Focus Groups > Year 9 Responses

SECTION ONE
What do you think of…?
What are your favourite programmes on…?

BBC One
- BBC’s “high profile” channel
- For ‘older’ audiences
- Like it has no advertisements
- Specialise in Drama and Documentary

BBC Two
- Like it more than BBC One
- Like ‘Thursdays are Funny’ (Comedy Night)
- Like US imports (inc. Heroes)

BBC Three
- “Rubbish”
- Disorganised + inconsistent schedules
- Show up and coming new shows
- (Don’t see the point in its online streaming; bad quality?)

BBC (General)
- Very positive response
- Like it has no advertisements
- Think it values quality over quantity
- Think it produces better versions of ITV concepts

ITV 1
- Like the Friday films
- Like Champions League coverage
- Too much ‘reality TV’ (inc. talent shows)
- Dislike the advertisements

ITV 2
- Watch very little
- Like Coleen’s Real Women

ITV (General)
- “Crap”
- “Bad version of BBC”
- Dislike the advertisements

Channel 4
- Like US sitcoms (e.g. Scrubs, Friends etc.)
- Like UK comedy (e.g. Shameless, general Friday night programming)
- Like ‘Quiz-com’ programmes (e.g. 8 out of 10 Cats, Jimmy Carr fronted shows)

E4
- Love Skins
- Regularly watch Friends, Scrubs etc.
- Think they show the best programmes from Channel 4
- Like ‘Catch Up’ and ‘First Look’ features (useful + allow to keep ahead of friends)
- Watch when home from school

Sky One
- Famous for The Simpsons, Jake 2.0
- Angry it’s no longer on Virgin Media
- Dislike too many advertisements
- Think it’s ‘for rich people’ (a ‘premium’ channel)

UKTV Gold – Advertisements are too long + regular
Dave – ‘Home of Witty Banter’, for Men, Love Top Gear, Whose Line is it Anyway?
Virgin 1 – Too new so doesn’t have good programmes, like Sarah Connor Chronicles + Fresh Prince, Like it but don’t watch often
Living – Famous for Charmed + Next Top Model, rarely watch it
FX – Think it shows the best of US programmes, Generally unaware it existed

Kids TV – don’t mind CBBC (on BBC One, not the channel), prefer to watch ‘adult’ channels
Nickelodeon – Too many Advertisements, rarely watch, dislike
Trouble – Rarely watch, Dislike, Famous for Saved by the Bell + Kyle XY

BBC Radio 1 – ‘upbeat’
BBC Radio 5 Live – Like the sports coverage + ‘606’
Capital 95.8 – Used to be a favourite but has gone bad, no good DJs (miss Tarrant etc.)
Choice FM – Don’t listen to
Heart – Dislike, for ‘old people’
Kiss – for black music
Magic – for ‘old people’
TalkSport – Don’t listen to
The Hits Radio – Unfamiliar with it
Virgin Radio – Favourite, like the DJs, like the indie music
Xfm – Well liked, like idea of no DJs to allow more music, tracks repeated too often



SECTION TWO
Do you know this programme?
What channel is it on?
What do you think of this programme?

Hollyoaks
Channel 4
- Girls seem to like it but boys don’t (or at least don’t admit to watching)
- Boys called it ‘stupid TV’ with bad acting with ‘low mental range’
- Boys and Girls find it good to laugh at and are both easily hooked

Strictly Come Dancing
BBC One
- Bad scheduling, Saturday dinner slot isn’t their ‘prime time’
- They didn’t understand why you would watch bad dancers dance
- Don’t show any auditions – their favourite reality TV stage

Friends
E4, Channel 4
- Love it, can’t fault it

Shipwrecked
Channel 4
- Range from ‘bad’ to ‘alright’
- Nothing happens, it doesn’t interest them

EastEnders
BBC One
- Really disliked, for old people
- Ridiculous, repetitive storylines

Vanity Lair
Channel 4
- Most were unaware of it
- Mixed reaction from those who had – mild entertainment

