BBC on-demand services Deliberative Jury results March 2005 Redacted for Publication Contents The BBC and its public purposes 3 The media future: expectations and apprehensions 4 On-demand services and the BBC 5 Executive Summary 1 Objectives, method and sample 2 Executive summary • We conducted 6 deliberative jury panels over a 2 week period, with a total 120 respondents • The summary conclusion of the research is that people believe the BBC’s proposed on-demand offerings will deliver high citizen value because they will make the BBC’s existing content – through which its public purposes are delivered – more widely and easily available. That is, the consumer value of on-demand offerings are explicitly linked to their citizen value • Alongside this view, it was felt strongly that the BBC should provide these offerings because if it did not then its relevance and impact among audiences would be diluted • People have a very good unprompted understanding of the BBC’s role, and they endorse the BBC’s stated purposes. However, providing ‘high quality’ programming is seen as more important than any of the stated purposes. On-demand offerings are valued as a way of improving the availability and accessibility of the BBC’s output. • There is a widespread assumption that on-demand offerings delivered to PCs, TVs and mobile devices will become the norm. Those who had used the offerings, as part of ongoing consumer trials, had generally had positive experiences, or recognised the potential of the concepts, leading to the belief that they will become widely adopted and have a major impact on TV and radio consumption. • While this vision of the future has many positive elements, people also have significant concerns about the potentially negative impact of new media • The BBC’s content can contribute to the positive elements and could mitigate some of the negative elements, but only if it is universally available and easy to use • This led to the unanimous conclusion that the BBC should offer on-demand services Contents The BBC and its public purposes 3 The media future: expectations and apprehensions 4 On-demand services and the BBC 5 Executive Summary 1 Objectives, method and sample 2 Objectives of the project • The BBC has asked Human Capital to undertake Deliberative Jury research on a number of its planned on-demand offerings. Those offerings are: -VoD on cable -BBC Integrated Media Player (iMP) -Podcasting -Live Streaming • The objective of the research is to evaluate the benefits of these offerings to citizens and consumers • The evaluation has been broken into three parts -Understanding respondents’ views about media in the future and the impact that it might have on society -Understanding the role that the respondents feel the BBC should play in that future -With that role in mind, evaluating the consumer and citizen value of the four on-demand offerings Methodology • Deliberative jury panels were held in London (x2), Cardiff, Birmingham, Newcastle and Edinburgh in February 2006. Numbers varied but there was an average of 20 respondents in each panel (120 respondents in total) • Respondents were selected from BBC iMP trialists, cable (Telewest, ntl) and Home Choice subscribers with access to VoD services. They were a broad mix of age, gender, and SEG • During four-hour moderated meetings the respondents completed a detailed questionnaire and participated in a structured discussion • The analysis is a combination of qualitative statements (from the discussions and as written) and quantitative data from the questionnaire • When we have displayed quantitative data, we have shown confidence intervals (margin of error) Cardiff London Birmingham Newcastle Edinburgh Methodology – What are deliberative juries and why were they used? • Deliberative juries have the following properties. They: -are longer than qualitative research groups -are moderated in a different way. The emphasis is on rational argument, rather than the empathetic or reflective listening used in qualitative research -include enough people to make statistically significant judgments -are interactive and so difficult questions and answers can be clarified (in a way that they cannot in quantitative research). It also means that moderators can pick up on points that come up in a way that could not happen in quantitative research -require respondents to fill in a questionnaire as the session progresses -address people as citizens not just as consumers • The consequences of this are that: -they complement quantitative research by allowing the reasoning behind people’s views and assessments to be probed more deeply. -the process is joined up – the same people write the questionnaire, moderate and analyse the results -deliberative juries are better at understanding judgments about ethics (what should happen?) where qualitative research helps us to understand aesthetics (do you like it?) -in particular, they are good ways to understand people’s judgment about issues of public policy and regulation, and present trade-offs between different scenarios. Decisions about BBC services are good examples of this. They often involve wider policy issues (e.g. digital switch-over). The audience also relate to them as citizens not just as consumers • For example, Ofcom