CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background of the Study

Ownership of cable television is a more economically strenuous process, especially, in Africa where television serious could only simply take the airwave format. The cost of laying underground cables to run cable television is a rather challenging one. Again, the African geographics do not support cable network, since cable television can easily thrive in mountainous region (Zinc, 2014).

Unlike traditional television broadcasting, cable television sends signals through underground cables or optic fibres. Ekoro (2013), notes that cable television like the traditional television system requires economically sound individual to establish and own it. This means that cable television is cost intensive.

The term cable television is a system of providing television programmes to subscribers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables or light pulse and fiber-option cables as opposed to the over the air method used in traditional television broadcasting (via radio waves) in which a television antenna is required. Fm radio programming, high speed, interest telephony and similar non-television services may also be provided. (en.m.wikipedia.org/cable,,,tv; retrieved 03-08-2018).

According to Uwakwe (2010, p.89), the cable television began in the 1950s as community antenna television. CATV as it was also called is a device used to bring conventional television signals to viewers in hard-to-reach areas with satisfactory reception form distant or nearby stations. The abbreviation CATV is often used for cable television or community antenna television, from cable television origin in 1948, in areas where over-the-air reception was limited by distance from transmitter or mountainous terrains, large “community antennas” were constructed and cables were run from them to individual homes.

The origin of cable broadcasting is even older as radio programming was distributed by cable in some European cities as far back as 1924 (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cable TV; retrieved 03-08-2018).

However, cable television is mostly available in North America, Europe, Australia, East Asia and less so in South America and the Middle East. Cable television has had little success in Africa as it is not cost effective to lay cables in sparsely populated areas. So called “wireless cable,” or micro-based system are used instead.

In order to receive cable television at a given location, cable distribution lines must be available on the local utility poles or underground utility lines. Coaxial cables bring the signal to the customer’s building through a service drop, an overhead or underground cable. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cabletv; retrieved 03-08-2018).

It is obvious that the ownership of cable can be influenced by one’s socio-economic status, and this reason, majority of people cannot afford to own it. Even in advance societies like America and Great Britain, people rarely own cable television. The interest of the researcher here, is to examine whether individuals’ socio-economic status influence ownership of cable socio-economic status here refers to an economic and sociologically combined total measures of a person’s work experience and of an individuals’ or family’s economic and social position in relation to others, based on income, education, and occupation (National Centre for Education Statistics, March, 2008). When analyzing a family’s socio-economic status, the household income earners, education and occupation are examined, as well as combined income, versus an individual when their own attributes are assed. Socio-economic status is typically broken into three categories: high socio-economic status, middle socio-economic status and low socio-economic status, to describe the three areas a family or an individual may fall into. When placing a family or an individual into one of these categories any or all of these three variables (income, education and occupation) can be assessed.

Cable television is both essential to the company that owns it and the general population, for stability and effectiveness in news and programme dissemination. The television has a particular advantage of overcoming network problems that even those who are economically rich in Eket, do not own cable television. It is against this backdrop that the study hopes to investigate the influence of socio-economic status on ownership of cable television in Uruan.  

1.2     Statement of the Problem

Cable television is quite significant in transmitting information to, or having a wider audience reach, especially, among people dwelling in radio wave unfriendly regions. This is because cable television makes use of coaxial cables to transmit signals to television sets at the receivers’ home, through fixed optical fibres or coaxial cables. It helps to break barriers of networks which could be problems including, especially, mountainous regions or inn environment where there is geographic challenges. In spite of this, people still do not treasure cable television, neither do they see it as a reliable mean of mass communication, nor do they value or rather seek information from it.

However, it is not certain as to whether the residents of Uruan patronize cable television. Despite the fact that cable networks have proved very useful in reaching people in farflung areas with television programmes that could salvage their information, education and entertainment needs. But it is not certain whether the residents of Uruan even watch cable television programmes. It is on this basis of this uncertainty that this study is designed.

1.3     Objective of the Study

          The objectives of the study were:

1. Find out whether the residents of Uruan patronize cable network;
2. Examine whether the patronage of cable television is influenced by socio-economic status;
3. Investigate the extent to which socio-economic status influence patronage of cable television among the residents of Uruan;
4. Find out other factors apart from socio-economic status that also influence patronage of cable television among the residents of Uruan.

1.4     Research Questions

The following research questions were advanced to guide the study as follow:

1. Do the resident of Uruan patronize cable television?
2. Is their patronage of cable television is influenced by their socio-economic status?
3. To what extent does socio-economic status influence patronage of cable television?
4. Are there other factors apart from socio-economic status that also influence patronage of cable television among the residents of Uruan?

1.5     Research Hypothesis

The hypothesis of this study was stated in the alternate as follows:

Hi: Socio-economic status significantly influence patronage of cable television among the residents of Uruan.

1.6     Justification of the Study

This study is significant because it seek to find out the influence of socio-economic status on patronage of cable television progammes. A number of people, group and individuals will benefit from the findings of the study.

The residents of Uruan will benefit from the findings of the study, because through it, the will appreciate the need to watch cable television programmes even in the midst of lack.

Media industries will also benefit from the findings of the study because through it, they will understand or rather learn new models to present  their programmes to people who live in rural communities.

Future researchers who may be interested in this area of study will also benefit from the findings of the study as they will use it as  source of reference material.

1.7     Delimitation of the Study

The scope of this study was delimited to socio-economic status as it contributes to patronage of cable television programmes. The study did not make any attempt to study the patronage of traditional television services.

The study was also delimited to the residents of Uruan. The study did not make any attempt to study people outside Uruan.

1.8     Limitation of the Study

The researcher had faced challenges and gone through very rigorous adversities to get to the finding of this study. For the secondary data, the researcher had met dead of literature material on the subject of study. The primary data too gave challenges to gather as the respondents were reluctant to provide accurate information that could help the researcher make dependable conclusion. Getting the population of the study from National Population Commission (NPC) was a tedious process. These challenges notwithstanding, the researcher was able to scale through.

1.9     Definition of Terms

The following key terms and concepts were operationally defined to foster understanding of the study as follows:  

1. Cable Television: A phenomenon that allows the residents of Urual to gain access to television broadcast.
2. Patronage: Having an unlimited access to cable televlsion usually be the residents of Uruan.
3. Residents: Those who live in Uruan. They are those who patronize cable television.
4. Socio-economic Status: The level of one’s social and economic class which could influence the way in which the residents of Urban patronize cable television.

Uruan: One of the Local Government Areas in Akwa Ibom State. It is used here to mean the universe of the study.