Kyiv International Institute of Sociology held a regular nationwide opinion poll in the midst of a political campaign during the period of September 12-23, 2012, which was designed to study popularity and target audience of sociopolitical programs in structure of Ukrainian television network.

2,012 respondents were interviewed; the survey covered all regions of Ukraine (including the city of Kyiv) and in Crimea; sample was random and representative for the population of Ukraine aged 18 years and older.

Statistical sampling error with a probability of 0.95 is less than 3.3% for index close to 50%, 2.8% - index close to 25%, 2.0% - index close to 10%, 1.4% - index close to 5%.

 

Well-Known Social And Political Programs

The most popular social and political programs in Ukraine are “Shuster Live” on The First National Channel hosted by Savik Shuster; and "Big Politics" hosted by Yevgeny Kiselyov on the Inter Channel. These programs are known by 84% and 80% of respondents respectively.

The most popular programs are “Shuster Live” on The First National Channel (it is watched by 53% of respondents with different frequency) and "Big Politics" hosted by Yevgeny Kiselyov on the Inter Channel (it is watched by 46% of respondents with different frequency). The next one is "Freedom of Speech" on ICTV hosted by Andrey Kulikov (watched by 32% of respondents), and "Republic" hosted by Anna Bezulyk on the 5th Channel (20%).

Frequency Of Watching Different Socio-Political Programs

Given that the vast majority of citizens are well aware of the existence of such socio-political programs, their regular audience is not as wide. “Shuster Live” (3-4 of 4 program releases in the last month) is regularly watched by 12% of the population, 11% of respondents regularly watch “Big Politics”, 5% of respondents - "Freedom of Speech", 3% - "Republic" (Table 2 ).

A substantial portion of respondents do not watch such programs at all or did not watch any in the last month. For example, 46% of respondents do not watch or did not watch in the last month or do not know program “Shuster Live” (14% of those who know the program, do not watch it); 52.6% of respondents do not watch or did not watch in the last month or do not know program “Big Politics”; 17% of those who know the program, do not watch it. Two-thirds of the population did not watch such program as "Freedom of Speech" in September, and one of five respondents among those who know this program do not watch it at all. As for the "Republic" program, the fourth part of those who know this program, said that they did not watch it at all. And about 20% of the population watched this program.

Who Are Regular Viewers Of Such Programs?

Audience of different socio-political programs is mostly similar. The main share of regular viewers of such programs consists of older (45-59 years) and elderly (older than 60) population; they make up about 70% of those who watched 4 of 4 last releases. When divided by occupation, people who are retired make up almost half of regular viewers of these programs, and about 40% of the audience is working population.

Among those who watch such programs not constantly, but, nevertheless, quite regularly, there are both men and women. About 60% of those who watched 3 programs per month are people of average age (30-44 years) and older middle age (45-59 years). Half of this audience is working population of Ukraine.

But He Did Not Look And Did Not Know About Such Programs?

Young people are more likely than others, to be unaware of the existence of such social and political programs. This is especially true for programs like “Shuster Live” and “Big Politics”. A third part of those who do not know about the existence of such programs consists of young people aged 18-29 years. As for other programs, number of those, who do not know about the existence of such programs is quite equal for all age groups. Women know less about the existence of these programs than men (5-7%).

At the center of Ukraine percentage of those who do not know about these programs is higher than in all other areas. Also, mainly respondents with a low educational level do not know about the existence of such programs.

The younger respondent is, the more often he says he does not watch socio-political programs at all. This can be explained by Internet popularization and special conditions of residence (dormitory, for example), lifestyle of these people, their disinterest in politics, etc.

Anastasia Mazurok, sociologist at KIIS:

Socio-political shows on Ukrainian television are elements of not only political education, but also elements of television entertainment. These shows are designed, on the one hand, to draw attention to important issues and challenges that are relevant to time, to receive comments and explanations, on the other hand, to serve as a base for PR and public debate. The population gets gradually tired of the show battles, of political negotiations and disputes. However, interest in such programs is still very high.

 

To get more comments, please, contact Anastasia Mazurok (KIIS).
 
Tel. +38 (044) 537-3376
e-mail: a.mazurok @ kiis.com.ua

 

Application

 

Table 1. Do you know following socio-political programsbroadcasted on Ukrainian TV chanels?