has used deliberative juries for a number of important projects for example: -the PSB review -the review of Premiership rights -the future revenue streams for commercial television Sampling • Respondents were recruited on the basis that they had trialled either BBC iMP or used video on demand output on cable . They were also asked to try BBC podcasting before coming to the discussion • As ‘early adopters’, this sample may not be representative of the population as a whole (for example the sample is slightly male biased and skews towards 25-34 year olds). However, when asking questions about new services (such as on-demand) it is important for people to have experienced them first hand in order to have a true opinion about what impact they may have on their media habits and on their attitudes towards the BBC • The question ‘”how would you rate BBC channels in terms of the overall quality of the programmes that the BBC broadcasts?” is used to determine whether people are a fan or a critic of the BBC. Our sample appears to have slightly fewer critics than one would expect. There are several possible reasons for this: -The ordering of the questions: the questions before were all about the BBC’s purposes and the positive attributes of its programmes -Respondents in face to face interviews are often slightly more positive than over the phone (i.e. PBTS) • However, if you judge by favourite channel, the sample is skewed towards fans of commercial TV • The iMP triallists were more critical of BBC programme quality than the rest of the sample Note: See Appendix A for a breakdown of the sample Contents The BBC and its public purposes 3 The media future: expectations and apprehensions 4 On-demand services and the BBC 5 Executive Summary 1 Objectives, method and sample 2 ‘It’s the programmes, stupid’, after Bill Clinton • When asked about the BBC’s roles in society the predominant feeling was that the BBC is there to make sure that everyone has access to a wide range of good quality, entertaining programmes, with a strong educational remit • In the digital world this is about keeping high quality and important programming available without having to pay a subscription, and free from commercial influence • They rate the BBC’s stated purposes fairly highly in terms of importance but – with the exception of education -lower than the characteristics of programme quality, availability, entertainment and innovation • People see clearly that in order to do all the things the BBC needs to do for society – as articulated in its public purposes -it has to ensure its programmes are widely available for people to consume People in general have a very good unprompted understanding of the BBC’s public purposes. When asked about the BBC’s role, many responses aligned with the BBC’s stated purposes 23 What roles should the BBC play in society? Unprompted Responses on the BBC’s role Entertainment 50 Education 48 Independent/unbiased/impartial news 48 Quality programming 35 Inform 32 High standards 15 National/regional responsibility 14 Aligns with stated public purpose Reflect multiculturalism 11 Showcase new talent 11 Leading technological changer 10 Promote British interests 8 Innovation 4 Object to having to pay license fee 3 Global responsibility 3 Accessibility 2 No role 1 When presented with the list of the BBC’s public purposes, people rated most of them fairly highly in terms of importance, in particular Promoting Education and Learning. People were indifferent to negative on Sustaining Citizenship and Civil Society. Comments suggested many felt this purpose smacked of Government intervention The Government has asked the BBC to fulfil the following objectives: How important do you think each of these objectives is? (0 = not at all important and 10 = very important) 24 Average Score for each of the BBC's purposes in terms in 'importance‘ (mean scores, 0 = not at all important, 10 = very important) Margin of Error Promote education and 8.5 +/-0.20 learning Stimulate creativity and 7.7 +/-0.32 cultural excellence Bring the UK to the world and 7.6 +/-0.29 the world to the UK Represent the UK, its nations, regions and 7.5 +/-0.31 communities Make digital TV services 7.4 +/-0.38 available to all Sustain citizenship and civil 6.0 +/-0.42 society Note: These are discussed in more detail in Appendix C However people ranked programme characteristics as more important than the purposes, suggesting that the BBC’s content is of primary importance 24 The Government has asked the BBC to fulfil the following objectives: How important do you think each of these objectives is? (0 = not at all important and 10 = very important) 25 How important do you think each of these characteristics is for BBC programming? (0 = not at all important and 10 = very important) How important are each of these characteristics for BBC programming? High Quality Widely available Promote education and learning Entertaining Innovative Original (ie no more repeats) Stimulate creativity and cultural excellence Bring the UK to the world and the worldto the UK Represent the UK, its nations, regionsand communities Make digital TV services available to all Sustain Citizenship and civil society* (mean scores, 0 = not at all important, 10 = very important) Margin of Error 9.1 +/-0.20 8.9 +/-0.23 8.5 +/-0.26 8.3 +/-0.26 8.3 +/-0.27 7.7 +/-0.32 7.7 +/-0.32 7.6 +/-0.29 7.5 +/-0.31 7.4 +/-0.38 6.0 +/-0.42 Contents The BBC and its public purposes 3 The media future: expectations and apprehensions 4 On-demand services and the BBC 5 Executive Summary 1 Objectives, method and sample 2 ‘The future ain’t what it used to be’ Yogi Berra • People in our groups felt that the continued development of media technology was inevitable, and that on-demand services would become widely available over the next few years. • About half of them didn’t see much distinction in future between traditional broadcast platforms and broadband delivery, since they assumed both TV and internet would be available through the same screen (and some had already set this up at home). • Having used the trial services, most felt very positive about the concept of on-demand and felt that it would eventually change viewing and listening habits significantly • The most positive aspect of on-demand was the way it ‘freed’ people from the schedule to watch their favourite programmes in their own time. They also liked the idea of being able to watch something they’d missed but which people were talking about. And many – but not all -loved the idea of portable services to fill ‘dead’ time such as commuting or quiet periods at work. • On the negative side, people were very concerned that children could be exposed to offensive content from the internet (concerns were about much more extreme content than BBC post-watershed) regardless of attempts at parental controls. • There was also a lot of discussion about whether society would become more or less ‘fragmented’ than today, with some fearing a world of people walking around in their iPod ‘bubbles’ and electronic communication destroying personal interaction. Others felt that the desire to socialise is a fundamental characteristic of human beings which would not be affected by changes in the media. All the respondents had used at least one of the on-demand services: most had used two or three Total number of services used by the respondents Number of Respondents who have used each on- demand offering 47 79 73 40 71 67 24 35 9 1 2 3 4 VoD iMP BBC Other BBC Live Other Live Number of Services Used Podcasting* Podcasting Streaming Streaming *People were asked to try BBC Podcasting beforehand When asked to assess the likely impact of on-demand services on society, people most strongly that it would be easier to find out about other cultures and to learn more effectively. Creativity and the arts would be something of a beneficiary, while people were ambivalent about the potential impact on democracy agreed Strongly Disagree Potential positive impact of on-demand services Disagree (number agreeing/disagreeing) Neither agree or disagree Agree It will be easier to find out about the world and other cultures People will be able to learnmore effectively Creativity and the arts willflourish Democracy will work better 8 2 3 1 27 15 11 4 60 44 25 16 19 47 51 54 5 12 29 43 DisagreeNeutralAgree Strongly agree “more likely to see a wider range of programmes from all over the world” “greater access to information means more learning by osmosis and choice” “more people will actively participate” “this is not the job of the media” People felt very positive about the ability of on-demand services to enable them to get more ‘value’ out of TV viewing Themes A richer TV experience There was a strong feeling that people would have more access to the things that interested them, and therefore get more out of their TV and radio experience More flexibility to get on with non-TV lives Respondents believed that on-demand services would free people from TV schedules, allowing them to do more social, leisure and sports activities Ability to meet special interests There was a feeling that access services would increase the ability to serve niche interests. The argument came in two parts. When television is scheduled, these sort of programmes are pushed to the margins. If more people are watching these programmes then there will be a better economic case for making them Example Comments • “people are less likely to watch things ‘for the sake of it’ because they have more control over what they see” • “may encourage people to go-out rather than staying in to watch something” • “convenience is key” • “ability to choose individual programming means you do not need to watch the same things” • “easier access to information will allow people to choose what they want to learn” • “provide community and minority services that other channels do not” There was also a sense that on-demand services would enable more opportunities for creativity and learning Themes More content available Respondents felt that a there would be more stuff out there from overseas, from new providers and from the past. A few people suggested that there should be full access to the BBC archive Easier access to material Most people felt that internet-search functionality would help them to find the material that they needed and this would be preferable to a scheduled, EPG world More people involved There was a strong impression that these services would make it easier for ordinary people to take part in broadcast media, especially through podcasting