The Dark Knight
In 2008, The Dark Knight was given an age rating of 12A. This decision became an extremely controversial one owing to the number of scenes in the film that many deemed to be too violent for children to view.
In a typical year, the BBFC recieves around 450 complaints in total, and so The Dark Knight comprising 42% of all complaints for 2008 was exceptionally high for a single film.

Notes for The History of the BBFC (documentary):

Set up in 1912, job was to protect the public from sensitive and explicit parts of films. Alot of censoring and removing scenes from films. Cinema was meant for family entertainment, everything should be clean and happy, after 1950s more adult content was allowed. Due to this, the BBFC had alot of friction with the people who didn’t like the idea of more adult or teenage content being shown in cinemas.
Arthur Watkins (first cheif censor for BBFC 1948-56) – post war explosion of movies, alot of adult films were being released. Film companies were desperate to get their film passed by Arthur Watkins, however he was very strict with what was passed.
John Trevelyen (cheif censor 1958-71) – Councils could let films be shown even if the BBFC didnt approve, therefore making the BBFC look foolish. Nudist films were being passed as the “A” category due to this. A nudist film was getting alot of revenue, and got all its money back in the first week. Alot more nude films were made after this as it was seen as a success. Over the years, swearing and male frontal nudity is being allowed in films. John cared about the film the “artist” made, and if they need a scene of shock then that is okay. However when censors viewed a Ken Russel film with excorcism, devils and sex, they wanted it banned. They wanted Ken Russel removed the majority of important parts of the film. The film was passed as ‘X’ with cuts, but Ken kept a lot of scenes in the film which the board didn’t like.
Stephen Murphy (cheif censor 1971-75) – Family man, made films before. Right person at the wrong time, unfairly treated. He had alot of pressure, and was too much for him.
James Ferman (cheif censore 1975-99) – “A man of intellect, came from a background of making films for television”. A film that was beyond the previous standards was passed by James Ferman. He believed the film was made to disgust and revolt rather than turn people on. When the police seized the film he told them this, and told them they had misunderstood the law.
There was no certificated films for home video between 1982 and 1984, so younger people could watch adult films. In 1984, the BBFC introduce censorship of home videos, where they had to classify every video in the shops. They also rebranded the BBFC, and changed ‘A’ and ‘X’ ratings to the U, PG, 12, 15 and 18 ratings. After a shooting in hungerford, people felt the usage of guns in films should be relooked at – in particular Rambo. People differed in opinion to whether Rambo should be a 15 or an 18, and eventually the film was passed as an 18. James Ferman was very strict with weapons, and removed scenes with weapons used, including a scene where sausages were used as weapons in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2.
Clockwork orange – scenes that were shocking – violence and rape. The film was reluctantly passed as an ‘X’ rated, however the director received letters threatening violence to his family, and therefore took the film down.
More recent – The public were worried about the imitability of violence on children.
At U and PG you cna see naked people without any sexual activity, at 12 you can see implied sexual scenes with small parts of nudity and at 15 you can see full nudity and sexual activities may be portrayed but without great detail.
A film like Borat was rated as a 15 due to the irony and the fact the film was not meant to be taken seriously and that 15 year olds can understand this.
Strong language is seen to be offensive and people don’t want their children to be exposed to swear words. Films were rated 15 if there are too many uses of swear words, and the context of the swearing changes what the rating could be.

A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick) and its relationship to the BBFC – Timeline:

• 1967 – A screenplay based on Anthony Burgess’s novel was shown, and the distributors were advised that a film showing ‘an unrelieved diet of vicious violence and hooliganism’ would be unlikely to be acceptable.
• 1971 – When the finished film was submitted to the BBFC, it was passed as an X (18) with no cuts. Stephen Murphy defended the film by saying “Disturbed though we were by the first half of the film, which is basically a statement of some of the problems of violence, we were, nonetheless, satisfied by the end of the film that it could not be accused of exploitation: quite the contrary, it is a valuable contribution to the whole debate about violence”.
• 1972 – Only shown in one cinema in London due to the X rating
• 1973 – Concerned about reports of copycat violence, and threats made to the safety of himself and his family, Kubrick withdrew the film from circulation in the UK.
• 1999 – After Kubricks death, his family agreed to permit the release of the film again. It was submitted to the BBFC and recieved an 18 certificate to replace the old X certificate.
• 2000 – There was muted response from the public, and the video version was also rated 18.
• 2019 – Released as part of a special Kubrick season, 20 years after his death