Sound
- Didn’t know it

The O.C.
Channel 4
- Love it
- Think it’s more for women
- Full of fit people

Them
- Didn’t know it

The X Factor
ITV 1
- Auditions are their favourite
- Final is inflated so its too big a deal
- Easy to lose track
- The girls had voted, the boys haven’t

Falcon Beach
Didn’t know it

Balls of Steel
Channel 4
- For men
- Funny, but too repetitive

Big Brother
Channel 4
- Gone too far?
- Too long
- Thoroughly disliked

America’s Next Top Model
Living
- ‘For girls and gays’
- Too American – good and bad thing
- Good that they show different sized models

Ugly Betty
Channel 4
- Funny
- Well liked

Skins
E4, Channel 4
- Love it
- Too aspirational?
- Just drink, sex and partying



SECTION THREE

What would the perfect TV programme be like?
- Funny, sitcom style
- Starring + aimed at Young Adults
- ‘Stupid’ out of the ordinary storylines, but not surreal
- NOTE: Sounds strikingly similar to Skins…

When do you watch TV?
- Not in the mornings
- ‘Early’ Afterschool (4pm-5pm) – some Kids TV
- Afterschool (5pm-8pm) – channels like E4, Channel 4, BBC

Where do you watch TV?
- Vast majority in the Living Room
- Those with TVs in their bedrooms watch more TV alone in their rooms

How do you watch TV?
Freeview – ALL had Freeview in their homes
Sky – a few, a couple with Sky+
Virgin Media – only two, they described it as ‘crap’ (due to BSkyB dispute)
Online – Used by technically minded (mostly boys), illegal but don’t care, regularly use torrents, Limewire + streaming
BBC iPlayer – Like the that it STREAMS (fast, no waiting), good as a ‘catch-up’ or ‘in-advance’ service
4oD – Don’t like that it requires DOWNLOADS, find that STREAMS don’t work
iPod – A couple have watched a film on their iPod, never used iTunes to buy video (expensive)
Mobile TV – Too expensive (T-Mobile tariff used as example), small screen is a hindrance



SECTION FOUR
What do you know about…?
What programmes do they show?
Do you like it?

T4
- Channel 4, for ‘Teens’
- Good for music, live band performances
- Prefer E4’s content
- Don’t watch regularly, only if they have nothing else to do
- Bad irritating presenters
- Don’t tend to watch their programmes

BBC Switch
- Never heard of it
- Saturday afternoon TV (12pm-onwards): they are out with friends at this time, ‘surely no one would watch?’
- Sunday evening radio (7pm-onwards): they don’t listen to radio for long periods, only whilst doing something else (homework etc.)
- Adults make the decisions, so won’t be what teens really want
- Suspicious the BBC introduced it for a reason, to be ‘seen to’ have teen show?
- Not advertised or promoted at all – they’re completely unaware because they’ve never been informed

RTS Futures 'Lost TV Generation?' Event > Young People's Top 20 Shows

According to RTS research, the Top 20 programmes for 16-24 year olds are...

- Scrubs
- The Simpsons
- Balls of Steel
- Big Brother’s Little Brother
- Big Brother: According to Russell Brand
- Prison Break
- Shameless
- America’s Next Top Model
- Mighty Boosh
- Not Another Teen Movie
- Shipwrecked
- Ugly Betty
- 60 seconds (News)
- FoneJacker
- 8 out of 10 Cats
- Five News Update
- Friends
- Skins
- Family Guy
- Hollyoaks

These may be outside the age-group I am studying, but they provide important context if my research proves that 12-15s are into more 'adult' programming.

DETAILED PROPOSAL > The Perceived ‘12-16 year old’ Demographic

[ TOPIC AREA 2: CHILDREN & THE MEDIA ]

“To what extent does the BBC Switch strand of specialised content satisfy the demands of its supposed 12-15 year old demographic?”

Under this question, I will explore three general themes. Firstly, whether or not a distinct 12-15 age group exists, separate from either ‘children’ (up to 12 years old) or ‘adults’ (16 years old onwards). Secondly, whether the new BBC Switch strand plugs the real demands of this demographic. And finally, what the real demands of the 12-15 year old demographic are, according to both primary and secondary research.

