"Q: Explain how social contexts influence television programmes. Refer to Cuffs from the 2010’s to support your answer. (H/L) "

Q: Explain how social contexts influence television programmes. Refer to Cuffs from the 2010’s to support your answer. (H/L)

1. The target audience for the show Cuffs would probably be niche as, there are gay and Muslims in the show this makes it a niche show as many people would not want to watch it for these reasons.
2. The show Cuffs is very appealing to its audience as it is a crime show full of: crime, mystery and fights, this makes the show appealing to the audience as this is a popular thing.
3. The show Cuffs can be streamed on BBC which is a popular broadcasting channel up there with Netflix, also there is BBC Iplayer which allows the viewer to watch the episodes they missed out on.
4. It assumes that audience members are not passive consumers of media. Rather, the audience has power over their media consumption and assumes an active role in interpreting and integrating media into their own lives. Unlike other theoretical perspectives, UGT holds that audiences are responsible for choosing media to meet their desires and needs to achieve gratification. This theory would then imply that the media compete against other information sources for viewers' gratification.
5. Television audiences, though still relatively passive, aremore active than in the 1960s. Apart from the readiness to switch channels, the phenomenon of ‘second screening’ – commenting on social media while watching linear television – allows far greater audience feedback and interactivity. This is considered a major factor in the survival of scheduling on linear television channels in the age of video on demand. Second screening, together with the success of programming such as sport and talent shows relying on audience votes, encourages ‘live’ viewing.
6. Unfortunately Cuffs was going to finish as they did not have enough viewers to support the show so they started an online petiton to keep the show going, unfortunatley this did not work out and the show had to come to an end.