	“Shuster Live”	“Big Politics”	“Freedom of Speech”	“The Republic”
No	15,2	19,3	32,4	50,6
Yes	84,0	79,9	66,8	48,6

 

Table 2. Tell me, please, whether you watch such program as ...? And how many releases of this program did you watch during the last month? (% of respondents)

	“Shuster Live”	“Big Politics”	“Freedom of Speech”	“The Republic”
One program	11,1	9,2	8,4	4,5
Two programs	11,6	8,8	5,0	2,7
Three programs	6,3	5,2	2,4	1,7
Four programs	6,1	5,6	2,6	1,4
I watched but I don’t remember how many issues	18,0	17,6	13,1	9,7
I don’t watch	18,2	18,7	21,6	16,5
I don’t watch at all	12,0	13,1	12,7	11,8
REFUSE	,1	,2	,2	,1
I don’t know this program	16,5	21,5	33,9	51,7

Table 3. Please tell me whether you watch “Shuster Live” on the First National Chanel? And how many releases of program did you watch in the last month? (% of those who watch the program with appropriate frequency)

	One program	Two programs	Three programs	Four programs	I did, but I don’t remember how many releases	I didn’t watch any	I don’t watch at all
Sex
Male	43,8	48,5	39,8	51,7	42,6	42,6	44,5
Female	56,2	51,5	60,2	48,3	57,4	57,4	55,5
Region of Ukraine
West	13,9	27,4	27,7	31,4	20,4	25,7	16,8
Central	24,0	24,0	31,7	29,1	39,7	21,1	19,0
South	41,2	28,8	24,2	20,9	19,9	30,1	35,6
East	20,9	19,9	16,4	18,6	20,0	23,0	28,6
Age
18-29 years	17,7	17,2	15,5	5,9	13,7	29,6	32,4
30-44 years	29,5	23,5	29,5	18,6	27,4	29,6	28,2
45-59 years	21,9	28,5	27,4	35,7	27,5	18,3	18,9
60+	30,9	30,8	27,6	39,8	31,5	22,5	20,5
Education
Incomplete Secondary	6,8	3,4	6,6	6,5	4,3	4,6	6,9
Complete Secondary	26,1	36,6	25,4	26,1	21,2	25,7	26,6
Vocational Secondary	42,3	26,2	35,4	34,5	41,3	43,4	39,9
Higher	24,8	33,8	32,5	33,0	33,2	26,3	26,6
Occupation
Work	43,9	46,2	48,7	39,8	47,2	43,7	49,9
Household	8,7	7,6	8,8	5,9	9,7	15,1	11,2
Retired	33,8	33,0	33,5	45,1	33,4	23,5	21,4
Student	3,5	1,8	1,5	1,1	1,7	4,3	6,1
Unemployed	9,2	9,7	6,8	8,2	7,2	12,6	11,0
Other	,8	1,6	,7	,0	,8	,5	,4
Nationality
Ukrainian	79,9	85,6	83,2	79,5	82,8	81,7	76,8
Russian	16,7	13,9	13,9	18,4	14,4	15,3	19,8
Other	3,5	,5	2,9	2,1	2,6	3,0	3,4
Language
Ukrainian	35,4	45,2	53,5	47,9	42,6	42,0	33,7
Russian	40,0	37,5	28,5	39,0	40,3	39,5	48,9
Both Ukrainian and Russian	22,4	15,8	15,3	12,6	14,6	15,2	13,6
Other	,5	,0	1,6	,0	,5	1,7	,9
Don’t know/Refuse	1,7	1,6	1,1	,5	2,0	1,7	2,8

 

Table 4. Please tell me whether you watch “Big Politics” hosted by Yevgeny Kiselyov on the Inter Chanel? And how many releases of program did you watch in the last month? (% of those who watch the program with appropriate frequency)