Example Comments • “more likely to be a range of programmes from all over the world available” • “potential for more educational programmes” • “it is exciting to be able to ‘mix and match’ media from all over the world” • “choice of programmes will only get better” • “Easier to get on air allowing smaller producers to deliver content” • “more ways for people to publish their art” • “make content and distribute it for little or no cost” The primary concern people felt was that children would be at risk of exposure to inappropriate material. While some were concerned about ‘couch potatoes’, many took the view that this tendency was inherent rather than influenced by media. While there was a range of views, most felt that on balance society would not fragment, and only a minority were concerned about confusion in finding programmes Strongly Disagree Disagree Potential negative impact of on-demand services (number agreeing/disagreeing) 19 11 11 2 42 39 32 16 36 43 34 20 22 5 19 8 28 20 40 39 Finding the programmes I want to watch will be more confusing Society will fragment and people will have less common ground than today There will be more "Couch Potatoes" Children are more likely to be exposed to inappropriate material Neither agree or disagree Agree Strongly agree “The 9 o‘clock watershed is defunct” “Some will lie on the couch, some will get up and go” “Overestimates the power of the media” “If you know what you want to watch you will know where to find it” DisagreeNeutralAgree People were fearful about the potential impact on children… Themes Access to offensive content There was a very strong concern that children may be able access to things not suitable for them to see, especially through internet based services ‘Virtual’ experience replacing real activities Some respondents, especially those who were older, felt these services might lead to children being more likely to watch things that go out and do them themselves A generation of media addicts There was a fear that came through that with so much media choice available, children may spend all their time in an insulated media world rather than interacting with their families and peers Example Comments • “morals are very slack and children are getting exposed to stuff that is inappropriate” • “parents can not watch them all the time” • ‘they advance quicker than the technology designed to stop them” • “Easy availability of current "post watershed" programmes. Children will share what they are allowed to see” • “Reading a book and using your imagination is a much more effective way to learn” • “Attention spans are decreasing” • “if everyone is watching TV on the move, who’s going to talk to each other and meet new people?” • ”selective viewing will only serve to confirm existing view points and to divide society” • “separates families” …and that there would be less human interaction Themes Electronic communication replacing conversation There was a feeling that with more sophisticated technology available there may be a decline in face- to-face interaction Taking ‘personal space’ into the public domain via portable media devices People had a fear that these services would lead to people being extremely insular, even when are out- and-about, with little idea of what is going on around them Virtual vs. actual experience Respondents mentioned that while experiences based programming may be popular, this does not necessarily lead to people going out having these experiences for themselves Example Comments •“maybe people will lose the art of communication (in person)” • “Continuing trend that has already started – people becoming more insular” • “seems like a good idea if travelling alone a lot. Otherwise rather anti-social” • In discussion people talked about, for example, the plethora of cookery programmes alongside the rising sales of ready-meals Contents The BBC and its public purposes 3 The media future: expectations and apprehensions 4 On-demand services and the BBC 5 Executive Summary 1 Objectives, method and sample 2 ‘Because things are the way they are, they will not stay the way they are’ Bertholdt Brecht • People felt unanimously that the BBC should provide on-demand services. • In part this was underpinned by a belief that these services will become the norm, so the BBC should provide them as a matter of course or get left behind and become irrelevant. • But people also believe that the BBC should provide these services anyway if it can, because making BBC programmes more conveniently available is highly valued • When asked to put a monetary figure on on demand offerings in terms of their ‘worth’, they were valued very highly in absolute terms and relative to other BBC services: VoD was valued higher than BBC Two. • The total value created comprises both consumer value and citizen value: the offerings should help the BBC to fulfil its public purposes because they make its programmes -which are the vehicles for delivering those public purposes – more readily available. • No one offering stands out as more important than the others: they each offer different advantages. People felt overwhelmingly that the BBC has a major role in the on-demand world, with a slight ambivalence from some about mobile offerings. Concerns about quality vs. quantity