Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

One of the most challenging tasks in research on media exposure is quantifying the amount of film viewing. Currently, people watch films via a variety of media, such as → television , VCR (→ Video ), DVD player, computer and → Internet , and → cinema . For some of these media, it is difficult, if not impossible, to track the number of viewings. Especially when it comes to international comparisons, reliable numbers are often rare due to heterogeneous measurement systems. Nevertheless, we can obtain some valuable information from nonacademic sources about disparities in film exposure between different countries. According to these data, even people from western industrialized countries vary in their amount of contact with films, as they differ in access to audiovisual equipment ( Table 1 ) as well as in frequency of use of this equipment. Between 30 and 40 percent of TV viewing is dedicated to films, series, and other fictional narratives (→ Exposure to Television ). Thus, the average time of exposure to film via TV in western industrialized countries can be estimated at between 60 and 100 minutes per day. Table 1  Audiovisual equipment in selected countries Country TV households (%) VCR (in % of TV households) DVD (in % of TV households) USA 98.2 78.7 87.0 Japan 99.5 n.a. 34.5 Germany 98.8 54.3 51.8 France 97.4 65.4 85.4 UK 97.6 64.5 75.7 Russia 99.5 44.2 43.0 Spain 99.5 ... log in or subscribe to read full text