Revision PowerPoint into everything you need to know for the AQA Media Studies examination on Television

1. Section A - Television
By Matthew Howell

2. 1) AUDIENCES & MEDIA PRODUCTS
Section A - Television

3. Identifying a Target Audience
• In order to effectively target their audience. Television networks can use
various means of primary and secondary research. These include:
– Producing online questionnaires for certain demographics to find out what
they would want from the channel.
– Researching into similar content to their own (to see what kind of elements
the audience of the existing programme enjoyed and how they could
incorporate that into their own product).
– Making a preview of what their idea is and showing it to their target audience
to get their opinions.
• An example of a company who conducts research into demographics is
Thinkbox. They research into various demographics based on factors such
as age, gender and social class and provide this data to advertisers to
allow them to produce effective products.

4. How the audience control what is produced?
• With focus groups, you get a group of people together – of the intended demographic – to ask about
their intended views or opinions regarding the producer’s ideas for a media product. This helps them
to adjust and adapt their ideas to ensure they are conveying the intended set of ideals, appropriately
to the audience.
• Market research is where you gather information about a certain demographic you are trying to pitch
to. This is used as it allows the producer’s to be able to fully understand the needs and preferences of
the audience. This allows them to be able to produce a product which is definitely going to appeal to
its intended demographic and entice them to the product.
• An example of a company which conducts research is BARB (British Audience Research Board). They
compile data regarding audience viewership of certain TV channels and programmes which allows
broadcasters and producers to be able to know which genres of content are going to appeal to certain
audiences at certain times on certain networks. For example: At 8:00 to 9:00pm on Saturdays on ITV,
more family oriented content may appeal to audiences (such as: game shows or competitions) based
on the interests of demographics that commonly watch the channel at this time.

5. How do we identify certain Demographics?
• We are able to identify certain demographics by looking at certain aspects
regarding an audience’s profile. These include:
– Age and Gender
– Social Class and Education
– Income Level and Employment
• Here are some of the brackets which we place certain demographics into:
Grade Social Status Types of Jobs
A Upper Class High managerial or executive placements.
B Middle Class Lower departmental managerial positions.
C1 Lower Middle Class Supervisory placements and Junior Managerial placements.
C2 Skilled Working Class Skilled manual workers.
D Working Class Semi/Unskilled Manual Workers.
E Lower Working Class Single earners with lower wage and grade positions.

6. Audience Categorisation
• Audience categorisation is where we place certain audiences in certain groups based
on profiling. There are a variety of companies who conduct this research. These are:
– BARB (British Audience Research Board) – This is an organisation which compiles research into
television viewing rates by certain demographics.
– BRAD (British Rates And Data directory) – This is an organisation which researches into certain
demographics for advertising. They help and support advertisers to ensure any campaigns target
their intended demographic with the desired effect.
• Audience categorisation is important as it allows us to see the interests and needs of
groups of people with similar interests. This is important information for producers
as it allows them to be certain that the product they want to make will be able to
target the intended demographic and that it is an idea which is worth investing in
and producing.

7. New Media Technologies
• Over recent years a variety of technological advances have led to a change in our TV habits as consumers.
• With a variety of advances in technology such as Apple’s iPad (2010). Consumers are much less restricted
to the ways in which they can interact with the media. Advances in Wireless and Mobile Data technologies
(such as 802.11ac Wi-Fi and 4G mobile connections) along with the creation of services such as TVCatchup
means that Live TV is accessible from even the most remote locations across the country and is no longer
confined to the Living Room. Furthermore, with the advance of Social Media (such as Twitter) audiences
feel that they have much more of a voice and influence into how TV operates.
• Furthermore, as technology evolves we are beginning to see fewer people watching ‘conventional TV’ (e.g.
the entire family in the living room watching primetime TV). Across the US various trends such as ‘cutting
the cord’ (which refers to many people swapping expensive cable TV packages for Netflix and Amazon
Prime subscriptions) are beginning to take over and affect the way in which we access the media and what
we expect from it. Factors which come into this include cost, the expansion and advancement of Wireless
Technologies (in particular fibre broadband), and the vast amounts of content to access at the touch of a
button. Other trends such as rises in urban populations also affect this as city workers often have varied
working hours so cannot stick to a TV guide for what they want to watch.

