Cuffs and The Avengers

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The Watershed and Cuffs

The Watershed

Ofcom enforces the rules about this watershed, which is put in place from 9pm, ending at 5.30am. During these hours television broadcasters can show material that is unsuitable for children up to the age of 15. 18-rated content should not be broadcasted before 10pm.

Cuffs was scheduled in 2015 on BBC 1 on Wednesdays at 8pm. They intentionally broadcasted it at this time to attract a mass and diverse audience since it was peak viewing time, but it also meant they had to take care of the way they portrayed criminals, avoiding swearing or extreme violence.

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Why would audiences want to watch Cuffs?

Uses and gratifications of Cuffs

Personal Identity

  • Wide range of characters to identify with

  • Might see Donna Prager and Ryan Draper as role models

  • May enjoy seeing gay characters as key protagonists who are not defined by their sexuality

Entertainment

  • Can escape to the fictional world of Cuffs

  • Can feel reassured by the dedication and hard work of police team

  • May enjoy humour, action and suspense

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Why would audiences want to watch Cuffs? Part 2

Uses and gratifications of Cuffs

Social Interaction and Integration

  • May feel they are part of a team

  • May build a personal relationship with a character - almost as a substitute for real life interaction

  • May discuss programme with other people

  • May use Twitter or Facebook to comment on the programme

Surveillance

  • Social realism offers a sense of informing the audience about police work and the criminal world

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Scheduling and The Avengers

In 1965, there were only three channels available - BBC One, BBC Two and ITV. On the large part all television channels closed down at night. Televisions were black and white and there were not remote controls so you had to get up and change the set yourself. Most people either watched television as a family or not at all as there was only one television in each household, and were usually loyal to a particular channel.

The Avengers was scheduled in 1965 on ITV on Saturdays at 9.05pm. This was peak viewing time as The Avengers was a well-established, light-hearted spy thriller, which was expected to attract a mass audience. The fourth series attracted audiences of around 7 million homes.

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Competition and The Avengers

There was fierce competition between BBC and ITV, but ITV was financially secure as it was the only television channel to broadcast moving-image advertisements. The advertising revenue meant that ITV could afford bigger budgets than the BBC. ITV was controlled by the Independent Television Authority. The Avengers was produced by ABC, the ITV company responsible for weekend broadcasting for the Midlands and the North.

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Uses and Gratifications of The Avengers

Personal identity

  • Could identify and empathise with upper-class role models

  • Could identify with Steed, a true English gentleman

  • Could identify with Emma Peel, a tough intelligent female hero, who was the equal of Steed

Entertainment

  • Could enjoy the escapist plots

  • Could de-stress by losing themselves in the world of The Avengers

  • Could enjoy the jeopardy of the hero’s situations

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Uses and Gratifications of The Avengers Part 2

Social interaction and integration

  • Could watch programme together as a family

  • Would enjoy discussing the programme

  • Could build personal relationship with the familiar characters of Steed and Emma Peel

Surveillance

  • Could feel that they were gaining information about the world of the upper classes

  • Could feel that they were gaining information about the world from spy dramas

  • Could feel reassured by the idea that Steed and Emma Peel represented highly capable agents defending Britain from a foreign threat

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