Appreciation Index
The AI or Appreciation Index is a statistical representation of the amount of enjoyment the audience derived from a particular episode of television. Since Rose, it has been the method for measuring the tastes of the audience. Different methods were used during the 1963 version of the programme, and so BBC Wales AI scores are not compatible with audience research numbers given in the past, known until around 1981 as the Reaction Index.
Modern measurement
A 21st century AI score is calculated using a small, but representative, group of viewers. This sample will watch a program and then rate the program on a scale of one to ten. The scores are then averaged and multiplied by ten. Hence, an AI of 67 means that 6.7 was the simple mean of all responses. Scores of 85 or better are rare, and thus considered "excellent". Scores below 60 are considered "poor". Scores for every episode of the BBC Wales version of the program — save The End of the World and Love & Monsters — have been 80 or above. Every story since Smith and Jones has achieved at least an 85 until Victory of the Daleks, scoring 84 making it almost 3 years of 85 AI. The highest-ever AI for a Doctor Who episode was a 91, received by both The Stolen Earth and Journey's End.
History
Determining "appreciation" was the original method for registering the success or failure of radio and television programs in Britain. It has been employed by the BBC, in some form, since 1936. With the advent of commercial television, however, advertisers wanted to know how many people were watching. Ratings — a measure of the raw number of viewers in front of television sets — supplanted the AI as the primary measure of televised success. However, as the BBC is not a commercial enterprise, the AI still retains importance in determining the fate of television programs on the networks of the BBC.
The Reaction Index
Audience research was done differently in the past. Until 1981, the BBC performed their own internal research. It was carried out by the Audience Research Department, a fairly large branch of the BBC that had numerous field workers who actually went out into the country to personally question viewers and/or collect written surveys.[1]
At least initially, reactions were measured with small samples of around 1000 people. The first episode's RI was calculated from a tiny 124 sample size, because only 12% of the sample — called a "Viewing Panel" in internal documents — watched Doctor Who on 23 November 1963. They gave it a mark from a five-point scale, as follows:
| A+ | A | B | C | C- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17% | 39% | 31% | 6% | 7% |
This then allowed the calculation of an RI of 63, which was between the then-current averages of 62 for drama and 64 for children's programmes.[2]
The first BARB AI
For the balance of the so-called "classic series", it was moved to a non-profit organisation called the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board or BARB, which was funded by all broadcasters.[1] During this time, respondents were asked to record a number between 0 and 6 for each programme they watched, with the following meanings[3]:
| Respondent score | BARB translation | What it meant |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | not at all interesting and/or enjoyable |
| 2 | 20 | not very interesting and/or enjoyable |
| 3 | 40 | neither one thing nor the other |
| 4 | 60 | fairly interesting and/or enjoyable |
| 5 | 80 | very interesting and/or enjoyable |
| 6 | 100 | extremely interesting and/or enjoyable |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Series Level Description. Audience Research." R9/1-2,182. BBC Written Archives Centre.
- ↑ "Audience Research Report on 'An Unearthly Child'". Vr/63/668. BBC Archive.
- ↑ Gunter, Barrie. Media Research Methods: Measuring Audiences, Reaction and Impact. SAGE. 2000.
