Attitude of TV Audience Towards Commerci PDF

Attitudes of TV Audience
Towards Commercial
Interruption in TV
Programmes
Ali Pechu, 2014
Submitted to the Department of

Journalism and Mass Communication,
University of Buea, as part of requirements
for the award of a B.Sc. in Journalism and
Mass Communication
NA
NA
Effective advertising requires

an understanding of the target
audience and their relationship with
the brand. However, advertisements
worthless to advertisers unless
attention is paid to them by relevant
individuals.
Existing
literature
suggests that slotting commercials at
moments when a viewer is fully
involved with the content of the
programme is strategic. This project
was aimed at assessing the attitude
of TV audience towards commercial
interruption in TV programmes. The
research design was quantitative and
the method was survey, while the
questionnaire was the instrument for
data collection. The major finding
pointed to the fact that TV viewers
in the University of Buea
Community do not like commercials
interrupting the programmes they are
watching. 33.3% of them switch
channel (zap), 25.0% stay but do not
concentrate, 10.2% will leave the
room when commercials set in.
However, 29.6% of the respondents
said they actually watch the
commercials. This is small compared
to the total of 68.5% who either
switch channel, leave the room or
stay but do not concentrate in
Ali Pechu,the
2014commercial. It is
watching
therefore
recommended
that
advertisers and TV station and
channel programmers revise the
timing of commercials.
Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

| Ali Pechu, 2014
TABLE OF CONTENT
Certification .......................................................................................................... I
Dedication............................................................................................................. II
Acknowledgement ................................................................................................ III
Abstract ................................................................................................................. IV
Table of Content ................................................................................................... V
List of tables and charts ........................................................................................ VI
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background........................................................................................................... 1
Statement of Problem ........................................................................................... 4
Research Questions .............................................................................................. 6
Hypothesis ............................................................................................................ 6
Objectives of the Study ........................................................................................ 6
Significance of the Study...................................................................................... 7
Delimitations/Scope of Study ............................................................................... 8
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................ 9

Mass Communication and Consumer Behaviour ................................................. 9
Cultivation Theory................................................................................................ 10
Agenda-Setting ..................................................................................................... 11
Uses and Gratification .......................................................................................... 12
Overview of the Term Attitude ............................................................................ 13
TV Audience and Commercial Breaks ................................................................. 14
Media Usage: Watching TV Shows ..................................................................... 18

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CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
Research Design and Methodology ...................................................................... 20

Population under Study ........................................................................................ 21
Sampling Technique and Sample Size ................................................................. 21
Instrument for Data Collection and Measurement ............................................... 21
Pre-Test................................................................................................................. 22
Data Coding, Entry and Cleaning ......................................................................... 23
Definition of Terms .............................................................................................. 23
CAHPTER
FOUR:
DATA
ANALYSES,
INTERPRETATION
AND
FINDINGS
Testing Hypotheses .............................................................................................. 27

Answering Research Questions ............................................................................ 35
Other Findings ...................................................................................................... 38
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 40
Recommendations ................................................................................................ 41
Limitations of the study ........................................................................................ 42
Bibliography ......................................................................................................... 43
Appendix ................................................................................................................... 48

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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

TABLES
Table 1: Agreement level and understanding an interrupted programme
Table 2: Response for whether commercial interruption affects purchase rate.
Table 3: What viewers think about commercially interrupted programmes.
Table 4: Frequencies of how viewers see commercials 5/5 at points in a TV
Programme.
Table 5: Points at which viewers will prefer to see commercials during TV
Programmes
FIGURES
Figure 1: Respondents decision to watch and understand a programme is affected by
the frequency of commercials.
Figure 2: Viewers recall rate of commercial and programme contents.
Figure 3: Viewers reactions when commercials interrupt TV programmes.

| Ali Pechu, 2014
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background
The significance of television as a medium of mass communication is fast
assuming a highly imperative position throughout the world. Television by virtue of
sound, vision and movement offers a high degree of creative flexibility. Television has
added another feather to its wing, which is that of persuasion. This singular act by
television has made it possible for television to dazzle other media of communication. It
now serves as an organ through which governments and advertisers sell their goods and
services. It has brought the art of product awareness to millions of households. It has the
selling power for most types of goods and services detergents, soft drinks,
communication tariffs, beer, clothes etc. People have colour television sets and this
allows for greater pragmatism of presentation in commercials. In fact television is a
significant medium for advertisers.
In 2000, television accounted for 39 percent of total money spent on advertising
(US$51 billion) in the US, 32 percent or 3.9 billion in the UK (WARC, 2002) while in
Australia, it exceeded AUD$2.8 billion in 2003 (Brook, 2003). However, whilst the
amount of money spent on television advertising is significant, literature in the area
reveals that less time is devoted to television viewing. Additionally, the advent of remote
controls, fragmentation of TV channels and increase in the size and number of ad slots,
has resulted in viewers increasingly paying even less attention to the commercials (Beal
2002). Consequently, effective media placement decisions are becoming more imperative
than ever before. The goal for any advertiser is to get the best value for their advertising
money by placing their commercial in such a way as to effectively reach the maximum
possible proportion of the potential viewing audience. Television advertisement
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placement decisions are based on programme audience viewing data (that is, the ratings
as measured by the people meters), which provides the currency by which airtime is
traded, and the method by which the value of different advertisement slots are compared.
From this, reach and frequency goals are set. In general, the higher the rating (the larger
the number of viewers with an opportunity to see a particular programme), the higher
the cost of the advertisement space during that time. (Lloyd and Clancy 1991). However
the ratings only deliver vehicle exposure, that is, likelihood that an individual watch a
television programme containing a particular advertisement (McDonald 1996). An
individual therefore has an opportunity to see the commercial but it is still not possible
to say with any certainty that the ad was actually seen. Yet, from an advertisers point of
view, it is the actual ad viewing which is important. Whereas media planners and
advertisers readily accept that commercial audiences are smaller than programme
audiences, no generalizable guideline exists by which they can determine the size of the
television audience actually viewing their commercials.This study will examine the
behaviour of viewers both during programmes and commercial breaks.
The Television Industry in Cameroon is still in infant stage comparatively to its
counterparts in other parts of Africa and the developed world. However, it has
transmuted remarkably since the liberalisation of the broadcast media in Cameroon in
the 90s, though it was effective only ten years after.
At its inception, television in the country was basically used for informational,
entertainment, educational and developmental purposes. It is different of its ability to
combine sound and picture. As a result of these qualities, it is possible for it to attract a
large number of viewing audiences.
One cannot, but remember the informational, educational and entertainment
programmes TV stations offer to the audience like: High cognitive (news and
documentaries), High affective (soap operas and series), Low impact (situation comedies,
action series), Sports, Talk shows, and Cartoons. Some of such programmes have been
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known to force people to go home from wherever they are, so as not to miss the next
episode or edition.
While viewers are watching programmes, it is a common practice that television
houses often slot in commercials which break the continuity of these programmes to the
irritation of viewers. The advertisers often want their commercials to be aired at prime
time, while these viewers want their favourite programmes to be uninterrupted by
commercials. This creates conflicts between the interest of advertisers and interest of
viewers. Television houses do not seem to see anything unusual or abnormal per se
about this situation.
Consequently, television houses often just slot in these commercials even at prime
time without considering the interests and feelings of viewers. The viewers are now
forced to perceive and consume these commercials when watching their favourite
programmes, thereby subjecting them to the status of captive audience.
Some researchers have come up with evidence to show that commercial
interruption could induce aggressive tendencies in people. According to Green (1965), a
former Director General of the British Broadcasting Corporation, television is being
misused and broadcasters are betraying their responsibilities (p. 124)
There is no gain refusing the fact that television stations need the money realized
from these commercials to remain in business. The corporation has to undertake
commercial broadcasting in order to make money to supplement the subtrahend; sponsors
need the television station as a medium of communicating information about their goods
and services to the ultimate consumers with the solitary aim of arousing their interests for
the goods. But as new television stations are established and more stations introduce the
modern broadcasting, the need to interrupt programmes at the detriment of the viewers
will be further aggravated. Unless something is done now, this will be another ugly
incident and further alienation of television audience.

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The points mentioned above have acted as stimuli for this research which is to find
out the attitude of television audience towards commercial interruption in television
programmes. Attitude is here defined as ways of thinking or feeling towards something,
in this case towards commercial interruption in television programmes. This attitude
survey is very crucial because it embraces a lot of things. For instance, it transcends
effects of commercial interruptions on television audience because it is only after a
subject has observed the effect of a phenomenon that the subject can form a reasonable
attitude towards that phenomenon.
According to Parker (2003), The sooner each new technology is studied, the
greater the chance of bringing to use research results to influence policy in a meaningful
way (p 123). We can deduce from this that it is necessary to examine audience attitude
towards commercial interruption by Cameroonian televisions at this embryonic state of
television industry, when the institutional and economic structures of broadcasting are
still being formulated.
On the one hand, it is suggested that commercial breaks at points where the
audience is devoting a great deal of attention to the programme are desirable because this
high attention level will be likely to carry over to the ad or ads shown during the
commercial break (Krugman, 1983). On the other hand, it is argued that commercial
breaks at points in a programme where the audience is particularly involved in the
programmes content will be detrimental because the ongoing processing of programme
content during the commercial break will interfere with, and distract them from
processing the commercial message (Soldow and Principe, 1981).
1.2 .Statement of the Problem

Television has achieved a very high degree of penetration in the population and
many people watch television programmes for several hours each day. However, these

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programmes are intermittently interrupted to make way for the insertion of commercial
messages.
The situation has come to a stage where it will be logically assumed that the
gullibility of the television audience is now taken for granted by television houses and
also that money has now become their primary consideration. Thus, this study intends to
examine the attitude of television audience (the case of UB Community) towards
commercial interruption of television programmes. The experience of the commercial
interruptionthat moment when the continuity of a programme is broken by the onset of
a series of commercialsis both widespread and frequent. Carefully situated in relation
to programme content for the purpose of maximizing attention, commercials frequently
occur at moments of dramatic intensity, involving suspense, tragedy or emotional
involvement (Barnouw, 1978, pp. 58; Goldsen, 1977, 7-8). In fact, the purpose of the
programme is to deliver maximum audience to the commercials (Goidsen, 1977, pp.

6, 7). This fact, basic to the TV industry, is not acknowledged to the viewing audience
(those who actually watch what television stations show).
Given the situation, what have the audiences to say about commercial interruption
of television programmes? How do they feel or react when the programmes they are
watching on their television sets are interrupted midway by commercial messages? Will
uninterrupted television programmes appeal more to viewers? Is it true that television
audience will like to watch their favourite programmes uninterrupted by commercial
message than when watching their unfavourite programmes? This background will now
form the bedrock of the statement of research problems which is self-explanatory on
attitude of television audience (UB Community) towards commercial interruption of
television programmes.

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1.2. Research Questions

1. How do viewers react when commercials interrupt TV programmes?
2. At what time (point: beginning, middle, end) should a commercial interrupt a
TV programme?
1.4. Research Hypotheses

H1: The frequency of commercials in programmes affects the viewers decision to watch
and their understanding of the programme.
H2: Products in commercials have a high recall and purchase rate among TV viewers.
H3: Viewers think programmes that are interrupted by commercials lack content.
H4: Commercials are mostly slotted in the middle (high affective moments) of TV
programmes.
1.5. Objectives of the Study

The television advertising market is becoming increasingly fragmented, making it
more difficult and more expensive for advertisers to reach their target audiences. Since
advertisers need to know whether their target audience is watching their ads, accurate
audience viewing information is crucial.
Basically, the objectives of this study is to examine the attitudes of the UB
Community in Buea, towards commercial interruption of television programmes and the
extent to which such variables like sex, educational level, marital status, income bracket
and occupation will contribute in shaping these attitudes.
Also, this research will establish whether it is beneficial or detrimental to insert
commercials at highly involving points in television programming, and to identify
cognitive processes which account for the observed effects.
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Finally, this study will also find out whether television audience will prefer
uninterrupted programmes to interrupted programmes, whether these commercial breaks
increase or decrease the viewers interests. It will come up with suggestions on how TV
stations can best serve their audience.
1.6. Significance of the Study

Much has been said about the qualities of television as an effective communication
medium in disseminating commercial messages to a large audience scattered across the
globe. However, the feelings of the television audience towards these commercials
especially when the programmes are interrupted to make way for them cannot be
overlooked.
The study will also be valuable to the Cameroon government, which has
liberalized the ownership of broadcasting media in the country. This duopoly, some
people have argued, has given impetus to the television houses in the country to conduct
their affairs in the manner they like, regardless of public opinion. Hence, the result of this
study will perhaps guide the government in formulating future policies regarding
television broadcasting generally in Cameroon, with a view of improving their services
and in line with audience expectations. The results of this study will also help policies
makers in formulating for television advertising in the country. It will greatly enhance the
formation of new guidelines, and recommendations for broadcast TV programming
Furthermore, the advertiser will find the study invaluable because a great deal of
advertising messages is wasted. The findings from this research will add significantly to
the bulk of existing scholarly knowledge in this domain and will be eminent in Cameroon
where little or virtually nothing has been said about advertising and, advertising and
consumer behaviour.
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1.7. Delimitation/Scope of the Study

The study area was the University of Buea community, in Buea, Cameroon. For
reasons of proximity and access to the source of information, easy data management and
limited finances, the study was delimited to the UB community, which is predominantly
student inhabited. However, the population is also made up of administrators, lecturers,
non-teaching staff, and business operators.
The television stations in this study will include local television channels in
Cameroon. For reasons of diversity in the programmes of television stations, the
researcher decided to use a broad spectrum of local TV channels in Cameroon, whose
signals, through cable TV, reaches Buea, the study area.
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CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter, the major issue under view will be the review of literature related to
the subject matter under study, which is: Attitude of TV Audience Commercial
Interruption of TV Programmes in Cameroon-Buea, the UB Community. This chapter
also contains the theoretical framework on which the study is centered.
2.1. Theoretical Framework

2.1.1. Mass Communication and Consumer Behaviour
Since the early 1920s, mass communication research has been frequently described
as an interdisciplinary field (Robertson and Kassajian, 1991). Researchers from
Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology and Business often find pivotal variables
explaining some phenomena in society. This is because human behaviour and social
processes are heavily dependent on communication. This section explores how mass
communication affects consumers behaviour and attitude changes. It will present three
relevant theories: the Agenda and Cultivation theories, and the Uses and Gratification
theory. The former is applicable to explain how consumers influenced by media and
eventually change their attitudes, preferences and behaviours, while the latter is valid to
explain consumers (audience) use the media.
Cultivation theory and Agenda setting theory are well known theories in
communication research. Both theories are linked to consumers perception of toward
media messages, but originated from different studies. This section explains brief
introduction to both theories and how they relate to this study.
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2.1.2. Cultivation Theory

In the 1970s, George Gerbner and his colleagues developed cultivation theory
(Robert & Kassarjian, 1971). This theory represents the significance of mass
communication messages and their effects on viewers. The basic concept of this theory
is, the more people watch TV the more likely they are to perceive the real world to be
similar to what they have seen on TV.
Gerbner et al (1994), in their study Network TV Programmes in the 1960s,
found that TV content is significantly different from real world.
Cultivation theory was applied to other areas of mass communication studies. For
example, few researchers have found out, using the cultivation theory that heavy TV
viewers are more likely to remember consumer goods or activities than light viewers.
(OGuinn & Shum, 1977; Robertson & Kassarjian, 1991). With regards to this study,
therefore, heavy TV viewers are likely to be affected by commercial breaks than light TV
viewers. That is the attitude of people spend many hours watching TV, towards
commercial breaks in TV programmes will be different that of those who spend fewer
hours watching TV, heavy viewers are likely to cultivated a particular trend of behaviour
towards commercials that interrupt programmes and consequently towards commercially
interrupted programmes. This bring to existence, therefore, the relevance of this theory
(cultivation), in this study. Cultivation theory as applied in this study looks at the mass
media (TV), as a socializing agent and investigates whether television viewers come to
believe the television version of reality the more they watch it. If so then certainly their
behaviour when commercials interrupt programmes during their TV viewing moments.
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2.1.3. Agenda-Setting
Agenda-setting theory explains how media messages influence consumer
behaviour. This theory is one of the limited effects theories and referred to as the ability
of the media to affect the public perspectives on the significance of different social issues
(ibid).
According to Cohen (1963), media does not tell people what to think, but it
provides them with what to think about. His writing became the foundation of what is
now called agenda-setting theory. Two researchers, Maxwell E. McCombs and Donald
Shaw (1972), articulated their understanding of agenda setting through empirical studies.
They found that mass media play an important role in shaping viewers realities and
attitudes. Baran & Darris (2009), suggested that viewers are greatly influenced by the
vividness of the presentation of messages. Besides, people pay more attention to lead
stories of the news and accept that those stories are the most important stories at the time.
McCombs & Shaw (1972) found that there is a casual relationship between media
messages and viewers perception.
Agenda-setting theory assumes that the more viewers are exposed to the cued
media messages, the more they have the chance to learn new information and knowledge
(ibid). Previous studies have found that advertisers have the power to influence
consumers brand attitudes by increasing the salience of consumers beliefs of material
possesses (ibid). Consumer behaviour perspective in agenda-setting theory explains how
media messages cognitively affect viewers knowledge on products which are advertised
or shown in TV shows. Furthermore, TV programme producers and advertisers play
significant roles in the agenda-setting process by selecting products or services for
commercial breaks in TV shows.
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2.1.4. Uses and Gratifications Theory - By Rosengren (1974)

Use and Gratifications theory originated in the 1970s as a reaction to traditional
mass communication research, with emphasis on the sender and the message. That is, it
emphasized on the dissemination of the message and its reception. According to
Rosengren (1974), the theory stressed on the audience and the user, trying to get the
motives for peoples use and gratifications of the media as their main point of departure.
Uses and gratifications theory attempts to explain the uses and functions of the media for
individuals, groups, and society in general. In the light of this study, it applicable in that
the more TV serves its viewers and they acquire satisfaction from watching it, their
attitudes will be affected and vary when commercials interrupt during their viewing
moments. People use TV for purposes like entertainment, information, relaxation,
education and so on, and the satisfaction they get from watching TV makes them want to
watch more. This implies that they go to TV at their will. How then will they react
when their satisfaction is seemingly interrupted by commercials? This brings to place, the
relevance of this theory in this study. There are three objectives in developing uses and
gratifications theory: to explain how individuals use mass communication to gratify their
needs. What do people do with the media; to discover underlying motives for
individuals media use; to identify the positive and the negative consequences of
individual media use. At the core of uses and gratifications theory lays the assumption
that audience members actively seek out the mass media to satisfy individual needs.
Given the fact a medium will be used more when the existing motives to use the
medium leads to more satisfaction, viewers will continuously watch TV no matter how
discontented they may be when commercial interrupt the programmes they watch to their
disagreement.
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2.2. Overview of the Term Attitude

By and large, attitude is a formidable factor in any human communication. It is
defined as a psychological predisposition that allows a person to behave in a certain way
towards objects, people or actions, hence, the objects in this case will be commercials
interruption of television programs.
Andersen (1972) holds that an attitude is often viewed in terms of an evaluative
function-identifying something as the good or bad, desirable or undesirable. Furthermore,
it can be summarized form Allport (1954), Krech and Crutchfield (1948) and Petter and
Cacioppo (1981) that, attitudes are related to an objective, are part of the general way the
individual experience and reacts to his world, and are relatively recurring, and imply
thought and feeling. Hence attitude is not tangible and it cannot be studied directly as it is
an emotion, perceptual and mental state of readiness.
English and English (1958) defines attitude as an inferred entity conceived as
actually existing and as giving rise to measurable phenomena which leads to
hypothesizing the construct. The measure characteristic of attitude is that, it has to be
linked to certain objects or behavior such as emotions. Krech and Crutchfield (1948) saw
it as an emotional aspect which embodies positive or negative feelings about the object in
question; a cognitive aspect beliefs or ideas about it; and a cognitive aspect a
tendency to behave in a particular way towards it. In this study the attitude towards
commercial interruption of TV programmes would be measured with relation to
respondents beliefs and actions, as there is a close link between attitude, and beliefs and
actions. This fact is agreed by Anderson (1972) where he concluded that they are closely
linked and any change or addition in one or more beliefs and actions usually produces a
change in attitude and action.
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2.3. TV Audience and Commercial Breaks

Advertisers need information not only on the size of their audiences ,but also on
how their viewers are reacting to their ads and the extent to which viewers are involved
with, and attentive to, what they are watching. This task is complicated by the growth of
multi-channel television markets, the introduction of new cable and satellite broadcasting
services and the advances of computer technology, all of which have contributed to an
increase in ad avoidance behaviour (Gunter 1994). However, the required information
can be obtained from live observations of people as they are actually watching television.
Many researchers have noted that there is a gap in the literature regarding what people do
during the TV commercial breaks (Krugman and Shamp 1992; Moriarty and Everett
1994).
A number of studies have explored the ways in which consumers watch
television. One of the earliest studies in this area was conducted by Allen (1965) who
used a dynascope to photograph the viewing audience. C o l l e t (1986) used a camera
and Videocassette Recorder (VCR) to record consumers watching television and from
this data, Svennevig and Wynberg (1986) concluded that pure viewing is extremely
rare, and that most viewing occurs in a chaotic melee (clash or confrontation) of
other activities conversation, playing with children, and only part-viewing of
programmes and ads. Channel changes, leaving the room, and beginning or ending
other activities occur a t any time. Clancey (1994) confirmed that only 31% of
viewing could be described a s pure viewing.
More recent ethnographic studies contribute to the understanding of which
elements affect viewing attention. Byfield (2000) used a virtual ethnographic study of
seventeen families over a two month period which revealed four elements influencing
attention levels, Programme involvement, programme length, time of day and solos
viewing. A similar study by Ritson et al. (2003) filmed e i ght households over a two
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week period, analyzing viewing behaviour in the second week only. Six types of
commercial break behaviour were identified; social interaction, tasking, reading,
flicking, ad watching and advertising interaction. These findings suggest a range of
attention to commercial television breaks, from complete avoidance to full attention.
Ritson et al draw similar conclusions to Byfield (2000), identifying the friends effect
a s an important factor influencing commercial break behaviour; the more people there
are in the room during a commercial break, the less chance there is that they will pay
attention to the ads. More recently, Pilota and Shultz (2005) have highlighted the issue
of simultaneous media consumption e.g. flicking through a newspaper whilst watching
the television, which may have implications for attention to advertising.
Some authors also demonstrate that, in some circumstances, advertising causes
irritation among viewers. That negative effect depends on several factors: profile of
audiences groups, the product announced, the spots quality and creativity, the amount of
advertising time per hour, and the commercial messages adaptation to the audience. For
instance, Rojas-Mndez and Davies (2005) showed that future -oriented people
consider advertising as a useful tool to plan purchases and, as a result, they are less likely
to avoid TV commercials than past-oriented people. On the other hand, Shavitt,
Lowrey and Haefner (1998) found that in the USA males, younger consumers, persons
with less education and income, and nonwhites generally report more favorable
advertising attitudes than others do (p.7). They conducted a survey that pointed out that
more Americans say that they like rather than dislike advertising overall. However, most
of Mittals (1994) respondents said that less than a quarter of television commercials
were honest and believable.
Producers of TV commercials may be able to avoid viewers irritation using
several techniques (Aaker and Buzzone, 1985): good casting and story lines; a positive
mood created by music and the scripts; the use of warm words like love, care or
wonderful; hiring the convenient characters and spokespersons; and creating the
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perception that the commercial is informative, honest and amusing. On top of that,
programmers should decide what the convenient amount of advertising time per hour is
and which contents fit better with each targeted audience (Rotfeld, 2006).
The most expensive ads are likely to be the ones placed with programmes with
high ratings. This assumes that the programme environment is likely to influence ad
viewing. However, the literature in this area is contradictory and inconsistent. Some
researchers have argued that ads placed alongside higher level involvement programmes
tend to be perceived negatively (Bryant Comisky1978; and Kennedy,1971 ;Soldowand
Principe 1981), while others have claimed that the more the viewer is involved with the
programme, the more likely he/she will attend to the ad (Clancy and Kweskin 1971
;Krugman1983; Lloyd and Clancy 1991). Other researchers have suggested that
involvement with ads depends on the viewers attitudes to different types of programmes
(Hoffman Batra and 1991), which they have classified as high cognitive (news &
documentaries), high affective (mini-series and soaps) and low impact (situation
comedies and action series). They concluded that ad viewing takes place more often
during high cognitive impact programmes, and that such programmes influence the way
viewers evaluate the effectiveness of the commercials.
A common phenomenon during TV viewing is Ad avoidance.
Advertising
avoidance is defined as all actions by media users that differentially reduce their
exposure to ad content (Speck and Elliot, 1997 p61). Avoidance may be physical
(e.g. leaving the room), mechanical (e.g. switching channels) and cognitive (e.g.
ignoring the ad).
The majority of empirical work on advertising avoidance has focused on the
television medium. An area of interest explored in several studies is the level of
advertising avoidance by viewers. Abernethy (1991) concluded that around a third of
television breaks are avoided by viewers, either physically by leaving the room (22%),
or by changing channels (10%). Similar f i g u r e s were reported by Robinson and
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Ayling (2004), with viewers spending an average 20% of television commercial breaks
out of the room and zapping 12% of breaks. Heeter and Greenberg (1985) examined the
profile of people who zap commercials, describing them as more creatures of chance
than of habit. Danaher (1995) analysed people meter data on a second by second basis,
finding lower levels of avoidance (5%) but li t t le systematic reason why viewers were
avoiding breaks. Van Meurs (1998) analysis of people meter data found much higher
levels of avoidance (29%) and discovered that strong programming was associated with
reduced zapping.
Many empirical studies in the area of advertising avoidance have concentrated on
the predictors of advertising avoidance behaviour, focusing primarily on the television
medium.
Several alternative techniques have been used to estimate the extent to which
television audiences actually watch advertisements. Nuttall (1962) tested day-after recall.
Allen (1965) used time-lapse cameras to photograph the behaviour of television
audiences in selected households. Steiner (1966) enlisted students as "observers" within
the selected households to observe the behaviour of other members. Wolfe, Brown,
Thompson, and Greenberg (1966) used a combination of post-exposure interviews and
in-home observers, and Twyman (1969) used both diaries and telephone interviews
which coincided with commercial breaks. Bunn (1982) used the increase in electricity
consumption during breaks to estimate the extent to which audiences did other things
than view television at these times. Collett (1986) developed a combination of video
camera and recorder, which he called a "C-box". All these studies agree in finding that a
substantial proportion of programme audiences do not watch advertisements, and even
when they dare to spend watch or spend some time trying to understand commercials,
little attention is paid to it, or they do so alongside some other chores.
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2.4. Media Usage: Watching Television Shows

Wilburg (2008) calculates that when a highly-rated network decreases its
advertising time by 10% its audience will increase by 25% if there are no competitive
reactions; however he is not able to prove such prediction.
Consumer Socialization framework considers the media as an important source
of consumption-related beliefs, attitudes, and behavior changes. While peer
communication directly affects ones attitudes and behaviors, media content indirectly
affects, and even intercede ones attitudes and behaviors. Media messages influence an
individuals daily decisions. Generally, it is considered that different media vehicles
play different roles in consumers decision-making processes (Choi & La Ferle, 2004).
It is widely believed that watching television shows contributes to the learning
processes of a wide range of consumer orientations.
Tied to the impact of media, advertising has been given attention by scholars
because of its specific target on consumption-oriented messages (Ward, 1974).
Advertising messages and images constantly provide a fundamental for reality
establishment (Choi & La Ferle, 2004). Advertisement messages contain information
about products and brands as well as desirable symbols and images. Repetitive
exposure to advertisements leads consumers to engage with consumption-related
ideas and desires. Similarly, repeated exposure to products in television shows
facilitates consumers to have both positive and negative attitudes toward the TV show
and the product placement and leads to certain behavioral outcomes (Homer, 2009;
Karrh, Frith & Callison, 2001; Lehu, 2007).
A number of studies attempted to look at the relationship between consumers
television consumption and their attitudes. OGuinn and Shrum (1997) explored
consumers time spent with television programmes and their perceptions of reality.
Based on cultivation theory and Consumer Socialization theory, their study results
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| Ali Pechu, 2014
suggest that heavy television viewers tend to believe that other people enjoy more
luxurious lives and possess more materials then light viewers. This is because
television viewing affects normative perceptions of consumer behavior, and television
as a socialization agent causes changes in consumers attitudes.
Bush et al. (1999) explored the influence of television watching on both AfricanAmerican and Caucasian consumers attitudes toward advertising. In their survey with
college students, respondents were asked to answer how many hours they watch
television, what their general attitudes toward advertising are, and how many hours
they spend on family communication about consumption. The results showed that heavy
television viewers have more positive attitudes toward advertising. Moreover, the
results confirmed that African-American consumers watch more television and use it
more for guidance of social utility than their Caucasian counterparts. However, this
study was limited to consumers attitudes toward general advertising in television and
was also restricted to two ethnicities at the college age level.
As other studies have found, the current study also posits that consumers
television consumption is significantly related to advertising exposure. Particularly,
watching television shows inevitably leads to exposure of product placement in today s
television environment. For clarification, watching television is defined in this study as,
consumers exposure to television shows which contain product placements in each
episode.
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| Ali Pechu, 2014
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
In this chapter, we shall examine the research design used, the research method, the
population under study and its characteristics, the sampling plan/technique, sample size
of the population, the instrument of data collection, specification of conditions and
procedures of observation or administration of fieldwork and the specification of
methods and techniques of data analysis.
3.1. Research Design and Methodology

A research design is considered to be the arrangement of conditions for collection
and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose
with economy in procedures (Seltz, Wrightsman, and Cook, 1976). Research design
subsumes research methods. Two types of research design exist: qualitative and
quantitative designs. The design used in this study was quantitative, under which, there is
the cross-sectional design. This involves the sampling of elements from the population of
interest, where the elements are measured at a single point in time. The survey method is
a typical example of cross-sectional design, Uyo (unpublished). Survey was an efficient
method for this study because it allows for many variables be measured without
substantially increasing time or cost. That is, survey data can be collected at relatively
low cost and since the survey design was questionnaire, relatively quickly. Survey lends
itself (is suitable for) to simple random or non-probability sampling from large
populations. In fact, survey is the only means available for developing a representative
picture of the attitudes and characteristics of a large population like the UB Community.
This method was also one of choice because cross-population generalizability is a key
concern in the study. It allowed for a range of educational contexts and subgroups to be
23

| Ali Pechu, 2014
sampled. The method used in this study has been used for a similar study in Ondo and
Enugu states in Nigeria and it yielded results.
3.2. Population under Study

The population of this study is the UB community which is made up of mostly
students, and teaching and non-teaching staff, business operators and administrators. The
reason for choosing this population is because of proximity to the source of information,
easy data management and to say the least, financial difficulties.
3.3. Sampling Technique and Sample Size

The technique used for this study is the simple random or non-probability sampling
technique. The reason for using this technique was to give the population under study an
equal opportunity of representation. This implies that, be it gender or age considerations,
let there be equal opportunity of representation for the population sampled.
3.4. Instrument for Data Collection and Measurement

The instrument for data collection was the questionnaire. According to Kitty O.
Locker (1998), a questionnaire is the easiest way to acquire the desired information from
respondents in every survey research. She goes further to say that good questions in a
questionnaire are phrased neutrally or without making assumptions about the
respondents, or even asking vague questions. This is the same view held by Hathleen and
Verdebeh (1995), who say in interviews (surveys); there must be primary questions
(questions that serve as the main points for the interview outline), and follow-up
questions to get enough required information. The questionnaire for this study, 150 of
them, with a total of 27 questions, was divided into five sections. Section one dealt with
24

| Ali Pechu, 2014
TV viewership patterns, section two treated viewers knowledge of commercials in

programmes, section three looked at viewers attitude towards commercials in
programmes, section four focused on TV commercials and their effects on TV viewing,
and section was reserved for the respondents demographics.
Given that the population is both learned and semi-learned, it was eminent to ask
simple and straight forward questions so that respondents could answer them hitch free.
The questionnaire had varied questions ranging from closed-ended (questions in which
explicit response categories are offered); to open-ended (questions without explicit
response choices, such that respondents provided their own answers in their own words.
As concerns the measurement, the questionnaire made use of all the four basic
levels of measurement: nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio scales. The Likert-scale was
very instrumental in the design of the questionnaire. As a point of interest, the
questionnaire designed for this study, as a research tool, provided the input into the
study; therefore, the quality and validity of the output (the findings) were solely
dependent on it.
3.5. Pre-Test
Pre-testing or pilot test is defined as the first test carried out to detect errors that
may appear on the data collection instrument, in this case the questionnaire. 20
questionnaires were used to run the pilot test of this study. After the exercise more
emphasis was laid on the way respondents should answer certain questions, like
emphasizing that only one response should ticked in questions that warranted such. Some
of the questions were also removed, and question was changed from If yes, why? to
Justify your answer. This was to allow for the respondents to justify their answers
whether they answered Yes or No.
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| Ali Pechu, 2014
3.6. Data Coding, Entry and Cleaning

Coding has to with attributing numerical values to ease data entry. It is done after a
code book is developed using the fresh data from the field.
After coding, data entry and cleaning followed suit. The data which at this point is
in the form of codes was entered into the Statistical Package for Social Scientists, SPSS
version 21.0. This version was chosen because it is one of the latest with updated
statistical features. The data was analyzed with this same version.
3.7. Conceptual and Operational Definition of Terms

(Concept Explication)
In every research study, it is very important that the key variables in the research
topic and hypothesis formulated to test them are defined, by this definition; we give
meanings to the key terms or variables in the study. The definition will not only help to
explain the variables to our fellow scientists but will also make it possible for anybody
who reads our work to fellow and understand it. Therefore, it is very necessary at this
point of this work, to define the key variables in this research topic. The attitude of
television audience in UB Community towards commercial interruption of television
programmes conceptually and operationally, while the conceptual definition refers to
the dictionary or literal meaning, the operational definition refers to the meaning in terms
of our study, re-what it means to define it so that people will know what it means.
Variable means a term or a concept stated in value. In order words, the value assigned to
the terms used in this study.
Attitude
Conceptually, attitude means a way of feeling, thinking, or behaving. It is also a
psychological predisposition that allows a person to behave in a certain way towards
26

| Ali Pechu, 2014
objects, people or actions, (Onyekwere E. E., 1988, unpublished). Operationally, attitude

refers to TV viewers reactions, feelings, thinking and behaviours when commercials or
advertisements interrupt any programme they are watching. Are they happy, irritated or
are they indifferent to such commercials.
Audience
Conceptually, audience means a gathering of persons for the purpose of hearing a
speaker or a singer. It also means persons within hearing, whether they are together or
not, as in the case of broadcast. Operationally, audience in TV programmes includes men
and women, young or old, adults or children.
Commercial
Conceptually, it means pertaining to commerce. Operationally, it refers to
advertising, paid announcements over TV programmes to sell a product, idea or service.
They are advertisements inserted in TV programmes.
Interruption
Literally, it means a break in the continuity of speech, traffic or a programme.
Operationally, it refers to a break in any TV programme already started to slot in any
advertisement. Therefore commercial interruption as it applies to this study refers to ant
break in TV programmes already started, to slot in an advert.
Programme
Programme literally, means a lot of items or events for context or to be broadcast
for radio or television. Operationally programmes refer to a schedule of events to be
broadcast by television houses. These television houses do have many viewers each day.
They could be news, advertisement or entertainment programmes like the Telenovelas,
Sports, News, etc.
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| Ali Pechu, 2014
We shall also seize this opportunity to operationalize the variables in the

hypothesis for a clearer understanding of the work.
Regular
Literally, regular means doing something at the same time every day.
Operationally, a regular viewer refers to anybody who watches television programmes
daily or every day.
Non-regular viewers
This refers to people who do not watch television programmes daily.
Appeal
Literally, appeal means to attract, move the feeling of doing something.
Operationally, appeal means the attraction television programmes have for some people;
this makes them to watch it daily.
Favourite
Conceptually, favourite means most preferred above others. Operationally, it
refers to those programmes which people or viewers do prefer above others. It does not
matter whether they watch them or not.
More
Conceptually, more means greater in number or degree. But operationally, more
refers to greater number of people i.e. commercials that attract greater number of people.
Timing
A particular time when something happens.
Commercial interruption
The moment when television programme is interrupted by the onset of
commercials. Commercial interruptions are introduced within programmes to promote
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| Ali Pechu, 2014
product, services and ideas to member of the public which ordinarily would have been
interesting for people to watch. These commercial are usually present when programmes
that are interesting to people are being broadcast. This continual interruption would likely
cause heavy viewers of commercial to develop insensitivity as a protective mechanism.
29
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSES, INTERPRETATION AND FINDINGS
In this chapter, the researcher will focus on analysing the output gotten from the
SPSS. According to the Product Marketing Manager for Shiver Corporation, Dayton J.
D., quoted in Kitty O. Locker (1997), quality analyses is based on taking a problem and
breaking it into questions that must be answered to solve it. It is for this reason that in
this chapter, dealing with analyses, emphasis will be laid on answering the research
questions as well as testing the hypotheses mentioned earlier in chapter one of this
work. The hypotheses will in turn be answered by aid of specific questions found in the
questionnaire. Tables, bar and pie charts will be explored to enhance proper
understanding.
4.1. Hypotheses Testing [H(x)]

