offensive language followed by violence, then sex/nudity. 

• However, more viewers claimed to have switched off their sets or changed channels because of violence, followed closely by swearing and offensive language and then sex/nudity.

• Women were twice as likely to report switching off as men.

• Other groups most likely to be offended were terrestrial only users, those from Northern Ireland, Wales and the South as well as parents with children at home.

Sources of News

• Television increasingly is the main source of world news at the expense of newspapers and radio.  Television was mentioned most frequently by Heavy viewers, tabloid readers, those completing their education at 16 and those in social grades C2DE. 

• For radio, the reverse was shown, being mentioned most frequently by broadsheet readers, those who continued their education to 20+ and social grades AB.

• Television was least likely to be mentioned as the main source of world news in London and most frequently in the South.  Newspapers were cited most frequently in the North and Scotland and least often in Northern Ireland and Wales.  For radio, the peak was in London and the trough in Wales.

• Sources of local news also showed television to be the most frequently first mentioned, closely followed by newspapers and radio. 

• Regional variations were considerable in the main source of local news.  In Northern Ireland and Wales over one half mentioned television - double that of London.  Newspapers received high nominations in both Scotland and London, especially compared with Northern Ireland.  Radio was most popular in the North and least in Wales.

Impartiality

• Overall, the majority (59%) believed television to be fair and impartial. 

• Three out of ten thought that the channels they watched showed either favouritism or discrimination.  Those most likely to claim some bias were: Light viewers, broadsheet readers, those interested in politics, educated to 20+, social groups ABC1, the under 24s and those 65+.

• Groups thought to be favoured were political parties/politicians generally, followed by the government/party in power.  Here the year on year rise is considerable.  The most frequently mentioned group as the victim of discrimination was minorities in general,  closely followed by ethnic minorities.

• One quarter accused BBC1 of political bias, a level higher than previous years, followed by BBC2, both well ahead of ITV while Channel 4 attracted little criticism.  More thought the BBC was pro Conservative than pro Labour.  ITV received less criticism but more accused it of a pro Labour than Conservative bias.

• Considering all the respondents claiming political bias on the main terrestrial channels, the split was 51% Labour, 49% Conservative.

Attitudes to Advertising

• Annual comparisons showed that more viewers felt advertisements were entertaining this year.  However, more complained that they interrupted programmes, films or motor racing.

• Viewers saying that more advertising would be acceptable on ITV/C4/C5 rose to 11% from 7% in 1999.  Heavy viewers were much more likely to tolerate increased advertising.

• Regions complaining there was too much advertising were the Midlands, the South and Northern Ireland.  However Northern Ireland was the region most likely to say more advertising would be acceptable.

• Those claiming that advertisements are misleading or offensive declined dramatically.

Regulation

• More viewers this year said that parents should take responsibility for children not seeing unsuitable programmes.  More parents (nearly one half) said that they had actively prevented their child watching a programme in the past 12 months.

• Liberal views increased.  More viewers agreed that people should be allowed to pay extra to watch sexually explicit programmes.

• Northern Ireland was the least permissive region about violence or sexually explicit material or about allowing programmes which might offend even a minority of people.

• One quarter could not think of where they should complain if they were upset or offended by programmes on BBC or ITV/C4/C5.  Twice as many multi-channel subscribers could not say where they might complain about pay TV.

• Two thirds of Internet users admitted to not knowing where they might complain about Internet content and six out of ten could not say who might regulate or control it.

• When invited to choose from a list of ways people could restrict Internet access, most parents still could not offer a view about their preferred system (especially those with 4-9 year olds).

• Despite the growth of ‘smart’ remote controls, which parents can use to block channels to prevent children from accessing them, very few multi-channel parents used such systems and large numbers of such respondents seemed unaware that this could be achieved.