Temple Media Project

Temple/London Fall 1999
A Psychological Profile of British Media

Why does Channel 5 use the brief appearance of a "color bar", a rainbow strip that appears quickly, in between program segments? What are its effects on the audience?

The purpose of this research was to determine whether the "color bar" had the intended effect on the audience, and the question was examined in two parts by two researchers. The first researcher investigated the reasons why channel 5 uses the "color bar", and the second researcher investigated its effects on the audience. To research the first question, one method used was library research. A book on "Channel 5" failed to give any information referring to the question (ed. Blanchard, 1990). But it did give the address of the "Channel 5" network. The address of channel 5 is 200 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8XZ. A visit was made to channel 5 to speak to someone who could give any information on the question. The receptionist’s response was to "write a letter explaining what type of information you want and bring it back to reception". A letter was than written to the press office of channel 5 stating that research was being done on channel 5 and more specifically of the "color bar" that appears between program segments. The information channel 5 handed over was a press packet on channel 5 and a booklet "27 ways we deliver ITN", none of which contained information related to the questions. To examine the second question, the second researcher interviewed five Americans between the ages of 19 and 25 who had been Channel 5 viewers for three months. Five British Channel 5 viewers from Norwich, London, and Stratford ages 19 to 35 who had been Channel 5 viewers for years were also interviewed. The following questions were posed:

No information was available or given from channel 5 in order to answer the first question. The researcher speculated that there were three possible reasons why Channel 5 has a color bar appear between segments. First, channel 5 used the "color bar" as a tool for channel identification. This allowed the audience to recognize, especially during commercials, that they were viewing Channel 5. Second, channel 5 was the only channel to use a symbol such as a "color bar". This made channel 5 unique from the other channels. Finally, the "color bar" had a psychological effect on the audience as demonstrated in question two. Regarding the effects of the color bar, all but one of the ten participants (an American) recognized the color bar as a Channel 5-station identification symbol. Next, participants overwhelmingly misjudged the number of times that the symbol appeared. Two participants said that they appeared two or three times on every other set of commercials, and the remainder of the participants said that it appeared five to six times during every one-hour show. The "color bar" actually appeared after every commercial that aired.

Last, eight of the participants said that the color bar was primarily used for station identification, and two of the participants thought that the audience associated the color bar with the products that were advertised on the commercials.

The research used to find out the purpose is inconclusive since the station would not reveal this information; however, perhaps the fact that they refuse to talk about it, disclosed some important information. If the "color bar" were supposed to occur on a subliminal level, then the executives would naturally refuse to discuss it. The viewers almost instantly associated the "color bar" with Channel 5. All of the participants estimated that the color bar appeared fewer times than it did, which suggested that many times it appeared almost subliminally. For most viewers, it appeared after every commercial. The "color bar" seemed to be a powerful tool for station identification since, in this research, it was so quickly and easily associated with the station. Interesting future research could include a larger sample for the experiment including a simulated program with the "color bar" appearing for one group and not appearing for the other, the number of times the color bar appeared being varied.