They Have Been Watching

30 August 2002

They have been Watching Broadcasters Provision of Children’s and Young People’s TV from 1952 to 2002 Jamie Cowling and Kirsty Lee Summary From Bill and Ben to the Tweenies the broadcasting landscape has changed beyond recognition. In 1952 television was limited to the BBC monopoly providing programmes that the public ought to watch. In 2002 digital broadcasting, in theory, provides an a la carte menu of channels to suit every taste. Children and young people watch around eighteen hours of television per week1. In some multi- channel homes children and young people can choose from over seven dedicated channels. Over 40 per cent of children’s and young people’s viewing in multi- channel homes is of the non-terrestrial broadcasters. As we move towards digital switchover what has been the impact of increasing choice of channel been on the provision of the different genres of children’s and young people’s programming? Has there been a reduction in the diversity of genres available to children and young people over the years, replaced by an endless diet of animation? How have the public service broadcasters responded to competition from the non-terrestrial channels? Has the increase in total hours available to children and young people led to more imported programmes and repeats?

Our research examines the provision of children’s and young people’s programming from Bill and Ben to the Tweenies. Our analysis enables us to examine the choice of programmes available to children and young people across channels and the diversity of genres provided. The research takes a snapshot of television schedules during the last week of August from 1952 to 2002. This covers the period from the BBC monopoly to the digital age. The snapshot enables us to establish general trends in the provision of children’s and young people’s programming over time and the impact of increasing competition on the children’s and young people’s television market.

Children and young people today, with or without multi-channel television, have a wider choice of programmes than was available even ten years ago. This is true of all genres. The total hours of drama, factual/documentary, animation and pre- school programmes provided by the public service broadcasters has increased year on year since 1952. Cable, Satellite and now digital broadcasting have further increased the choice of available programmes for children and young people. Non- terrestrial broadcasters provide children and young people with over five hundred and twenty-eight hours of dedicated children’s and young people’s programmes per week.

1 This varies according age and sex (See Lander, 1997).

Page 1 The public service broadcasters (BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5) have increased the amount of content available for children and young people from approximately four hours during the week examined in the research during the BBC monopoly to over one hundred and four hours, during the week examined, today.

The public service broadcasters drive to provide more children’s and young people’s programming has to more imported programmes and repeats as a proportion of the total hours broadcast during the research period. In 1952 there were no imported programmes or repeats of programmes for children and young people. By 1992 imported programmes and repeats of programmes for children and young people represented 29.6 and 47.2 per cent of the total hours of children’s and young people’s television broadcast on the public service channels during the week examined in the research. By 2002 imported programmes represented 48.9 per cent of the total children’s and young people’s television hours broadcast during the week examined on the public service broadcasters. In 2002 repeats represented 62.2 per cent, as a proportion of, the total hours broadcast on the public service channels.

Non-terrestrial broadcasters have a more diverse range of content than is often thought. Whilst animation and cartoons make up the majority of programming for children’s and young people there is also significant provision of drama and some factual and documentary content. The vast majority of children’s and young people’s programming on the non-terrestrial broadcasters is imported, with the majority of programmes coming from the United States.

The research concludes that whilst children and young people have more television available than ever before regulation remains necessary in order to protect diversity and domestic production. OFCOM and the BBC Board of Governors will need to retain a robust commitment to a diversity of content, including factual and documentary programmes, for children and young people on the public service broadcasters.

The research suggests that the BBC digital channels for children and young people have significantly increased the levels of domestic content available and have had little detrimental effect on the provision of domestic content other non-terrestrial broadcasters.

The research indicates that the main concern must be the low levels of news provision for children and young people. Whilst children and young people do watch other news broadcasts it is depressing to see that levels of news specifically created for children and young people have barely increased since the 1980s.

Competition and expansion have brought numerous benefits. Children and young people now have more programmes for them than ever before. The non-terrestrial channels increased the amount of TV available to children and young people and provide a range of high quality content. However, regulators and Government must maintain their commitment to the availability of a wide variety of genres and a significant level of domestic production. This must include news tailor-made for children and young people.

Page 2 of 22 Introduction and Overview Children’s and young people’s television is seen by both policymakers and the public to be particularly important. 80 per cent of respondents to a recent ITC survey said that the most important reason for regulating television was the protection of young people and children, with a further 65 per cent arguing that children’s and young people’s television is an essential part of public service broadcasting, a higher rating than that given to educational content (Towler, 2002). Policymakers agree with the public. Children’s and young people’s programming is subject to tighter regulation by the EU and UK Government than other content. The new Draft Communications Bill places a special responsibility on the public service broadcasters with regard to children’s and young people’s television. The new communications regulator, OFCOM, must ensure that the public service broadcasters provide ‘a suitable quantity of high quality and original programmes for children and young people’ [Clause 181 (5) (f)].

Children’s and young people’s programming has been particularly affected by the advent of cable and satellite broadcasting in the UK. Whilst most still see sports and movies as the prime driver of satellite and cable take-up, the strongest predicator of a household having multi-channel television is household size. Children and young people can now choose from over six dedicated channels. Over 40 per cent of children’s viewing in multi-channel home is of non-terrestrial broadcasting (ITC, 2002). Public service broadcasters are expanding into the multi- channel world, with the BBC recently launching two new digital services for children and young people, CBBC and CBeebies.

