Attitude Of Television Audience Towards Commercial Interruptions Of Television Programmes

Attitude Of Television Audience Towards Commercial Interruptions Of Television Programmes

First Part

Introduction

• Background Of Study

The television industry in Nigeria is still in its infancy compared to its counterparts in other established nations. However, it has undergone a remarkable transformation during its brief history. In the past two decades, the scope of its operations has expanded and attained some success. Initially, television in the country served primarily informational, entertaining, and educational functions. It is unique due to its ability to combine sound and images. Due to these characteristics, it has the potential to attract a large number of viewers. This invention has had an immeasurable impact on the lives of millions and on the dissemination of information, as evidenced by the fact that over thirty million Nigerians own television receivers. The significance of television as a means of mass communication is rapidly gaining prominence around the globe. Television has added the ability to persuade as a new ornament to its cap.

This singular act by television has enabled television to mesmerize other forms of communication. It is now used by governments and advertisers to market their products and services. It has made product awareness accessible to millions of households. It has the ability to sell most products and services, including detergents, cigarettes, refrigerators, alcohol, furniture, etc. Their influence on the nation is a result of network television advertising. Still discussing what television has to offer, one cannot help but mention the educational and entertaining cultural dance, drama, and comedy programs. Some programs, including Superstory, Mexican Telenovelas, and Indian series, have been known to force viewers to return home in order not to miss the next episode. While viewers are viewing their favorite programs, it is common for broadcast stations to interrupt the programming with commercials, much to the annoyance of viewers for whom these programs are their favorites.

Advertisers frequently want their commercials to air during prime time, while viewers want their favorite programs to be uninterrupted by commercials, resulting in conflicts between advertiser and consumer interests. It has been estimated that well over 80% of Nigerian television programs are interrupted by commercials, yet Nigerian television networks do not appear to find this situation peculiar. There are so many weekly programs on N.T.A that none are broadcast without commercial interruption. According to Opubor and Ore (1979), the social realities of the average Nigerian have little bearing on the commercial interruptions of the majority of television programs. As a result, television networks frequently insert commercials during prime time without contemplating the preferences of viewers. The viewers are now compelled to view and consume these advertisements while viewing their favorite programs, rendering them captive audiences.

Nwuneli (1976) states, “Many of the products on Nigerian television are uncooked. They conceal objects that portray people as mischievous, monstrous, and instructive behind stones so that viewers cannot see them. Some researchers have uncovered evidence indicating that commercial interruption may trigger aggressive tendencies in individuals. According to Greene (1965), a former Director General of the British Broadcasting Corporation, “television is being misapplied, and broadcasters are abdicating their responsibilities.”

There is no benefit to stating that television stations require the revenue generated by these commercials to remain in business. The corporation must engage in commercial broadcasting in order to supplement the subtrahend; sponsors require the television station as a means of communicating information about their products and services to the ultimate consumers in order to pique their interest in the products. As new television stations are established and more stations implement modern broadcasting, however, the need to interrupt programming to the detriment of the audience will become more pressing. Unless immediate action is taken, this will be another unpleasant incident that alienates the television audience further.

The aforementioned factors served as impetus for this study, which aims to determine how television viewers feel about commercial interruptions during programming.

In this context, attitude is defined as a method of thinking or feeling about something, specifically commercial interruptions in television programming. This survey of attitudes is extremely important because it covers a wide range of topics. It transcends, for instance, the effects of commercial interruptions on television audiences, as it is only after observing the effect of a phenomenon that a subject can form a reasonable opinion about that phenomenon.

According to Parker (1974), “the sooner each new technology is studied, the greater the likelihood that research results will have a meaningful impact on policy.” From this, we can deduce that it is necessary to analyze audience attitudes toward commercial interruption by Nigerian televisions at this stage in the development of the television industry, when institutional and economic structures of broadcasting are still being developed.

This study will also determine whether television audiences prefer uninterrupted programming to programming interrupted by commercials and whether these commercials increase or diminish viewer interest. In brief, it will provide recommendations on how Nigerian television stations can improve their audience service.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Television offers a great deal of creative flexibility due to its combination of sound, vision, and motion. Increasing numbers of individuals possess televisions, which enables commercials to be more realistic. What is further? Television has attained a very high level of population penetration, and many individuals watch television for several hours per day. However, these programs are occasionally interrupted for the purpose of inserting commercial messages.

It has been estimated that well over 80 percent of Nigerian television programs are interrupted by commercials, yet Nigerian television stations do not appear to find anything incorrect or unusual with this situation. The situation has reached a point where it is logical to presume that television houses now take the credulity of the television audience for granted and that money has become their primary concern.

Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the attitude of Enugu’s television viewers toward commercial interruptions. In general, attitude is a significant factor in all human communication. It is defined as a psychological disposition that enables a person to behave in a certain manner toward objects, people, or actions; therefore, the objects in this case will be television commercials that interrupt programs.

What does the television audience have to say about the commercial interruption of television programs, given the circumstances? How do they feel or react when commercials interrupt the programs they are viewing on television? Regular viewers will find uninterrupted television programming more appealing than occasional viewers. Is it true that television audiences would rather watch their favorite programs without commercial interruptions than their least favorite programs? Will television consumers pay more attention to advertisements that tend to meet their needs as opposed to advertisements that do not meet their needs?

Finally, would television audiences recall commercial messages that tend to satisfy their requirements more quickly than those that do not?

This context will now serve as the foundation for the statement of research problems, which is self-explanatory and focuses on “the attitude of Enugu’s television audience toward commercial interruption of television programs.

Purpose Of The Study

This study’s primary objective is to investigate the attitudes of Enugu’s television viewers toward commercial interruptions of television programming. To what extent such variables as age, gender, etc. will influence the formation of this attitude. To determine the connection between media content and society.

However, in order to further explore the objectives of this research, a questionnaire was designed to include specific questions that will shed more light on the chaos caused by the constant interruption of television programs by commercials. As the research progresses, the objectives of the study will become manifest and understandable based on the responses to these queries.

Research Questions

Would audiences find uninterrupted television programming more appealing than interrupted programming?

How do viewers react to commercial interruptions during television programming?

How do consumers respond when commercials interrupt their favorite programs?

Do audiences recall commercial messages following television programs?

Would audiences remember commercials that tend to meet their requirements more quickly than those that do not?

The Importance Of The Study

According to Kretch (1964), ”it is possible to influence people’s behavior by understanding their attitudes”. Much has been said about the effectiveness of television as a medium for disseminating commercial messages to a large, geographically dispersed audience. However, it is impossible to ignore the sentiments of the television audience towards these advertisements, especially when they interrupt programs. Consequently, this research is significant because it examines the attitude of Enugu’s television viewers toward commercial interruptions during television programs.

The study will also be beneficial to the federal and state administrations, which continue to have sole ownership rights over broadcasting media in Nigeria. This monopoly, according to some, has given television companies in the country the incentive to conduct their business regardless of public opinion. Consequently, the findings of this study may assist the federal and state governments in formulating future policies regarding television broadcasting in Nigeria, with the objective of enhancing their services and conforming to audience expectations.

In addition, advertisers will find the study invaluable because so many advertising messages go unread. Individuals are selective about the information they receive, and it has been discovered that commercial messages that contradict or are otherwise inconsistent with their personal attitudes are likely to be disregarded. Alternately, a person may distort the message and derive an entirely different meaning by interpreting it in accordance with his own bias. As a result, the broad objective of advertising, which is to convey information about any product, service, or idea and facilitate the sale of any of them by stimulating demand, will not be achieved.

In conclusion, although the study will be conducted on 160 Enugu residents, the results will be generalized to the entire state of Lagos due to cultural and psychological similarities between the people of this state and the Enugu residents.

SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH

No research conducted in any field of human endeavor could be considered flawless or devoid of limitations. Therefore, we cannot delude ourselves into believing that this study will account for every requirement in the field. The fact that these researchers are entering the field for the first time is a limitation in and of itself; regardless of how meticulously the research will be conducted, there will be errors.

Due to financial, time, and energy constraints, as well as the researchers’ proximity to Enugu, the study’s data were collected only from Enugu’s television audience. Otherwise, the investigation would have been expanded to include additional federation states.

The fact that the study is being conducted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for Data Analysis in Communication Research is a further limitation; this causes the researchers to have divided loyalties. One is dedicated to research and the other to course requirements. Moreover, the time allotted for this is typically inadequate.

In light of the study’s use of a sample population of 160 respondents from Enugu, it would be highly inappropriate and imprudent to generalize the results to the entire federation. Given that the research focuses on attitudes and that Nigeria is a plural society, it would be erroneous to assume that people throughout the federation will react similarly to commercial interruptions of television programs.

DEFINITION OF VARIABLES

• ATTITUDE: Attitude refers to the reactions, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors of television viewers when commercials or advertisements interrupt any television program they are viewing. Are they pleased, annoyed, or indifferent towards such advertisements?

• AUDIENCE: The television audience consists of men and women of all ages, as well as infants and adults.

• COMMERCIAL: This term refers to commercials inserted into television programming.

• INTERRUPTION: This term refers to a pause in an ongoing television program. Therefore, commercial interruption, as it pertains to our study, refers to any pause in an already-running television program to accommodate an advertisement.

Programmes refer to the schedule of events that will be transmitted by television stations. They may be news, commercial, or entertainment programs.