tv channel analysis

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I am going to carry out a TV channel research on who is being targeted on a specific TV channel and analyse the content in terms of the TV documentaries being aired. As I carried out some research in TV channels and found out that Channel 4 (http://www.channel4.com) is the most suitable channel for my documentary to be broadcasted. I will be comparing Channel 4’s documentary schedules with other programmes that the documentaries are up against on the same day at the same time in the schedule. For example, BBC1, ITV1 and ITV2. This is because they are the major channels and everybody has them on their TV. Channel 4’s remit is to innovate and appeal to everyone – different cultures, nationalities, religious persuasions, physical and mental abilities, sexual orientation, races and ages. We see this everyday through the scope of films, documentaries, dramas and entertainment programmes Channel 4 transmit on air. Channel 4 is suitable for our documentary because our documentary is about social networking. We are targeting at teenagers and young adults

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Page 1: Tv Channel Analysis

I

am going to carry out a TV channel research on who is being targeted on a specific TV channel and analyse the content in terms of the TV documentaries being aired.

As I carried out some research in TV channels and found out that Channel 4 (http://www.channel4.com) is the most suitable channel for my documentary to be broadcasted.I will be comparing Channel 4’s documentary schedules with other programmes that the documentaries are up against on the same day at the same time in the schedule. For example, BBC1, ITV1 and ITV2. This is because they are the major channels and everybody has them on their TV.

Channel 4’s remit is to innovate and appeal to everyone – different cultures, nationalities, religious persuasions, physical and mental abilities, sexual orientation, races and ages. We see this everyday through the scope of films, documentaries, dramas and entertainment programmes Channel 4 transmit on air.

Channel 4 is suitable for our documentary because our documentary is about social networking. We are targeting at teenagers and young adults across the United Kingdom regardless of their nationalities, religious backgrounds, sexual orientation or races. Another reason Channel 4 is suitable for our documentary is because that Channel 4 looks at Britishness by exploring the rich diversity of cultures and lifestyles in Britain today. The fact that Channel 4 is only targeting at one specific country makes it more suitable for our documentary.

I am going to look at Channel 4’s TV schedule over fortnightly period and identify documentary types and times being targeted.I will be highlighting docudramas in yellow, institutional documentaries in green, social documentaries in pink, wildlife documentaries in red and others in blue.

Page 2: Tv Channel Analysis

5 th October2009

The Daredevils is a series of sixty minutes social documentaries happening every Monday evening on Channel 4 at 9pm. The use of word in its title such as ‘Dare’ and ‘Devils’ attracts audience especially those young adults / teenagers. It is scheduled for 9pm as the time is suitable for mostly everybody in the country and therefore the review rate would be higher than if the documentary is scheduled at other times.

Page 3: Tv Channel Analysis

The only channel 4 documentary taking place on 5th October 2009 is the daredevils therefore we can identify that there isn’t many documentaries happening on Monday evening and the only one being broadcasted is targeted at mainly young adults/ teenagers.

Other programmes the documentaries are up against on the Monday on the other channels in the schedule are the part 1 of the drama Blue Murder on ITV1; TV Series Hell’s Kitchen USA on ITV2 and TV drama Criminal Justice on BBC1, etc.

Page 4: Tv Channel Analysis

6 th October2009

True stories: The Glass House is a social documentary on 4More at 10pm on 6th October 2009. The Glass House is a 2 hours documentary and being repeated again at 1am on 7th October 2009. The word ‘True’ in the title attracts audience and creates an illusion of truth telling. The Glass House tells a shocking true story about another society and it is targeted at those people who would like to know more about another culture, possibly professionals such as teachers; parents and teenagers.

Page 5: Tv Channel Analysis

The only documentary happening on the Tuesday is the social documentary: The Glass House.

The documentary is up against News and Weather at Ten on ITV 1, an action thriller film Passenger 57 on ITV2 and News and Weather on BBC1.