The interest in children’s and young people’s television is reflected in concerns surrounding the “dumbing down” of children’s television and particular concerns around the levels of imported programming aimed at children and young people. Whilst Under Secretary of State for School Standards, Charles Clark expressed his concerns over increasing levels of imported programming and the ‘often poor’ quality of children’s programming in an article entitled ‘Kids TV is so Bad’ (The Guardian, 1999).

The current slump in advertising revenues is being felt in the children’s television sector, particularly the commercially funded public service broadcasters. The ITC’s latest Annual Report, amongst praise for individual programmes, expressed concern around children’s and young people’s programming. The ITC stated that repeats had risen on both ITV and Channel 4 and expressed concern about the budget cuts suffered by CiTV. One submission to the Joint Scrutiny Committee on the Draft Communications Bill suggested:

‘Children’s TV is seen as an expensive luxury. The problem is that children’s TV will never be profitable, and in a free market, it will reduce to showing only globally profitable brands.’ (JSC, 2002)

In the near future the Government will decide whether or not to grant approval for a new BBC digital service aimed at young people, BBC3. During the consultation period for the new BBC Digital Services some non-terrestrial broadcasters argued

Page 3 of 22 against the BBC’s plans for CBeebies and CBBC. The broadcasters suggested that children and young people were already well served by the market on non- terrestrial television. The non-terrestrial broadcasters argued that they already provided a wide range, across all genres, of high quality content for children and young people. It was suggested that the BBC’s new services would increase the costs of UK production for the non-terrestrial broadcasters forcing them to cut back on UK produced content and rely more heavily on imported programming and increase the levels of repeats to fill their schedules. The Government approved the new BBC services, CBeebies and CBBC, suggesting that they would increase the domestic programming available to children and young people and provide a wider range of genres than that which would be found in the market. Our research examines these arguments by comparing the schedules of the non-terrestrial broadcasters in 1997 and 2002.

Our report tests the fears and arguments expressed around the provision of children’s and young people’s television through a content analysis of television schedules from the last week of August, from the BBC monopoly to the present day (see methodological note). Our research provides an analysis of the provision of children’s and young people’s programmes by broadcasters. The analysis allows us to examine the choice available to children and young people of drama, factual/documentary, animation, pre-school and news programmes from 1952 to 2002. This snapshot of children’s and young people’s programming provides a guide to the general trends over the last fifty years.

We asked: has there ever been a golden age for provision of a wide range of children’s and young people’s broadcasting; have imports risen over time on both the public service broadcasters and non-terrestrial channels; what has been the impact of CBBC and CBeebies on the cable and satellite channels aimed at children and young people?

Our main findings are2:

• There is more children’s and young people’s television provided by broadcasters than ever before. Rising from just over four hours per week in 1952 to over six hundred and twenty hours, on all broadcasters, in 2002 during the week examined in our research.

• The expansion in children’s and young people’s television cannot simply be accounted for by the increase in available channels. In 1992 there were eighty-three hours of children’s and young people’s television provided by the public service broadcasters during the week studied. In 2002 there was over one hundred and four hours broadcast on the public service broadcasters during the week examined.

2 All figures refer to the week examined in our content analysis, the last week of August, and as such provide a snapshot of children’s and young people’s television over the years. This allows us to examine the general trends in the provision of children’s and young people’s TV. All percentages are expressed as a proportion of the total children’s and young people’s television broadcast during the research period.

Page 4 of 22 • The expansion in children’s and young people’s television has led to increasing levels of imported content. Whilst in 1972 imported content made up 5.7 per cent of the total broadcast hours of children’s and young people’s television on the public service broadcasters, in 2002 imported content makes up 28.6 per cent, as a proportion of the total hours broadcast, of the total children’s and young people’s content on the public service broadcasters.

• The expansion in imported content exists within channels. In 1972 ITV broadcast 35 minutes of imported content during the week studied (5 per cent of the week’s total children’s and young people’s broadcasting hours on ITV), by 2002 this had risen to over six hours of imported content (50 per cent of the week’s total children’s and young people’s broadcast hours) the majority of which was animation. The same is true of BBC1. In 1972 BBC1 broadcast 50 minutes of imported content during the week studied (13 per cent of the total children’s and young people’s broadcast hours on BBC1 during the week examined), by 2002 this had risen to over seven hours of imported content (60 per cent of the total children’s and young people’s broadcasting on BBC1), the majority of which was Australian drama (Neighbours).

• The expansion in children’s and young people’s television has led to an increase in repeats as a proportion of the total broadcast hours on the public service broadcasters. Whilst in 1972 repeated programmes made up 35.9 per cent of the total children’s and young people’s broadcast hours on the public service broadcasters during the week examined, repeats in 2002 now account for 62.2 per cent of the total children’s and young people’s broadcast hours on the public service broadcasters.

