Media Market Report of the UK Media Outlet Based on Mediatel - Essay Example

Media Market Report: BBC Media Market Report: BBC The United Kingdom has a long list of channels that are rendering services in different fields for public interest. These channels are rated and are calculated as per their performance in the selected fields; audience, viewership, demographics, and the revenues generated annually. This media reports also discusses the topic in detail to provide an overview of one of the no. 1 Media outlets in UK, famously known as ‘BBC 1’. The information and the data, which is provided in this report, is majorly collected form Mediatel, followed by some other credible sources. Introduction Undoubtedly, the term ‘mass media’ is deceivingly a very simple term; however, it incorporates a wide variety of different institutions, which opposes each other in diverse scopes, techniques, and cultural frameworks. The purpose of these media institutions is same to provide information and entertainment to the general masses. The U.K. is among the frontline of these media institutions and shares a wide number of these media institutions with the viewers, both nationally and internationally. Being one of the most prominent and famous channel worldwide and obviously the U.K., the British Broadcasting Corporation has been able to cater the needs of the audience in the most effective and efficient manner. The purpose of this media report is to study, investigate, and discuss the subsidiary channel of the BBC, i.e. BBC One in reference to its performance, its audience and the revenues it has been able to generate. Moreover, the report will also highlight the past and future drifts, which the channel had observed and will probably witness in the future. Background: When someone types this interesting three letters i.e. BBC on Google, you will be provided a list of different entertainments and services provide through a number of different mediums. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which came into existence in October 1922, however, the channel, which we are discussing in this report BBC One, was on aired on 2, November 1936 as the Flagship Channel of BBC. It was observed as the very first television channel rendering services to the audience in high resolution (Gray & Bell, 2013). The channel was renamed as BBC TV in 1960, until 1997 when it was again renamed to BBC One. Charlotte Moore is the present channel controller for BBC One since June 2013. The Channel because of its uninterrupted broadcasting of programs enjoys a variety of the audience in UK. There are different sister channels to BBC One including BBC Two, Three, Four, News, and BBC Parliament etc. (Gray & Bell, 2013). The Performance According to the data provided by Mediatel, BBC One is the most watched Channel in the UK sharing 20.9% of the audience as of 2009. As per BARB, September 2013, the Channel shared a total of 20.5% of the audience in the UK. Moreover, the BAARB audience profile shows that the channel has been doing well in the past few years as we go through the statistics and results (BARB, 2013). Figure 1: Figure showing Audience Share (Mediatel). The channel offers a wide range of programs that targets the audience through its interesting entertainment as well as news programming. One reason for sharing such a vast percentage of the audience is its quality that it does not have any political or commercial influence and that the programs are not interrupted by any kind of commercial. The annual budget of the BBC One for the year 2012-13 is noted to £ 1.14 Billion. BBC One, just like the other domestic channels of BBC is funded by the ‘television license’ fee (BBC, 2013). Since the media institution is successfully able to capture its target market and bring in handsome annual revenues, the channel has overridden many of its rivals including ITV. According to the Mediatel reports, the channel was in developing stage in the early 2000’s as the audience of the rival channel ITV 1 used to be greater than that of BBC One 29.2 whereas, the audience share of BBC One in 2000 was 27.1. However, the following year that channel was able to give a tough time to ITV 1 and was able to stand forward with an audience share of 26.9% while ITV was .2% behind with an audience share of 26.7%. Gradually after that year-by-year the channel overtook every other channel and was on the frontline in UK (Gray & Bell, 2013). Figure 2: Annual Figures (Mediatel) Following its success, the channel also launched BBC One HD and BBC One +1. The BBC One +1 was one-hour time shift that was added to BBC One, whereas BBC One HD was a simulcast of BBC One in Higher Definition. It was launched on the 3rd of November 2010. The famous programs such as ‘Holby City’, ‘The One Show’, ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, ‘The Apprentice’, and the ‘Doctor Who’ were shown in their HD versions which further enhanced the viewership attracting more audience (BBC, 2013). Furthermore, the basic reason for the outstanding success of BBC One also lies in its effective strategy and programming. Not forgetting about the commercial free influence, which has also contributed a lot in the success of the channel. Moreover, it also broadcasts different interesting shows on sports, news, current affairs, and documentaries (Gray & Bell, 2013). Demographics Reports have shown that there is no prominent differentiation in the audience of BBC One; however, the channel has successfully contributed a lot towards the UK Society. Moreover, the annual revenues of the channel have helped the economy of the country in a variety of ways. According to BBC itself the channel has a prominent and positive role in the UK economy (Coates & Stephenson, 2013). According to different reports the channel has been able to cater the whole of the UK’s audience. The audience age ranging from 16-65+ years are observed to be the audience of the channel. According to BAARB report, in September 2013 alone, BBC One was able to attract 45% of men and 55% of women towards its programs. 