09/05/19

A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)

Applied theories:

Passive audience theory – Newspapers in the early 1970s reported that A Clockwork Orange had influenced young people into committing crimes – the ‘moral panic’ was that scenes from the film would be copied in real life and British teenagers would adopt the characterisitics related to the characters in the film. This moral panic relates to the British media’s constant vilification of young people. For example:
“Murder like Clockwork” – Daily Express
“What Breeds Violence” – The Daily Telegraph

Cultivation theory – There were suggestions that exposure to the frequency and intensity of the violence and sexual violence in A Clockwork Orange would impact young people in that they would become desensitised to them. Therefore, this would mean that the likeliness of viewers engaging in these acts in real life would increase, as a result.

Male Gaze theory – Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory suggests that women in film are sexually objectified by the camera – this means that the audience is often forced to view women as weak, defenceless and as just sexual representations. The negative media effect aspect for audiences is that this attitude towards women may start to apply to real life situations. In A Clockwork Orange, female characters are often represented as sexual objects or individuals who can be exploited/abused. There are also arguably no strong female characters. There was a fear that this type of attitude in the media towards female characters, if continually represented, would change how society treated women.

Active Audience Theory – Active audiences may be able to enterpret some of the key themes and messages in the film, such as:

• Ant-establishment and critique of authority
• Critique of fascism
• Satirical comment on violence in the media
• Exploration of Freudian themes

The Law

Libel
You could face a lawsuit if the media product is published containing information about someone that is untrue and damaging their reputation. This can be in the written form, through the use of imagery or radio broadcast.

Slander
Carries the same legal implications as libel, and involves making a false statement in the spoken word.

Copyright and use of intellectual property
User-generated content – Content created by non-professionals who then distribute their work online
Many of these UGC videos feature mash-ups of other people’s work; for example, covers of songs, and parodies.

The Copyright Law
The use of other people’s work is regulated under the copyright law and in this technilogical age it can be difficult to understand where the boundaries lie. In 2014, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) amended copyright law so that the parody of material is allowed as long as it is not produced to compete with original work.

Copyright Task

1. Wired argues that millions of people break the law everyday, nearly all covers were non-commercial and had no negative impact on the market.
2. I think UGC artists covering songs should not be subjected to copyright laws unless the cover has a negative impact on the original content creator.
3. The video maker is being sued by the record label Ultra Records for using Kaskades music in her make up tutorial videos.
4. The opinions of the artist and the record label differ because the record label want to profit from the content made by the artist, while the artist creates music because they enjoy it and want others to enjoy it. The video maker who is being sued was also a fan of the artist and was inspired by him, so he wouldn’t want to sue someone who is using his music because she is a fan.

Media Effects

There has long been a debate about the impact that media products have on their audiences and this is commonly known as the ‘media effects debate’. Theories associated with this are:

• Passive audience theory
• Cultivation theory
• Moral panic theory
• Active audience theory

Passive audience theory
This theory states that audiences have limited resistance to media messages/unable to reject messages from the media. Main concerns were about the idea of ‘copycat’ effects, and this assumes the audience will copy whatever they see on screen. Also known as the ‘hypodermic needle theory’ as the media ‘inject’ ideas into people’s heads.

Cultivation theory – Gerbner and Gross (1978)
This theory suggests that over time, repetition of viewing violent acts allows certain ideas and values to become normalised. By repetitive viewing of violent images, for example in TV, film and video games the audience may become immune towards negative and/or violent representations, as per ideas about desensitisation.

Desensitisation – The idea that prolonged exposure to violent images numbs the effect of them. The more you become accustomed to violent images, the less likely they are to have an impact on the audience.

Moral Panic theory – Stanley Cohen (1972)
An instance of public concern or ‘panic’ in response to a media product that is regarded as threatening to certain groups or debasing agreed moral standards within society.
Theory originally coined with research into the subcultures of mods and rockers and the way in which these groups fashion and media image negatively impacted on young people.

Case Studies

• Hungerford 1987 – Michael Ryan massacred people with a crossbow dressed as Rambo.
• The murder of James Bulger could have been linked with the film Childs Play 3, with the 10 year old murderers being influenced by their exposure to the film.
• In 1999, the Columbine High School massacre was blamed on the video game Doom and the music of Marilyn Mason.
• In 2007, the video game Manhunt 2 was banned owing to the fact that it was likely to incite violent behaviour in teenagers.