8. Uses and Gratifications Theory in TV
• The uses and gratifications theory refers to what an audience needs and wants to gain from a media
source.
• There are a variety of needs the audience members would have of particular programmes. These include:
– Education and Information – This is particularly prominent in programmes such as news, investigations and
documentaries where the audience is gratified by learning about a new topic or issue they may be unaware of.
– Entertainment – Various genres of programming offer entertainment such as: Comedy, Soap Operas, Reality TV and
Dramas. The audiences of these particular genres enjoy different things about them (so a Comedy audience would
enjoy relatable humour, whereas a Drama audience would enjoy enigma and tension from the programme).
– Personal Identity – This is where the audience can imagine themselves in the position of a character (for example in a
soap opera, they may be able to relate to personal problems that a character is going through or in a news
programme they may be able to relate to a person featured on the programme with regards to their views and their
lifestyle).
– Social Interaction – This is where the audience enjoys the social interaction that comes with watching a show. This can
be presented in various different forms such as via Social Media (while the show is airing), with family and friends
(whilst or after the airing) or with work colleagues or classmates (the following day). This is often the case across
many genres but in particular with Soap Operas and Dramas.
– Escapism – This is where the audience feel immersed in the programme and are able to get away from reality and into
a fantasy world (regardless of how farfetched from reality). An example of genres which may play on the ideas
associated with escapism include science fiction (which often allow the viewer to escape to another place or time
period) and Soap Operas (which allow the audience to escape from their own problems and stresses and gain an
insight into someone else’s life).

9. 2) OWNERSHIP, CONTROL & FINANCE
Section A - Television

10. Conglomerates (The BBC)
• The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) are the worlds oldest and biggest broadcasting corporation which specialises in
creating content in a variety of different forms for different audiences.
• Here are some examples of the industries they specialise in:
– TV – This is the industry which the BBC are arguably most noted for. They create vast amounts of media content in-house for a
variety of different genres which are then distributed across the world. Notable programming includes: Luther, Doctor Who,
Gavin & Stacey and Sherlock. They broadcast this content via UK TV channels (such as BBC One and BBC Two) but also via
international channels (such as BBC America).
– Radio – This is the industry which the BBC has been involved with for the longest amount of time. They have a variety of National
and Regional radio stations which broadcast content across the UK via FM, Digital Radio and Internet Radio. They have different
radio stations which specialise in delivering different genres of content such as BBC Radio 1 (which specialises in Music Radio),
BBC Radio 4 (which specialises in News and Factual Content) and BBC Radio 5 Live (which specialises in Sports News and Games).
– News – The BBC also specialise in News Production. They have a variety of means which they utilise to deliver this content
including: TV (delivered by dedicated BBC News and BBC World News channels but also on BBC One), Radio (delivered by BBC
Radio 1 in the form of News-Beat and by BBC World Service), and Online (via the BBC News website and Mobile Apps for
Android and iPhone).
– Online – The BBC are particularly noted for offering a variety of online content available free for many users. This includes
various notable services such as: BBC iPlayer (which provides UK users with the ability to catch up on most of the BBC TV and
Radio content for free), BBC Bitesize (which provides students with the ability to research into school subjects and topics) and
BBC Sport (which provides people with coverage from a variety of different sports across the UK).
• The BBC is legally obligated to provide content for all audiences on a variety of platforms that is interesting and engaging.
This helps to control what kind of content different demographics are exposed to.

11. Specialised Companies (Avalon)
• Avalon is a television production company which produces a variety of content
showcased by the BBC. They also own other subsidiaries such as Flame Television
and Liberty Bell Productions.
• They appear to specialise mainly in areas such as Comedy. This is shown due to the
fact that they have many comedians signed up which they help to manage and
promote such as Ed Gamble and Joe Wilkinson.
• Avalon primarily release their content via a traditional TV broadcast on channels
such as BBC Three. However, they also release their content with catch-up services
hosted by the broadcaster (such as BBC iPlayer or UKTV Play) and they also
manage live shows for a variety of their comedians.
• Examples of TV shows which Avalon (and their subsidiaries) produce include
Russell Howard’s Good News (for the BBC) and Dave Gorman’s Modern Life Is
Goodish (for UKTV – a BBC subsidiary).

