Week 1: Critical Approaches to Creative Media Products: Audience Research Agencies

I have now completed my notes and research into the two research agencies who measure figures. These were BARB which measures TV viewing figures and RAJAR which measures radio listening figures. I have gained more knowledge into these companies. I have continued to write the report on these two companies, by writing this report I have been able to see the similarities and differences between the ways the figures are collected. There are strong similarities between these two research agencies and these include:

·         Both non-profit organisations.

·         Their systems are relevant to both media producers and the consumer.

·         The reason they collect their figures are similar (to see the amount of listeners and viewers for programmes and the demographics of the audience).

·         Detailed demographics of the audience are recorded: This is a very important aspect in creating a programme or product, as the product is being made for a certain target audience. By the figures being collected the producer is able to see whether their programme is indeed reaching their target audience.

I have also learnt how they collect their figures; each research company has a survey or diary to be completed, which involves people chosen at random to participate. Through completing the first task I have been able to see why these companies collect figures and why it is important to the industry, including media producers and the consumer (target audience). 
The image below shows a screenshot of the audience figures collect by BARB showing TV Viewing Figures.


BARB Weekly Viewing Figures Screenshot

This graph below from the BARB Website shows the average weekly hours of people age 4+. This is shown for 2011, by hours and week numbers.