Active audience theory
This theory is critical of the previous ‘media effects’ theories for being ‘outdated’. David Gauntlett (2004) for example, states that there are major problems in undermining audience intelligence and scapegoating media texts (films, TV shows etc.) by saying they are the root of the problem without considering sociological and psychological human issues.

Definitions

• Censorship – Keeping material from an audience. Such material includes graphic images, speech or ideas which may be considered harmful, sensitive or offensive to audience members. Such material and levels of censorship are determined by governments, media outlets and regulatory bodies.
• Classification – The decision made about the suitability of a media text for a particular age range after the content has been viewed by regulators. The classification will be in the form of an age certificate (film and video games), warning signs (music , video games) or broadcast time (TV, film).

Media Regulation
Refers to the control or guidance of media content by governments and other bodies. This means media production and consumption are monitored. Example: ’18’ certificate being given to a film for cinema release.
The media industries are subject to regulators of various types. Some are government-appointed. This means that the media can be controlled by laws set out in parliament.

Regulatory bodies:

BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) – Film
PEGI (Pan European Game Information) – Video games
OFCOM (Office of Communications) – TV
IPSO (The Independant Press Standards Organisation) – Press
ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) – Advertisement.

Ways Doctor Who could be advertised:
TV and cinema teasers/trailers
Radio
Print – Posters, magazines, billboards etc. in populated areas
Social media – Facebook, Instagram etc.
Press tour – Chat shows, press junkets, premiere, film festival
Merchandise

Traditional methods of advertising
Methods of traditional advertising have long been used to create awareness of a product, and throughout the twentieth century, advertising developed as a global industry in its own right. In particular, print media, radio and television technologies were used in combination to create international campaigns.

Print Media
Print Media advertising includes:

• Newspaper
• Magazines
• Billboards
• Flyers, brochures and leaflets

Print media is a form of advertising that uses physically printed media, such as billboards, magazines and newspapers. It is one of the oldest methods of advertising, and while there has been a decline in revenue in newspaper and magazine advertising, owing to advancements in technology, it is still one of the most successful and powerful above-the-line methods to reach a mass audience.

Above the line advertising – Where mass media is used to promote brands and reach out to the target consumers.

Marketing campaigns for global media products feature billboards that display high production values. Film posters such as those from the James Bond franchise are an essential part of the film’s teaser trailers and marketing material.

Radio
Radio advertising includes

• Local advertising on commercial channels
• Use of idents and jingles
• Sponsorship of a station or show

Placing an advertisement on local radio in the UK is still an effective way to reach an audience. Bauer Media Group cited that in 2015 over 9 million people listen to a Bauer-owned radio station every week. These include popular brands such as Heat, Kiss and Kerrang!

DAB vs FM radio
Analogue radio is made up of waves, whereas digital radio is transmitted through digital technology. DAB stands for Digital Audio Broadcasting and is the technology radio stations use to broadcast digitally.
Digital signals allow digital radios to transmit more information, such as the song being played. The technology also allows more stations to be broadcast in the same area, as they take up less frequency space than on FM and AM.
An analogy with television is to think of DAB as like Freeview, while FM and AM are like the old analogue channels.

Television
Television advertising includes:

• Advertising in between programme commercial breaks
• Sponsorship of a primetime, flagship programme
• Use of product placement/star endorsement

In the UK, advertising on television began in 1954. Since then, there have been many successful campaigns throughout the past six decades. In particular, with the rise of cable and satellite narrowcast channels in the 1980s and 1990s there was a increased number of glossy advertising that utilised emerging special effects technology.
As audiences become accustomed to viewing vastly expensive and sophisticated products in the palm of their hand, many contemporary television adverts boast extremely high production values and cinematic, animation and graphic sequences in order to attract attention.

Narrowcast Channel – Television channels that distribute specialist interest content.

Contemporary methods of advertising
The invention of broadband technology allowed new media and Web 2.0 technologies with multimedia function to be harnessed as ways to advertise products to audiences. The rise in digital media has therefore created new and innovative ways to market media products such as film and music in particular.

Web 2.0 technologies – A phrase coined by Tim O’Reilly and Dale Dougherty (2004), and known as the ‘second phase’ of the internet, where the web pages and technologies are interactive and collaborative.

