Abstract:

The success of a television show can be described with the same concepts as the success of a brand of a product. Cumulative penetration applies to both, share of repeat- buyers equals to the share of repeat-viewers , brand loyalty to programme loyalty. Based on the experience of the English AGB (Audits of Great Britain) a Finnish research agency, Finnpanel Ltd has developed a computerized repeat-buying analysis, which has now been utilised for analyzing television panel data. MTV (the only commercial television company in the Scandinavia) and Finnpanel Ltd have now analyzed television programme data of 1977 and 1978 which is not sufficient amount of data for introducing any mathematical laws of viewing if such exist. We have not been able to develop any absolute benchmarks either, but it seem obvious that even among those 30 television programmes (series / serials) there are great differences in terms of repeat-viewing.