British Online Archives

This collection contains Audience Research Reports compiled by the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) Listener Research Department (LRD) between 1937 and 1950. The reports analyse wireless listening habits on both a national and regional level, representing the BBC’s earliest foray into market research. The reports provided policy executives and programme makers with an insight into the views, tastes, and listening habits of the British public. This allowed the BBC to track the popularity of their broadcasts and to create programmes in response to the changing tastes of listeners.

Of particular interest are the reports covering the LRD’s wartime audience research. These demonstrate how the BBC became an invaluable source of information and point of influence for the government. This collection therefore provides a unique insight into the cultural preferences of the British public during the mid-twentieth century and the history of broadcasting in the UK.

The Listener Research Department 1937–1950 collection offers a comprehensive picture of audience research in the era before television was a mass medium.

Sian Nicholas, Aberystwyth University.

Insights

In 1936 the BBC began systematic research into its own audience, establishing a Listener Research Section in the Home Intelligence Department of its Public Relations Division.

Despite first airing in 1922, it wasn't until 14 years later that the BBC began systematic research into its own audience. Prior to this there was much internal debate over the benefits of market research. BBC's Director General, Sir John Reith, believed that market research on radio audiences threatened to drive broadcasters into the pursuit of ratings at the expense of quality and diversity. However, the BBC's refusal to engage formally with listeners contributed to its growing reputation as aloof and out of touch.

These reports focus on radio audience figures for each week and other measures of how many people tuned into the BBC’s programmes. Some reports also include statistics and analysis on the reception of television programmes.

The BBC Listening Barometer was used to compare listener data for each of the BBC's most popular programmes against each other. They gave the estimated percentage of the adult population listening to each programme. Further detail was provided with percentages given per region.