Activities
Before viewing
1. In groups of four, make a list of your Top Ten current TV programmes – your own 'must-see' TV shows. You have two minutes only to complete this task!
2. Now, break your Top Ten list down into genres or categories of programmes – eg drama series, soap, reality show, makeover programme, documentary, etc. Again, this is a two-minute task. Make a note of any of your programmes that fit into more than one category.
3. Have another look at your list and see which channels broadcast your favourite programmes. Are they on mainstream terrestrial TV, or on digital or satellite channels? Which channels appear most regularly in your list?
4. The 'How much do you know about TV?' Game
Try this simple quiz to see how much you already know about the way television is made and broadcast. Keep your answers for later so you can check out how much you already know, and what you've learned by the end of the programme.
Round one
See if you can write down the meaning of each of the following terms:
EPG
format
terrestrial
pitch
demographic
focus group
ratings
BARB
licence fee
sponsorship
Round two
See if you can explain in one sentence what each of the following people does:
Commissioning Editor
Development team
Channel Controller
Programme controller
Director of Sales
Round three
See if you can work out roughly the dates of the following important events in TV history, and say why you think they might be so important:
The start of commercial TV in Britain
The birth of Channel Four
The beginning of satellite television in the UK
The advent of digital TV
The forthcoming renewal of the BBC's Charter
The proposed switch-over from analogue to digital TV
5. Finally: this programme starts out by asking why there's so much rubbish on TV. Is there? Jot down your thoughts on the current state of television – does it give you what you want?
And now … get on with watching the programme!
During / after viewing
NB these activities assume the programme will be shown in sections, with pauses for activities in-between.
1 Does more choice mean better TV?
Discuss the following with a partner:
- Strictly Come Dancing has been a hugely popular show. What sorts of audiences do you think it appeals to, and why?
- Listen to the arguments about the state of current British television. Come up with three points that argue that it is thriving and healthy, and three points that suggest that it is increasingly filled with rubbish.
- Talk about how you decide what to watch on TV, and what use, if any, you make of electronic programme guides.
2 Where do they get their ideas from?
- This section shows independent production company Zeal developing ideas to pitch to commissioning editors. Talk about their ideas, and decide which, if any, you would watch if they were made into programmes, and why you would want to watch them.
- Imagine you are a production company trying to come up with a new show for Five.
Come up with three ideas for new shows. They can be in any genre, and be as creative, wacky or silly as you like (remember Steve Partridge's Monkey Tennis?). Summarise each of your three ideas in 25 words or less – but make your 'pitches' as persuasive as possible.
Now pitch your ideas to another pair, and see which idea they would choose to develop, and why.
- Check out Simon London describing 'edgy' TV, and talk about the extracts from the Channel 4 show Distraction. With your partner, role-play a debate between two TV critics in which one of you defends the programme as 'edgy', while the other attacks it as 'trashy' TV.
3 Who decides what we get to watch?
- Listen to the commissioning editors describing how they determine which programmes will actually be made. What skills and experience do they bring to their decisions, and what do they look for in their choices?
- Now go back to the most successful of the pitches you came up with earlier. In light of the comments from Ben Frow, from Five, develop your idea into a treatment of about 250 words that will sell the idea to Five, and explain what's in it for the viewer.
4 How do they know what we want to watch?
- What does each of the following strategies tell programme makers about the success of their programmes with viewers:
focus groups
BARB data
the overnight ratings - In this section, it's argued that critical acclaim is less important for programme makers than attracting large audiences and the right demographics for advertisers. Discuss why this is so important.
- You are part of the most crucial age group to advertisers – the essential 16–34 demographic. Discuss what makes this age group so important. Do you agree with the ways you are described in the programme?
- At home, watch an episode of Hollyoaks and one of Coronation Street, with your own age group in mind. Make a note of the advertising appearing in and around each show. What evidence can you find of these shows' appeal to:
– the 16–34 age group?
– advertisers targeting this demographic?
