| Total hours of viewing | ITV hours of viewing | ITV Share of viewing % | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | |
| January | 5.1 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 69 | 67 | 62 |
| February | 5.2 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 67 | 68 | 61 |
| March | 5.0 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 65 | 66 | 59 |
| April | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 68 | 69 | 62 |
| May | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 68 | 68 | 63 |
| June | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 66 | 67 | 63 |
| July | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 66 | 65 | 64 |
| August | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 66 | 65 | 64 |
| September | 4.3 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 64 | 68 | 64 |
| October | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 69 | 64 | 58 |
| November | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 67 | 61 | 56 |
| December | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 66 | 60 | 57 |
Source: TAM
About 50 million people live within reach of the transmissions from the ITA’s stations, and about 40 million of these have TV sets able to receive the Independent Television programmes. Extensive research is initiated by the programme companies and the ITA to discover the particular interests of the individuals who comprise this vast potential audience and their reactions to the programmes which are placed before them.
The audience for every programme presented by Independent Television is analysed area by area in terms of the sex, age and social characteristics of those who choose to watch it. Such information is only a part of what the programme planner needs to know, but it is a valuable starting-point in determining whether programmes are appealing to those for whom they are designed. To these continuing studies are added research projects into a number of questions such as the level of appreciation for particular programmes. In the case of programmes for schools, questionnaires are completed by teachers to show their own reactions and those of their pupils to various aspects of each programme they view; this information is supplemented by the reports of education officers and liaison officers who regularly visit schools in their own areas.
Correspondence from viewers, newspaper reports and reviews, consultations and conferences with specialists in various fields all make their contribution to audience research.
Television Audience Measurement (TAM)
The basic source of information about the viewing audience is the weekly report by Television Audience Measurement Limited (T.A.M.), an independent research company. Automatic meters attached to a representative sample of television sets pro-
vide the data needed to give statistically accurate estimates of the total number of sets switched on at any particular moment of the day. Most of these meters also record the station to which the sets are tuned; in all cases, diaries kept by the viewers give details at short intervals of who is watching. These diaries of the number and type of people viewing at particular times are checked against the automatically recorded viewing times to ensure that the record is accurate.
Tamratings are the percentage of homes able to receive both BBC and ITA transmissions whose sets are tuned to a specific transmission for a particular minute. The Tamrating for a period longer than a minute is the average of the ratings for the individual minutes within the period. From this data and from surveys of the number of homes receiving reliable transmissions from the area’s ITA transmitter, the total size and composition of the audience for any programme may be calculated.
Average Daily Hours of Viewing
In homes with a choice of service, the average television set is switched on for between 3½ and 5 hours a day, according to the time of year. The average set is switched to Independent Television programmes for about 61 per cent of this time, to BBC programmes for about 39 per cent. The average number viewing on each set is about 2.2.
The Most Popular TV Programmes
The most popular networked programmes during a single week in November 1962 (week ended 25th November) and the most popular programmes in individual Independent Television areas during the same week, are shown in the accompanying tables. The position of a programme in the “Top Twenty” networked programmes is determined by the total number of homes viewing the programme. If a programme is not shown by one or more of the regional companies or is shown at a different time it may therefore not appear in the “Top Twenty”, even though it was highly popular in those areas where it was seen.
There are considerable variations from week to week in the programmes which have the largest viewing audiences and their order in the list. The week for which details are given here is, however, typical of the kind of programmes which are regularly viewed by the greatest number of people. A table showing the relative popularity of serious television programmes is included in the chapter on Programme Policy.
Network Top Twenty
Week ended 25th November 1962
| Programme | Company | ITV Areas | Homes Viewing (000’s) | Average Number of Viewers* (000’s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coronation Street (Monday) | Granada | All | 8,424 | 20,218 |
| 2 | Coronation Street (Wednesday) | Granada | All | 8,302 | 19,925 |
| 3 | Take Your Pick | A-R | All | 7,203 | 17,287 |
| 4 | Double Your Money | A-R | All | 6,959 | 16,702 |
| 5 | Emergency-Ward 10 (Friday) | ATV | All | 6,715 | 15,445 |
| 6 | Bootsie and Snudge | Granada | All | 6,471 | 15,530 |
| 7 | No Hiding Place | A-R | All | 6,349 | 14,603 |
| 7= | Val Parnell’s Sunday Palladium | ATV | All | 6,349 | 15,873 |
| 9 | Armchair Theatre (The Big Ride) | ABC | All | 6,227 | 13,699 |
| 10. | Take a Letter | Granada | All except Anglia | 6,012 | 13,828 |
| 11 | The Dickie Henderson Show | A-R | All except Westward | 5,865 | 12,317 |
| 12 | Bronco | BBC | All | 5,860 | |
| 13 | Emergency-Ward 10 (Tuesday) | ATV | All | 5,738 | 13,771 |
| 13= | Play of the Week (The Typewriter) | A-R | All | 5,738 | 10,902 |
| 15 | Z Cars (Wednesday) | BBC | All | 5,616 | |
| 16 | The Bruce Forsyth Show | ATV | All | 5,494 | 13,186 |
| 17 | Harpers West One | ATV | All except TWW & Grampian | 5,454 | 11,999 |
| 18 | Here’s Harry | BBC | All | 5,372 | |
| 19 | Citizen James | BBC | All | 5,250 | |
| 20 | Thank Your Lucky Stars | ABC | All except Anglia | 5,187 | 12,968 |
*This column gives estimates of the average total number of viewers for the listed ITV programmes during the month of November 1962.