underpinned lower levels of agreement about making ‘more’ programmes available BBC’s role in the on-demand world Make it easier for people to watch things whenever they 2 want to 1 10 6 57 55 DisagreeNeutralAgree Make it easier for people to get the services they want Distribute TV, radio and musicmaterial over new technologicaldevices and platforms (as well13 as by traditional means) 14 7 20 35 40 13 28 52 25 58 64 44 45 Help people consume media on2the move Make more TV and radio programmes available for people to consume Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither agree or disagree Agree Strongly agree “the BBC can not afford to be left behind when you have a choice from the competitors” “it has to go where other channels go” “part of the BBC’s role to be innovative” “yes, because mobile technology is likely to be the way of the future” “make more programmes but only if they are of high quality” 18 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 This high level of approval for BBC involvement in the on-demand world was reflected in high levels of approval for BBC provision of each offering… 38 Again, bearing in mind the BBC’s public purposes and how the world of media is likely to change over the next five years, do you think that these specific types of services feel like things that the BBC should be doing (again thinking of the concepts, rather than the versions currently being tested)? (0 = no, definitely should not, 10 = yes, definitely should) Approval for the BBC Provision by service (rating out of 10) Margin of Error +/-0.25 +/-0.34 +/-0.38 +/-0.35 8.9 8.2 7.7 7.6 VoD iMP Podcasting Live TV Streaming …and very high average values assigned to these offerings. VoD was valued more highly than BBC2, BBC Online and News 24. The iMP was valued just below News 24, while Podcasting and Live Streaming were valued similarly to Cbeebies and CBBC, and above Radio 4 40 Imagine you no longer had to pay the BBC Licence Fee. We are curious to know what the different BBC Services are worth to the average person. To help us understand this could you tell us what you think each of these is worth, to each person, please? Monthly ‘value’ assigned to BBC services (average £/month) Margin of Error +/1.1 +/0.84 +/0.81 +/1.09 +/0.59 +/0.61 +/0.79 +/0.69 +/0.51 +/0.57 +/0.50 +/0.37 +/0.55 +/0.65 +/0.46 +/0.49 +/0.38 +/0.39 +/0.29 +/0.26 5.7 4.0 3.7 3.4 3.0 2.8 2.4 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.4 Note: This methodology is explained in detail on Appendix B If we compare how people think these offerings will deliver the purposes with the actual importance they place on the purposes, we can see that building digital Britain scores relatively well. There is some texture in terms of which offerings suit which purposes. For education and learning it’s VoD and the iMP; for creativity and cultural excellence it’s Podcasting; and for building digital Britain it is the iMP 39 How important do you think each service will be in fulfilling the BBC’s purposes? (0 = not very important, 10 very important) How important is each services in fulfilling the BBC's purposes? (Mean scores) Building Digital Britain Bring the UK to the world and the world to the UK Represent the UK, its nations, regions and communities Stimulate creativity and cultural excellence Provide education and learning Sustaining Citizenship VoD 4.1 7.5 6.1 6.2 6.2 7.3 iMP 4.6 7.5 6.2 6.5 6.7 7.6 Podcasting 4.4 7.0 6.5 6.5 6.6 7.0 Live TV Streaming 4.6 6.0 5.5 6.4 6.9 7.1 27 7.47.67.57.78.56.0 Average importance rating overall The discussion illuminated the numeric scores Importance of on-demand offerings in delivering the BBC’s purposes Sustaining Citizenship and Civil Society • This was the least understood and least popular purpose. People also scored it least highly in terms of whether the on-demand services contribute to the purpose. • In London, there was some feeling that it would be easier to learn about parliament and democracy , although one woman who works at the Houses of Parliament said she was seeing fewer schoolchildren visiting which she thought was a shame. • This issue of ‘real life’ experience vs. the ‘virtual’ experience people could get from TV was a recurring theme: it came up in the discussions on creativity, education and the UK and global roles • There were concerns about people becoming immersed in their own world – ‘walking around in their ipod bubble and they don’t help the old lady off the bus’ – and so creating a feeling of more isolation in society. “As society becomes more insular democracy goes out of the window” “Democracy is dependant on enthusiasm (lack of apathy) not technology” “Current affairs programming preaches to the converted, that will be even more the case when those with no interest can avoid it completely” “I don't think changes in media can influence the policy of Government and the way democracy works” “Irrelevant” The discussion illuminated the numeric scores Importance of on-demand offerings in delivering the BBC’s purposes Stimulate creativity and cultural excellence • On-demand services were seen as somewhat important in delivering this purpose. • Underpinning this is the divergence of views on whether TV inspires or stifles creativity, and a feeling that on-demand would not