SUPPORT SHOWN FOR PSB ON COMMERCAL TV

ACCORDING to new research published by the Independent Television Commission (ITC) viewers have showed strong support for public service broadcasting (PSB) on commercial television.
Viewers said that they valued the range and diversity of programming offered by PSB content and wanted it to continue.
The ITC initiated a major programme of consultation and research last year to find out what viewers' concept of PSB was, and how important they considered it to be in the digital, multi-channel future.
In addition to two public consultations on different aspects of PSB, the ITC held citizens' juries for a more in-depth insight into viewer attitudes, hosted open meetings around the nations and regions, and commissioned research into the views of opinion formers such as MPs, journalists and academics. Children too were asked for their views.
In research looking at the difference in attitudes between terrestrial-only viewers and those with pay-TV, nearly two-thirds of all respondents agreed that, because of the range of programmes shown on the BBC, ITV, C4, S4 and C5, they were able to watch good quality programmes which they would not have otherwise considered viewing.
On ITV, news and drama programmes were considered to be the most important public service genres, and religious programmes the least. There was broad agreement amongst respondents that regional programmes on the BBC and ITV were the way in which they kept up to date with news in their part of the country, and that regional programming was an essential service for ITV to provide, even if they watched relatively few programmes made specifically for their region.
BBC1, BBC2, ITV and Channel Four were still the most watched channels in pay-TV homes, with Sky One the most watched non-terrestrial channel. Three quarters of those who receive subscription channels said they switch between them and free-to-air channels to make a varied evening's viewing.
The findings from all these initiatives are published in an ITC report and they can be found on the ITC website at www.itc.org.uk (CD)