• Again this is true within channels. In 1972 ITV broadcast just under five hours of repeats during the week studied (40.4 per cent of the total hours of children’s and young people’s television broadcast) by 2002 this had risen to over seven and a half hours of repeats (57.9 per cent of the total hours broadcast of children’s and young people’s television).

• The new BBC digital services, CBBC and CBeebies, have significantly reduced the percentage, as a proportion of the total available hours, of total imported programming on non-terrestrial television. In 1997 imported content made up 91.9 per cent of the total children’s and young people’s programming on the non-terrestrial broadcasters; in 2002 it now stands at only 61.9 per cent of the total broadcast hours of children’s and young people’s television on the non-terrestrial broadcasters.

• In absolute terms the total number of hours of drama, factual/documentary, animation, pre-school and other children’s and young people’s television provided by all broadcasters has increased. However, only pre-school and animated content have increased their share of the total broadcast hours of children’s and young people’s programming available on all channels.

Page 5 of 22 • The total broadcast hours of news programming aimed at young people and children, available on the public service broadcasters during the week, has not increased since the 1980s. Whilst innovative news programmes are available on both the public service broadcasters and non-terrestrial broadcasters these programmes remain few and far between. Daily news represents 0.2 per cent of the total children’s and young people’s television shown on all broadcasters during the week.

Percentage by Genre of Total Minutes of Children's and Young People's TV Broadcast (All Channels) Drama 2002 News Other Pre-School Factual/Doc 6.3% Drama 11.7% 39.4% Animation Pre-School Other

News Animation 0.2% 37.9% Factual/Doc 4.5%

Recommendations

• OFCOM should encourage broadcasters to develop new tailor-made news programmes for children and young people There is a lack of news programming available for young people. Children and young people require diversity in news programming just as adults do. IPPR recommends that OFCOM should interpret the clause in the Draft Communications Bill requiring ‘a suitable quantity of high quality and original programmes for children and young people’ [Clause 181 (5) (f)] to include news programmes.

• All broadcasters should provide news programmes There is a stronger case for positive regulation to ensure that broadcasters provide news for children and young people because it is less likely they will choose to watch news themselves. All broadcasters targeting children and young people should include some news programming.

• OFCOM will need to include the changing nature of the 9pm watershed in its media literacy programme Many non-terrestrial broadcasters continue to broadcast content for young people after the current 9pm watershed. OFCOM will need to include in its media literacy programme, for parents and young people, that the 9pm watershed is no longer absolute.

Page 6 of 22 Children's and Young People's Programming by Genre on Public Service Broadcasters 1952 - 2002 2500 Drama

News 2000

Factual/Doc 1500 Animation Minutes

1000 Pre-School

500 Other

0 1952 1962 1972 1982 1992 1997 2002 Year

Provision of Children’s and Young People’s Television by Genre: The Changing Situation

Drama Drama remains a staple of children’s and young people’s television on both the public service and non-terrestrial broadcasters. Drama represented 48 per cent of the total broadcast hours of children’s and young people’s television on the broadcaster during the week examined in 1952. Whilst as a proportion of the total programming available on the public service broadcasters drama has declined from the 1952 high watermark, it has consistently hovered around a third of the total children’s and young people’s television provided by the public service broadcasters. In absolute terms there were two hours of drama available for children and young people in 1952, rising to almost thirty hours of drama for children and young people provided on the public service broadcasters during the research period.

Drama also provides a large proportion of the schedules for non-terrestrial broadcasters; rising from 19.4 per cent of the total hours of non-terrestrial children’s and young people’s content broadcast during the week examined in 1997 to 67.6 per cent in 2002. The large rise between 1997 and 2002 is accounted for by two major changes. The 1997 analysis included TCC, which broadcast over fifty hours of animation per week. TCC was replaced in the 2002 analysis by Trouble, broadcasting over ninety-five hours of drama per week. Secondly, between 1997 and 2002 Nickelodeon has started broadcasting more drama at the

Page 7 of 22 expense of animation. Nickelodeon now broadcasts approximately fifty-seven hours a week of drama compared to twenty-five hours per week in 1997.

Factual/Documentary Factual and documentary programmes include natural history programmes and “how to” programmes - education without the blackboard - and as such form an important part of public service broadcasting. Whilst in absolute terms the total amount of broadcast hours of factual and documentary programming aimed at children and young people has increased on the public service broadcasters, the genre has slowly declined as a proportion of the public service broadcasters schedules. Ten years ago BBC1, BBC2, ITV and Channel 4 broadcast over eleven hours (17.4 per cent of the total programming), of factual and documentary content for young people and children. Despite the addition of Channel 5 only eleven hours of factual and documentary were broadcast during the week examined in 2002, representing only 10.4 per cent of the total broadcast hours of children’s and young people’s programming on the public service broadcasters.

Factual and documentary content represents only 3.4 per cent of the total programming on the non-terrestrial broadcasters. However, this amounts to almost eighteen hours of content. Most factual and documentary programming is broadcast by CBeebies (five hours per week), CBBC (just over four hours per week) and the Disney Channel (over eight hours per week).