necessarily make a difference to ‘copycat’ programmes issue. • Some respondents were very enthusiastic about ‘selfpublishing’ of content with people being able to make available their own music and films more easily: on- demand would stimulate this sort of creativity. • Others suggested that this would have a limited impact if nobody every looked at the content. • Podcasting was rated more highly than the other services. This is because, with the low cost of entry, it is seen as the most democratic and widely available to all. • Live TV streaming was considered least important, probably as this is the most broadcaster-dominated, least audience-liberating service. “More capacity via channels will allow more creativity and arts to break through and have a chance to be aired” “Home created media more widely available to the public” “I am not convinced there is a relationship between changes in the media becomes available and quality of content” “People will watch TV instead of being creative” “Easier for people to create and deliver content, however it may not reach an audience” The discussion illuminated the numeric scores Importance of on-demand offerings in delivering the BBC’s purposes Promote education and learning • This was the one of the purposes which respondents really did feel was enhanced by on- demand services, especially VoD and the iMP. • Some felt this would happen through on-demand services letting them find and watch programmes in their special interest area which they might otherwise miss. • These services would be ‘great’ and ‘perfect’ for Open University courses and much better for teachers than having to set VCRs overnight. • Some of the respondents worked in education. They talked about being able to use ‘bits’ of programmes in class and putting that together with other material. • There was a link to the global purpose in many of these discussions as people felt these services would enable more international programming to be seen. “TV is an exciting tool for learning, TV programmes have the backing to show such things that we could or might never see” “Rather than missing programs, they will be down loaded” “useful for adults that learn long distance” “use of programming in classroom” The discussion illuminated the numeric scores Importance of on-demand services in delivering the BBC’s purposes Represent the UK, its nations, regions and communities • People felt the broadband-based services were slightly more important in terms of fulfilling this purpose than VoD, with people rating all the services as fairly important. • Several of the respondents had watched programmes from other regions on demand which they wouldn’t receive via broadcast TV. These seemed to be very highly appreciated. • It was pointed out that on-demand services could make special interest programming more viable as it wouldn’t need to rely on all the interest group being available to watch it at one time. Country File and craft programmes happened to be mentioned in this context “It is their duty to make programmes more specialized in what the viewer wants” “they are doing good by improving accessibility” “IMP is a way to go forward. But it needs to develop it further” “Increased choice and availability of programmes to suit different lifestyles is key” The discussion illuminated the numeric scores Importance of on-demand services in delivering the BBC’s purposes Bring the UK to the world and the world to the UK • The broadband-based services are again more important than VoD in delivering this service – presumably reflecting the global nature of the internet -with Live TV streaming seen as most important. • People talked about being able to watch international TV channels via live streaming – some had already done so – as well as being able to watch the BBC from other countries. This was generally seen as a good thing (although some people wondered about rights issues as a potential hurdle to this). “Greater access to foreign programmes and content” “Already the internet is allowing us to speak with average people from around the world and this will only increase as more of Africa and Asia get online” “can access programmes form different countries” The discussion illuminated the numeric scores Importance of on-demand services in delivering the BBC’s purposes Make digital TV services available to all • This was where on-demand services were rated most highly in terms of fulfilling the purpose, in particular the iMP. • People did feel that the BBC providing on-demand services would tend to make them more widely available and that that was an important thing for the BBC to be doing. • However it is in this territory that it gets difficult to separate consumer value, citizen value and BBC competitiveness: -people believe that on-demand services will be important overall because they can see that they deliver substantial consumer value -they also believe that the BBC’s purposes are delivered by its content -therefore they believe that the BBC should provide on- demand services because they would make its content more easily available -and therefore better fulfil the purposes -and the BBC needs to not get left behind by other providers “As media moves on and more formats become available I feel the BBC should be obligated to "keep up" and provide choice across a varied platform” “Leaders/ Fore-runners in TV/ Media -should be seen to be doing it first” “The iMP and VoD are a great way of reaching people” “Should be seen to educate people on how to access programmes in new ways” Although there was a drop off, approval for BBC providing on-demand offerings largely persisted even if people were asked to assume relatively low take-up Imagine a world in which only a small proportion of Licence Fee payers (say 10%) ever used these four services. To what extent do you think the BBC should still offer these four services? 