Above-the-line examples of Digital Technology:

• Pop-up adverts
• Web banners
• Official social media
• Viral memes
• Video-on-demand material

The personalised functions of social media, blogs and e-mail shots can be used to directly engage individuals by innovative below-the-line methods
Below-the-line advertising – A more one-to-one form of advertising that involves the distribution of pamphlets, handbills, stickers, promotional brochures places at point of sale, roadside banners and placards.

Power of social media

According to Ganguly, there are advantages of using social media to advertise over other traditional methods:

• Interest targeting means you can reach a specific audience depending on their self reported interests.
• Behavioural targeting means you can reach people based on purchase behaviours or intents and/or device usage.
• Custom targeting reaches audiences by uploading a list of email addresses , phone numbers, user IDs, or usernames.
• Lookalike targeting reaches new people who are similar to an audience you care about.

Football Mania

Take A Break – Mainstream audience:

• Biggest selling women magazine in the UK
• Sell over 10 million copies a year
• Contains entertainment
• Games and prizes
• Fascinating stories

Trout Fisherman – Niche audience:

• The only dedicated trout fishing magazine in the UK
• 76% of readers are A/B/C1

Mainstream audience – An audience that consumes a product that appeals to a wide range of age groups and cultures.
If a media product is said to have a mainstream or mass audience it will appeal to a wide range of people. Blockbuster films and video games produced and distributed by some of the large media conglomerates will generally make a large profit, and primetime television programmes will command large viewing figures.

Niche audience – The audience of a specialist interest media product that may only appeal to a small number of people or those that fall within a specific demographic profile (for example, ethnicity or age).
Niche audience or markets are often small and they are targeted very much on specialist interests, skills or beliefs. Products like Bauer Media’s Trout and Salmon magazine might not be well-known but it has been in publication since 1955 and therefore its loyal following means that it is still profitable enough to print every month. It is also clearly valued by fishing companies as a way to reach their ideal audience in terms of advertising their products.

Demographics – When media producers study the breakdown of their target audiences based on variables in age, ethnicity, gender, economic status or class, level of education, nationality, sexuality etc.

Psychographics – Profiling of audience members based on their personal beliefs, values, interests and lifestyle.

Geodemographics – A profile of audience members based on the area where they live and how much they earn.

NRS social grades – A method of classifying demographics based on occupation and income, developed by the National Readership Survey.

RAJAR – The acronym for Radio Joint Audience Research, which collates listening figures for over 300 radio stations across the UK.

BARB – The acronym for the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board, which collates viewing figures for all the major UK broadcasters such as BBC, ITV and Sky.

Reader Profile
Before their takeover by Time Inc., IPC Media also used interesting visual methods that included profiles accompanied by imagery and ‘mood board’ collages, created as part of their press pack information for flagship magazine such as NME and Uncut. These used official ABC1 age and gender data analysis gained from NRES research and also utilised ideas around psychographics to visually communicate audience lifestyle choices to potential advertisers.

‘Invisible fictions’
John Hartley suggested that media producers create ‘invisible fictions’, a term which suggests that media producers have a specific audience member or demographic in mind before they plan a media product.

Uses and Gratifications Model – Denis McQuall (1987)
This theory suggests that active audiences seek out and use different media texts in order to satisfy a need and experience different pleasures. It places more focus upon the audience, or the ‘consumer’ than the message of a text by asking “what do people do with media?” rather than “what does media do to people?”

• Escapism – People use media products to get away from reality
• Surveilliance – People use media products to find out information
• Personal Identity – People use media products as talking points
• Personal Relationships – People use media products as a means of shaping their own identity

Reality TV shows and soap operas are often cited as being escapist texts and, as we have previously seen, primetime shows such as The X Factor pull in large viewing figures. Social media and online forums have also contributed to such shows acting as talking points, with Facebook, Digital Spy and Twitter acting as ways in which poeple can communicate their thoughts and views. Music artists and celebrities/actors on TV programmes and films act as ‘ideal selves’ and opinion leaders or fashion icons. Indeed, magazines such as Heat and Now often feature spreads based on copying the look of a celebrity.

