Children’s Non-Terrestrial Viewing Rising

A survey has revealed that the proportion of children viewing non-terrestrial television channels has risen from 34 per cent in 1994 to 46 per cent in 1995, with children seeking opportunities to watch cable and satellite channels at a friend’s house if there is no access at home.

The ChildWise Monitor Survey ’95, published by Market Assessment Publications, also shows that children watch more satellite and cable TV than the population as a whole: as they get older children’s viewing changes from cartoons for both sexes to sports for boys and MTV for girls.

When questioned about more general TV viewing, children said that programmes broadcast past the watershed were their favourites: these include The X-Files, Soldier Soldier and Cracker. Three in ten 7-8 year olds and almost all children over 13 stay up after 9pm during the week to watch TV. One in five watched unsupervised, with boys more likely to do so than girls. One in three watch their own TV in their bedroom and by their teens virtually all have their own TV set.

In terms of advertising, when asked to mention an advertisement for a favourite product there was a much lower level of awareness than when asked just to name a brand: under half of all 11-17 year-olds felt able to name a recent advertisement. Younger children had greater recall, with almost two thirds of 7-10 year olds able to mention a toy or game advertisement.

Older children showed that they are more brand conscious, with younger children being less likely to name a brand; instead they often mentioned generic products such as ‘milk’ or ‘orange juice’.

The ChildWise survey carried out interviews with 1000 children aged between 7 and 17 from 40 different schools.

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