Top Broadcasters Must Do More To Serve Ethnic Minority Groups
Ofcom has produced a new report revealing that people from ethnic minorities watch less television than the rest of the population.
The report, which was commissioned in order to find out whether ethnic minorities are being adequately served, also found that people in these groups watch less public service programming.
It also discovered that there is a higher take-up of cable and satellite TV services in these groups than the rest of the population and an increased appetite for films and children’s programmes.
Ofcom’s survey found that while ethnic minority groups watched less television on average, a greater proportion of their viewing was with non-terrestrial channels.
Among all UK individuals, public service terrestrial channels account for more than two-thirds of viewing. But this dropped to just under half amongst ethnic minorities, with proportionally less time spent watching BBC One, BBC Two and ITV1, and more watching Five.
The report said that ethnic minority viewers prefer multi-channel services because they offer greater choice and more specialist programming than that offered on terrestrial TV.
Ofcom found that the most popular programmes were also different, with Coronation Street the most watched among the general population, and EastEnders most popular among ethnic audiences. However, this could be down to the concentration of ethnic audiences in London, where EastEnders is set.
In a snapshot from September last year, the other top programmes among ethnic audiences in the top five were The X-Factor, Panorama – Football’s Dirty Secrets, Coronation Street and Celebrity Masterchef.
The general population’s top five were completed by EastEnders, The X-Factor, Emmerdale and Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.
The research found that ethnic minorities also preferred different genres to the rest of the population.
Films accounted for 13.5% of terrestrial viewing among ethnic minority viewers, compared to 9.6% for the general population, while children’s programming stood at 3.9% compared to 2.3% as a whole.
Even though ethnic minority groups owned fewer television sets, they were more enthusiastic about communications technology, with a higher proportion having a broadband service.
Ethnic minority groups were also more likely to own a mobile phone, with 83% of all adults having one compared with 80% for the rest of the population, while a higher proportion had a contract deal as opposed to pre-pay.
“The analysis shows that compared with all UK adults, EMGs are more engaged with, and more likely to be selective about, the technologies they engage in,” said the report.
“Therefore it follows that they are also less likely to actively resist adopting new technologies or abstain from using them due to lack of confidence.”
The Ofcom chief executive, Ed Richards, said: “This latest research from Ofcom shows encouraging take-up of digital communications services among ethnic minority groups.
“However, the evidence suggests that Britain’s most watched broadcasters need to reflect on whether they are connecting sufficiently with ethnic minority groups.”
Ofcom: 020 7981 3040 www.ofcom.org.uk