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Appreciation Index
The Audience Appreciation Index (AI) is an indicator measured from 0 to 100 of the public's appreciation for a television or radio programme, or broadcast service, in the United Kingdom.
Until 2002, the AI of a programme was calculated by the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB), the organisation that compiles television ratings for the major broadcasters and advertisers in the UK. Currently the AI is produced as part of an online Television Appreciation Survey, on behalf of the BBC Audience Research Unit, by GfK NOP.
As the individual ratings that produce the AI of a programme are recorded online the day after broadcast, the resulting score is usually available two days after broadcast, though these scores are not generally made public by the BBC. The AI is considered especially useful for assessing the level of appreciation by viewers for programmes made for small or specialist audiences. If a television programme has performed only passably in the ratings, yet achieves a high AI, it can help to determine whether the programme should be recommissioned.
On average, programmes aired on the BBC's four main television channels (BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three and BBC Four) for the period April–June 2013 received an AI rating of 82.3 and radio programmes received an AI rating of 79.9. The average AI for a drama programme on UK television channels BBC One and ITV1 was reported, in 2009, to be 84. Programmes with specialist appeal will often score higher ratings. Internal guidance to BBC production staff is that an AI of 85 or over is to be considered excellent, over 90 is exceptional, 60 or less is poor, and less than 55 is very poor.[citation needed] Sometimes a programme will not garner an AI, as the response for that programme may have been too small.[page needed] Nor is the AI a conclusive measure; while it is valuable for comparisons within a particular programme category, comparisons between the AIs of different programme types (e.g. dramas with quiz shows) carry no weight.
AI scores in the 90s are less common, though this is less the case for niche, targeted programming that attracts a limited number of viewers, such US imports on smaller channels (such as Sky1), or for specialist programmes, or some very popular dramas. The highest recorded score until the end of 2009 was 97 for a US import on Sky1.[which?] Scores lower than 30 are very rare, though some party political broadcasts have received AI scores in the 20s. One criticism of the more general value of AI scores is that audiences tend to watch those shows they like, or expect to like, and so will tend to score them well.
In 1936, the BBC began conducting surveys of its radio and television audiences. The intention was not to count the number of listeners or viewers, but to gauge opinion on the programmes themselves. The BBC used volunteers, who kept diaries of their listening and viewing habits, submitting them to the corporation periodically. From these, the first Appreciation Indexes were calculated and privately made known to the programme-makers.
A flaw in the method became apparent when programmes with low audience numbers were left with a small, yet loyal, core of fans. These would give the programme an inflated AI. When commercial television launched in Britain in 1955, advertisers were less concerned about attitudes to programmes than they were about viewing figures, and this marked the start of the frequent measurement of audience totals. With the establishment of commercial television, individual broadcasters began to gather their own ratings data, as well as viewer opinion in the form of the AI, until 1981, when the major industry players set up the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) to compile this information. In 2002, BARB ceased to compile AI data; currently the BBC commissions its own research.
Under BARB, viewing diaries were sent to 2,000 people on a panel made up of members of the public each week, with a further four panels consisting of 1,000 people each receiving diaries every four weeks.
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Appreciation Index
The Audience Appreciation Index (AI) is an indicator measured from 0 to 100 of the public's appreciation for a television or radio programme, or broadcast service, in the United Kingdom.
Until 2002, the AI of a programme was calculated by the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB), the organisation that compiles television ratings for the major broadcasters and advertisers in the UK. Currently the AI is produced as part of an online Television Appreciation Survey, on behalf of the BBC Audience Research Unit, by GfK NOP.
As the individual ratings that produce the AI of a programme are recorded online the day after broadcast, the resulting score is usually available two days after broadcast, though these scores are not generally made public by the BBC. The AI is considered especially useful for assessing the level of appreciation by viewers for programmes made for small or specialist audiences. If a television programme has performed only passably in the ratings, yet achieves a high AI, it can help to determine whether the programme should be recommissioned.
On average, programmes aired on the BBC's four main television channels (BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three and BBC Four) for the period April–June 2013 received an AI rating of 82.3 and radio programmes received an AI rating of 79.9. The average AI for a drama programme on UK television channels BBC One and ITV1 was reported, in 2009, to be 84. Programmes with specialist appeal will often score higher ratings. Internal guidance to BBC production staff is that an AI of 85 or over is to be considered excellent, over 90 is exceptional, 60 or less is poor, and less than 55 is very poor.[citation needed] Sometimes a programme will not garner an AI, as the response for that programme may have been too small.[page needed] Nor is the AI a conclusive measure; while it is valuable for comparisons within a particular programme category, comparisons between the AIs of different programme types (e.g. dramas with quiz shows) carry no weight.
AI scores in the 90s are less common, though this is less the case for niche, targeted programming that attracts a limited number of viewers, such US imports on smaller channels (such as Sky1), or for specialist programmes, or some very popular dramas. The highest recorded score until the end of 2009 was 97 for a US import on Sky1.[which?] Scores lower than 30 are very rare, though some party political broadcasts have received AI scores in the 20s. One criticism of the more general value of AI scores is that audiences tend to watch those shows they like, or expect to like, and so will tend to score them well.
In 1936, the BBC began conducting surveys of its radio and television audiences. The intention was not to count the number of listeners or viewers, but to gauge opinion on the programmes themselves. The BBC used volunteers, who kept diaries of their listening and viewing habits, submitting them to the corporation periodically. From these, the first Appreciation Indexes were calculated and privately made known to the programme-makers.
A flaw in the method became apparent when programmes with low audience numbers were left with a small, yet loyal, core of fans. These would give the programme an inflated AI. When commercial television launched in Britain in 1955, advertisers were less concerned about attitudes to programmes than they were about viewing figures, and this marked the start of the frequent measurement of audience totals. With the establishment of commercial television, individual broadcasters began to gather their own ratings data, as well as viewer opinion in the form of the AI, until 1981, when the major industry players set up the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) to compile this information. In 2002, BARB ceased to compile AI data; currently the BBC commissions its own research.
Under BARB, viewing diaries were sent to 2,000 people on a panel made up of members of the public each week, with a further four panels consisting of 1,000 people each receiving diaries every four weeks.