THE INFLUENCE OF TELEVISION EDUCATIONAL AND ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMMES ON VIEWERS IN SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN UYO METROPOLIS (A CASE STUDY OF AKBC – TV, UYO)

The purpose of the study was to find out the influence of AKBC-TV educational and Entertainment programmes on secondary school students with particular reference to secondary school students in Uyo Metropolis. The study assessed how the programmes shown on AKBC-TV affect and influence the life styles of youth in Uyo Urban. They major research technique used in data collection for the study was survey. The research instruments were questionnaire and personal interview. The finding was carried out in 220 respondents made up of male and female secondary school students. The result shows that: Children prefer both entertainment and educational programmes on AKBC-TV. (ii) Some entertainment programmes such as foreign film (movies) have negative influence on the children. They seem to encourage violence and sexual promiscuity. (iii) Television generally informs, educate and entertains the children. (iv) children assess some local programmes as “dull and uninteresting”. Recommendations which were made from the findings are briefly summarized as follows: The AKBC-TV, Channel 45, Uyo should be able to show indigenous films that promote our cultural heritage and collective goals. The producers of children’s programmes should make the programmes more interesting inorder to attract the attention of the lost audience. The AKBC-TV should plan local programmes which depict our cultural setting and the accepted norms rather than showing foreign films which depict violent acts which the children copy fast. It is essential for the television production crew and programming to be trained and retrained if they must adequately perform their duties of producing and scheduling good quality programmes to the audience. From the findings, these basic facts stand out that, if the producers should make children’s programmes more interesting and educative and parents are able to restrict their ward from watching late night films, then the negative influences of television programmes may be reduced.