I’ve chosen this topic even though I originally wanted to explore the Crime & The Media topic, because it strikes me as an unexplored yet topical issue for the industry. This demographic is perceived to be the key to future prosperity in the on-demand digital age – so are the BBC targeting them and satisfying their needs successfully, or needlessly?

Sourcing named theorists on this issue is tricky as this is a relatively new issue for the industry. For the most ‘accurate’ findings, academic research which takes into account the rise of video-on-demand and, most significantly, YouTube needs to be found.

In terms of industry, I will focus on the BBC in particular and its response to this problematic demographic. However, as the issue of PSB commitments may affect the BBC in ways commercial broadcasters are not, I may well look at ITV and Channel 4 in the context of commercial factors. I will conduct textual and content analysis on all BBC Switch branded content (BBC Two, BBC Radio 1 and bbc.co.uk/switch) broadcast on the same weekend. This will include Sound (a music programme), Falcon Beach (a US teen drama import), Them (an online/broadcast mini-documentary series), Switch with Nick Grimshaw (BBC Radio 1’s ‘youth’ magazine show) and The Surgery with Kelly Osbourne (BBC Radio 1’s teen advice and health programme). Andy Parfitt is Controller of BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra and now BBC Switch and Geoffrey Goodwin is Head of BBC Switch as a strand. They both report to Jana Bennett, Director of BBC Vision.

Access to the audience is obviously of the upmost importance and short of getting full parental permission, a Year 7 (11-12) and a Year 9 (13-14) form have already agreed to take part in focus groups, interviews and fill-in questionnaires. I aim to examine the media consumption of this sample through media diaries, testing audience responses to BBC Switch programmes and popular mainstream programmes.

AUDIENCE: This is a heavily audience-focussed question, which will examine the interests as well as the habits of the chosen demographic.
INSTITUTIONS: What are institutions like the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 or even MTV doing to lure this tough demographic and what are their motivations? – PSB? Commercial?
FORMS & CONVENTIONS: Are this audience as fickle as industry-types claim? Institutions are increasingly breaking television conventions to embrace the ‘interactive’ phenomenon. Is this what the audience really wants? What conventions appeal to the demographic and what programmes contain these?
REPRESENTATION: This question doesn’t tackle the issue of representation to a great extent, but the issue of how the industry perceives and then presents this demographic is important. Skins is a perfect example of representation colliding with entertainment value – are they creating aspirational characters to lure in audience share or do they really think Skins reflects normal teenage life?

Secondary Sources:
- Digital Entertainment Survey 2008 – Entertainment Media Research (Wiggin)
- OFCOM Communications Market Report 2006, 2007
- ‘Delivering Creative Futures’ Speech – Mark Thompson (Director General, BBC)
- RTS Futures: ‘Lost TV Generation?’ (12th February 2008) – Event Transcript
- MediaSnackers Vodcast - Episode 15: Industry Response to ‘Lost TV Generation?’ Event
- 'The Appropriation of New Media by Youth': MEDIAPRO European Research Project – Full Report
- 'Children’s Media Culture: Education, Entertainment and the Public Sphere' – Centre for the Study of Children, Youth and Media (CSCYM) Report
- 'Public Service Goes to Market: British Children’s Television In Transition' – David Buckingham, Hannah Davies, Ken Jones and Peter Kelley (Media International Australia/Culture and Policy, 1999)
- 'In The Worst Possible Taste: Children, Television and Cultural Value' – Hannah Davies, David Buckingham and Peter Kelley (European Journal of Cultural Studies, 2000)
- 'Children's Television in Britain: History, Discourse and Policy' – BFI: David Buckingham, Hannah Davies, Ken Jones and Peter Kelley (1999)
- 'Small Screens: Television for Children' - David Buckingham (Leicester University Press 2002)
- 'Public Service Goes to Market: British Children's Television in Transition' - David Buckingham, Hannah Davies, Ken Jones and Peter Kelley (Institute of Education, University of London)