Assessment of the Engagement Patterns of Viewers of Reality Show in Nigeria

Abstract

Audience of varying television programmes observes varying patterns of engagement. These audiences play crucial roles to the continuity or otherwise of the programmes and, this is, without any shred of doubt, applicable to the Big Brother Naija reality television show. This study assessed the engagement patterns of viewers of the Big Brother Naija reality show and is anchored upon two media effect theories- cultivation theory and media dependency theory. The study is quantitative in nature and it used questionnaire which were administered to a total of 120 respondents of  which 100 was retrieved  and obtained data reveal that viewers pose a high level of frequented viewership (84%) of the show, spending about 12 hours a day watching most of the activities, engaging in various discourses and conversations regarding the show on social media (80%), actively campaign for votes (34%) and inject their monies to vote (30%) for their favourite contestant(s) that are up for possible eviction. Empirical evidences imply therefore that despite viewers’ perception of the show as immoral and corrupting, they find it entertaining and actively engage the show in the manner desired by its organisers.