National Media Survey 2002 [Bangladesh]

This PDF document provides the results of an interview-based survey of 10,850 males and females of 15-45 years from urban and rural areas in Bangladesh. National Media Survey (NMS) 2002 was the third national media survey of its kind undertaken in Bangladesh. The first media survey was conducted in 1995 and the second one in 1998.

Here are highlights of the trends traced in the survey:

• Radio: 30.4% of the respondents had radio exposure; 11.1% listen every day.
  
  • The reach of radio has shown declining trend in recent years (36% in 1995, 39% in 1998, 30.4% in 2002; in urban areas, the number of people with radio exposure decreased from 42% to 24.1% from 1998 to 2002). These trends are attributed to the rapid increase in opportunities for watching television.
  • Bangladesh Betar Dhaka (29.6%), Bangladesh Betar Khulna (13.2%) and BBC (7.2%) were the most popular radio stations.
• Television: persistent increase from 31% in 1995 to 42% in 1998 and 61% in 2002
  
  
  • TV viewership among 15-49 age group was quite high
  • 83% of people in urban areas watch TV; 50% of those in rural areas are watchers
  • Bangladesh Television (BTV) and Ekushey TV were almost equally popular television channels. Viewership of other TV channels was marginal
  • Among BTV viewers, 21.3% were everyday viewers; 11.8% watched BTV 1-6 days per week, and 24.9% were occasional viewers. BTV viewers mostly watched TV at home (49.1%) or at a relative's or neighbour's house (38%); only 10.7% watched TV at public places. More than two-thirds (69.7%) of BTV viewers reported viewing BTV on Fridays. The prime time for viewing was between 8-10 p.m. any day
• Print Media: only 25.8% of the population read newspapers, but overall readership is increasing
• Among those who read newspapers, 18.7% are from rural areas and 40% are from urban areas
• Overall readership increased from 12% in 1995 to 15% in 1998 to 25.8% in 2002
• There is an increasing trend in the readership of magazines like Jugantor (31.6%), Janakantha (30.6%), Ittefaq (29.9%), Prothom Alo (27.0%), and Inquilab (23.3%)
• Cinema and video: insignificant change since 1995
• The percentage of cinema-goers increased from 12% to 17% in 1998 and 16.4% in 2002
• Exposure to cinema was higher among the 15-19 age group, and among male respondents
• Only 3.8% reported watching videos
• The lowest percentage of cinema-goers by region was 8.2% (Stylet division); the highest was 20.3% (Rajshahi division)
• Exposure to specific logos (meant to generate awareness and promote products/services): high awareness among most respondents
• The most common logos were that of the smiling sun (59.5%), green umbrella (67.1%), Emergency Obstretric Care (63.1%), and SMC (70.1%)
• Role of all electronic media in health care: "the electronic media, particularly TV, play an important role in disseminating health and other information among the general public. Television emerged as the most important mass media for this purpose followed by radio. Logos and brands campaigns were found to be quite effective."
• For diarrhea management and HIV/AIDS/STIs information, TV was the main source, followed by radio
• For information on prenatal care, antenatal care, and safe delivery and family planning, friends/neighbours/family members were the main sources, followed by TV and radio. Field workers and government hospitals are the other most important source of health information