Pre-School Pre-school programming is one of the only two genres to increase its share as a proportion of the total children’s and young people’s broadcast hours since 1982. Pre-school content has risen in both absolute and relative terms on the public service broadcasters. In 1982 there were five hours of pre-school content across all public service channels. In 2002 BBC2, Channel 4 and Channel 5 provide pre- school content, with BBC2 alone providing seven hours of pre-school programming during the research period. As a proportion of the total children’s and young people’s programming pre-school television represented 12.5 per cent, by 2002 pre-school television represented 16.7 per cent. Pre-school programming has dramatically increased between 1997 and 2002 on the non-terrestrial broadcasters, largely as a result of two new channels, Nick Jr. and CBeebies.

Animation Long the bugbear of the children’s TV critics, the amount of animated content broadcast, according to our research, continues its rise in both absolute (total hours available) and relative terms (as a proportion of the broadcast hours) on Kids TV. The Reithian BBC of 1952 only broadcast 20 minutes of animation across the week examined in the research. In 2002 BBC1 broadcast 3 hours of animation. The other public service broadcasters, with the exception of Channel 4, mirror the increasing levels of animation seen on BBC1. Animation on public service broadcasters has doubled from just under seventeen hours in 1992 (25.7 per cent of total children’s and young people’s content broadcast), to thirty-nine hours in 2002 (37.7 per cent of the total children’s and young people’s content broadcast).

Page 8 of 22 Between 1997 and 2002 there has been a dramatic reduction in the proportion of animation on the non-terrestrial broadcasters examined in the research. In 1997 there were over one hundred and thirty-one hours of animation during the week examined on the non-terrestrial broadcasters. This year there were two hundred hours of animation on the non-terrestrial broadcasters. Whilst the total hours of available animation has increased by sixty-nine hours since 1997 on the non- terrestrial channels during the week examined, animated content has fallen from 71.2 per cent, of the total hours of children’s and young people’s television provided by non-terrestrial broadcasters, in 1997 to 37.9 per cent in 2002.

Part of the steep decline in animated content can be explained by the replacement of TCC, with Trouble, in our analysis of the schedules (see methodological note). The inclusion of the new BBC services with their comparatively low levels of animated content will also have reduced the proportion of animated content on the non-terrestrial channels. However, other non-terrestrial broadcasters, such as Nickelodeon, have reduced the proportion of their schedules devoted to animated content (see above). It is unclear if this has been motivated by the increase in available channels, with the transition to digital broadcasting enabling greater specialisation by broadcasters enabling broadcasters to move animated content to channels not covered by our analysis, or a result of viewer demand for drama.

News The total hours of news programming tailor-made for children and young people have barely increased since the 1980s according to our research. In the week examined in 1982 there were 35 minutes of news on the public service broadcasters. In 2002 there were 40 minutes of children’s and young people’s news on the public service broadcasters.

The provision of news for children and young people is no better on the non- terrestrial broadcasters. In 1997 there was no news programming on the non- terrestrial channels during the research period. By 2002 this had increased to 50 minutes per week, representing 0.2 per cent of the total non-terrestrial programming for children and young people during the week.

It is significant that the BBC provides the only news available both on the public service and non-terrestrial broadcasters. There is a clear lack of diversity of news programmes made for children and young people.

Imported Content Imported programming for children and young people has risen on both the public service and non-terrestrial broadcasters.

In 1952 children’s and young people’s programming was entirely domestically produced. By 1992 imported content had risen to over nineteen hours on the public service broadcasters, 29.6 per cent of the total children’s and young people’s programming available during the week. By 2002 imported content had increased to fifty-one hours, 48.9 per cent of the total available programming for children and young people on the public service broadcasters.

Page 9 of 22 Imported content has dropped on the non-terrestrial broadcasters between 1997 and 2002. In 1997 imported programmes represented 91.9 per cent of the total children’s and young people’s television broadcast hours on the non-terrestrial broadcasters. By 2002 imported content had dropped to only 59.3 per cent of the total broadcast hours; only 10 per cent higher, as a proportion of the total available children’s and young people’s television, than on the public service broadcasters. This is despite an increase in the total hours of imported content on the non- terrestrial broadcasters between 1997 and 2002 from one hundred and seventy hours to just over three hundred and twenty-four hours.

It is clear from the research that the expansion in children’s and young people’s programming on the public service broadcasters has resulted in higher levels of imported content. However, this should be balanced against the increase in available original and domestic production.

The drop in imported content on the non-terrestrial channels is both striking and surprising. The Disney Channel and Nickelodeon have increased their levels of domestic content between 1997 and 2002. However, of the non-terrestrial channels only Nick Jr., CBBC and CBeebies show a majority of domestic content. It is unclear from the limited scope of our analysis to what extent the rise in domestic content on non-terrestrial broadcasters has been driven by the entry of the BBC into the market place or as a response to viewer’s demands for higher levels of domestic programmes.

