BARB

Today in our lesson we were reading though the text book in the section institutions and audiences. We then finished the section and started answering some questions. The last questions was: 'Who are BARB and what do they do'. So we were asked for homework to look on the website and see what it was all about...

What does BARB stand for?

Broadcasters' Audience Research Board

What is BARB?

"BARB was set up in 1981 to provide the industry standard television audience measurement service for broadcasters and the advertising industry. BARB is owned by BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, BSkyB and the IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) and is a not for profit company limited by guarantee.

BARB commissions research companies to provide the services that our users want, including the production of audience viewing figures. The audience measurement contracts are held by the following companies - RSMB, Ipsos MORI and Kantar Media (formerly known as TNS)."

You can see more of the website here. If you want to know about frequently asked questions click here.

Research:

I found it really interesting to see that most TV ratings have gone down a lot in the past year! However Entertainment seems to be the most popular in both 2014 and 2015. 

Six rating in specific genres went up, these where: Arts, Current Affairs, Hobbies/Leisure, Music, News/Weather and Other. It is no suppers that Current Affairs and News/Weather have gone up because we are, now is 2015 November, facing lots of political and economical problems, such as attacks. 

However eight genre have decreased in rating, these are: Children's TV, Documentaries, Drama, Education (which is now at 0%), Entertainment, Films, Religious and Sport. I do not find it to be a surprise that Entertainment has decreased, this is because most reality shows are getting to boring and predictable and old really. 

Overall, I found it fascinating to look at this website it was great!

1st November 2014:

15th November 2015: