AUDIENCE ANALYSIS

People watch television for several reasons. Some viewers enjoy losing themselves in television shows for the entertainment or element of escapism, while others seek information. Other viewers watch certain shows because they like a particular actor, character or storyline. People sometimes watch certain television shows because the timeslot is convenient for their schedules or simply because there is nothing else on.
The following section examines the viewing audience of NBC’s sitcom Frazier, and attempts to support Stefan Hermann’s claim in “Do we learn to ‘read’ television like a kind of language?,” that television viewers are not “passive,” but instead interpret television images in order to create their own meaning(s). We will consider the television sitcom Frasier as a text that will be analyzed for its content in delivering meaning to its viewers, and as a medium for multiple interpretations.
Its important to distinguish between Audience Analysis and tradition Market Research. While market research is concerned with who is watching what, as in the case of advertisers interested in the demographics of specific consumer market segments, audience analysis asks why viewers watch what they do, and probes viewers’ understanding of the content they are exposed to. The objective of such audience analysis, according to Gillian Rose in Visualizing Methodologies, is to “explore how particular audiences react to specific images.”*
In conducting this audience analysis and gathering information about Frasier viewers, we designed a standard survey, in the form of a questionnaire, that was distributed to friends and acquaintances of the research group. The questionnaire asked participants several questions ranging from general to specific in terms of Frasier content, as well as questions that addressed individual behaviours and activities surrounding television viewing habits. Besides these standard surveys, additional research material was gathered informally through conversations with other friends and acquaintances that regularly watch the show.
From those surveyed, only twelve female and nine male participants were included in the formal analysis because their responses indicated they were regular viewers of the show and could offer deeper insight into the interpretation of the meanings generated by the show. To assess viewers knowledge of the show, we measured the correct number of answers that asked specific questions about Frasier. Survey participants ranged from 18 to 27 years old and coincidently, all participants were college or university students. In essence, this Audience analysis explores how college and university students think about and interpret the show Frasier.