About the BBFC

BBFC stands for British Board of Film Classification.


The BBFC are a independent, non-governmental body. Since 1912 the BBFC has classified cinema films. They also classify videos and DVDs since the Video Recordings Act was passed in 1984. Local councils can overrule the BBFC's decisions.


Video Recordings Act


This act states that video recordings for sale or hire commercially in the UK must be classified by an authority designated by the Secretary of State.


Finances 


The BBFC are a non profit organisation. The fees are adjusted only as required to cover its costs. In order for the BBFC to keeps] its independence they have never received subsidies from either the film industry or the government. The BBFC's income is from the fees it charges for its services, calculated by measuring the running time of films or DVDs submitted for classification.


BBFC's Categories 


U - A 'U' film should be suitable for ages four and upwards but it is hard to tell what might upset a child. 'U' films should also have a positive moral framework.

PG - 'PG' is general viewing but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. An unaccompanied child may watch a 'PG' film. Children eight and over must not be disturbed by a 'PG' film. Parents are advised to consider if the content of the film may upset their child or children.

12 and 12A -  These categories are given when the material is suitable for 12 years or older. Material in '12' or '12A' films may upset people under the age of 12 or parents may find content of the film unsuitable for their children. The '12A' films only exist for cinemas only. No one under the age of 12 is allowed to see a 12A film unless accompanied by an adult. An adult can only take a child to see a 12A film if in their judgement the film is suitable for that particular child or children. In any circumstances the responsibilities lie within the adult.

15 -  A '15' film may only be watched by 15 year olds and over, no one under the age of 15 can either rent or buy a 15 rated movie.

18 - No one under the age of 18 is allowed to see an '18' film in the cinema. Also no one under the age 18 can buy or rent an '18' rated film. The BBFC's guideline concerns will not normally override the principle that adults should be free to choose their own entertainment.

Below is the BBFC website for more information.


http://www.bbfc.co.uk/

About BARB

BARB is responsible for providing the official measurement of UK television audiences.


The most important information on the BARB website is their viewing figures this is because the producers of programmes like to see how many viewers are viewing their programmes. Within the viewing figures section you can find a weekly summary of the 5 main channels and multi-channel broadcasters. The data goes back to January 1992.


Viewing estimates are obtained from a panel of television owning private homes representing the viewing behaviour of the 26 million TV households within the UK. BARB also provide TV facts, it includes various facts about Multi-Channel Development since 1992. BARB get money by people subscribing to their website. BARB is responsible for providing estimates of the number of people watching television.

This is an image of the weekly viewing figures. The lowest average weekly viewing channel is Sky Movies Indie, it goes by hours and minutes per person - Sky Movies Indie had one second per person. The highest average weekly viewing channel is BBC One with 29:41 people viewing per hour/minute. The top four are: BBC 1, BBC 2, ITV 1 and Channel 4.

Different companies have different ways of getting money to put into their programmes. For example: The BBC get their money by a TV licence that the public have to pay for every year. The ITV get their money by having adverts in between their programmes. Companies pay ITV for putting their adverts on their channel.

The picture below is from the TV Facts on the BARB website. It shows the top ten programmes from the 2000's.

 On the third of January 2000, Coronation Street had 18.96 million of an audience. Eastenders is second but today Eastenders is the most watched.

Advertisers will want to put their adverts on channels to promote their products but they would rather have their adverts on channels that have high viewing figures, this is because more people will see their adverts therefore there is more of a chance that they will get more consumers.

For more information about BARB go to http://www.barb.co.uk/