New Research Into TV Violence

The ITC and the Broadcasting Standards Commission, together with a group of broadcasters, comprising the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and BSkyB, have published a new analysis of how different viewers regard TV violence.

The study, the first of a two-part project, was conducted by Andrew Irving Associates and demonstrates how the nature and content of violent acts affect viewers’ perceptions of their acceptability on television. It is hoped that the qualitative research provides a better understanding of what sorts of violence concern viewers and how great that concern is.

The next phase of the study will build on this work and use video editing to uncover individuals’ thinking about violence. The results will be available in Spring 1998.

Results from the initial survey unsurprisingly show that “enthusiasts” for TV violence are male viewers who are positively attracted to programmes where extreme violence will be shown, “qualified acceptors” are again mostly male but only accept violence as long as it is in context and relevant to the plot, and “rejectors” are predominantly female and do not like violence.

ITC: 0171 255 3000