TELEVISION VIEWERSHIP HABITS
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TELEVISION VIEWERSHIP HABITS
ABSTRACT
For decades, television has been a prominent element of the media; it is definitely a vital medium. The survey looked at the population of Essien Udim Local Government Area to determine their viewing patterns.
Its goals were to identify how frequently inhabitants watch television, which station they like to tune to, what programs they prefer, and what factors influence such preferences.
This study bases its hypothesis on the uses and gratification theory and the individual difference theory, which have a significant impact on why people adopt certain behaviours.
The survey data was collected from respondents who made up the sample; the questionnaire was also employed to gather information due to its ease of data processing.
The elements that influence the television station and programmes that they watch, as indicated by the survey, include their satisfaction with the programmes.
Each individual has a need that they sought out by viewing a specific program; that need should be met. Based on the various findings, recommendations were made to help improve television viewership habits among residents of Essien Udim Local Government Area, among which television programs are advised to broadcast programmes that are beneficial by assessing their needs, thereby increasing their television viewing.
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background for the Study
Television has long been a popular means of providing entertainment, advertising, and information to the general people. The amount of development continues to cause media operators in the entertainment, advertising, and information industries to be unconcerned about the programming content of certain of our television stations.
Television is thought to be an important source of information, education, and entertainment. Television has become an integral part of most people’s daily lives and thoughts, reflecting their choices and preferences, and hence their taste.
Television is a significant medium for information dissemination. The process of information transmission is separated into dissemination, interpretation, and assessment.
(Verma; 2006). Television is the most powerful mass-communication medium. In reality, it represents a revolution in the communication process in modern civilisation. It has brought the entire globe into the homes of its viewers while also making them vulnerable to its influence.
This plainly shows that each audience has a specific motive for watching a particular program; in fact, their media expectations appear to be as diverse as their demographics and psychographic characteristics.
To achieve the ultimate purpose of communication, which is to meet the demands of the audience and ensure their continued patronage and profitability, audience happiness must be guaranteed through result-oriented, popular, diverse, and professional packaged programme contents. To accomplish this, the genuine nature of the audience must be identified.
This is achieved through audience segmentation, which divides people into groups based on their individual requirements and traits. This is essential for effective communication in fields such as advertising, public relations, and broadcasting. It is really important since the availability of knowledge is one thing.
With society becoming more complex by the day, people from various backgrounds will have varied demands, including education, social, cultural, economic, ethnic, language, political, and religious differences, as well as media needs. No one can address such needs with mere assumptions or trials.
Agee et al. (1985) stated it thus way. “Unsystematic, informal, intuition method is no longer adequate for the modern communicator for so many reasons” . It is also in the interests of media companies to examine this.
The strong competitive environment in which the media operates today requires media operators to be professionally ethical and profit-minded. To do this, practitioners must embrace audience research in order to fully comprehend the audience’s needs.
Residents of EssienUdim Local Government Area have diverse television viewing habits, with numerous distinguishing traits and interests. Based on the diversity of the population of EssienUdim Local Government Area, it is clear that opinions differ among members of the mass media audience, with some using a specific station program and others relying on another.
Depending on their preferences, some people may watch entertainment shows, while others may prefer thought-provoking programming such as news, current events, documentaries, or comments.
Selective exposure is one of the strategies that might engage an audience. It is the willingness to express oneself in communication that is consistent with one’s own value system, attitudes, and views.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Television, in addition to influencing its viewers, elicited an imitation response from other rival media as they struggled to stay up and maintain viewers (Milton, 1973).
The population of Essien Udim make up a sizable portion of Nigeria’s television audience. The importance of audience analysis in this context cannot be overstated. Most of the time, particularly in poor nations, media practitioners want to package their media content well.
They fail to consider their ostensibly diversified audience. This could be due to professional ignorance or simply taking the audience for granted. However, taking the viewer for granted today comes at a high cost to the communicator.
In the same vein, it is possible that our level of development continues to cause media operators in each sector to be unconcerned about the program requirements of various audiences.
For example, the program contents of some of our television stations do not cater to the diverse viewing public. This suggests that each audience has a specific reason(s) for watching a particular programme; in fact, their media expectations appear to be as diverse as their demographic and psychological characteristics.
As a result, the primary topic addressed by this study is: What are the television viewing habits of Essien Udim Local Government Area residents?
1.3. Objectives of the Study
The study’s aims are:
i. Determine how frequently citizens of Essien Udim Local Government watch television shows.
ii. Determine which television programming Essien Udim Local Government Area citizens prefer to watch.
iii. Determine which television stations Essien Udim Local Government Area prefers to watch.
iii. Determine the rationale for this preference; and,
1.4. Research Questions.
The following research questions will serve as a guide for this investigation.
i. How often do citizens of Essien Udim Local Government Area watch television?
ii. What television shows do Essien Udim Local Government Area citizens prefer to watch?
iii. How do citizens of Essien Udim Local Government Area choose which television stations to watch?
iv. Why do citizens of Essien Udim Local Government Area favour these stations?
1.5 Justification for the Study.
The importance of this study cannot be overstated when considering watching habits in a developing town such as Essien Udim. The outcomes of this study will help the government and the media enhance their communication channels.
This study will add to the body of knowledge by providing readers with relevant historical information about viewership habits among people of Essien Udim Local Government Area. It will be equally valuable to future Communication Arts researchers, educators, and students.
1.6 Delimitation of Study
This work focusses on the population of EssienUdim Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
1.7 Limitations of the study
This work is without restrictions. However, the following are the significant drawbacks of this work:
The surveys were only distributed to individuals who were willing to complete them; others were hostile and uncooperative. The method of data collecting was chaotic, resulting in time consumption. Another disadvantage of this study was its financial constraints.
1.8 Operational Definitions of Terms
The following terms are defined as used in the study:
i. Viewership: It refers to the number of people who watch television, either in general or for a specific type of show.
ii. Television: It displays an electronic system that transmits temporary images of fixed or moving objects, as well as sound, over a wire or through space using hardware that transforms light and sound into electrical waves before reconverting them into visible light rays and audible sound.
iii. Habit: Habits are patterns of behaviour dictated by how much time and importance people give to watching television.
iv. Programme: In this sense, a programme refers to a television depiction or item, particularly one that is transmitted on a regular basis between specific periods.
v. Development: Development is described as a process of economic and social progress that improves the quality of human life. It can be evaluated in terms of culture, money, education, healthcare, and opportunity.
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