Provision of Children and Young People's TV on terrestrial broadcasters

7000 6000 5000 4000 Minutes Total Minutes 3000 Total Imported Minutes 2000 Total Repeats 1000 0 1952 1962 1972 1982 1992 1997 2002 Year

Repeats As a proportion of the total broadcast hours for children and young people, the numbers of repeats of children’s and young people’s programmes have consistently risen since 1952 on the public service broadcasters. By 1962 repeats already represented a third of the public service broadcasters schedules. Far from declining this has risen to over 62.2 per cent of the total broadcast hours of children’s and young people’s television in 2002. Whilst we acknowledge that this

Page 10 of 22 may be because of our period of analysis (children and adults alike are subjected to high levels of repeats during the summer), we agree with the ITC (ITC, 2002) and would suggest that the general trend is clear.

It has been impossible to analyse the levels of repeats on the non-terrestrial channels to any degree of accuracy (see methodological note). Most non-terrestrial broadcasters scheduling is “stripping”, showing the same programme at the same time daily. This would indicate that there are even more repeats on the non- terrestrial channels than the public service broadcasters.

The Digital Future The Government target for analogue switchover is 2010. It is reasonable to assume that by 2010, or shortly after, the majority of the country will have what this report has called non-terrestrial or multi-channel broadcasting. By 2010 the distinction drawn will be between the public service broadcasters, which will include the new BBC services, and the purely commercial channels. What is certain is that there will be more children’s and young people’s programming available to more children and young people than ever before. Digital broadcasting will increase the absolute amount of content available. What does our analysis of children’s and young people’s programming from Bill and Ben to the Tweenies suggest for the next ten years?

A large part will depend on the platform used (Digital Satellite, Digital Cable or Digital Terrestrial). Children and young people watching with digital terrestrial television are likely to only be able to access two dedicated channels, CBBC and CBeebies.3 Those using digital satellite and cable are likely to have greater choice of channels providing more hours of dedicated programming.

Our analysis suggests that whilst animated and imported content will be a large proportion of children’s and young people’s television, other genres will also increase in absolute terms. More significantly, we may well see a continuing reduction in the proportion of the schedules devoted to animated and imported content.

Broadcasters will have to work harder for audiences. More choice and increasing use of Electronic Programme Guides and Personal Video Recorders will allow children and young people greater control over what they choose to watch and when.

Parents and regulators will also need to acknowledge the decline of the watershed. Many of the non-terrestrial broadcasters in the study continue to broadcast content aimed at young people well after the 9pm watershed. These channels are niche services aimed at young people and children and are unlikely to broadcast adult content at anytime. OFCOM’s duty to promote media literacy will need to include the availability of young people’s programming after 9pm.

3 At the time of writing reports indicted that Disney may be planning to join the Digital Terrestrial Platform (Broadcast, 30 August 2002).

Page 11 of 22 The Kids are Alright?

Broadcasters better serve children and young people than ever before. A content analysis does not allow us to comment on the quality of the available programming but we can examine the diversity of genres available; what choice do children and young people have when deciding what to watch? Our analysis over time allows us to measure general trends in the provision of content by broadcasters. The public service broadcasters provide more children’s and young people’s programmes than ever before across a wide range of genres. Since 1952 there has been an increase in hours of original production and domestic content for children and young people on the public service broadcasters. Viewers with access to multi- channel television can also choose from a wide diversity of genres.

Imported Content and Repeats It is clear that the public service broadcasters have increased the amount of imported content as a proportion of the schedules during the weeks analysed in our research. However, this must be balanced against three considerations. Firstly, the absolute increase in domestic and original production; secondly, the programme itself, and finally, the changing nature of television production. The expansion in choice for children and young people will include cheaper “bought-in” content from abroad. This allows broadcasters to increase their spending on domestic and original production whilst providing more programming for children and young people. Some of the increasing levels of imported content is as a result of our broad definition of children’s and young people’s programming (see methodological note), for example, our decision to include Neighbours. We would also argue that imported need not necessarily mean bad; just as some of the best adult television comes from the United States, arguably, some of the best television for children and young people is imported, such as Sesame Street. Imported programmes can provide new ideas and raise the quality threshold for domestic producers. The changing nature of television production also increases the difficulty for regulators and the public to determine whether a programme is an import. Animation has a long history of being easily re-dubbed into the domestic market’s language: Yvon the Yukon becomes English as easily as Tinky-Winky speaks Mandarin in China. The Magic Roundabout remains one of our best loved children’s shows and yet it is a French production. Difficulties in determining the origin of programmes is not confined to animation. Art Attack is a “how to” programme made by Disney, conceived in the UK, which has been running on British television for some time. Disney now exports Art Attack to other markets. To make Art Attack more appealing to local audiences Disney replaces the British presenter of Art Attack with local presenters. The local presenters are flown to the UK for filming. The local presenters film their pieces separately. These are then edited around the footage of the UK presenter’s hands.

The key measure is that there remains a suitable level of high quality original production on the public service broadcasters; we would argue that, despite imported content and repeats providing a higher proportion of the public service broadcasters schedules, this remains the case.

Page 12 of 22 Domestic Production The expansion of children’s and young people’s broadcasting around the world will increase the need for high quality content. The global success of recent domestically produced children’s and young people’s content, such as Bob the Builder or the Tweenies, should provide broadcasters with an incentive to invest in more original and domestic production. Export success need not be confined to animation or pre-school content. Programme formats can also be exported. Given the UK’s history of quality children’s and young people’s programmes, broadcasters can repeat the success of Who Wants to be a Millionaire in children’s and young people’s television.

