WHEN asked about their attitudes towards privacy on television, around half of respondents (51 per cent) in a survey conducted by the broadcasting regulators, Ofcom, disagreed with the statement: ‘broadcasters should be free to show programmes that scrutinise the lives of celebrities and politicians without their consent’.
Adds Ofcom: “Sixty-one per cent disagreed that ‘TV broadcasters should be free to show programmes that scrutinise members of the general public without them giving consent’.
Other findings include:
* Thirty per cent agreed that ‘broadcasters should be able to show programmes that scrutinise the lives of celebrities and politicians without their consent’ (a significant decrease compared to 34 per cent in 2011). Less than a fifth (18 per cent) agreed that ‘broadcasters should be free to show programmes that scrutinise the lives of members of the general public without them giving consent’; and
* Newspapers were seen as the medium that is most intrusive into the lives of people in the public eye (43 per cent) and the general public (45 per cent), followed by TV (26 per cent and 27 per cent respectively) and magazines (20 per cent and ten per cent respectively).
Attitudes towards regulation
* AS in 2012, the majority of respondents (88 per cent) were aware that TV programmes were regulated;
* Over three-quarters (77 per cent) of respondents felt that the current levels of TV regulation were ‘about right’, a similar proportion to radio (76 per cent);
* Over half (52 per cent) of respondents, compared to 47 per cent in 2012, thought there was ‘too little’ regulation of the internet. Among parents, 57 per cent felt that the current levels of regulation were too little (compared to 50 per cent of non-parents). When prompted, over half (54 per cent) of those who thought there was too little regulation cited to ‘protect children/young people’ as their reason for thinking this;
* Almost four-fifths (79 per cent) of respondents were aware that it is possible to watch/ download programmes online, compared to 73 per cent in 2012. Although awareness declined with age (85 per cent of 16-34s versus 60 per cent of over-65s), among 55-64 year-olds awareness has risen to 79 per cent (up from 66 per cent in 2012); and
* Among those aware that it is possible to watch/ download programmes online on TV broadcasters’ websites, over half (52 per cent) thought this content was regulated in terms of what can and can’t be shown.
Take-up and use of on-demand services
* Almost four in ten (39 per cent) internet users said they used the internet to watch TV programmes online or download from TV broadcasters’ websites, compared to 35 per cent in 2012;
* Since 2011, the proportion of internet users who said they used the internet to watch TV clips online, and download from websites other than the TV broadcasters’ websites, has increased from 33 per cent to 39 per cent in 2013. Among 35-54 year-olds in particular, there has been a significant increase in those who claim to watch TV clips online or download them from these websites (32 per cent in 2012 vs 40 per cent in 2013);
* Among those who said they watched TV/films/video clips via the internet, 57 per cent said they did so at least several times a week, rising to 69 per cent of 16-34s. Seventeen per cent of 16- 34 year-olds who said they watched TV/films/video clips via the internet said they did so every day; and
* Among those who use online ‘video on demand’5 the top three reasons for doing so were for catching-up on missed content – ‘missed the programme/film when on TV’ (61 per cent), for added convenience – ‘want to watch programme/film at a time that suits me’ (39 per cent) and, for greater choice -‘use it when there is nothing on normal TV to watch’ (33 per cent). Compared to 2012, there has been an increase in the proportion saying they use online video on demand because ‘someone was watching something else at the time it was on so used it to catch up’ (from 12 per cent in 2012 to 19 per cent in 2013).
Source: UK audience attitudes towards the broadcast media, July 3 2014.