7 th October2009

Page 6: Tv Channel Analysis

The Secret Millionaire is a 60 minutes social documentary about an IT tycoon Dominic List leaves his luxury lifestyle behind to go undercover in Peckham. It is played on Channel 4 at 9pm on Wednesday 7th October 2009. The word ‘secret’ is an eye-catching word and the fact that the documentary is filming millionaires attracts audience and the target audience for this documentary should be everybody.

Page 7: Tv Channel Analysis

When Boris Met Dave is a docu-drama that lasts for 95minutes at 9pm and being repeated again at 00.40am. It looks at how their time at Eton and Oxford influenced Tory leader David Cameron and his contemporary Boris Johnson, the mayor of London.

Above are the only two documentaries happening on the Wednesday night 7th October. One happening to be a social documentary and the other one is a docu-drama. They are both being scheduled at 9pm and other programmes they are up against at the same time are BBC1 TV series Crime and Justice, ITV1 Awards Evening and 1TV2 sensational drama Trinity.

Page 8: Tv Channel Analysis

8 th October2009

First part of a social documentary about a boy called Alex and his passion for music is being broadcast on Channel 4 at 9pm on Thursday. The documentary is educational therefore it is targeted at teenagers and being scheduled for 9pm. The word ‘passion’ suggests that he had to overcome problems in order to achieve what he has got now.

Page 9: Tv Channel Analysis

Second part of the A Boy Called Alex is being broadcasted on Channel 4 More straight after the first part is being played on Channel 4. This episode goes into details about the passion for music Alex has but this time it isn’t targeted at teenagers, I think it is targeted at parents more and it is more of an entertainment documentary than educational like the previous.

On Thursday 8th October 2009 Channel 4 broadcasted two episodes of social documentaries. Both of the documentaries are focused on a boy called Alex. They are real life stories that have educational meanings to them.

The programmes are up against TV Series and News & Weather on ITV1, ITV2 and BBC1.

Page 10: Tv Channel Analysis

9 th October2009

There is not any documentaries being broadcasted on a Friday night, this is mainly due to the fact it is a weekend and people are more interested in a comedy than a thoughtful documentary.

Page 11: Tv Channel Analysis

10 th October2009

The only documentary being broadcasted on Saturday night is the docudrama When Boris Met Dave. It is a docudrama therefore its main purpose is to entertain audience. It is the same episode as being broadcasted on the 7th October 2009. The reason for this is to fill up space in time and give audience a chance to catch up on missing programmes. It entertains audience by featuring famous politicians.

It is up against News and Weathers in other TV Channels such as ITV1, ITV2 and BBC1.

Page 12: Tv Channel Analysis

11 th October2009

The wildlife documentary (science, nature) is being broadcasted on the Sunday at 7pm on Channel 4. This is the first wildlife documentary being broadcasted in this week and it is scheduled earlier than other documentaries. This is because that this episode is targeted at a different group of audience.It is up against TV Comedy Show Harry Hill’s TV Burp on ITV1 and Country File on BBC1.

Page 13: Tv Channel Analysis

First institutional documentary of the week. It is scheduled at 10pm and it’s 70 minutes long. Normally documentaries are scheduled at 9pm however this institutional documentary is scheduled for 10pm, which means that they are targeting at a different audience group such as the adults and elders.

Other programmes this institutional documentary is up against at the same time:A profile documentary on ITV1:

News & Weather and Comedy show on BBC1:

Page 14: Tv Channel Analysis

12 th October2009

Historical/ Social documentary on Channel 4 at 8pm. It looks at the anarchist attack on Victorian London and today’s radicalism, examining how feelings of oppression and persecution can lead to extremism. The documentary is an hour long and is followed up by another social documentary at 9pm. It is targeted at those people who are interested in history and most of them are elder people.

Page 15: Tv Channel Analysis

Followed up by another social documentary at 9pm on Channel 4 ‘The Human Spider’. This is an entertaining documentary aiming to explore people’s special feature. It is targeted at everybody but mainly who are interested would be teenagers and young adults.

Other programmes these documentaries are up against are the Life Challenge on BB1 and Blue Murder on ITV1 as well as Hell’s Kitchen USA mentioned earlier.

Page 16: Tv Channel Analysis

13 th October2009

A social/institutional documentary on Channel 4 about the police force reveals the challenges faced by frontline police officers. It is a social documentary as it entertains audience from an unusual incident however it is also an institutional documentary as it explores different life of institutions.

Page 17: Tv Channel Analysis

At 10pm on Channel 4More is the wildlife documentary (nature/ science) examine honeybees. It is scheduled at 10pm, as it is not mainly targeted at teens. People who usually watch TV at 10 pm are usually the parents or adults. Therefore this documentary is targeted at adults to explore the effects caused by honeybees.

Two documentaries are being broadcasted on the Tuesday night. One happens to be a social/ institutional documentary and another one is a wildlife documentary.

Other programmes these documentaries are up against are Ten News on BBC1 and:Joan Does Glamour on ITV1

Jack Osbourne: Adrenaline Junkie on ITV2

Page 18: Tv Channel Analysis

14 th October2009

Another episode of social documentary The Secret Millionaire is being broadcasted on Channel 4 and 9pm. It is targeted at the same audience as it is being scheduled at the same time as the last episode.

Page 19: Tv Channel Analysis

Social documentary Last Party At The Palace is broadcasted at 10pm on Channel 4 More. The story of the last debutantes’ season in 1958 and the women who were shaped by it. Plus, a look at the revival of the debutante season in the new millennium and how it compares. Again this documentary isn’t targeted at teenagers/ young adults as it is scheduled for 10pm and most people who watch TV at this time would be the adults.

Two episodes of documentaries are scheduled for Wednesday 14th October 2009. Both of them happen to be social documentaries. And the use of social documentaries are designed to get the audience involved and make them think about different life of society whilst being entertained.

Other programmes these documentaries are up against are the BBC News at Ten and Sci-fi film The Matrix Reloaded on ITV2.

Page 20: Tv Channel Analysis

15 th October2009

A social documentary at 9pm on Channel 4 looks at what pubs really mean to British people. The film- maker takes a 3,000-mile pub crawl to some of Britain’s Red Lions. Provides a timely snapshot of our drinking habits. This social documentary is aimed at mostly everyone in Britain. The reason for being scheduled at 9pm is probably that teens/ young adults therefore can watch it, too. The name of the documentary is simple and short. It doesn’t tell the audience what it is about straightaway therefore it gets the audience more involved and makes them want to know what is happening.

Page 21: Tv Channel Analysis

The social/institutional documentary The Force is being repeated again at channel 4 at 1am. The reason for this could be to fill up in time where there is nothing else could be scheduled for that time line as well as to give audience a chance to catch up.

The social documentary Embarrassing Bodies talks about how a medical team helps people overcome their fears about their bodies. It is scheduled at 9pm to fit in with everybody’s timeline. The name Embarrassing Bodies are designed to attract audience. The short name is designed easier for the public to remember.

Page 22: Tv Channel Analysis

16 th October2009

The only social documentary being broadcasted on Channel 4 More at 11pm. The title reveals its content and makes audience want to watch it and get to know what happened to the girl. The phrase ‘Sex Tourist’ is an eye-catching phrase that attracts audience. The purpose of this documentary is to reveal a true story and explore life in different culture. The reason for being scheduled at 11pm is probably because it is restricted in age issue; children under 12 may not be allowed to watch.

Page 23: Tv Channel Analysis

17 th October2009

Social documentary Building Of The Year is being scheduled for 8pm on Saturday 17th October 2009. The reason for being scheduled for 8pm is probably because it makes it easier for everyone to watch. The documentary is also a profile documentary, which introduces one of the best buildings of the year. The title ‘Building Of The Year’ attracts audience, as the audience would like to find out what sort of building would deserve to be the best.