H1: The frequency of commercials in TV programmes affect the viewers decision
to watch and their understanding of the programme.
Question 13 on the questionnaire was very necessary in the testing of H1. The
question read as follows: Does the number of times affect your decision to watch
and your understanding of the programme?
Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV

Programmes | Ali Pechu, 2014
Number of respondents whose decision to watch and

understand a programme is affeccted by the frequency of
commercials
70
62
Yes
Frequency
60
45
50
No
40
30
No response
20
10
0
1
Response category
Source: Pechulano 2014
Figure 1: Respondents decision to watch and understand a programme affected by

frequency
After the analyses 57.4% (62 of the 108) respondents answered yes to the
question, while 41.7% (42 respondents) said the frequency of commercials does not
affect their decision to watch, and understanding of the programme. The remaining 1
respondent (0.9%) did not respond to the question. The bar chart below shows a clear
representation of the responses.
From the frequencies and the bar chart representations above, H1 is therefore
confirmed. That is, as it stated, the frequency of commercials affects viewers decision
to watch and understanding of a programme. This is buttressed by a question (9), asked
earlier in the questionnaire which required the respondents to rate their level agreement
to the fact that commercials in TV programmes affect their decision to watch a
31

programme, and, another (question 10) which asked the respondents if commercials
affect their understanding of a programme.
In the former, 45 respondents (41.7%) agreed that commercials affect their
decision to watch a programme, while however, in the later, 38 respondents (35.2%)
said commercials in programmes affect their understanding of a programme. The table
below shows the above explanations.
Table 1: Agreement level and understanding an interrupted programme
Rate your level of agreement to how
Does a commercial affect your
a commercial affects your decision to
understanding of a programme?
watch a programme.
Response
Frequency
Percentage
Category
Response
Frequency Percentage
Category
Strongly
Agree
Agree
12
11.1
45
41.7
Neutral
38
35.2
Disagree
10
9.2
Yes
38
35.2
No
68
63.0
No
1.8
108
100
response
Strongly
2.8
Disagree
Total
Total
108
100
32

It was therefore necessary find out if the frequency of commercials will have a
combined effect on viewers decision to watch and understanding a programme which
has been confirmed in the bar diagram above.
For those who said commercials affect their understanding of a programme,
13.9% (15) of them said they lose track and concentration on the programme as result
of commercial interruption. 8 of them (7.4%) were of the opinion that a commercial
interruption a programme confuses them and they do not know which to follow. 3
others said they forget the content of the programme and that there is a conflict of
understanding, as most of the commercials often interrupt that high affective and/or
high cognitive moments, when the viewer is highly involved in, and attentive to the
content of the programme and trying to comprehend it. 2.8% of the respondents each
said they forget the content of the programme and they there is a conflict of
understanding respectively. An insignificant 0.9% (1) of the respondents said
commercial interruptions give him time to understand the content of the programme.
H2: Products in commercials have a high recall and purchase rate among TV
viewers.
Question 17 on the questionnaire played the test role to this hypothesis. Question
17: Between the content of a programme and that of a commercial which do you
recall more?
This question was posed to all 108 respondents. However, 3 respondents did not
give any option. 105 of them responded to the question. More than 70% of number (77
respondents) said they recall they recall the programme content. Exactly 25.9% (28
respondents) confirmed that they recall the content of the commercial, in essence, they
recall the commercial. This shows that the difference between those who recall the
content of commercials and those who recall content of programme is glaring. In effect,
33

hypothesis 2 (H2) was debunked. Therefore products in commercials have a low recall
rate among TV viewers. The bar diagram below represents the variable recalled more
by TV viewers.
Viewers' recall rate of commercial and programme contents
Frequency
77
80
Commercial
content
60
Programme
content
40
28
No response
20
0
1
Response Category
Figure 2: Viewers recall rate of commercial and programme contents

However, though not the highest, the interruption of a programme by a
commercial has an effect on the purchase rate of the product being advertised. Question
18: Does the interruption of a programme by a commercial have an effect on your
purchase rate of the product being advertised, addressed this issue. Out of the 108
respondents 52 (48.1%) of them attested that their purchase rate of a product is affected
by the interruption of a programme by an advert of that product. This is preceded by a
greater 50% (54 respondents) who said the interruption of a programme by a
commercial does not affect their purchase rate of the product being advertised. An
insignificant 1.9% (2) of the respondents did not answer the question. This, as shown in
the table below, strengthens the already debunked hypothesis that products in
commercials have a high recall and purchase rate among TV viewers. The table below
34

shows the number of respondents whose purchase rate of the product or service being
advertised, is affected by commercial interruption of
Table 2: Response for whether commercial interruption affects purchase rate
Response
Frequency
Percent (%)
Yes
52
48.1
No
54
50.0
No response
1.9
Total
108
100.0
Category
Hypothesis Three
H3: Viewers think programmes that are interrupted by commercials lack content.
Question 16 played the test role to this hypothesis. Question 16 was as follows:
What do you think about programmes that are interrupted by commercials? Out
of the 108 respondents, only 13 respondents (12%) affirmed to the fact that such
programmes that are interrupted by commercials lack content. A greater majority of the
respondents 65 of them (60.2%) said such programmes are money-minded. This was
closely followed by a 13% of respondents who gave other views. 10 of the respondents
(9.3%) thought that such programmes that are interrupted by commercials are not
credible (that is, they lack credibility).
From the results gotten and the explanations above H3 was therefore debunked.
The table below represents the literature above.
35

Table 3: What viewers think about commercially interrupted programmes.
Response Category
Frequency
Percent
Lack Content
13
12.0
Lack credibility
10
9.3
Money minded
65
60.2
Others
15
13.9
No response
4.6
Total
108
100.0
Hypothesis Four (H4): Commercials are mostly slotted in the middle (high
affective moments) of TV programmes.
To test this hypothesis, question 7 on the instrument for data collection (the
questionnaire), was used. This question asked the respondents to rate, on a scale of 5,
how they see commercials at different points in a TV programme. These points were:
before the programme starts, at the beginning of the programme, in the middle of the
programme, just before the programme ends, at the end of the programme, and after the
programme. Respondents rated all the points differently and on 5, but for the purpose
of testing the H4 above, the number of respondents who rated 5/5 (that is they see
commercials 5/5) for the different points in TV programmes, was considered and
compared, as shown in the table below.
36