12. Issues facing content producers
• Horizontal Integration is where companies of different industries merge together to deliver a variety of products and services to their
consumers. An example of this is BSkyB who have various operations such as Home Phone and Broadband but also operate a Satellite
TV network and corresponding channels as well as a news service (Sky News).
• Vertical Integration is where a company acquires various stages of the production of content. An example of this is the BBC who
produce and edit TV programmes in-house, they also manage their own advertising and distribution of the media (with BBC Worldwide
companies such as 2Entertain) and they also control the broadcast of content via the BBC TV Channels (Such as BBC One and Two).
• Issues of Bias are far less prominent in TV than they are in Print Media. This is because TV News channels such as BBC News have to
cater to an entire audience and not just one demographic. This means that it is vital that they represent every party fairlyand justified
and deliver only the true facts rather than opinions. However, in Print Media, the newspapers are able to target specific demographics
(such as The Sun who target right-wing demographics) due to the amount of publications that exist in comparison to News Channels.
This means in the world of Print Media that there is something for everyone but nothing for everyone.
• Media Imperialism is where smaller countries are losing out on their opinions due to the more voiced opinions of larger countries. An
example of this is where the media cover stories which are based in much larger countries such as the United States rather than stories
based in the home country (such as with awards ceremonies like The Oscars). The worry of this is that these values from muchlarger
nations will displace that of existing countries.
• An example of this is The Guardian’s article regarding ITV’s Criticisms of the BBC when buying in Television Programmes. Theycriticised
the BBC from purchasing overseas formats such as The Voice – which have a high licencing cost. ITV claimed that the BBC was ‘side-
lining’ their original programming for these overseas formats and compromising on featuring important and original programming in
favour of Television Ratings. They also stated that the BBC should let commercial rivals purchase programming before they do.

13. 3) WORKING PRACTICES & JOB ROLES
Section A - Television

14. What happens in Media Industries?
• In the Television Industry there are a variety of tasks going on to allow a company to be able to
produce and deliver content to its audience.
– Writers and Researchers – Writers and Researchers are responsible for the early stages of content
production. They need to be able to plan out each scene and write the scripts so that the audience is
interested in the end product. Researchers are responsible for maintaining the factual accuracy of the
programme regarding various storylines and plots that are being conveyed. The Writers need to produce the
script for the entire programme before it is sent to the directors.
– Directors – Directors are important as they are the people in charge of making the content. They are
responsible for the aspects of the mise-en-scene such as lighting and props. They are also responsible for
the cameras and sound equipment to ensure they are able to ascertain all of the content they need to use in
editing.
– Editors – Editors are important as they are the people who are responsible for making the programme from
the content that has been filmed. They need to have good IT skills, be familiar with editing suites (such as
Final Cut Pro) and need to be able to solve technical problems.
– Executive Producers – Executive producers are responsible for the overall quality and output of the
television programmes. They lead the production of the programmes and are responsible for each stage of
the process. They select various marketable projects and work to ensure they are a success.

15. Freelance Roles in the Media
• Freelance employment is where you have control over your career.
You will often work in various temporary roles on short-term
contracts for different organisations in the media.
• The job roles available for Freelance workers are similar to those
available for Permanent workers such as: Writers, Actors or
Production Editors. However, these jobs require a lot of experience
from previous positions as there is generally no in-house training
provided by the company.
• However, a big disadvantage to Freelance roles are the fact that you
don’t have Job Security as you are never sure where your next
contract is going to come from.

16. 4) REGULATION & ETHICAL/LEGAL
CONSTRAINTS
Section A – Television

17. Regulation in the Television Industry
• Ofcom is an organisation which plays a big part in regulating the Television
Industry. This company has numerous responsibilities including:
– To ensure that a variety of high-standard, engaging programming is provided to all
demographics of the audience with different interests and preferences equally.
– To ensure all members of the Television Industries abide by UK acts of Law such as: The
Broadcasting Acts 1990 & 1996.
– To ensure viewers are protected from any content which may be construed as offensive and to
deal with any incidents appropriately and fairly.
– To ensure that participants in Television & Radio programmes are treated fairly and also have
the opportunity to complain and voice their concerns.
• Another regulatory organisation is the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority)
which is responsible for regulating advertising in the UK across a myriad of media
platforms.

18. Previous Incidents in this Sector
• An example of an Ofcom complaint is in the case of Brand/Ross. This was a complaint from April 2009 where the
BBC was fined £150,000 after breaching the Broadcasting code.
• An incident occurred whereby Russell Brand left numerous inappropriate answering machine messages on the
phone of Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs. Numerous failings occurred including:
– No one listening to the programme prior to its airing.
– Nobody informing Andrew Sachs about the programme and ascertaining his consent prior to the phone calls.
– There was also no effort made to obtain consent from Georgina Baillie (Sachs’ Granddaughter) as required by the code.
• The breaches of the code were to amendments:
– 2.1 – This states that members of the public have a right to be protected from content which could be construed as offensive or
harmful.
– 2.3 – This requires that broadcasters must make sure that any potentially offensive content is implemented due to the context of
the programme and is used with a reason.
– 8.1 – This clause states that any invasion of privacy into someone’s life must be performed with consent from that person or
specific justification (i.e. protecting public health) prior to the invasion taking place.
• In response to these findings, the BBC assured Ofcom that they would take the necessary measures in order to
rectify the problem. Ofcom recommended that the BBC publish a radio programme explaining Ofcom’s findings for
their audience.