Britains Got Talent –
Britains got talent can be a form of escapism as it is entertainment and could seem like you’re actually at the show rather than in your home on the sofa. It is also a talking point, as friends and family can talk about the acts that were shown or the drama that goes on in the show. It could also be seen as a form of surveillance, as it will keep people updated on the entertainment and what goes on in the show – especially towards the end of the series when the finals are shown.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
The Hierarchy of Needs is a theory coined by an American psychologist named Abraham Maslow in 1943.

This theory is usually presented in the form of a pyramid diagram. The theory suggests that to be the ‘perfect’ version of yourself you must fulfill these steps.

Physiological needs are the fundamental requirements for maintaining the human body – also known as survival needs
Safety needs relate to our desire to avoid health issues and harm and hacve security, not just personally but also financially
Belongingness and love needs, also knows as social needs, refers to our wish to maintain friendships, intimacy or affection for others. If these are not fulfilled , Maslow argues that you cannot move up the pyramid
Esteem Needs requires an individual to have self-respect as well as respect from those around them. Self-esteem involves being valued and respected by other individuals and this may be through their achievements, social status achieved or mastery
Self-Actualisation This is the ‘real’ goal – to reach your full potential

Pride (2014) was distributed to America by CBS, an American television broadcast company. This company is well known in America, and broadcasts shows like Star Trek, The Big Bang Theory and NCIS.

A French company called Pathe distributed the film to Europe

19/03/19

Focus Group:

• Range of ages
• Range of occupation
• Class
• Race/ethnicity
• Religion
• Disability
• Sexuality

Primary research – Research that has been undertaken by you personally in order to gain new data. This is also knows as first-hand research.

Secondary research – The use of data or findings from research that has already been undertaken.

Qualitative data – Typically descriptive data, useful for studies at the individual level, and to find out, in depth, the ways in which people think about the product.

Quantitative data – Data that can be measured numerically. Things that can be measured precisely, such as the number of people who listen to a radio station or who have purchased a video game online.

There are many methods of primary research and the most appropriate will depend on the information needed. Methods include:

• Questionnaires – These consist of a series of questions that are tailored to gather specific information from audiences and they are an integral part of market research. Open questions allow the audience to write extended responses acting as qualitative data that can help identify specific likes, dislikes and trends. Closed questions are often those that answer in a ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ranking style and provide quantitative data that can be easily translated into percentages or graph formats.
• Focus Group – A group of people assembled to participate in a discussion about a product before it is launched, or to provide feedback on a political campaign, television series, and so on.
• Interviews – These are a standard part of qualitative research. They are also used in journalism and media reporting and, like questionnaires, are integral to market research.
• Online Surveys – These are questionnaires that the target audience can complete over the internet. Online survey services such as SurveyMonkey make them quick and easy to create.

Secondary Research is commonplace when gathering information about audiences. Some examples of secondary research are:

• Internet Research – This is when internet search engines are utilised and data, personal opinions, news articles and academic research are gathered on a particular topic.
• Books and Journals – Textbooks and their digital editions can still provide a valid way of gaining information and ideas. Academic journals that can be accessed online are also a good way of gaining up-to-date information about a particular topic.
• Magazines and Newspapers – Can provide a wealth of information. Very often, articles have been written by professional journalists who have used primary research methods, such as interviews, to gather information about a particular subject.
• Television – Documentaries, news and factual advice programmes can provide a lot of information. The use of audio-visual media is a visual aid and whilst some documentaries (such as historical documentaries) may have a particular bias, they can condense vast amounts of information into a shot, manageable chunk.

Key Terms

Circulation – A count of how many copies of a particular publication are distributed.

Readership – An estimate of how many readers a publication has (there may be more than one reader per copy).

Gap in the market – A group of potential customers who are not yet purchasing a service. This creates opportunities for companies to expand their customer base.

Audience feedback – When the audience provide a media producer with feedback about a product or brand. This is done through market research instigated by the producer or by the audience members themselves giving feedback via Web 2.0 technologies.

Competitors – Media institution, products or brands which are direct rivals against each other

Market possibilities – The ways in which institutions believe their brand or product can expand into another medium as a cross-media product or spin-off.

21/03/19

Four reasons for why companies conduct research:

1. Identify potential new customers
2. Understanding your existing customers
3. Set realistic targets for your company
4. Develop new, effective strategies

Product Reach
Media institutions expect that mass media products have a large potential product or audience research. This means that the product is likely to be successful and will make profit through sales numbers or advertising revenue. However, one of the main reasons that media institutions conduct research is to find out how many people actually consume the product within any given potential reach.