Table 4: Frequencies of viewers see commercials 5/5 at points in TV programmes
Point
Frequency of 5/5
Percent (%)
Before a programme starts
38
35.2
At the beginning of a programme
21
19.4
In the middle of the programme
53
49.1
Just before the programme ends
4.6
At the end of the programme
17
15.7
After the programme
16
14.8
After the analysis and representation, as on the table above, it was discovered that 53
(49.1%) of the 108 respondents who rated seeing commercials in the middle of a
programme (high affective), rated 5/5. This was followed by 38 (35.2 %), out of the
108 respondents, who rated 5/5 for seeing commercials before programmes start. The
percentage of those who rated 5/5 for seeing commercials at the beginning of a
programme stood at 19.4 (21 respondents). It was found out that commercials come up
or appear on TV, just before a programme ends, but not as often as in the case of in the
middle, before a programme starts and at the beginning of the programme respectively.
This because only 5 out of the 108 respondents rated 5/5 for seeing commercials, just
before a programme ends.
From the analysis above, it can therefore be concluded that H4 which speculated that
commercials often interrupt programmes in the middle, has been confirmed, as has
been shown on the table above and explained thereof.
This hypothesis and its confirmation will now serve as a take-off point in answering
research question two RQ2 of the study.
37

4.2. ANSWERING RESEARCH QUESTIONS (RQX)

Questions from the questionnaire were also used to answer the specific research
questions.
RQ1: How do viewers react when commercials interrupt TV programmes?
From the foregoing tested hypotheses, it is just logical to find out how TV
viewers behave when commercials interrupt the programmes they are watching. To
answer this question the researcher outlined the different actions that are likely to be
common among TV viewers, especially when commercials just pop up when the
programme is getting more interesting and the cognitive activities are high. These
actions were in three folds viz: physical (leave the room), mechanical (switching
channel), or cognitive (watching the commercial or ignoring it).
From the questionnaire, question 14 which read how do you react when
commercials interrupt a programme you are watching, was used to address this
research question.
Out of the 108 respondents, 36 of them which make up 33.3% said they switch
channel when commercial interrupt a programme they are watching. This means that
their action during such times is mechanical. This number was closely followed by a
29.6% (32) of respondents who said they watch the commercial, indicating that their
actions at points when commercials interrupt the programmes they are watching is
cognitive. Still, a much closed number of 27 of the respondents (25.0%) said they stay
but do not concentrate. In essence they cognitively ignore the commercials. A smaller
10.2% (11 respondents) act physically by leaving the room when commercials interrupt
their programmes, while an almost insignificant 1.9% (just 2 respondents) did not have
a response among the response categories.
38

Viewers' reactions when commercials interrupt TV

programmes
40
35
Leave the room
Frequency
30
Switch channel
25
Watch
commercial
Stay but do not
concentrate
Others
20
15
10
5
0
1
Response Category
Figure 3: Viewers reactions when commercials interrupt TV programmes

It was therefore concluded that TV viewers in the University of Buea Community
do not like commercials or adverts interrupting, when they are watching programmes.
RQ2: At what time (point: beginning, middle, end) should a commercial interrupt
a TV programme?
With the hypotheses tested and the first research question answered, that is how
viewers react when commercials are inserted to interrupt TV programmes, finding out
when (at what point) in a programme will they prefer to see a commercial is what
research question two set to find out, with help of question 8 in the questionnaire. Such
point were: before the programme starts, at the beginning of the programme, in the
middle of the programme, just before the programme ends, at the end of the programme
and after the programme. Of the 108 respondents interviewed, 45 of them who make up
39

41.7% to be precise, stated that they will prefer to see adverts before a programme.
Second on the frequency table was 20 respondents (18.5% of them), who said they
prefer to see commercials in the middle of the programme. The difference of 25 This
was closely followed 16 other respondents (14.8%) who will prefer to see adverts at the
beginning of a programme. 15 (13.9%) respondents said they will prefer to see
commercials at the end of the programme. Based on the table shown below, research
question two has therefore been answered.
Table 5: Points Viewers will prefer to see commercials during TV programmes.
Response Category
Frequency
Percent
45
41.7
At the beginning
16
14.8
In the middle
20
18.5
programme ends
4.6
At the end
15
13.9
After the programme
5.6
No response
.9
Total
108
100.0
Before the programme

starts
Just before the
40

4.3. OTHER FINDINGS

It is also important to discuss other findings as far as the study, especially as
concerns the demographics. Beginning with gender, it was revealed that more than half
the proportion of the respondents (58.3%) were male, while 36.1% of the respondents
constituted the female population. This is contrary to the public opinion that women
watch TV more than men.
Also, a majority of the respondents were students (49), followed by
businessmen/traders (17). There were also teachers/ lecturers, administrative assistants
and entrepreneurs.
Another important and significant finding is that the university of Buea
community watch news and documentaries programmes more than any other
programme. This is indicative in the sense that the UB community (the area under
study) is a citadel of higher learning, predominantly student inhabited, and supposedly
they should go high cognitive programmes such as news and documentaries. The
respondents were asked to rate on 5 (x/5) how they watch programmes such as news
and documentaries (high cognitive), soap operas and series (high affective), low impact
(situation comedies and mini-series), sports, Talk shows, and cartoons. Taking the
frequencies of those who rated each of the programmes 5/5, news and documentaries
stood at the highest with a percentage of 46.3, while sports was second with a
percentage of 23. It could be noticed that the viewership of Talk shows recorded the
lowest with 5.6%.
Another finding worth mentioning is the fact that members of the University of
Buea Community are moderate TV viewers. Out of the 108 respondents 40 (37.0%) of
them said they rarely (at least 4 hours weekly) watch TV, while the same number (40)
41

said they sometimes (spend at least 8hours a week watching TV) watch TV. This was
followed by 18 of them who confirmed that watch TV very often. This very often was
rated as spending from 16 hours (16 hours ++ weekly) watching TV.
42

CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS AND LIMITATIONS
5.1. CONCLUSION
The study aimed at examining the attitudes of the UB Community in Buea,
towards commercial interruption of television programmes and the extent to which
such variables like sex, educational level, marital status, and occupation will contribute
in shaping these attitudes. From the findings, 36 respondents which make up 33.3%
said they leave the room when a commercial interrupt a programme they are watching.
This number was closely followed by a 29.6% (32) of respondents who said they watch
the commercial, indicating that their actions at points when commercials interrupt the
programmes they are watching is cognitive. Still, a much closed number of 27 of the
respondents said they stay but do not concentrate. Thus if compared to the total number
of respondents that said they are not disturbed when adverts interrupt their programmes
the researcher can conclude that TV viewers are offended, better still, disgruntled when
commercials interrupt their TV programmes.
The researcher also sought to establish whether it is beneficial or detrimental to
insert commercials at highly involving points in television programming, and to
identify cognitive processes which account for the observed effects. Of the 108
respondents, 45 of them who make up 41.7%, stated that they will prefer to see adverts
before a programme, 20 respondents (18.5%), said they prefer to see commercials in
the middle of the programme. The difference of 25 This was closely followed 16 other
respondents (14.8%) who will prefer to see adverts at the beginning of a programme. 15
(13.9%) respondents said they will prefer to see commercials at the end of the
43

