Attitudes To Regional Programmes

New research by MORI on behalf of Ofcom indicates that viewers in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland appreciate dedicated programming, and would like to continue provision for their nation on terrestrial TV. These audiences are also interested in programming which shows the rest of the UK their culture.

Ofcom commissioned MORI to carry out a piece of qualitative research with audiences in these parts of the UK to explore perceptions of the current provision of dedicated programming on the terrestrial channels.

Dedicated news and current affairs were top priority for most, where current levels of provision were appreciated. There was also interest in more locally-focused news and the use of alternative channels in the future for the delivery of local information. Participants also found comedy, consumer affairs programming, documentary and sports bulletins important in making up provision for their nation.

Younger participants (including those up to their mid-30s) felt distanced from current dedicated programming and called for more programming which would fit with their interests and lifestyles.

In general participants wanted better representation of their nation across the UK, so that the rest of the UK could see more of the richness and subtlety of culture and life within the nations. This was particularly apparent in Northern Ireland, where participants felt that their image as pictured by the rest of the UK was one-sided and sometimes negative.

However, greater representation on the network was not seen as an adequate alternative to dedicated programming; both were felt to be necessary.

Participants embraced the digital future and saw advantages in using digital channels or broadband to offer more localised or tailored content.

Technical details

Nine four-hour long workshops were carried out with around 20 people attending each. Workshops were carried out in Dumfries, Glasgow and Inverness in Scotland; Belfast, Derry / Londonderry and Enniskillen in Northern Ireland, and Caernarfon, Cardiff and Aberystwyth in Wales in November-December 2004. Half the participants in each workshop were recruited on the basis of being 'regular viewers of non-news dedicated programming'. Participants were also recruited on the basis of age, social class, lifestage, interest in new media and whether a multi channel household.

The workshops broke into smaller groups at various points to allow a more in-depth exploration of the issues, as well as sessions in plenary. This allowed for different groupings of participants, for example, by religion in Northern Ireland, age, and whether people were regular viewers of non-news dedicated programming.