Poll Reveals 41% Believe BBC Quality Is Declining

The new CIA Sensor survey carried out by BMRB for CIA MediaLab reveals that 41% of people believe that the quality of BBC programmes has declined in the last few years, compared with 33% in 1995. Other results show that 22% of adults questioned said that they would read a national newspaper devoted entirely to sport.

In terms of the BBC, the group most likely to agree that programme quality has gone down is the over-45s (46% – up from 33% in 1995). Concern among young people about programme standards has risen sharply: this year 35% of 15-24 year olds feel that quality has declined compared to just 19% in 1995.

Drama is one area where the BBC does appear to be successful. The improvement in the quality of drama programmes was acknowledged across the board, with 65% of all respondents agreeing that the BBC provides good drama programmes compared to 58% in 1995. Opinions have also improved towards the licence fee, with 30% of respondents now agreeing that the BBC is good value for its licence fee – up from 25% last year.

As June sees the launch of Sports First, a newspaper devoted entirely to sport, people were also questioned about how such a publication may be received. 22% of adults questioned said that they would buy the paper: men (35%) are over three times as keen as women (10%) to have a sports-only newspaper on the newsstands. The idea is particularly popular among younger people, with over one third (36%) of 15-24 year olds claiming that they would read it. Interest in the idea declined with age, with just 15% of adults aged over 45 saying that they would read a sports-only newspaper.

There are also significant differences by newspaper readership, with tabloid newspaper readers (31%) more likely than either broadsheet or mid-market readers (both 19%) to want a such a newspaper.

CIA MediaLab: 0171 633 9999