CBBC and CBeebies The steep decline in levels of animation and imported content on the non-terrestrial channels examined in our research is surprising. CBBC, CBeebies and Nick Jr. all show a majority of domestic content. The other non-terrestrial broadcasters examined have also increased the amount of domestic content in their schedules. It is unclear if this is a response to competition from the BBC or a result of viewer demand. However, competition from the BBC, according to this snapshot, appears not to have had a detrimental impact on the other broadcasters. Further research in this area is necessary.

Factual and Documentary We are concerned at the declining proportion of the schedules devoted to factual and documentary programming. Factual and documentary content is an important part of the public service remit. OFCOM and the public service broadcasters will need to continue their commitment to factual and documentary programming as competition increases. It is also important to note that the non-terrestrial broadcasters do provide factual and documentary programming, in particular the Disney Channel, but it makes up a far smaller proportion of the non-terrestrial schedules than on the public service broadcasters.

Is no News good news? The most significant concern arising from our research is the small amount of news programming for children and young people in the schedules. The amount of daily news broadcast on all channels has barely increased since 1982. Moreover, children’s and young people’s daily news programming on television is confined to Newsround on BBC1 and CBBC. News now only consists of 0.2 per cent of the total children’s and young people’s television broadcast during the week. There is a clear lack of both availability and diversity in news broadcasting for children and young people. Children and young people regularly watch other news programmes, either alone or with their parents, and use the internet and other media to find out about the world that they live in. We would suggest that this is not enough. It is as important for children and young people to be informed about the world they live in as it is for adults. Adults have numerous news programmes and dedicated channels to choose from, children and young people are left with one. It is possible for commercial broadcasters to make exciting and informative news programmes for young people. Nick News, for example, was highly praised. Channel 5 and ITN have focussed on the Saturday morning bulletin of 5 News considerably increasing its accessibility for children and young people. OFCOM

Page 13 of 22 should encourage broadcasters to develop more news broadcasts tailor-made for children and young people, particularly the under-served “tweenagers”.

Total Minutes of Children's and Young People's programming by Genre Drama (Non-terrestrial channels) News Factual/Doc Animation

14000 Pre-School Other 12000

10000

8000 Minutes 6000

4000

2000

0 1997 2002 Year

Recommendations

• All broadcasters should provide news programmes There is a stronger case for positive regulation to ensure that broadcasters provide news for children and young people because it is less likely they will choose to watch news themselves. IPPR recommends that all broadcasters targeting children and young people should include some news programming.

Page 14 of 22 Methodological Note

Channels and Dates Covered

Dates Channels** Sources 25th-29th August 1952 BBC Radio Times, 22/08/52 pp. 38-40. 27th-31st August 1962 BBC, ITV Radio Times, 23/08/62 pp.20-47. 28th August - 1st September BBC1, BBC2, ITV Radio Times, 24/08/72 1972 pp. 35-53. TV Times, 24/08/72 pp. 41-48. 23rd- 27th August 1982 BBC1, BBC2, ITV Radio Times, 20/08/82 pp.30-53. TV Times, 20/08/82 pp. 39-46. 24th-28th August 1987 BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Radio Times, 21/08/87 Channel 4 pp. 38-67. TV Times, 21/08/87 pp. 41-53. 24th-28th August 1992 BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Radio Times, 22/08/92 Channel 4 pp. 52-70. 25th-29th August 1997 BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Radio Times, 23/08/97 Channel 4, pp. 64-89 Channel 5, Trouble, TV & Satellite Week, Nickelodeon, Fox 23/08/97, pp. 40-73. Kids, TCC. 26th-30th August 2002 BBC1, BBC2, ITV, TV & Satellite Week, Channel 4, 24/08/02, pp. 48-84. Channel 5, Trouble, Disney, Nickelodeon*, Nick Junior, CBeebies, CBBC, Fox Kids

*For the Nickelodeon channel, results for 2002 were calculated from the following week (2nd-6th September) as during the last week in August, this channel ran a 'Watch Your Own Week' schedule, whereby viewers could ring in throughout the day to vote for the programmes they would like to see. This meant that there were no detailed listings available for the week.

**It is important to note that during 1997 and 2002 there are many more channels available providing programming for children and young people than have been included in this study. However, we have chosen to include those channels listed in the Radio Times, TV Times and TV & Satellite Week publications, as these clearly represent the most widely consumed channels.

Page 15 of 22 What is classed as 'children's and young people’s programming'? One way that a distinction is commonly made between what is regarded as 'children's or young adult' programming is the 9pm watershed. Typically, on the public service broadcasters, anything scheduled after 9pm is not suitable for child audiences. However, when collating the data for the children's satellite, cable and digital channels, it became clear that the 9pm watershed does not apply in the same way. Programming such as Oggy and the Cockroaches (Fox Kids) was scheduled after 9pm, yet is clearly targeted towards a young audience. Therefore, all programming that is obviously made specifically for children and young people, has been counted, regardless of the time it is aired (this does not apply to the public service broadcasters, as all programming after the watershed is deemed unsuitable for children according to licence regulations).

