Report on the Attitude of Audiences on Age

In this report from 2012, we heard from a range of audiences, in particular through our surveys and public consultations linked to major pieces of work.

Serving All Ages was commissioned by the BBC as chair of the Creative Diversity Network. The CDN is a partnership of media companies made up of ITV, Channel 4, Sky, S4/C, Pact, MTV, Media Trust, Turner and BAFTA, which exists to improve diversity across our industry.

The CDN has made public commitments to do more to serve all audiences, and understand better attitudes towards portrayal of age in the media.

Serving All Ages was carried out at the end of 2011 by NatCen Social Research. The research canvassed the opinions of the general public, the broadcast industry and people with a specific interest in the issue of age, looking at output on TV, radio and online in all UK media organisations.

The key findings are:

• People are more concerned with the portrayal of age on TV than on other platforms
• Age is considered much less of an issue on radio, as participants could not readily tell the age of contributors and would choose a radio station that reflects their needs and interests
• Younger people are most concerned with how they are portrayed on TV, and many feel they are portrayed negatively. This view was also shared by some older people
• Older people are less concerned with portrayal on TV, but some expressed a feeling of invisibility. This was particularly the case for middle aged and older women and more so in some genres (news and factual) than others
• Audiences wanted television in particular to reflect reality and wanted to avoid stereotyping and see a focus on accurate portrayal of all ages
• Industry experts focused on the need to find imaginative and creative ways to challenge existing stereotypes without being formulaic and stressed the importance of tracking and reviewing progress

Mark Thompson, former BBC Director-General and Chair of the CDN, said:

There are lessons here for the BBC and the rest of Britain’s broadcasters. It is young people who are most concerned with the way they are portrayed and we need to look at this. But we should also note the concern, expressed by older people generally, about the need for greater visibility for older women. While of course there are many older women presenters and actors across our airwaves, this is something that needs to be addressed.