Television audience research at Britain's independent broadcasting authority, 1974–1984

Abstract

The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) has developed an Appreciation Measurement instrument which yields not only indices of appreciation but also measures of patterns of viewing behavior across a week. Together with attitude questionnaires, these weekly data bases provide useful means of exploring a wide range of media effects theories. The focus on subjective meanings adduced by viewers for screen contents permeates IBA research, the outcomes of which tend to be support for selectivity in viewing behavior, some dependency effects, but limited or no cultivation effects where viewers have other means of forming perceptions and attitudes.