MANY VIEWERS JUST WANT TO BE AMUSED

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 34021, 10 December 1975, Page 4

MANY VIEWERS JUST WANT TO BE AMUSED

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KEN COATES)

Politicians may argue i about news coverage and (television channels may spend thousands of dollars on current affairs programmes, hut audience research shows that thousands of viewers watch television merely as another source of entertainment. For example, on TVI during the week as soon as “Tonight at Nine” comes on i the screen, the channel loses (viewers in droves. The people who carry out [audience research for the [ Broadcasting Council have ! provided information enabl- | ing TVI to plot television (watching on a graph cov- ! ering the period from Sep- ■ tember 27 to October 24. This covers viewing on both channels for five days a week. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, the graph on TVI plunges downward when “Tonight at Nine” comes on air. 20,000 VIEWERS The channel loses an average of 20,000 viewers on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and 35,000 on Tuesday. Monday’s viewing is not I plotted, but the pattern is similar — “Colditz” pulls in | a peak of 50 per cent of i viewers, and for “Tonight at Nine,” there is only 19 per cent. Around 9 p.m. on Saturdays, there is also a fall-off in TVl’s viewers and although of course “Tonight at Nine” does not screen on Saturdays, the reason for the drop is similar. The peak for the channel was 51 per cent for “Man About the House,” followed by a drop ( to 33 per cent for informaI tion programmes like “The (Crowded Sky,” and “Heroes of Telemark.”

“SEVEN DAYS” Even the highly infor- ( mative TVI programme, “Seven Days” is subject to the same treatment. “The Entertainers” and (Glen Campbell pulled in an ■ average of 52 per cent of I viewers over four Sundays; “The Pallisers” rated about [42 per cent but for “Seven Days” the following dropped' to an average of only 23 per 'cent. The pattern is similar on | TV2. On Sundays, for example, “Little House on the Prairie” draws an average of 10 per cent of viewers, but “Encounter” drops! ito 5 per cent. On Mondays, TV2 screens “Softly, Softly, Task Force” I at 9 p.m. and captures 30 per cent of the viewing audience. But the channel’s following drops to 14 per cent for “News at Ten.” < Ratings for “News at Ten” / are 9 per cent on Tuesdays,!.

10 per cent on Wednesdays;< 7 per cent Thursdays and 51 per cent Fridays. Viewers do, however, switch on for news and TVl’s ratings for its 6.30 p.m. programme reflect this. Here is a comparison of I ratings for TVI and TV2 regional news in Christchurch: Mondays, TVI 29 per cent, TV2 13 per cent; Tuesdays, TVI 30 per cent, TV2 12 per cent; Wednesdays, TVI 26 per cent, TV2 18 per cent; Thursdays, TVI 31 per cent, TV2 7 per cent; Fridays, TVI 26 per cent, TV2 9 per cent. TVl’s “Sunday’s World” attracts 34 per cent of viewers, while TV2’s “South on Sunday” manages 6 per cent. CAMPBELL TOP What are the top programmes? According to the Christchurch survey the Glen Campbell and “Entertainers” programmes on Sunday evenings rated more than 50 per cent. “Man About the House” on Saturday night was also popular, with a 51 per cent rating. But in the period surveyed, it was preceded by three programmes of “It’s in the Bag.” On Saturdays “The Waltons” draws 41 per cent. “M.A.S.H.” on Thursday nights also polls well for TVI with a rating of. 44 per cent, as does “Coronation Street,” which continues to be a favourite at 37 per cent. j On Fridays TVI also (scores with “That’s My Mamma,” with a rating of 37 per cent, and later “Policewoman” captures 34 per cent of the viewing audience.

TV2 FAVOURITES Television Two’s top-rated programmes in the survey included “Doctor in Charge (three Wednesday evenings) and “Love Thy Neighbour” (one evening) 27 per cent. “Main Chance” the same evening drew 22 per cent, and “Kojak” 21 per cent. On Thursday evenings,

TV2 does quite well with “Opportunity Knocks,” scoring 26 per cent. And on Tuesday evenings, “Bless this House” with 21 per cent and later, feature films, 20 per cent, maintain the channel’s following. The area surveyed was within a radius of 40 kilometres from the centre of Christchurch. .Information was gained from 1579 diaries left at selected households in the area.