44 Approval for BBC provision of on-demand services Should the BBC provide these services Even if take up is only 10% 7.6 6.3 8.9 6.7 8.2 6.2 7.7 6.4 +/-0.35 +/-0.50 +/-0.25 +/-0.49 +/-0.34 +/-0.52 +/-0.38 +/-0.50 Margin of Error VoD iMP Podcasting Live TV Streaming At the end of the juries, we asked the respondents the following question: “Given what we have discussed about the BBC, the future of media and all of these possible services, should the BBC launch these on-demand offerings?” 35 For Against Appendix General Views on the BBC’s purposes C Sampling A Measuring Value to the Citizen B These are the respondent demographics TV Status* Internet DVR Gender Age Group City 011 123 9110 42731 12829 402767 202 112 4670116 4610198 31922 264975 232245 31013 61218 132336 182240 9413 51318 162440 91322 12820 71320 No TV Terrestrial Home Choice Freeview Sky Cable None Narrowband Broadband No Yes m f 55+ 45-54 35-44 25-34 18-24 Newcastle London Edinburgh Cardiff Birmingham non iMP triallists iMP triallists all respondents *Some had more than one There were fewer quality critics than one would normally expect: 15% vs. 18% via PBTS 26 Using a scale from 1 to 10, where 10 is the best quality and 1 is the worst quality, how would you rate BBC channels in terms of the overall quality of the programmes that the BBC broadcasts? 36 28 Critic (scored 5 or under) Ambivalent (scored 6-7) Approver (scored 8 or over) 21 13 12 4 2 11 12 45 6 78 910 BBC quality score The iMP triallists were BBC critics at a rate of almost three times the rest of the respondents 26 Using a scale from 1 to 10, where 10 is the best quality and 1 is the worst quality, how would you rate BBC channels in terms of the overall quality of the programmes that the BBC broadcasts? Rating of BBC programming (1 = worst quality, 10 = best quality) 31 Critic (scored 5 or under) Ambivalent (scored 6-7) 26 Approver (scored 8 or over) 23 22 14 4 iMP trialist non IMP trialist iMP triallists also gave a slightly lower average score for BBC quality 26 Using a scale from 1 to 10, where 10 is the best quality and 1 is the worst quality, how would you rate BBC channels in terms of the overall quality of the programmes that the BBC broadcasts? Quality of BBC programming scores (10 = best quality, 1 = worst quality) 6.8 7.21 Whole sample mean score = 7.0 iMP triallists non iMP triallists Looking at how iMP triallists scored the different on-demand services, their ratings were similar to other respondents’. Both iMP and VoD triallists’ scored with a slight skew towards the service they had experienced, but all scored VoD higher than iMP overall. 38 Again, bearing in mind the BBC’s public purposes and how the world of media is likely to change over the next five years, do you think that these specific types of services feel like things that the BBC should be doing (again thinking of the concepts, rather than the versions currently being tested)? (0 = no, definitely should not, 10 = yes, definitely should) Should the BBC be offering these services? 8.8 9.14 8.9 iMP Triallist 8.4 7.93 8.2 Non iMP Triallist 7.6 7.78 7.8 7.37 7.7 7.6 Whole Sample Mean VoD iMP Podcasting Live TV Streaming Most of the people in the sample put down a commercial channel as their favourite BBC1 ITV1 Five 11 How important to your household are the following channels (0 = not at all important and 10 = very important) 12 If you have more than 5 channels, which other channels do you watch regularly? And how important are these TV channels to you and your household? (0 = not at all important and 10 = very important) 13 C4BBC2 Respondents top channels 17% 32% 51% BBC top channel BBC and commercial tied Commercial top channel Appendix General Views on the BBC’s Purposes C Sampling A Measuring value to the Citizen B Measuring value to the Citizen • On page 31 we calculate the value of the various on-demand services to the citizen • This is different to a “willingness to pay” question in two essential respects: -It asks what services are worth rather than what respondents are willing to pay. This is important as willingness to pay up-weights the preferences of the affluent: ‘I can recognise that a sports car is worth a lot even if I can not afford to buy it’ -It refers to the worth to the average person not the individual. This is trying to get respondents away from the consumer perspective and think about the population as a whole. This worked although people found it hard to do • This question required a lot of discussion and explaining but in general people put down well reasoned answers. -If people asked the current level of the Licence Fee then we told them (£126.50) although this does risk anchoring -If