1. Understand how media producers define audiences for their products
Unit 6 – Critical Approaches to Creative Media Products
Milo Quigley

2. Game of thrones
Game of Thrones is an adult fantasy drama television show that is adapted from the ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series of fantasy novels.
It is set on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos and has several plot lines.
It is filmed in Belfast, UK, Canada, Croatia, Iceland, Malta, Morocco, Spain and USA.
There are currently 7 seasons of the show with the 8th scheduled to premiere in 2019.
The show has attracted record viewership on its original network, HBO, it has a broad international fan base and has won numerous awards to date.

3. Quantitative research
The quantitative research process for Game of Thrones involves gathering statistical data on audience ratings, usually based on gender and age group.
Research is also gathered on the popularity of Game of Thrones across social media, with records taken on how many users are viewing and ‘liking’ the official fan page.
On the next slide is a bar chart displaying the total average viewers for each season recorded in 2017, clearly showing an increase in viewership from one season to the next.
On the next slide also there is a record of the number of Facebook users who were either discussing Game of Thrones or who liked the official fan page.

5. This data allows the production crew to determine the success of the show and the preferences of the viewers.
It also allows for the audience to be defined as the producers will be able to become aware of who is watching and therefore produce suitable content for them.

6. Qualitative research
Qualitative research focuses on the quality of the content displayed on the show by acquiring feedback, thoughts and opinions directly from the viewers.
An example of qualitative research implemented by the producers of Game of Thrones is focus groups whereby the opinions of a range of viewers are gathered.
A group called Elevator Casting carries out an on-camera focus group for fans between the ages of who will spend a full day discussing their favourite moments and characters from the show – the application for this can be seen below.

7. Questionnaires
Questionnaires that take approximately 20 minutes to complete are distributed to the viewers of Game of Thrones in order to gather opinions they have on the series overall and how it compares to other fantasy stories.
It also gathers responses on how viewers are relating to the existing Game of Thrones characters and the ‘controversies’ that accompany the show.

8. Audience classification
The target audience for Game of Thrones would be adults, both male and female. It would also be those who enjoyed the book and Lord of the Rings fans who admire the associated fantasy elements.
According to BBFC the Game of Thrones series is targeted at year olds due to the level of violence, nudity, strong language and some scenes which are of a sexual nature.