Mr Marc Watkins
By email to: [FOI #28867 email]
18 March 2010
Dear Mr Watkins,
Requests for Information – RFI20100226
Thank you for your email, received 13th February 2010. Your request has been dealt with as a request
under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act).
You have requested the following information:
“Please provide a full list of Market Research on the TV Licence carried out for the
BBC, the BBC trust, or any company under contract with the BBC now or in the past.
If unable to provide a full list please provide as complete as list as you are able under
the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and explain what items have been excluded.
I have attached a list of market research carried out on the TV Licence for the BBC, the BBC Trust,
and by companies under contract with the BBC. No information has been redacted or withheld.
I note that I have only listed research carried out since 2002. As the TV Licence has been in place
since 1946, locating all research carried out since that time would exceed the limit imposed for
Freedom of Information requests. Under section 12 of the Act we are allowed to refuse to handle
the request if it would exceed the appropriate limit. The appropriate limit has been set by the
Regulations (SI 2004/3244) as being £450 (equivalent to two and a half days work, at an hourly rate of
£25).
Please provide me with a list of what research on (or excluded from) the above list
has been requested for release under the freedom of Information act with the status
of whether the request was granted or denied and the reason.”
Other than your own requests (RFI20090110 and RFI20100076), there have been two requests for
market research on the TV Licence:
I. Request RFI20080162 which sought the following information:
a) “A list of all research and or polling organisations used by the BBC to research the views and or
attributes and or preferences of its audiences. These organisations will have carried out research
into (but not limited to) the BBC itself, its output, its services, its expenditure, its geographical
location and reach, public service broadcasting as a whole and the issue of the licence fee. This list
will include any outside body and or individual which has carried out this sort of work on behalf of
the BBC.
b) Copies of all the research produced by these organisations for the BBC since January 2007. I note
the so called derogation into journalism, entertainment and art only applies to creative inputs into
programmes and in my view should not be used to hold back documents which may contain other
kinds of information about programmes. But if you have a different interpretation of the
derogation please feel free to redact the names of individual programmes from this material.
c) Could you also supply all research carried out by the BBC itself into the views, attitudes and
preferences of its audience. This will include but will not be limited to research about the BBC, its
output, its services, its expenditure, its geographical location and reach, the issue of public service
broadcasting and the licence fee.”
While a list of all research and or polling organisations was provided in terms of the first
question, it was estimated that the information requested under questions b) and c) would
take more than two and a half days to collate. This information was not therefore provided as
it exceeded the appropriate limit.
II. Request RFI20091352 which sought the following information:
“The BBC has conducted research on what would happen to its operations and to
broadcasting in the UK if the BBC license fee were to be replaced with a subscription fee,
including models of opt-in subscriptions per channel and per programme. I would like to
have access to the reports detailing the research and conclusions over the last 20 years.”
The response to this request is currently being finalised.
Appeal Rights
If you are not satisfied with this response you have the right to an internal review by a BBC senior
manager or legal adviser. Please contact us at the address above, explaining what you would like us to
review and including your reference number.
Page 2 of 6
If you are not satisfied with the internal review, you can appeal to the Information Commissioner. The
contact details are:
Information Commissioner's Office,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545 700
Website: http://www.ico.gov.uk/
Kind Regards
Dan McGregor Senior Policy Advisor, TV Licensing Management Team
Enclosure
Page 3 of 6
Market Research relating to TV Licensing (2002 – January 2010)
2002
Communications Strategy Development
Cash Market Research
PayPoint Satisfaction Research
Business Benchmark Usage and Attitude
Understanding Consumer Response to TV License Mailings
2003
Mailing Responses Research
Attitudes to Direct Debit and other Payment Methods
Qualitative Attitude Summary
Perception of TV Licence Fee
TV Licensing Dealers Notification Research
TV Licensing Dealership Research
TV Licensing Home movers Hub Benchmark Research
Glasgow Hotspot Survey
Profile of people saying they Struggle to Pay the Licence Fee
Spontaneous Communications Awareness (Glasgow)
2004
Value of the BBC - Willingness to Pay
Customer Experience Research - Qualitative Customer Insights
TV Licensing Customer Experience - Quantitative Findings
Evolution of TV Viewing Behaviour Research
Attitudes to Bill Payments Research
Student TV Licensing Awareness
Internet Payment Study
TV Licensing Communications & Attitude Tracking – (London)
Attitudes and Tracking Bristol, Birmingham (Leeds)
Attitudes split by Aware, Unaware
Measuring Success at the BBC
2005
Payment Channel Choice Research
TV Licensing Communications & Attitude Tracking
TV Licence Fee Communication Development
Student TV Licensing Awareness
DONT (Declaration of No Television) Research
Project Edgar - What do we know about Stamps Customers?