respondents said that they were going to divide the Licence Fee between the different services then we cautioned against that approach (we are looking for worth not cost) but if they still went ahead then we didn’t resist further Appendix General Views on the BBC’s Purposes C Sampling A Measuring value to the Citizen B Topics that arose during discussion of the BBC’s public purposes Views on the BBC’s purposes Sustaining Citizenship and Civil Society • This was by far the least ‘popular’ purpose. • Many of the respondents felt that they didn’t understand what it meant: we were asked on a couple of occasions ‘what does citizenship mean’? Even if they understood the words they grumbled about what the concept meant. • And many of those who did understand it felt strongly negative about it as a role for the BBC. They argued this purpose is for the government not the BBC, and some feared that it put the BBC too close to government and thereby threatened its independence. Stimulate creativity and cultural excellence • Although ‘creativity’ was not mentioned unprompted by many, people rated this purpose highly when asked (second highest after Education). • People thought about this purpose in two ways: creativity of programmes themselves and creativity inspired by watching and listening to programmes. • While people clearly felt innovation to be very important, there was quite a lot of scepticism about the ‘creativity’ of current TV programmes. This was raised in relation to copycat programming which they see across all channels. • There were several debates on what stimulates creativity for people: some argued that TV stifles creativity – you can just watch it rather than do it – and others felt the exact opposite, being inspired by programming. • Some felt they didn’t understand the phrase ‘cultural excellence’. Topics that arose during discussion of the BBC’s public purposes Views on the BBC’s purposes Promote education and learning • This was clearly the purpose which was felt to be most important. It was mentioned unprompted by 40% of all respondents and was most highly ranked. • There were some who commented that education was the government’s job not the BBC’s, but they were typically challenged by others who pointed out there are lots of ways to learn, not just schools. • There were some quite heated debates about what ‘knowledge’ should be deemed ‘education’ – e.g. knowing about a pop star. Some of those with a more academic nature argued for a traditional definition but there was plenty of support for a broader view. • As it happened, there were also some school teachers in the group who have been using the BBC’s on-demand services in class to good effect. This made a big impression on the group. Represent the UK, its nations, regions and communities • This purpose was rated in the middle ‘tier’ along with creativity, global and digital Britain. • There were two themes to the discussions about this purpose: building unity, understanding and commonality across the diverse interests of the UK on one hand, and giving each ‘community’ exposure – both to the rest of the UK and for its own members’ enjoyment – on the other. • Many people – particularly outside London -felt strongly that it is important for the BBC to represent their part of the UK on TV and radio. • There was also a genuine interest from many in seeing and learning more about other parts of the country. • Londoners particularly, and several others, were very keen on the BBC’s role in reflecting multicultural Britain and building understanding of the many different beliefs and points of view in society. • News figured highly in the discussion of this purpose. Topics that arose during discussion of the BBC’s public purposes Views on the BBC’s purposes Bring the UK to the world and the world to the UK • This purpose was very clearly bound up with the World Service in people’s minds, with most assuming it is part of the licence fee funded BBC. • Most of the discussion around this purpose centred on News. • There was a difference of opinion on whether the BBC should ‘represent’ the UK in the world, and also what that should mean in practice. • Some felt there should be a UK news ‘agenda’ being played out globally, others felt the World Service should be totally neutral (and there was a mix of views on whether it is neutral or not in practice). • In terms of entertainment, it was commented that parochial content can be counter productive • In terms of bringing the world to the UK, most agreed this was important, both in news and other programming. Make digital TV services available to all • Leading technological change was mentioned unprompted by several people as one of the roles of the BBC, although there were also strong opinions expressed that the BBC should not take large risks with licence fee money, so shouldn’t place large ‘bets’ on unproven technology. • It was ranked in the middle tier – although at the bottom end – along with creativity, UK role and global role. • There were several people who felt this is part of Government industrial policy and should not be ‘put upon’ the BBC as a ‘purpose’. • The BBC’s past role in developing first TV and then colour TV was raised several times as a model: digital is just the next evolutionary stage.