19. Company-Specific Guidelines: The BBC
• The BBC have a number of guidelines to help ensure that the content they produce is to the quality that
the audience has become to expect. Various guidelines include:
– Accuracy – The content published by the BBC needs to be as accurate as possible. This is achieved by cross-checking
information with multiple sources alongside establishing the validity of the proposed content by researching into the
originating source.
– Impartiality – The content produced by the BBC needs to be impartial as well as reflecting a variety of opinions
regarding a subject. This is particularly important during political issues whereby the BBC will provide the audience
with the necessary facts they need to make up their opinion as well as introducing them to a variety of opinions
regarding an issue to provide clarity and fairly represent each proportion of the demographic.
– Harm & Offence – While the BBC must ensure that they give a true representation of certain issues, they need to
ensure that while delivering this the audience are protected and have certain rights. This means they need to only use
content which could be perceived as offensive as and when it is needed (dependent on the context) and that they
need to fully inform the audience about the potentially harmful content prior to this event.
– Consent – The BBC are required to be fair and respectful when representing all aspects of the audience. This means
that treatment of individuals is always fair (which is prominent when discussing issues such as controversial ideas),
that necessary consent has been ascertained from the individual or if not a compromise is met (e.g. obscuring their
identity) and that any issues which have been raised are dealt with swiftly and appropriately.

20. The Data Protection Act
• The Data Protection Act 1998 is an act which covers a variety of forms of data to ensure security
and validity.
• The Act states various key principles including:
– The data acquired must only be use for its intended purpose as stated to the supplier. This means that the
data cannot be used for anything other than what the owner consented to.
– The data must only be kept for the least amount of time as is possible to prevent data theft/loss. This means
that when the data is no longer needed it should be removed from the systems.
– The data must always be as accurate as possible. This means that false information must not be present in
the database.
– The data can only be transferred to countries outside the EU with a similar level of data protection and
security. This is to prevent data fraud and loss in foreign locations.
– Appropriate measures need to be taken in order to decrease the likelihood of data theft. This may involve
things such as data encryption.
• In TV, Data Protection is required in situations such as TV competitions where user data is acquired
for entry which may later be used for marketing and promotional purposes.

21. 5) TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Section A - Television

22. The Impact of Technological Advances on TV
• Technology has changed the media industry in numerous ways. First of all it has changed the ways in
which consumers access the content. For example: consumers are now less restricted to when they can
watch TV, thanks to advancements in On Demand services (such as BBC iPlayer) and mobile technologies
such as: Wi-Fi and 4G. This means fewer people are watching live broadcasts of content and are now
accessing content from a variety of places thanks to the investments in mobile infrastructure and online
services provided by organisations such as the BBC or ITV.
• Moreover, another impact on TV is that with all of these technological advancements, the audience expect
more in terms of interaction with the programme. Content providers have been able to address this need
with the use of mobile apps that accompany TV Shows (such as I’m a Celebrity or The X Factor) and allow
the audience to be able to interact with the show as it progresses. On this trend, content providers have
also utilised various social media platforms such as Twitter to allow the audience to express their views on
the programmes and listen to other people’s opinions (providing them with the gratification of social
interaction). As well as this, to entice audiences to use these platforms they will often provide incentives
such as exclusive content to appeal to a greater proportion of the audience.

23. Technology Case Study: BBC iPlayer
• BBC iPlayer is an online catch-up TV service for the entire BBC TV network in the United Kingdom. It was
initially made in 2007 and has expanded ever since.
• It is available to its audience via numerous platforms such as: via the website (www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer), via
mobile apps (made for iOS and Android devices), through Smart TV’s and Set-top-boxes (such as Apple TV
or Sky+) and Game Consoles (such as the PS4 or Xbox One). The fact that the are able to present their
content on multiple platforms is important as certain demographics will access the service in different
ways. For example: a younger demographic may access the service more via the mobile apps or game
console services whereas an older demographic may access it via the website.
• They also include a variety of other features to entice different demographics such as the inclusion of the
ability to watch live TV and the implementation of the ability to download the programmes to watch when
a user is offline. The ability to download programmes may appeal to city workers who regularly commute
to work using services such as Metro Stations and Buses where connectivity is often limited. This
symbolises how the media providers need to keep up to date with their services and infrastructure to
retain the attention of their audience.

24. BBC iPlayer Website
This is the primary means of accessing
the On-Demand service. It features
various categories such as Comedy,
Drama and Documentaries to appeal
to the wide demographic of users that
access the service.