Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1963)

PAY TV S. ENTERTAINMENT HABITS Ex-Pay Patrons Most Avid Free TV Fans ( Continued from Page 9 ) their highest vote for "seldom" go out. It is a finding from which theatre exhibitors, play houses and sports promoters can take small comfort. The overriding reason is free TV. FREE TV VIEWING This leads to a closer inspection of what has happened to free TV in Etobicoke during a Pay TV reign. Respondents were asked: How Often Do You Watch Free TV? PAY TV SUBSCRIBERS Everyday 65% Few Times Weekly 25% Seldom 9% Never 1% NON-SUBSCRIBERS Everyday 70% Few Times Weekly 19% Seldom 8% Never 3% FORMER SUBSCRIBERS Everyday 81% Few Times Weekly 16% Seldom 3% Never 0% A surprising degree of similarity is found as between Non-Subscribers and Subscribers in free TV viewing frequency. Telemeter users apparently hover between the pay medium and the free medium, as Non-Subscribers do between the various channels — and with free TV accorded a very decided edge. Based on these figures, it would be difficult to argue that Telemeter has, overall, cut drastically into the size of free TV audiences in Etobicoke. Except for special sports attractions, an occasional new movie and rare other events carried over the wires, it has been demonstrated that Telemeter viewing, from a promising beginning, has become, at best, erratic. The unusually high (81%) "everyday" free TV viewing by Former Subscribers is worthy of pause. In Part One of the Etobicoke study (Film BULLETIN issue Aug. 19), it was revealed by Audienscope that a very high percentage of the Non-Subscribers gave satisfaction with free TV as their main reason for not subscribing to Telemeter. Now, it is found that Former Subscribers, having tested, and rejected, the pay system, return to free TV with a vengeance. With the cancellation of their Telemeter subscriptions, the vast majority of Former Subscribers became omniverous viewers of commercial television. They came back to it with a much more amenable attitude; more appreciative of its offerings, more tolerant of the commercials many sought to escape when they went over to Pay TV. In general, it might be noted, interest in television runs quite high in the Etobicoke Pay TV sector. A valid conclusion might be that the public's attention to the medium was stimulated by the publicity attendant upon the Pay TV test, as well as by the competition between free TV stations and Telemeter. Some respondents said they could detect an improvement in free TV, and attributed it to the competitive factor. Only an insignificant 3% from the Non-Subscriber class voiced objec tions to TV in all forms, most of these asserting a preference for reading as a leisure-time pursuit. TYPES OF SHOWS Much controversy has attached to program ratings and popular program preferences. In Etobicoke, under Pay TV sway, public reaction to types of free TV shows takes on an additional dimension of interest. Telemeter has strived to provide the best possible entertainment for its patrons, the most popular of which, by far, have been sports events and movies. Audienscope sought to ascertain what type of shows are most highly regarded on Etobicokes free TV channels. Additionally, what kind of entertainment Telemeter users turn to when they dial free TV. Respondents were asked: What Types of Programs Do You Watch Most Often on Free TV? The responses are tabulated at the bottom of this page. Most respondents checked off a number of program types, classifying their ratings on a scale basis. The foregoing figures are thus weighed in terms of relative gradings. The greatest proportionate vote for any program category fell to sports shows (23%), as registered by the Subscriber group. The finding strongly reaffirms evidence brought out in Part One of the Etobicoke survey dealing with Subscriber attitudes toward Pay TV. It was demonstrated that sports attractions, per se, provide Telemeter users with substantially greater satisfaction than any other offering, and that the exclusive presentation of cer( Continued on Page 20 ) What Types of Programs Do You Watch Most Often on Free TV? News& News Spec'ls Sports Movies Comedy Series Westerns Dramatic Series Panel Shows Musicals & Variety Others PAY TV SUBSCRIBERS 9% 23o/0 16% 13% 7% 15% 7% 8% 2% NONSUBSCRIBERS 11% 13% 11% 14% 5% 21% 11% 9% 5% FORMER SUBSCRIBERS 8% 12% 18% 13% 6% 16% 11% 13% 3% Film BULLETIN September 2, 1943 Page 19