The television viewing behaviour of families in Kwara State, Nigeria

To investigate the television viewing patterns in Nigerian families, 600 household heads from all 12 local government areas of Kwara state were interviewed. 439 (70%) of the respondents were fathers. 396 (66%) of the household heads in the survey were civil servants and the remainder were involved in private enterprises such as trading, farming, and crafts. 343 household (57%) had at least 1 television set, most often a color television. Respondents without television gave lack of money as the main reason; however, there was no correlation between ownership of television sets and the occupation of the household head. All Nigerian stations are owned and controlled by the federal government through the Nigeria Television Authority. The program viewed most frequently by the most respondents (92%) was the nightly network news. The most popular programming (identified by 86% of respondents) was a Saturday drama series designed to provide amusement and moral lessons. Most of those questioned strongly agreed that television is an educational resource within the family. On the other hand, 59% of the male household heads and 72% of the female heads added that television also has negative effects on moral behavior and children's attention to school work. National planners are urged to find ways to channel widespread television ownership and viewing in Nigeria toward social development through innovative programming.