programme. With these results, the researcher can thus conclude that most Television
viewers prefer to see adverts before a programme begins so that there is no interruption
within the programme.
The study also investigated if television audience will prefer uninterrupted
programmes to interrupted programmes, whether these commercial breaks increase or
decrease the viewers interests. It will come up with suggestions on how TV stations
can best serve their audience. Question (9), in the questionnaire required the
respondents to rate their level agreement to the fact that commercials in TV
programmes affect their decision to watch a programme, and, another (question 10)
which asked the respondents if commercials affect their understanding of a programme.
In the former, 45 respondents (41.7%) agreed that commercials affect their decision to
watch a programme, while in the later, 38 respondents (35.2%) said commercials in
programmes affect their understanding of a programme. To this effect the researcher
can then inferred that TV viewers prefer uninterrupted programmes.
5.2. RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the findings of this study, and supported by the significance of the
study, the following recommendations are worth considering.
That advertisers and TV stations should place adverts before programmes start.
This will increase the viewership of TV channels and advertisers products and
also increase the advertising reach of advertisers products.
Considering the fact that the Cameroonian has since the 1990s liberalised the
ownership of the broadcasting media in Cameroon, this duopoly has given
impetus to the TV houses in the country to conduct their affairs in a manner
44

favourable to them, regardless of public opinion. It is therefore vital that

policies regarding TV broadcasting, programming and advertising, should be
put in place, with a view of improving the services of TV stations, and in line
audience expectations.
Also, the advertisers should mind the content of the adverts or commercials they
produce. This from the finding of the study, viewers are likely to watch content
friendly commercials.
5.3. LIMITATIONS TO THE STUDY

A study like this cannot be void of difficulties. A number of difficulties were
encountered throughout the research process.
The very first and obvious in third world countries was financial impediment.
There were limited finances to carry out this research. This is a possible reason for
limiting the scope of the study to the University of Buea Community. Even at that it
was still difficult to get adequate funds to carry out the research.
Also there difficult at the level of data collection, as respondents were not very
cooperative. Some of the respondents asked to be paid before they could fill in the
questionnaires. Some of them were very skeptical about the whole research process and
scared to give information freely. But when told it was just a research work and for
academic purpose, they were relaxed.
Another limitation was time. The period for the research was short, especially for
a study of this magnitude (that has to deal human behaviour).
45

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Beal, Virginia (2002) How has UK television viewing behaviour changed since
the 1980s? Insights for the Australian market Anzmac Proceedings
Brennan, Mike and Syn, Maureen (2002) Television Viewing Behaviour during
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50

APPENDIX
Questionnaire of the Study
University of Buea
Faculty of Social and Management Sciences
Topic: Attitude of TV Audience towards Commercial Interruption of TV
Programmes; The Case of the UB Community
Sponsored By:
The Department Of Journalism and Mass Communication
University of Buea
This survey is part of a research project designed to assess the Attitude of TV
audience Towards Commercial Interruption of TV Programmes; the case of the
UB Community. Your participation in this study will greatly enhance the formation
of new guidelines, and recommendations for broadcast TV programming. Your name
will not be identified in the final presentation of the document. Only summarized
information will be reported. Any concerns can be addressed to Ali Pechu at 77 96 68
50 / 94 96 35 46 or via email at napfjesus@ymail.com. Thank you for taking off time

to fill this questionnaire.
SECTION ONE: OWNERSHIP AND USE

1. Do you watch TV? 1. Yes
2. No
2. Where do you watch TV? Tick only one from the table below.
At home
Friend/neighbours
Public
Your
house
places
office
51
Others(specify)

3. On a weekly basis, how often do you watch TV? Tick from the table below.
Never (0
Rarely (4
Sometimes (8
Often (12
Very often (16
hours)
hours)
hours)
hours)
hours ++)
4. Which programmes do you watch? Tick in order of importance (5=highest and

1=lowest). Tick in the boxes.
Categories
2 1
High cognitive (News and Documentaries)

High affective (Soap Operas and Series)
Low impact (Situation Comedies and mini-series)
Sports
Talk Shows
Cartoons
Others (specify)
SECTION TWO: KNOWLEDGE OF COMMERCIALS IN TV PROGRAMMES

5. In
your
opinion
what
is
TV
commercial
(TV
advert)?
________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
6. How often do you see commercials in TV programmes? Tick one from the table
below.
Never (0%)
Rarely (25%)
Sometimes
Often (75%)
Very
(50%)
often
(100%)
7. Rate how you see commercials at the points below.(5=highest and 1=lowest)
Categories
Before the programme starts

At the beginning
In the middle
52


At the end
After the programme
8. At what point in a programme will you prefer to see a commercial or an advert?

Please tick only one from below.
Before the programme starts
At the beginning
In the middle
At the end
After the programme
SECTION THREE: ATTITUDE TOWARDS COMMERCIALS IN PROGRAMMES

9. Rate your level of agreement on how a commercial affects your decision to
watch a programme.
Strongly
Agree
Neutral
agree
Disagr
ee
Strongly
disagree
10. Does a commercial affect your understanding of the programme?

1. Yes
2. No
11. If yes, how? ____________________________________________________

12. How many times do you see a commercial in a programme? Tick from table
1 time
2 times
3 times
4 times
More than
4 times
53

13. Does the number of times affect your decision to watch, and your understanding
of the programme? 1. Yes
2. No
14. How do you react when commercials or adverts interrupt a programme you are
watching?
Leave the room
Switch channel
Watch the commercial
Stay but do not concentrate
Others (specify if any)
15. Apart from the timing and frequency of commercials, what other factor (s)
affect (s) your decision to watch, and your understanding of a
programme._____________________________________________________
16. What do you think about programmes that are interrupted by commercials?
Lack
Lack credibility
content
Money
Others (specify)
minded
SECTION FOUR: TV COMMERCIALS AND THEIR EFFECTS

17. Between the content of a commercial and that of a programme, which do you
recall most? 1. TV commercial
2. Programme content
18. Does the interruption of a programme by commercial have an effect on your

purchase of the product or service being advertised?
1. Yes
2. No
19. Justify your answer_______________________________________________

SECTION FIVE: DEMOGRAPHICS
20. Gender: 1.Male
2.Female
54

21. Age:
15-25 years
26-35 years
36-45 years
45
above
22. Educational level______________________________________________
23. Occupation___________________________________________________
55
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Attitudes of TV Audience

Ali Pechu, 2014

Submitted to the Department of

Effective advertising requires

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................ 9

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

Research Design and Methodology ...................................................................... 20

Testing Hypotheses .............................................................................................. 27

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

1.2 .Statement of the Problem

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

programme is to deliver maximum audience to the commercials (Goidsen, 1977, pp.

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

1.2. Research Questions

1.4. Research Hypotheses

1.5. Objectives of the Study

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

1.6. Significance of the Study

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

1.7. Delimitation/Scope of the Study

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

2.1. Theoretical Framework

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

2.1.2. Cultivation Theory

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

2.1.4. Uses and Gratifications Theory - By Rosengren (1974)

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

2.2. Overview of the Term Attitude

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

2.3. TV Audience and Commercial Breaks

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

2.4. Media Usage: Watching Television Shows

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

3.1. Research Design and Methodology

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

3.2. Population under Study

3.3. Sampling Technique and Sample Size

3.4. Instrument for Data Collection and Measurement

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

TV viewership patterns, section two treated viewers knowledge of commercials in

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

3.6. Data Coding, Entry and Cleaning

3.7. Conceptual and Operational Definition of Terms

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

objects, people or actions, (Onyekwere E. E., 1988, unpublished). Operationally, attitude

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

We shall also seize this opportunity to operationalize the variables in the

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV Programmes

4.1. Hypotheses Testing [H(x)]

Attitudes of TV Audience Towards Commercial Interruption in TV

Number of respondents whose decision to watch and