Source: TAM
AREA TOP TENS
Week ended 25th November 1962
| Originating Programme Company | Homes Viewing % | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coronation Street (Monday) | Granada | 58 |
| 2 | Coronation Street (Wednesday) | Granada | 56 |
| 3 | No Hiding Place | A-R | 50 |
| 3= | Val Parnell’s Sunday Palladium | ATV | 50 |
| 5 | The Dickie Henderson Show | A-R | 49 |
| 5= | Dr. Kildare | BBC | 49 |
| 5= | Armchair Theatre (The Big Ride) | ABC | 49 |
| 8 | Emergency-Ward 10 (Friday) | ATV | 48 |
| 9 | Citizen James | BBC | 47 |
| 10 | Take Your Pick | A-R | 46 |
| Originating Programme Company | Homes Viewing % | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coronation Street (Monday) | Granada | 77 |
| 2 | Coronation Street (Wednesday) | Granada | 76 |
| 3 | Take Your Pick | A-R | 62 |
| 4 | Double Your Money | A-R | 58 |
| 4= | Emergency-Ward 10 (Friday) | ATV | 58 |
| 6 | Armchair Theatre (The Big Ride) | ABC | 53 |
| 7 | Harpers West One | ATV | 52 |
| 7= | No Hiding Place | A-R | 52 |
| 7= | Take A Letter | Granada | 52 |
| 7= | Bootsie and Snudge | Granada | 52 |
The top BBC programme was Z Cars with a rating of 50
| Originating Programme Company | Homes Viewing % | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coronation Street (Wednesday) | Granada | 65 |
| 2 | Coronation Street (Monday) | Granada | 64 |
| 3 | Take Your Pick | A-R | 55 |
| 4 | Double Your Money | A-R | 54 |
| 5 | Outlaws | TWW | 53 |
| 6 | Discs A Go-Go | TWW | 51 |
| 6= | Huckleberry Hound | TWW | 51 |
| 8 | Citizen James | BBC | 50 |
| 8= | Bronco | BBC | 50 |
| 10 | Emergency-Ward 10 (Friday) | ATV | 49 |
| 10= | Man of the World | ATV | 49 |
| Originating Programme Company | Homes Viewing % | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coronation Street (Monday) | Granada | 79 |
| 2 | Coronation Street (Wednesday) | Granada | 73 |
| 3 | Take Your Pick | A-R | 72 |
| 4 | Double Your Money | A-R | 68 |
| 5 | No Hiding Place | A-R | 64 |
| 5= | Take A Letter | Granada | 64 |
| 5= | The Flintstones | Tyne Tees | 64 |
| 8 | Armchair Theatre (The Big Ride) | ABC | 63 |
| 9 | 77, Sunset Strip | Tyne Tees | 60 |
| 9= | Candid Camera | ABC | 60 |
The top BBC programme was Bronco with a rating of 52
| Originating Programme Company | Homes Viewing % | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take Your Pick | A-R | 59 |
| 2 | Double Your Money A-R | A-R | 55 |
| 3 | Bertram Mills Circus | BBC | 53 |
| 4 | Coronation Street (Monday) | Granada | 51 |
| 4= | Sports Desk | Westward | 51 |
| 4= | Dixon of Dock Green | BBC | 51 |
| 7 | Treasure Hunt | Westward | 50 |
| 7= | Here and Now (Thursday) | A-R | 50 |
| 7= | Emergency-Ward 10 (Friday) | ATV | 50 |
| 7= | Laramie | BBC | 50 |
| Originating Programme Company | Homes Viewing % | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take Your Pick | A-R | 76 |
| 2 | Coronation Street (Wednesday) | Granada | 73 |
| 3 | Coronation Street (Monday) | Granada | 69 |
| 4 | Take A Letter | Granada | 62 |
| 5 | Double Your Money | A-R | 61 |
| 5= | Emergency-Ward 10 (Friday) | ATV | 61 |
| 7 | Sportsview | BBC | 57 |
| 8 | Bootsie and Snudge | Granada | 55 |
| 9 | Bertram Mills Circus | BBC | 54 |
| 9= | Laramie | BBC | 54 |
| Originating Programme Company | Homes Viewing % | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maigret | BBC | 49 |
| 1= | Bertram Mills Circus | BBC | 49 |
| 3 | Double Your Money | A-R | 45 |
| 3= | Take Your Pick | A-R | 45 |
| 5 | Here’s Harry | BBC | 44 |
| 6 | Val Parnell’s Sunday Palladium | ATV | 43 |
| 6= | The Black & White Minstrel Show | BBC | 43 |
