[captham]

Some channels use more or less brain than others. Or is that just my opinion?

Say BBC1 is rated 100, just because it is first in the listings, what score would you give other channels overall?

[hyperstarsponge]

BBC1 is not 100 per cent, BBC4 is.

[solarflare]

Is ITV2 worth double figures?

[Geiger]

I think you would lose at least 25 just turning the TV on. Even the documentary channels are dumbed down & sensationalised these days, with many showing programmes that are little more than reality shows.

[bgtension]

Originally Posted by Geiger

I think you would lose at least 25 just turning the TV on. Even the documentary channels are dumbed down & sensationalised these days, with many showing programmes that are little more than reality shows.

'Dumbing down' as you so eloquently put it can be argued that this is just a way of engaging with the largest audience possible.

[epm-84]

Originally Posted by hyperstarsponge

BBC1 is not 100 per cent, BBC4 is.

IQ isn't rated as a percentage. An IQ of 100 is the average IQ, so you could say BBC 4 News and Channel 4 News viewers would likely have IQs of > 100.

[epm-84]

Originally Posted by solarflare

Is ITV2 worth double figures?

IQ also relates to age, so target age group of the viewers needs to be considered as well.

So what's the average ITV2 viewer like - an 18 year old female who's blonde and has applied too much fake tan?

[cnbcwatcher]

Originally Posted by epm-84

So what's the average ITV2 viewer like - an 18 year old female who's blonde and has applied too much fake tan?

Spot on They probably look as though they've been Tango'ed

[captham]

I can't believe the high quality of the answers. And for once a thread has not been hijacked by two people slagging each other off for supporting/opposing the TVL, or pro-Respect and UKIP members having a go at each other.

Yes, even documentaries are dumbed down, with flashy imagery designed to keep the attention of the X-Box generation, simple points repeated and explained multiple times, the "interesting" plot twist where a theory is set up then knocked down, human angles, and worst of all, 5 minutes of material spun out to an hour. And adverts.

But wasn't children's documentary material always pimped up? Didn't it used to feature Maggie Philbin or am I imagining that? (Anyone remember James Burke?)

Whoever said IQ is not a percentage clearly knows their maths, percentage is division of a fixed quantity and can never exceed 100. (Someone tell the footballers, please.)

While it is true that IQ is defined for a specific population group (usually age), and adjusted so each group has an average of 100, it must be possible to compare the average IQ of audiences for different channels from the same groups, just as people compare reading ages for different newspapers.

(There is an urban myth that average IQ scores for men and women are identical because questions are selected and weighted to give that result by definition. Anyone know if that is true?)

[epm-84]

Originally Posted by captham

Whoever said IQ is not a percentage clearly knows their maths, percentage is division of a fixed quantity and can never exceed 100. (Someone tell the footballers, please.)

It was me who said IQ isn't a percent earlier up in the thread.

There is actually a way you can use figures like 102% but it has to involve past/future tense e.g. I put £100 in a savings account with a 2% net interest rate 12 months ago and I now have 102% of what I originally invested.

[DDRickyDD]

BBC Three would be the lowest. They only show unfunny comedies and dumbed down documentaries.

[PrinceOfDenmark]

Originally Posted by DDRickyDD

BBC Three would be the lowest. They only show unfunny comedies and dumbed down documentaries.

Channel 4 would be similarly low with their constant flow of freak show "documentaries".

[mike65]

I prefer not to damage my already fragile synapses, avoid any channel that is out to make me stupid.

[theonlyweeman]

This thread is ridiculous.

I wouldn't ever watch Keith Lemon, but I know plenty of very intelligent people that do. If you feel a show is dumbed down, patronising or puerile to the point where it annoys you, stop watching it. Just because you dislike something or think it's patronising and unintelligent doesn't mean you should slag the audience off or call them stupid.

[GeorgeS]

The OP don't misunderstands what an IQ is. Maybe. Snobbery meter might be more appropriate?

[Johnbee]

< Whoever said IQ is not a percentage clearly knows their maths, percentage is division of a fixed quantity and can never exceed 100. (Someone tell the footballers, please.)>


Hmm. So if a footballer scores 5 goals in season 1 and 25 goals in season 2, that is only a 100% increase? I always thought that German inflation was more than 100% as well.

