Television regulations

What is the need for television

regulations?
www.asa.org.uk
We have television regulations for the
simple reason that audiences find a lot of
things offensive. There needs to be some
kind of system/guidelines for
advertisements so that they arent
deemed inappropriate and insult anyone,
as well as not wasting money just for an
advert to get banned. For that simple
reason we have the ASA, also known as
the Advertising Standards Authority.
Regulations prevent accidents occurring,
such as racism, sexism, offensive
language or sexual content. As well as not
offending people, some of these guidelines
and the many more that there are, makes
it increasingly hard for advertising
firms and advertisements in general to
fit these guidelines and still be
remotely interesting. The two
companies known for being in charge,
the police of the advertising world are
the ASA and Ofcom.
The ASA are extremely important in
the television world, as soon as one
report is made about an advert the
ASA are forced to investigate, they
then make the decision whether to let
the advert continue to be shown or not.
They are the UKs independent
regulator on all advertising platforms
Their work includes acting on two
things, complaints and proactivity
checking the media to take action
against harmful, misleading or
offensive advertising.
On the right you can see The ASAs
guideline and what they base their
decisions on.
www.ofcom.co.uk
Ofcom, is the communications regulator in the UK. They regulate the TV and the radio
sectors, the fixed line telecoms, mobiles, portal services, plus the airwaves over which
wireless devices operate. Their job is to make sure that people in the UK get the best
form of communication services and that they are protected from scams and sharp
practices, while ensuring that competition can thrive. They have to act under rules of
Parliament, such as the Communications Act 2003
What they do:

The UK has a wide range of electronic communications services, including highspeed services such as broadband;

a wide range of high-quality television and radio programmes are provided,

appealing to a range of tastes and interests;

television and radio services are provided by a range of different organisations;

people who watch television and listen to the radio are protected from harmful or
offensive material;

people are protected from being treated unfairly in television and radio
programmes, and from having their privacy invaded;

a universal postal service is provided in the UK - this means a six days a week,
universally priced delivery and collection service across the country; and

the radio spectrum (the airwaves used by everyone from taxi firms and boat
owners, to mobile-phone companies and broadcasters) is used in the most
effective way.

Ofcom decided that it was a good idea to Back Sky Sports in the decision to ban BT
Sports commercials as they were bias towards certain teams, BT Sports said that it was
outrageous but no further action can be taken as it is completely down to Ofcom. Ofcom
also decided to ban an NHS advert for its explicit content that was too harsh for viewers
to whiteness.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?
q=adverts+banned+by+ofcom&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=2ED3E133EC41BA3CC
9062ED3E133EC41BA3CC906
http://wn.com/BT_Total_Broadband_advert
BARB
http://www.barb.co.uk/
BARB is a non-profit organisation that compiles audience measurement and television
ratings in the United Kingdom. It was created in 1981 to replace a previous system
whereby ITV ratings were compiled by JICTAR. BARBs current research contracts have
been awarded to three different market research companies, they are important because
they know which shows/adverts are receiving the most views through data collection
methods, therefore they know which TV show/advert makes the most money.
How do I get BARB data?
Accessing BARB data is available in two ways. There is the option of purchasing the data
sets directly.
Each individual set of data can be purchased as required:
Data Set 1: Daily panel viewing file. (This minute-by-minute file contains anonymous
details of panel members' viewing.)
Data Set 2: Daily consolidated 5 minute or 15 minute files and programs. Data Set 3:
Daily consolidated commercial spots and breaks.

Overnights: 5 minute file of viewing data that is produced the next day, from the previous
day's transmission.
Sponsorship File: Weekly file of viewing data for sponsorship events.
Lifestyle Insights (Additional Panel Classification) File: Additional information about panel
members' lifestyles and habits, used in conjunction with Data Set 1
Rates Cards A rate card is a document provided by a newspaper agent or other print
publication featuring
Rate card is also a document provided by a newspaper or other print publication
featuring the organization's rate for advertising. It may also detail any deadlines,
demographics, policies, additional fees and artwork requirements. The smaller the
publication, the less information that may be available in the rate card.
Advertisers information packs this pack provides all the useful layout and
information that youll need to create your add. Advertisers information packs provide
things such as rate cards, insertion dates, publication dates and so on. All the information
that you need to plan your advertisement. The advertisers information packs are
everything that youll need.
Research agency Websites It helps companies to find out where and when they should
advertise their product. It looks at target audiences and comparing them to other
products
http://www.tra.co.nz/
http://www.visionone.co.uk/

Audience measurement Panels Audience measurement panels measure how many

people are in the audience in relation to radio listenership and television viewership, it
also is in relation to newspapers, magazine and other forms of readership. The data and
results collected are referred to as audience shares.
Ratings these are a classification or ranking of someone or something based on a
comparative assessment of their quality, standard or performance.
Face to face interviews - The face-to-face interview, also called an in-person interview,
is probably the most popular and oldest form of survey data collection. It has continued
to be the best form of data collection when one wants to minimize nonresponse and
maximize the quality of the data collected. Face-to-face interviews are often used to
solicit information in projects that can be considered to be very sensitive, for example,
data collection on sexual behaviors. This entry describes the advantages and
disadvantages of face-to-face interviewing along with basic operational considerations
for successful interviews.
Focus Groups A group of people assembled to participate in a discussion about a
product before it is launched, or to provide feedback on a political campaign, television
series, etc.
Questionnaires They are a set of printed or even written questions with a choice of
answers, devised for the purposes of a survey or statistical study.

Program Profiles - When choosing an

audience to target with TV advertising,
advertisers can define it by gender,
social class and age at a national or
regional level. The total number of
people in this audience is then known
as the universe