TV Licensing Post Office Channel Research
TV Licensing Communications & Attitude Tracking
Licence Knowledge – Fine Amount Research
Communication Development Research
2006
Customer Intelligence Payment Methods and Mosaic Profiles
TV Licensing Online Channel Research
Views on TV licence Payment in High Evasion Areas
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BBC Digital Equipment Uptake Research
TV Licensing Online Channel Migration Research
Consumer Electronics Industry
TV Homes Digital Penetration
Blink Home Movers - Understanding of TV Licensing in Terms of Moving
TV Licensing Communication Students
Project Edgar - Communications Effectiveness
Racial Equality Research
TV Licensing Communications & Attitude Tracking
TV Licensing Communications & Attitude Tracking
TV Licensing Communications & Attitude Tracking
Project Edgar - Final Topline Findings
Affordability of the BBC’s licence fee
2007
Local Evasion Campaign - Test Tracking Research
TV Licensing Brand Identity – Evaluating the Concept Route
New Logo - Initial Research
Direct Marketing Doctor Research
Multiplatform Content and Branding Development – a Qualitative Exploration
Customer Types Analysis
Prioritization of the TV Licensing Bill
BBC TV Licensing Direct Marketing Doctor Research
Direct Marketing Doctor Quantitative Research
November DM research Results
Student Tracking Research
No Excuse Campaign - Student Tracking Research
2007/08 Students Campaign
2006/07 Students Evaluation
TV Licensing Student Communications
TV Licensing Communications & Attitude Tracking
2008
Web Research
Renewal Mailings Research
TV Licensing Home Movers Research
Campaign Acceptability Omnibus Research
5 Year Licence Concept Testing
TV Licensing Cash Payment Plan Re-brand Research
TV Licensing Customer Satisfaction Research
TV Licensing Online Copy Testing
TV Licensing Online TV Research
Review of the Licence Fee Collection - A Qualitative Research Report
Audience attitudes to the licence fee
Brand Refresh Research
Brand Research
Communications Accessibility Audit
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BBC Trails Tracker
Circuit City Advertisement Diagnostics
Creative Development - Qualitative Findings
TV Licensing compared to Digital UK 2007
Customer Experience Research
Nielsen Market Comparison
TV Licensing Communications & Attitude Tracking 1
No Excuse Campaign Student Tracking Research
TV Licensing Communications & Attitude Tracking 2
TV Licensing Communications & Attitude Tracking 3
TV Licensing Communications & Attitude Tracking 4
2009
Student Viewing Behaviours Research
TV Licensing Online Migration (Quantitative)
TV Licensing Online Migration (Qualitative)
Impact of the Economic Downturn
Payers’ attitudes Research
Paying for Public Service Content – a Role for Spectrum Pricing
How changing viewer behaviour is impacting TV Licensing Students - Quantitative Market
Research
TV Licensing – Online Migration 1
Research on Personal Finance Opinions
TV Licensing – Online Migration 2
TV Licensing Communications & Attitude Tracking
TV Licensing Technology tracker
2010
Consumer Electronics and Digital Take-up Survey
TV Licensing: Home Movers Research
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