Audience uses and gratifications from television

1. Television media
L.O: to explore the medium of television shows and
explain the gratifications that an audience might get
out of different television genres.
How many different types of
television programme can you
name?
Challenge: what makes these
programmes different?

2. Television genres
• When we talk about different types of television programmes, we call
these genres.
• GENRE = a way of classifying and ordering films, television
programmes, music, books, etc by type or kind.
HARD: Write your own definition of the word “genre”.
HARDER: Write an example of different types of genre.
HARDEST: Explain why we use genres to classify media.

3. Identifying television types
Watch the clip carefully and write down what
TYPE of television programme you saw.
Challenge: You’ll need to be ready to EXPLAIN
how you were able to categorise the genre of
the television programme.
EXAMPLE:
• University Challenge – quiz show
• Includes: a host, two teams, scoring points,
beat the clock, live audience…

4. Television case study
TASK: Choose one example of a television programme and build a case
study which explains:
• Who the target audience is
• How it fits into the uses and gratifications model (what do the
audience get from it? Why do they choose to watch it?)
• The genre conventions that it uses (i.e. things that we’d normally
expect to see in a sitcom or a soap)
PEER ASSESSMENT: Explain your case study to your partner but
DON’T TELL THEM WHAT SHOW IT IS. Can they guess what the
television programme is? How did they figure it out?

5. Practical pitching
L.O: to develop our own idea for a new television
programme and justify why it would appeal to a
specific target audience.
Target audiences
Let’s re-cap… What different
characteristics are important to
know about a target audience?
Challenge: How can this help us
to sell a product to them?

6. Your task
• You are part of the new television programme development team for the
BBC.
• You have been asked to create a new television programme that will
entertain audiences during the autumn and winter months.
• You will pitch to a panel of investors in a week’s time. The group with the
highest investment will win the challenge.
Genre: YOUR CHOICE!
Target audience: Teenagers (13-16) of both genders who go to school, like to
socialise with their friends, and need a break from the stress of school life.

7. Peer assessment
TASK: As we watch the pitches, you will need to peer assess
what you see based on the success criteria below.
You also have £10,000 to invest. You can only split this
between two groups, so think carefully!
Success criteria:
Explain how your new television programme will appeal to the target
audience
Has a USP that will make the new show stand apart from ones that already
exist
 Thought about the uses and gratifications that the audience will get from
your programme (i.e. entertainment, social interaction…)