What are the public service broadcasters? The report defines the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 as the public service broadcasters. All are subject to tougher content regulation than the non-terrestrial broadcasters (see Regulatory Framework below for details).

This introduces an anomaly since the new BBC digital services, CBBC and CBeebies, are also public service channels (see Regulatory Framework below for details). We hope this is clear from the body of the report. The alternative of describing the public service broadcasters as terrestrial broadcasters would have introduced confusion with the digital terrestrial platform.

Categorisations During the course of this research, it has often been necessary for the researchers to make their own decisions about the classification of programmes into genre group. We are all aware of the fact that programmes are often not easily definable simply as 'drama', 'factual' or 'animation'. There are many that straddle two or more genres, and some that appear not to fit into any. However, for the purposes of this study, it was important to identify a small number of the most noteworthy genres: to attempt a framework with as many genres as may be argued to exist would be impractical and prevent any firm conclusions from being drawn. In the interests of finding a balance between adequacy and practicality then, we have included six generic classifications: 'drama', 'news', 'factual/ documentary', 'animation', 'pre- school' and 'other'.

'Drama' Problems have been encountered in terms of deciding what should be included as 'children's' programming, and what is 'young adult'. Many programmes, particularly dramas, can be argued to span audiences from both groups. In cases such as this, the researchers have used their own knowledge of the individual television programme in order to make an informed decision. Programmes such as As If and Hollyoaks (both Ch4), Boy Meets World (Ch4 and Disney) and Heartbreak High (Trouble and BBC2) have been included in our children's 'drama' category, despite also having a large young adult audience.

'News' Any news programme that is specifically targeted towards children and young people has been included under this category. Therefore, although it is

Page 16 of 22 acknowledged that many children and young people do watch the main news programmes, these have not been included within this study.

'Factual/ Documentary' This category includes any programming made up of factual content. This includes 'how to' programmes such as Art Attack. It does not, however, include animated programmes that have a factual/ documentary content (see 'Animation').

'Animation' Animation has also proved to be a particularly difficult category. Although it is easy to recognise whether a programme is 'animated' or not, there are some programmes which inhabit a rather grey area on the edge of this genre. Puppet shows, for example, have been included for the purposes of this study within the 'animation' category, even though is may be open to dispute.

This genre also poses a particular problem, as animated programmes can usually be simultaneously placed within another genre. 'Animated drama', for example, is very different from 'pre-school animation' and 'factual animation'. However, in order to achieve results from which it is possible to draw clear and lucid conclusions, all animated programmes have been classified purely as 'animation'. Therefore, although all programming on the BBC's 'CBeebies' channel is clearly 'pre-school', the results of this study show it to contain a mix of 'pre-school' and 'animation'. The distinction here has been based solely on the format of the programmes, rather than on their content.

'Pre-School' Programming specifically targeted at a pre-school age (below 5 years old) audience has been counted under this heading. This does not, however, include animated programmes made for this audience (see 'Animation').

'Other' Where the researchers have encountered a programme that does not appear to fit neatly into one of the above genres, and informed decision has been taken as to which category appears most appropriate. Magazine-style programmes such as Blue Peter (BBC) and Wacaday (ITV) then, which contain a mixture of content ranging from factual reports to game shows, have been placed within the 'other' category, as have music shows such as Pop World (Ch4), which are shown within recognised 'children's television' segments, have also been included under the heading of 'other'.

There are also occurrences where slots between children's programmes, such as those featuring continuity producers, (an increasingly popular trend throughout recent years, particularly since Phillip Schofield's stints in the 'BBC Broom Cupboard') have also been included as other, as they clearly hold an important place within children's television, but do not conform to any 'generic' conventions.

Page 17 of 22 Repeats Another necessary methodological note regards 'repeat' programming data. Those television programmes that are not original productions are clearly stated as such in the television schedules as far as the public service broadcasters are concerned. However, this does not apply to satellite, cable and digital channels. Data regarding the percentage of repeats shown on these channels, then, is dependent on the additional research and existing knowledge of the researcher, and may therefore only be read as an approximation, and not an wholly accurate account. However, data of this kind drawn from the public service broadcasters may be regarded as accurate.

Other Considerations With regards to the general body of data, it is also essential to note a few events that may lead to a distortion of results. Firstly, in the last week of August 1972, the Olympics were on. This meant that very little children's television was aired on BBC1 during this period.

In addition, the last week in August regularly includes the summer bank holiday. This also has a dramatic impact on programming for that day, with regular children's schedules being shifted or completely removed in favour of 'family films', special productions and so on. A key illustration of the extent of the impact this has on scheduling, see the results for 26th August 2002, where BBC1 showed no children's programming for the entire day (although BBC2 showed more than its usual amount).

Page 18 of 22 Regulatory Framework

BBC The BBC Agreement with the Secretary of State contains a specific commitment regarding the provision of programming for children and young people. The Agreement states that the BBC Home Services shall ‘include a high standard of original programmes for children and young people’ (BBC Agreement, 3.2 (f)). Standards and quality are subject to regulation by the BBC Board of Governors and Parliament.