In this case, of course BBC1 being 100 is wrong as an IQ score because IQ 100 is average, and the main Channels are most certainly aimed at people a bit below average. So take 100 as an index number rather than actual IQ

Anyway I will have a try:

BBC1 100 (for lowbrows but they do have motd wekly)
ITV 1 101 (drama is rarer, but better when they do it)
BBC2 101 (dead boring, there used to be a point but now?)
BBC3 Not a clue, never seen it
ITV2, 3 ditto
ITV4 105 (occasional football, only found by brighter people)
BBC4 115
Sky Arts 120
Film4 110
E4 110

Of course a few individual programmes merit higher scores.

[captham]

Originally Posted by PrinceOfDenmark

Channel 4 would be similarly low with their constant flow of freak show "documentaries".

Very much a mixed bag on Channel 4 with their strange remit to appeal to people not catered for by other channels. One minute the target audience is Swedish nuclear scientists, the next minute its is unemployed teenage Geordies.

Originally Posted by Johnbee

Sky Arts 120

Of course a few individual programmes merit higher scores.

Sky Arts 120? Many programs are about esoteric subjects, but few exercise the brain cells and too many are about popular culture. A profile of glam rock band Poison? A tribute to Frank Sinatra? Tony Hawk meets the director of Iron Man? Duran Duran? Professor Green at the Isle of White?

[Tassium]

It's important to consider the actual programmes rather than the idea of the actual programmes.

Since many documentaries are actually fairly moronic, and some silly sitcom can require a fair amount of mental awareness.

Much of BBC4 programming is quite low level from an intellectual point of view, it has high snob-value programming most of the time.

Of the mainstream channels I would say BBC1 is the very dimmest, CH4 runs it close however.

[barbeler]

Originally Posted by Tassium

Of the mainstream channels I would say BBC1 is the very dimmest, CH4 runs it close however.

Impossible. Neither of those two could possibly be dimmer than ITV, in spite of The One Show. Which channel is The Only Way Is Essex On? That one surely caters for those with barely a single brain cell rattling around in their skull. The same with that never ending thing about Peter Andre. If they're on CH4, then I admit it's a very strong contender.

[jsam93]

Originally Posted by captham

Very much a mixed bag on Channel 4 with their strange remit to appeal to people not catered for by other channels. One minute the target audience is Swedish nuclear scientists, the next minute its is unemployed teenage Geordies.



Sky Arts 120? Many programs are about esoteric subjects, but few exercise the brain cells and too many are about popular culture. A profile of glam rock band Poison? A tribute to Frank Sinatra? Tony Hawk meets the director of Iron Man? Duran Duran? Professor Green at the Isle of White?

So, basically, if you don't like it, it isn't "proper culture"?

[theonlyweeman]

Originally Posted by jsam93

So, basically, if you don't like it, it isn't "proper culture"?

Yes, this entire thread is full of snobs, who don't understand how anybody could possibly enjoy something they think is unintelligent. Unless, of course, that person is stupid...

[cnbcwatcher]

Originally Posted by barbeler

Impossible. Neither of those two could possibly be dimmer than ITV, in spite of The One Show. Which channel is The Only Way Is Essex On? That one surely caters for those with barely a single brain cell rattling around in their skull. The same with that never ending thing about Peter Andre. If they're on CH4, then I admit it's a very strong contender.

That drivel is on ITV2. I caught a bit of it once while channel surfing. Honestly it has to be worst lowest common denominator TV I've ever seen. It seems to be aimed at vacuous fake-tanned airheads with hardly any brain cells. And don't get me started on that Peter Andre thing. I'd rather eat live bees washed down with sulphuric acid while being forced to use Windows Vista than watch a single minute of his riveting (not) life.

[rfonzo]

Originally Posted by PrinceOfDenmark

Channel 4 would be similarly low with their constant flow of freak show "documentaries".

Channel 4 started to lose it's perceptiveness around 2000 when it introduced reality TV shows to it's schedule. I remember when they broadcasted cutting dramas and documentaries like 'Cutting Edge' and 'Dispatches.'

[theonlyweeman]

Originally Posted by rfonzo

Channel 4 started to lose it's perceptiveness around 2000 when it introduced reality TV shows to it's schedule. I remember when they broadcasted cutting dramas and documentaries like 'Cutting Edge' and 'Dispatches.'

Both 'Cutting Edge' and 'Dispatches' are still on air, and in primetime. Both are fairly well advertised as well...

[captham]

Caught the last few minutes of Plebs on ITV2 and sorry to say it seemed almost good. New concept, no fake tans, no laughter track, understated comedy that would make Jack Dee look hyperactive.