Page 24: Tv Channel Analysis

An episode of David Blaine’s magic tricks at 9pm. Blaine tries to balance on a 2 ft wide freestanding pillar, 100 feet above the streets of New York for 35 hours with no food, water, sleep neither safety nets. It is scheduled for 9pm as the introduction of the documentary sounds very interesting. For more people to be able to watch it therefore it is scheduled for 9pm. The reason why it is scheduled before David Blaine’s Street Magic is because that obviously freestanding is more challenging than street magic and if the freestanding is approved by the audience then more people would want to find out what happens in the street magic.

The 10pm show ‘David Blaine’s Street Magic’ is a social/entertainment documentary, too. It records incidents happened while presenting a magic show on street. The word

Page 25: Tv Channel Analysis

‘street’ creates a sense of truth telling, which makes the audience think that there might be unexpected incidents happening. The word ‘Street’ also suggests that David Blaine interacts with the public face to face, which means that his magic tricks must be very excellent.

Historical documentary Time Team is scheduled for 9pm on Channel 4 More. The reason why it is being broadcasted on Channel 4 More but Channel 4 is because that the David Blaine’s magic shows are more entertaining on a Saturday and there is a greater possibility of people watching magic shows than historical documentaries.However the word ‘Buried’ is an eye-catching word in the title and the name ‘Blitz’ gives the audience a clue of what is happening in the documentary. The documentary is being repeated on the same channel again at 11.40pm to fill up programmes in time.

The title of this documentary attracts audience as we all know that the Titanic has sank but the use of word ‘The Unsinkable Titanic’ makes the audience want to find out more about it. The reason for being broadcasted at 10pm is because that the target audience for this documentary would possibly be those adults or elders and not the teens. However this documentary is being repeated again at 00.45am to fill up programmes in time.

Page 26: Tv Channel Analysis

18 th October2009

The only documentary being broadcasted on Channel 4 More on Sunday is the social documentary about an oversized mother. This documentary is scheduled for 10pm as it relaxes people after a tiring family day out. People normally watch it for entertainment before go to bed for another busy week. It is scheduled for 10pm as it is not so important such as the educational documentaries and the main purpose of this documentary is to entertain audience. The use of words in the title such as ‘Half Ton’ attracts audience.

Other programme this documentary may have up against is the BBC Weekend News at Ten on BBC1 and Lee Hall: The South Bank Show on ITV1.

Page 27: Tv Channel Analysis

Conclusion

From analysing a fortnightly period of Channel 4’s TV programmes list I have come to a conclusion that Channel Four does roughly five to seven documentaries a week (excluding Channel 4 More. Approximately 15 documentaries including Channel 4 More) and most of them are social documentaries targeting at young adults and teenagers, sometimes parents. The airtime devoted to social documentaries for the week overall on Channel 4 only is seven and a half hours (450minutes). In total of documentaries being devoted on both Channel 4 and Channel 4 More is 21 hours (1260 minutes) from 7pm – 1am that means Channel Four and Channel Four More have 98 hours in total in one week from 7pm – 1am and documentaries take up 21 hours, which is 21.4% of their total programming time from 7pm – 1am in a week. BBC 1 only devote s 5 hours on average per week to documentaries between 7pm – 1am Monday to Sunday which is 76.2% less than how much Channel 4 devotes to documentaries. Therefore I believe that Channel 4 is more suitable than any other TV Channels to broadcast my documentary. Looking into details on TV Schedules I have found out that social documentary is normally broadcasted at 9pm – 10pm Monday to Thursday. Mostly Thursday as people like to relax on Friday by watching some comedies or films. By looking at the TV Schedule list I have found out that most documentaries are scheduled between TV Shows and Dramas as TV shows normally happens around 8pm and dramas are normally being broadcasted at 10pm or 11pm. Therefore I should schedule my documentary on a Thursday at 9pm.By looking at TV programming lists I have found conventions to broadcast a documentary such as the time and day of the week. I have confirmed the TV Channel for broadcasting my documentary is Channel 4; my target audience is teenagers/ young adults and the date and time for my social documentary being broadcasted: Thursday 9pm.