BBC Digital Services The new BBC Digital Services aimed at children and young people; CBeebies and CBBC respectively, are subject to more detailed regulation. The BBC services must be distinct from their competitors and maintain a strong educational strand. The services cannot undermine the services for children and young people on BBC1 and BBC2.

The specific conditions are:

CBeebies • The service must deliver a mixed schedule of programming covering music and movement, story telling, make-and-do, simple science, natural history and puzzle-programmes, as well as animation. • The service must have a strong educational and interactive strand throughout the day, including during peak viewing hours; the interactive text service should be developed as technology allows. • The service must maintain a higher level of educational programming than its competitors. • Around 90 per cent of output must be made in the EU/EEA. • Around 80 per cent of airtime must be directed to originally produced or commissioned programming.

CBBC • The service must be a mixed schedule of news, drama, comedy, entertainment, and factual programmes throughout the day, including during peak viewing hours; live programmes including news bulletins must be at the core of its schedule. • Online and interactive resources must support the service and shall be developed further as technology allows. • There must be a similar balance of originated programmes and acquired programmes throughout the day including in peak viewing hours. • Around 75 per cent of output and investment must be made in the EU/EEA.

Page 19 of 22 ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 The Broadcasting Act 1990 requires regional Channel 3 licensees and Channel 5 to devote a sufficient amount of time to children’s programmes (Broadcasting Act 1990, 16(2)(e)). There is no statutory requirement for Channel 4 to produce programming for children or young people. ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 are currently regulated by the Independent Television Commission (ITC) and will be regulated by OFCOM in the future.

ITV ‘Licensees must include at least 10 hours a week of programmes intended for children of different ages, with a range of entertainment, drama and information programmes. These must include a provision for children of pre-school age. Children’s material in regional programmes is excluded from the requirement. The number of hours promised by each successful applicant are incorporated in individual licences’ (ITC, 2001).

ITV’s Statement of Programming Policy for 2002 – 2003 promises over 600 hours of children’s programmes on ITV1. Over two-thirds will be specially commissioned for CiTV. This will include at least 52 hours of informational programmes, 75 hours of drama and over 40 hours of educational content for very young children.

Channel 5 ‘Applicants for Channel 5 had to include, as part of their proposals, at least 3hrs 30 min a week averaged over the year of programmes made specially for children, including a range of entertainment, drama and information programmes.

Channel 5 Broadcasting, which was awarded the licence, proposed 14 hours 40 minutes of children’s programmes per week from the start of the service and the ITC incorporated this proposal as a licence condition. In June 1999, the ITC agreed a change in licence conditions which increased the amount of children’s programming on Channel 5 to 16 hrs 40 minutes (ITC News Release 39/99)’ (ITC, 2001).

Channel 4 Whilst Channel 4 has not statutory requirement to produce programming for children and young people it does provide some programming. Channel 4’s latest Statement of Promises states:

‘We [Channel 4] will focus our commitment to pre-school programming on our new series, “The Hoobs”, an originated commission to replace previously acquired series. Otherwise, Channel 4 will focus on its core audience of teenagers and young adults in line with our education strategy as outlined above. Younger children, in a multi-channel environment, are already served extensively by the market. We will build our reputation around teenage drama and expand original factual programming in our weekend T4 zone.’ (Channel 4, 2002)

Page 20 of 22 Sources

Broadcasting Act 1990 (1990) London: HMSO.

Channel 4 (2002) Statement of Promises, London: Channel Four.

Clarke C (1999) 'Kid's TV Is So Bad' in The Guardian, 26 February Available: www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,311129,00.html

DTI-DCMS (2002) Draft Communications Bill, London: HMSO

ITC (2002) ITC Annual Report 2001, London: ITC.

ITC (2001) 'Children's Television: Broadcasting Act 1990', London: ITC. Available: www.itc.org.uk?itc_publications/itc_notes_/view_note.asp?itc _note_id=27.html

Joint Committee on the Draft Communications Bill (2002) Draft Communications Bill [HL Paper 169-I] [HC876-I], London: HMSO

Lander M. (1997) Children’s Television Viewing Habits Available: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/mzl9701.html

Towler B (2002) The Public's View 2001, London: ITC/ BBC.

Television Listings Radio Times, 22/08/52 pp. 38-40; 23/08/62 pp.20-47; 24/08/72, pp. 35-53; 20/08/82, pp.30-53; 21/08/87, pp. 38-67; 22/08/92, pp. 52-70; 23/08/97, pp. 64-89;

TV Times, 24/08/72, pp. 41-48; 20/08/82, pp. 39-46; 21/08/87, pp. 41-53;

TV & Satellite Week, 23/08/97, pp. 40-73; 24/08/02, pp. 48-84.

Page 21 of 22 Acknowledgements We are very grateful to the ippr media policy project supporters; BBC, BECTU, Bloomberg, Broadcasting Standards Commission, DCMS, Discovery Networks Europe, Endemol Entertainment, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Independent Television Commission, Oftel, PACT, Turner Broadcasting and the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at Oxford University, without whose support our work would not be possible. We would also like to thank Damian Tambini for his kind support.

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