4% of these stats were found to be youngsters aged between 16-24 (Coates & Stephenson, 2013), 7% of the audience aged between 25-34, 11% 35-44, 16% 45-54, 20% 55-64, and 41% of the audience was aged 65+ (BBC, 2013). Figure 3: Audience Profile (Mediatel) This illustrates that the majority of the BBC One audience is elders followed by youngsters. However, the channel does not plan to divide its audience and has strategic planning which covers almost every age (except children which are now catered by CBBC and CBeebies). Since the basic mission of the organization is to inform and entertain the audience and to educate them, BBC One targets and broadcasts program, which shows its service towards the society and the people (Gray & Bell, 2013). It is considered as one of the major force in the UK society, which provides education and other services through the different programs to change the living standards of people with quality and to enhance them. It has always considered the fact to value for the citizens as individuals and has been able to do it successfully, constantly and consistently (BBC, 2013). BBC One has been able to fulfil the individual’s requirement in a way that they have been able to play their part in the society. It has touched the lives of the people in a way that has contributed towards their (Audience) enjoyment and their self-fulfilment. It has successfully coped up with the purpose of sustaining citizenship and the UK Civil society in the best possible manner. The channel has been able to catch loyalty of its audience through its social initiatives by supporting the civic life and the debates (national) through its presentation of the trusted news and information which helps the UK citizens to engage them in accordance with the trends going on in the world (BBC, 2013). Evaluation of the Performance Data If we critically evaluate the data provided by Mediatel for BBC One, we will be able to understand that in the past 5 years the channel did not show any major fluctuation in its viewership (except that of minor ones). This is due to the fact of the increase in channels and the number of other mediums (digital: internet and social media), which has affected the growth of the channels viewership. However, regardless of this strong outside impact the channel has sustained the constancy in its audience (BARB, 2013). No major seasonal fluctuation has been observed in the past 5 years of BBC One according to Mediatel and BAARB. The programs are all watched with the same intensity in all seasons. This is again because of the effective strategy of the channel. There is a variation in the content of news and programs as per the regions in UK - Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The variation is highly observed in BBC One Scotland from that of BBC One (Gray & Bell, 2013). If we talk about the channel and its seasonal variation outside of the UK, then a little variation is observed in the countries; Netherlands, Belgium, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland (BBC, 2013). Performance and Revenues of BBC One in Past 5 Years BBC One if observed from its performance point of view, than can be concluded as a famous and successful channel in the UK. Dominating its presence over other channels, BBC One had been able to mark its existence right after its evolution. If we observe the drifts in the past 5 years of the channel’s performance that according to Mediatel it can be noted that it had been doing more than well in the market. The annual reports of the company show that the company at whole is doing great in terms of revenues and profits. This is ultimately because of the outstanding performance of the channels, particularly BBC One (BBC, 2013). Figure 4: BBC’s Share towards Economy (BBC) Since there is no particular annual report on BBC One alone, therefore, the annual report of the company has to be analysed. The annual report of 2012-13 shows that BBC has been able to reach almost every household in the UK. The Viewership of the company at whole increased enormously because of the Olympics Coverage. According to the annual report of the year 2009-10, it was told that BBC was able to draw profits of £145 million and availability of £478 million. The company has however been able to cut down its total costs by 40% compared to that of year 2000 (Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Culture, Media and Sport Committee, 2011). This has resulted in an increase of £5m every year in the company’s revenue. If the past reports of the company are surveyed then we will have an idea that every year the company do well in the field of revenue and performance (BBC, 2013). After analysing the annual reports, it can be easily concluded that BBC One being the number one channel in the UK and of the company must be playing a significant role in contributing towards the goal, therefore we can summarize that in the past 5 years where the company has done very well in the UK in the field of performance and revenues, BBC One was one of the major players to drive the company through its set target and goals (Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Culture, Media and Sport Committee, 2011). Figure 5: Shares of BBC (BBC) Performance and Revenues of BBC One in Coming 5 Years Annual reports show that BBC has net assets of £ 1.1 Billion (excluding the pension deficit). The company has however used the effective strategy to outsource its transmission inside and outside the UK. This has also helped the company to bring in some extra revenues every year. Keeping in mind the present scenario and analysing the past reports of 5 years, it can be predicted that BBC One has a lot to discover and that the channel will explore more markets not only in the UK but also internationally (BBC, 2013). If the company improved and enhanced its strategies and that the rival channels are not been able to override BBC One, the channel can bring in more business for the company. Predicting the scenario of the coming 5 years then it can said that BBC One will be able to remain the no. 1 channel in UK, bringing more revenues than now for the company (BBC, 2013). Figure 6: Estimated Changes (BBC) Summary BBC One is undoubtedly the most watched and no. 1 channel in the UK that shares more than 20.5% of the audience alone in UK. The channel came into existence into 1936 and since then had been catering the requirements of the audience in the most efficient manner. The audience of the channel ranges between 16 to 65+ years old. The programs, which are shown in the channel, are very famous and popular among every age group. The effective strategy of the channel has allowed it to explore new limits in the market of the UK. Every year the channel brings in huge profit for the company and attracts more audience through its quality focused and credible programs and news. The channel is funded by ‘license fee’ that is paid by the UK citizens and is proudly owned by the public. The channel is also exempted from any tax or any extra license fee other than those corporation tax which its gets from external incomes. The channel had been able to do well in the UK in terms of the audience and revenues, profits as well. BBC One has one rival competitor named as IVC 1. The channel has stood stiff against all the odds that came in its way. The annual reports of the company show that it has strong net assets and that it has been able to earn annual revenue / profit as huge as £145 Million. BBC One is undoubtedly one of the famous and well-known channels not only in the UK but also in the world, if continued with the same pace and effective strategies; the channel will touch and explore new possibilities and limits. List of References BARB, 2013. barb.co.uk. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 3 November 2013]. BBC, 2013. Annual Report 2012-13. [Online] Available at: Read More