The ITC received 4,463 complaints in 1993, an increase of 24% on 1992’s complaints. The cancellation of Take The High Road generated most complaints, around 450. (This is now restored to most ITV regions). The majority of complaints were concerning scheduling alterations.
Other programmes which resulted in a significant number of complaints included The Good Sex Guide, Channel 4’s Love Weekend and Christmas in New York, an episode of Brookside at 5pm which showed a stabbing and a distressing interview in an ITN bulletin.
There were a further 33 interventions made by the ITC as a result of internal monitoring, the majority relating to breaches of the ITC code concerning ‘undue prominence’, which requires references to products and services to be editorially justified.
ITC 071 255 3000
BRITAIN NATION OF TELEADDICTS
According to a new report on television viewing habits from Mintel, Britons are still a nation of couch potatoes. Four out of ten adults watch television for three to four hours on an average weekday, 16% watch for between five and six hours a day, while another 16% watch for seven hours or more.
The survey showed that ‘teleaddicts’ are fairly evenly spread through the ages although they are more likely to be found among 20-34 year olds and the retired. Yorkshire and the North East have the most addicts, followed by Scotland. The majority of these teleaddicts are not working, however, nine % of those who are working still manage to fit in 7 hours or more of viewing each weekday.
Mintel’s report showed that the most popular position for the television set is in the living room, followed by the bedroom, although 13% have a set in the kitchen. The most important feature when buying a television set for 7 out of 10 respondents was a remote control.
Mintel’s TVs is available for £375 Mintel 071 606 6000