| 8= | Take A Letter | Granada | 41 |
| 8= | Coronation Street (Wednesday) | Granada | 41 |
| 8= | 6 More Faces of Jim | BBC | 41 |
| 8= | Amateur Boxing | BBC | 41 |
| Originating Programme Company | Homes Viewing % | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coronation Street (Wednesday) | Granada | 70 |
| 2 | Coronation Street (Monday) | Granada | 69 |
| 3 | The Saint (Thursday) | ATV | 66 |
| 4 | Double Your Money | A-R | 60 |
| 5 | Take Your Pick | A-R | 58 |
| 6 | Bootsie and Snudge | Granada | 56 |
| 7 | Emergency-Ward 10 (Friday) | ATV | 55 |
| 8 | Take A Letter | Granada | 53 |
| 8= | The Dickie Henderson Show | A-R | 53 |
| 10 | No Hiding Place | A-R | 52 |
| 10= | Bonanza | ATV | 52 |
The top BBC programmes were Here’s Harry and Bronco with a rating of 51
| Originating Programme Company | Homes Viewing % | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coronation Street (Monday) | Granada | 69 |
| 2 | The Saint (Thursday) | ATV | 66 |
| 3 | The Roaring 20’s | Scottish | 65 |
| 4 | Coronation Street (Wednesday) | Granada | 64 |
| 5 | The Dickie Henderson Show | A-R | 62 |
| 6 | Bootsie and Snudge | Granada | 60 |
| 7 | Double Your Money | A-R | 59 |
| 7= | Francie and Josie | Scottish | 59 |
| 9 | All Our Yesterdays | Granada | 58 |
| 9= | Kingsley Amis Goes Pop | Scottish | 58 |
| 9= | Bonanza | ATV | 58 |
The top BBC programme was Bronco with a rating of 53
| Originating Programme Company | Homes Viewing % | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take Your Pick | A-R | 6t |
| 2 | Coronation Street (Wednesday) | Granada | 58 |
| 3 | Emergency-Ward 10 (Friday) | ATV | 57 |
| 4 | Coronation Street (Monday) | Granada | 54 |
| 4= | Val Parnell’s Sunday Palladium | ATV | 54 |
| 6 | No Hiding Place | A-R | 53 |
| 6= | Out Of Town | Southern | 53 |
| 8 | Bootsie and Snudge | Granada | 52 |
| 9 | Emergency-Ward 10 (Tuesday) | ATV | 51 |
| 10 | The Bruce Forsyth Show | ATV | 50 |
The top BBC programme was Citizen James with a rating of 46
| Originating Programme Company | Homes Viewing % | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coronation Street (Wednesday) | Granada | 75 |
| 2 | Double Your Money | A-R | 71 |
| 2= | Take Your Pick | A-R | 71 |
| 4 | Coronation Street (Monday) | Granada | 69 |
| 5 | Emergency-Ward 10 (Friday) | ATV | 61 |
| 6 | No Hiding Place | A-R | 59 |
| 6= | Bertram Mills Circus | BBC | 59 |
| 8 | Val Parnell’s Sunday Palladium | ATV | 57 |
| 9 | Bootsie and Snudge | Granada | 55 |
| 9= | Dixon of Dock Green | BBC | 55 |
| Originating Programme Company | Homes Viewing % | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take Your Pick | A-R | 83 |
| 2 | Double Your Money | A-R | 77 |
| 3 | Coronation Street (Wednesday) | Granada | 74 |
| 4 | Bootsie and Snudge Granada | Granada | 69 |
| 4= | Sam Benedict | A-R | 69 |
| 4= | Emergency-Ward 10 (Friday) | ATV | 69 |
| 7 | Coronation Street (Monday) | Granada | 68 |
| 8 | Take A Letter | Granada | 67 |
| 9 | Command (Friday) | Ulster | 60 |
| 10 | Command (Wednesday) | Ulster | 59 |
| 10= | Yogi Bear | A-R | 59 |
| 10= | Bronco | BBC | 59 |
| Originating Programme Company | Homes Viewing % | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take Your Pick | A-R | 65 |
| 2 | Calum’s Ceilidh | Grampian | 63 |
| 3 | Double Your Money | A-R | 59 |
| 4 | Take A Letter | Granada | 58 |
| 4= | Coronation Street (Wednesday) | Granada | 58 |
| 6 | Coronation Street (Monday) | Granada | 57 |
| 7 | A’ The Airts | Grampian | 56 |
| 7= | Emergency-Ward 10 (Friday) | ATV | 56 |
| 9 | Route ’66 (Once to Every Man) | Grampian | 54 |
| 9= | Bronco | BBC | 54 |
Source: TAM