Temple Media Project

Temple/London Fall 1999
A Psychological Profile of British Media

What are the psychological effects of the diversity of program lengths and starting times of British television? What are the effects of reduced clutter due to the prevalence and placement of advertising?

The results of this analysis where found through taking a survey of audience response to both UK and US television scheduling differences, and through the observation of both the programs themselves and the viewers reactions to them.

It was found that the lengths and times of British television programs differ from those in the United States. British programming, in general, does not follow an hour or half-hour pattern. Station producers place advertisements in specific intervals to fit the needs of the station, not the needs of advertisers or the viewer.

It seems that separate channels have different starting times to discourage viewers from watching other channels. In a survey taken nine out of ten viewers said that it was almost impossible to go from channel to channel. This keeps the viewer’s attention to one specific channel for a lengthened amount of time. It appears that stations target their audience, therefore, they begin airing clusters of programs on the hour appealing to specific demographic groups. For example, BBC2 airs several children’s programs from 7am to 2:30pm starting at random times. In competition with BBC2 is Channel 4, which airs the same type of programming from 6am to 12:30pm at regular intervals. Using these methods prevent viewers from switching between channels at the end of each program,because they will always miss a portion of a show.

The placement of advertising is dependent upon the length of a program. However, British television stations seem to follow a pattern based on timeslots that fit a stereotypical plot line. In every program the first commercial break comes after 5 minutes, then the second break comes 10 minutes into a half hour or 30 into an hour and exactly half way through a film, and the final commercial break comes before the last 5 minutes in the time slot. This means that the program will not always be interrupted at calculated times. For example, a film will be stopped at the halfway point, yet a person in the film may be in the middle of a conversation and no other commercial breaks or editing will be used to prevent this. Where as in the US commercials air after the introduction, at or around the climax, and before the conclusion of the plot. In effect, fitting the breaks to the individual program instead of forcing the program to fit the advertisements. Viewers, then, are almost forced to watch the commercials because the program is cut unexpectedly during the narrative. Because the advertisements are so patterned the programs are less cluttered by commercials.

These large clusters of commercials cause problems for the advertiser because a commercial will not stand out as much with so many others. Where as advertisers in the US do not deal with this because there are more breaks and they are smaller making the viewer more aware of individual commercials. In a survey, it was found that eight out of ten people felt that British commercials are more creative and engaging for the audience than those of the US, which could be a solution the advertisers have for getting more attention on their product.

The length and timing differences of the commercial breaks from the US and UK influence people to watch television in different ways. When asked, nine out of ten people said they were more likely to leave the room during commercial breaks in the UK than in the US because the breaks were longer. Yet they all said that the commercials in the UK are better because they are more memorable and effective because there is more substantial content to them. For example, there was a series of commercials being run about batteries that was the equivalent of a short soap opera in which the viewer came to know the characters and waited to see what would happen next. Because the commercials have narratives that reel the viewer in there is no need to run the commercial again and again to make it stick in the minds of the consumers. American viewers, on the other hand, anticipate commercial breaks because programs conform to fit an advertising schedule. These schedules consist of more than three short breaks that cram many commercials in, forcing the advertiser to make an impression quickly on the viewer. For example, the last series of Nike commercials that merely showed a person involved in athletic activity, covering most sports by the end of the series, and the same words ‘just do it’ at the end of every one of them. It appears it is for this very reason that nine out of the ten said the US advertisements are loud and bold while those in the UK are subtle and creative.

British television is more geared towards retaining the focus of the viewer on program content than on commercial needs. They set up their stations to make it harder for advertisers to get to the viewer and make the program stand out more. Where as US television seems to be more geared towards making room for advertising to make money than on making unique and quality programs for the viewer. This shows in the very way that American shows are pressed out like identical factory made products while the UK custom designs the daily schedule to fit the programs made and viewing times of the viewer. In effect, American television is made for capitalism while UK television is made for education and viewer enjoyment.