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AN ASSESSMENT OF AUDIENCE PERCEPTION OF COMMERCIAL BREAK

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of Study

Television is an electronic medium of mass communication and has become more valuable in this present dispensation owning to the fact that it combines audio with visuals. The television makes room for reality in the world of broadcasting. “Reality is the basic requirement, for believability in broadcasting. This means that the medium presents a ‘second hand’ reality, as a re-enactment or a reproduction of events, which represents activities in the human society”. He further goes on to say that “reality is said to be a ‘second hand’ because, it is a representation of events from the perspective of the presenter who feels them ‘first hand’ and then, packages them for subsequent consumption by the mass audience”. (Owuamalam, 2008, p.3).

Since the audiences want to feel what is being broadcast, television becomes the appropriate medium for that feeling to be achieved. People now stick to their television sets watching their favourite programmes or news broadcast at their convenience.  Television has undergone tremendous revolution from its inception as a means of communication which has now made it a bit ahead of other means of communication like its radio counterpart in the broadcast option and the newspapers and magazine in the print option. In Nigeria, television did not emerge not until there was a strong need for it. Television broadcasting in Nigeria was introduced by the first Western Region Premier, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, according to Udomisor, (2013, p.2), on October 31, 1959 chief Awolowo “launched television broadcasting at Ibadan, with a small 500 watts transmitter mounted on Mapo Hill and another at Abafon near Ikorodu, the Western Region Government commenced operations in partnership with British Media Company, Overseas Rediffusion Limited”. He further said that the main aim for establishing the television was for dissemination of information and entertainment of viewers. “The radio and TV stations in the Western Region pioneered commercial broadcasting in Nigeria to supplement government subvention. The governments of the eastern and northern regions followed suit in 1960 and 1962 respectively”. This is no doubt the reason why stations nowadays resort to commercials as a means for sourcing fund for the operation of the broadcast house.

According to Nworgu (2011, p.8), “Television transmission began in Western Nigeria in 1959. A year later 1960, the Eastern Nigeria Television service followed. By 1962 the Radio and Television, Kaduna, which started as a business venture (shared among the broadcasting company of northern Nigeria limited, the Electrical and Musical Industries (EMI) limited and the Granada company) was established. The same year, the federal government established the Nigerian Television Service (NTS).”Although it took years before television was established in Nigeria, when it finally surfaced it was like a sort of competition between the regions of Nigeria as it was called then. This was as a result of the quest for power and the medium to air the views of each of these regions to prevent domination or intimidation by the colonial government that was in power. “All these were regionally oriented broadcast stations, designed to advance the interest of their owners, the regional government.” (Owuamalam, 2008, pp.10-11).Ever since regional interest became the base for setting up television stations in Nigeria, the interest of Nigerians for the establishment of television stations has risen to the extent where the proliferation of television has become the order of the day.

Nigeria has the fourth largest television network in the world, with its staff constantly increasing and the figure of imported programmes going constantly down (Nworgu, 2011, p.8). This could be the reason why advertisers have resorted to using television as a strong medium for advertising their products and services, as one can say almost every house hold own a television set in the cities and as for the rural areas, there are still handful of people who own television sets making advertisement through the medium quiet effective.

Television programmes be it  drama, news, documentary, sports, music, talk show and so on,  is often interrupted with commercials  while the programme is going on. Although some people find commercials interesting as it influence their buying attitude, television programmers should be

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