This paper considers the use of radio in multimedia homes. These are defined as homes that have access to additional television channels via cable or satellite and those that have access to the Internet. Data on quality of viewing/listening derived from the Quest audience appreciation panel is compared for different types of household. The analysis of appreciation data is supplemented by analyses of other audience measurement data from the United Kingdom and ad hoc questions asked of panel members. The conclusion is that those who have access to the Internet are quite different from those who have subscribed to additional television channels in terms of the ways in which they use radio. In general use and appreciation of radio services is less likely to be influenced by the growth of the Internet than is the case for television.
The paper describes the issues associated with researching the market potential for Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), a concept that was, at the time, largely unknown to most of the public. The work was sponsored by organisations with a wide range of objectives and posed a number of challenges, not least of which was how to communicate the concept to respondents. The approach that was adopted was to use a carefully structured questionnaire that introduced the various features of DAB in stages, identifying their importance to the respondent, interest in acquiring a DAB radio for the car or home and the perceived price premium. The survey provides a rich source of data that identifies: the demographic groups that are most interested in DAB; the key features that are likely to be of most importance (the key drivers for DAB); and the extent to which a common marketing strategy can be applied across Europe and where between-country differences require distinct Marketing approaches.
This paper deals with the measurement of audience reaction - what viewers think of the television programmes they watch - which is monitored on a continuous basis by broadcasters in the UK. The problems of translating appreciation into a simple score for each programme are discussed. The relationship between audience appreciation and audience size is examined and appreciation scores are found to differ for different types of programme and different demographic groups. Audience reactions to particular series are analysed and the way in which the service is being adapted to cope with the fragmentation in the television audience discussed together with the relevance of audience appreciation to advertisers.
This paper describes the Radio Opinion Monitor (ROM) which is used by the BBC to monitor audience reaction to network radio in the UK. The BBC has measured audience reaction to its services for many years and ROM is a new vehicle which has been designed to accommodate changes in information requirements and the broadcast environment. ROM is a panel survey which delivers roughly 1 listener to each of the BBC's five network services over the course of a month. The principal panel control is the combination of services which respondents listen to which, in this context, is a more useful way of classifying individuals than simple demographics. Panel members complete a diary once every four weeks in which they give a mark out of ten to each programme which they happen to hear. These scores are used to calculate a Reaction Index (RI) for each programme and this information is used alongside audience measurement data in assessing the performance of individual programmes and as a tool for programme planning and scheduling. The paper describes the way in which panel controls were developed and initial problems due to panel effects. Examples of the use of the data are also given.
The OSCAR system for estimating audiences of individual poster sites was developed in the UK for the outdoor advertising contractors from 1981 and launched in October 1985. From a census of all poster sites audiences were modelled in the form of gross vehicular and pedestrian passages per week. By taking account of the visibility of each site or panel, gross audiences can be netted down to gross Opportunities to See (OTS). OSCAR therefore provides comprehensive information on the size of the audience for individual posters, but does not give information on audience structure or composition. The National Poster Survey undertaken in October 1987 complements OSCAR data by providing information on all poster passages by a national sample of adults with respect to a national sample of poster panels. It generates estimates of the structure of the national poster audience in terms of frequency and coverage, and of its composition in terms of demographics. In conjunction with OSCAR it provides the means of modelling the audience characteristics of campaigns based on specified sites. This paper describes how the survey was developed and undertaken, the results obtained and how they will be used in practice to enhance the value of the OSCAR data in the planning of poster campaigns.