Audience Feedback

• Vital part of raising awareness of a product
• Can spot a gap in the market
• Media institutions use online methods to identify pros and cons about products and for advertising campaigns
• Social media used for this

Advantages of using social media
An advantage of using social media as a tool to gain both qualitative and quantitative feedback is that it is cheap and, on the whole, easier to administer. Online surveys are also cheap and many institutions will ask you to complete a questionnaire about their experiences with you, which is distributed to smartphones as a popup advert once a user has clicked on a product website.
In terms of identifying a gap in the market for a special product or service, producers will need to have completed a qualitative research before they launch a brand.

Competitors
Research is undertaken by media producers to find out what audiences think about the products and brands owned by direct competitors. BBC and ITV are constantly using online technologies to conduct focus groups about what viewers thought about major storylines such as EastEnders Live week (2015) and Coronation Street’s ‘Who Killed Tina?” storyline (2014).

Market possibilities
In terms of market possibilities, the most successful products will often have spin-offs and sequels. However, this will only be based on audience feedback.

Analysing
It is important that you can interpret the data that is presented to you about the ways in which audiences consume products. If you are, for example, a researcher for a television company or radio station, then you will need to be able to interpret that data.

Distribution – The methods by which media products are delivered to audiences, including the marketing campaign. These methods will depend upon the product (for example, distribution companies in the film industry organise the release of the films).

What does it involve?

• Acquiring legal rights/ownership to present media product to the public
• Marketing/promoting the media product
• Releasing the media product and sustaining its position in the market place
• Creating multiple prints/files of product for consumption – film prints to cinemas or DVD/Blu-Ray copies to shops, for instance.

There are many different ways in which products are able to reach and be distributed to audience. For example, technological convergence means “the tendency for different technological systems to evolve towards performing similar tasks”. This is when new technologies are created that take over from past technologies and perform the same task but in a more advance manner. In the past for example, the only way you would be able to view a film would be at the cinema. However, nowadays you can view films on laptops, phones, television etc. Another example is music, as ways to listening to music has drastically changed over the years. Music went from being played on a gramophone, to vinyl, to cassettes, to CDS to being digitally played on an electronic device.

Traditional methods of distributing a media product still exist today. These include going to watch a film at the cinema, watching a programme on television in your living room, listening to the radio in the car and at home, and purchasing magazines, newspapers and music in shops. However, technological convergence has made online distribution of media products has become commonplace in contemporary society.

A mobile phone strings all of this together as a multi-media device, making it a prime example of technological convergence.

Black box – a device, such as a smart phone, that supplies us with all of our information communications technology and media requirements.

As Henry Jenkins suggests, the arrival of Web 2.0 software, high-speed broadband and black box devices such as smartphones, tablets and smart TVs in the 2000s and onwards meant that media products could be bought and consumed without leaving the house.

Streaming – The way in which media products are consumed online, usually through video/audio on-demand sites.

Simulcasting – When a product is broadcast both online and via a traditional medium at the same time. In terms of TV programmes it can also mean when a programme, such as a big sporting event, is shown on two channels at the same time.

We can now download, stream and simulcast films, music and television programmes at the click of a button . There are dedicated video-on-demand services such as YouTube, Amazon Prime, Netflix and BBC iPlayer that allow us to access films and TV programmes, specifically allowing you to search and pick outside of scheduling time. There are also audio streaming services and content management systems such as Spotify and iTunes that offer millions of songs from which you can build vast playlists.

Sonia Livingstone suggested that the new digital age would bring the era of “death to the schedule”. In terms of television programmes, video on-demand services allow us to access programmes such as ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent still draws in mass audiences at a specific, scheduled time, the broadcast is accompanied by targeted social media, or “social TV” campaigns that encourage audience participation in the lead-up, during and after the programme. Behind the scenes extras and “director cuts” are also now available for audiences to access online, which have drastically changed the experience and relationship audiences have with media products.

ISP 21 Powerpoint

NRS Social Grades

The NRS social grades are categorised A-E. They are based on different job roles/class category. Although it first developed over 50 years ago, the classification still provides the UK publishing and print industry with a means of classifying audiences in a way understood by the vast majority of potential advertisers.

Powerpoints:

BARB copy

BARB-2

Media Product and Audiences PP

NRS-2

RAJAR

RAJAR-2