5 Why are there so many makeover shows on TV – and why do they all copy each other's ideas?
Here is a list of ten of the points made in this section. Discuss how far you agree with each one, using some of the examples shown in this section – eg Changing Rooms, Pop Idol and its relatives, or reality shows such as The Farm – to support your views:
- the need to 'sell eyeballs to advertisers' means that programme makers tend to stick with what they know will work
- the programme that starts the trend outlasts all the others
- these (makeover) shows are like watching eight year olds playing football – they all gather round the ball
- the BBC is now reaching mass audiences – but when it does, it's accused of 'dumbing down'
- the BBC has a huge guaranteed income so it should be taking bigger risks than Fame Academy
- reality shows are not real – they are games
- there's a generation gap between the 'old guys' who think all this is rubbish, and the younger generation of programme makers
- the biggest issue in television history has been the competition for viewers
- Channel 4 has a mission to take more risks than other broadcasters – but is it brave enough?
- the arrival of Sky and Rupert Murdoch has offered 'infinite variety' – and viewers like the choice if offers.
6 Why are there so many repeats on TV?
- Imagine you are the Director of Strategy for a new digital channel called 'The Best of British', which broadcasts repeats and repackagings of popular British shows for the 16-34 year old audience. Your task is to create a schedule for a typical weekday from 6.00am through to 2.00am, which includes a really varied range of shows, but adds edginess to avoid boring your audience.
Draw up your schedule carefully, thinking about the timing and making sure you can justify each show you choose.
Come up with some ideas for promoting the channel – eg continuity sequences, the use of presenters, etc.
Present your schedule to the class, explaining how and why you have recycled existing programmes, and why it would appeal to the 16–34 demographic. - Chose one of the programmes featured in this section (eg Selling Houses, Millionaire, or I'm a Celebrity … ) and discuss whether you think it has grown and developed over time, or whether it has become 'too much of a good thing'.
- Older BBC presenters like Barry Norman and Nick Ross suggest that shows like I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here are humiliating and lacking in 'civilising values'. Why do you think they have this view – and how far do you agree with it?
- For homework, ask the two questions above to some older viewers – teachers, your parents or grandparents, etc. – how similar or different are their answers?
7 How did they know Big Brother would work?
- In the words of the experts and the fans, Big Brother...
- has changed the TV landscape – it's the best reality show ever'
- was a completely unknown quantity – no one believed that watching people doing nothing could ever make good TV'
- is a window on the world of the younger generation'
- has attracted the advertisers' dream audience'
- had characters and sets constructed so young people could identify with them'
- has turned lots of people off Channel 4'
- is watched 'just in case something happens''
- set out to surprise and confound expectations in series 5 with the tagline 'BB gets evil' – and it worked!'
- is crucial to Channel 4 for delivering funding which is put back into other shows' - With your partner, come up with an opposing argument for each of these comments. If you have access to the internet, try searching for some of the newspaper coverage from past Big Brother series to see how TV critics, editors and the general public have debated the show.
- So far we've had Teen Big Brother and three series of Celebrity Big Brother. How else could you vary the BB format? Try coming up with a new variation on Big Brother that might appeal to audiences or demographics that have not yet become BB addicts. Write it up as a pitch for Tim Hincks at Endemol UK, explaining exactly how your variation will work, and why you think it will appeal to your chosen audience.
- Discuss what, if anything, Big Brother means to you personally. In your view, is it 'the best reality show ever – or is it just a cynical way of pulling in revenue for Channel 4? Is it stimulating TV people can learn from – or is it just 'dumbed down' TV?
8 Was it really better in the old days?
-
Try a bit of audience research. Construct a mini survey for some older viewers – parents, teachers, etc. – to find out their views on the following:
Which brilliant television programmes do you remember from your younger days? What made them memorable?
Which rubbish programmes do you remember – and why did you think they were rubbish? Is TV better or worse than it used to be?
Analyse your results, and compare them with others in the class. - Drawing on both your own viewing experiences, your audience research, and the evidence from the experts on the programme, how far would you agree that television is not as good as it used to be?
9 What will they think of next?
- Imagine it is now the year 2015. Write an imaginary viewing diary for yourself, which explains how you will be choosing, consuming and enjoying television, and the kinds of programmes you might be watching. To help you, use some of the ideas suggested in the programme, your own knowledge of the new developments in media technology, and your own imagination. Think creative – predict the future!