	One program	Two programs	Three programs	Four programs	I did, but I don’t remember how many releases	I didn’t watch any	I don’t watch at all
Sex
Male	43,8	44,4	49,0	44,2	43,5	42,1	45,0
Female	56,2	55,6	51,0	55,8	56,5	57,9	55,0
Region of Ukraine
West	14,0	20,4	32,5	17,3	20,1	25,7	22,1
Central	16,7	25,0	23,4	42,6	33,6	22,8	20,5
South	37,9	32,3	17,4	22,5	25,5	29,2	33,8
East	31,4	22,4	26,7	17,6	20,8	22,4	23,5
Age
18-29 years	14,0	11,4	7,8	6,7	14,1	30,6	31,7
30-44 years	25,2	29,3	24,5	22,1	23,2	29,7	28,5
45-59 years	25,8	29,8	38,4	28,5	29,4	18,7	17,2
60+	35,0	29,5	29,4	42,7	33,2	21,0	22,6
Education
Incomplete Secondary	6,1	2,8	5,2	3,5	5,9	5,3	5,7
Complete Secondary	22,9	21,8	31,8	28,7	24,8	27,6	29,7
Vocational Secondary	39,6	33,5	37,8	35,2	39,8	38,8	38,7
Higher	31,4	41,9	25,2	32,6	29,5	28,3	25,9
Occupation
Work	47,6	50,4	47,8	40,1	44,6	43,9	43,9
Household	6,9	10,0	1,5	7,9	9,4	15,7	11,9
Retired	37,3	32,6	37,7	47,5	34,9	22,9	22,9
Student	1,2	,4	,0	1,2	1,3	5,1	6,7
Unemployed	6,1	6,6	12,2	3,3	8,8	11,7	13,9
Other	,5	,0	,8	,0	1,0	,7	,7
Nationality
Ukrainian	79,8	81,8	84,1	75,2	80,3	84,3	78,6
Russian	18,3	17,0	13,3	22,5	16,7	12,5	18,3
Other	2,0	1,3	2,6	2,3	2,8	3,1	3,1
Language
Ukrainian	33,6	34,6	52,7	45,9	35,9	42,1	41,6
Russian	42,3	43,1	27,8	41,6	45,0	37,0	43,6
Both Ukrainian and Russian	22,7	18,0	15,2	11,9	16,5	18,1	11,4
Other	,2	,4	2,0	,0	,6	1,7	1,6
Don’t know/Refuse	1,1	3,9	2,3	,6	2,0	1,1	1,7

 

Table 5. Please tell me whether you watch “Freedom of Speech” on the ICTV Chanel? And how many releases of program did you watch in the last month? (% of those who watch the program with appropriate frequency)

	One program	Two programs	Three programs	Four programs	I did, but I don’t remember how many releases	I didn’t watch any	I don’t watch at all
Sex
Male	41,3	40,0	51,5	55,2	51,4	45,6	40,8
Female	58,7	60,0	48,5	44,8	48,6	54,4	59,2
Region of Ukraine
West	18,2	34,5	44,2	42,8	25,6	24,6	17,1
Central	20,7	26,9	20,7	28,1	38,8	18,1	20,9
South	42,5	22,5	12,5	14,3	15,0	34,3	32,3
East	18,5	16,1	22,6	14,8	20,6	22,9	29,7
Age
18-29 years	13,6	20,1	23,4	3,9	13,3	26,9	27,7
30-44 years	37,4	24,1	44,4	18,5	22,6	24,9	28,9
45-59 years	24,0	25,9	18,8	34,1	29,1	24,1	19,3
60+	25,1	29,9	13,3	43,5	35,0	24,1	24,1
Education
Incomplete Secondary	5,2	3,4	,0	3,0	5,4	4,3	6,7
Complete Secondary	30,4	26,9	28,4	28,9	20,9	25,8	23,6
Vocational Secondary	31,8	29,5	34,1	44,1	43,4	37,9	41,9
Higher	32,6	40,3	37,5	24,0	30,4	32,0	27,7
Occupation
Work	52,4	39,6	54,1	37,2	47,5	44,8	47,3
Household	10,9	11,0	10,4	5,8	7,2	12,4	10,6
Retired	25,5	31,7	21,0	49,2	35,3	26,5	24,7
Student	1,1	3,7	2,9	,0	1,1	4,2	4,7
Unemployed	8,9	13,0	11,6	7,9	7,9	11,5	11,6
Other	,5	,9	,0	,0	1,0	,6	1,0
Nationality
Ukrainian	81,0	89,5	85,0	74,9	85,8	80,0	75,6
Russian	16,0	9,8	10,7	23,5	11,4	17,8	21,4
Other	2,9	,0	4,3	1,6	2,8	2,2	2,9
Language
Ukrainian	38,1	50,0	62,6	57,9	41,9	36,6	34,7
Russian	38,6	37,0	29,8	26,8	38,7	42,1	50,4
Both Ukrainian and Russian	21,8	11,7	5,3	15,4	16,6	18,4	13,5
Other	1,1	,0	2,4	,0	,0	1,5	,9
Don’t know/Refuse	,4	1,4	,0	,0	2,9	1,5	,5

 

Table 6. Please tell me whether you watch “Shuster Live” on the First National Chanel? And how many releases of program did you watch in the last month? (% of relevant group)

 

	One program	Two programs	Three programs	Four programs	I did, but I don’t remember how many releases	I didn’t watch any	I don’t watch at all
Sex
Male	16.47	14.87	6.00	7.70	15.18	21.91	17.46
Female	12.11	13.59	8.13	7.15	23.94	21.82	13.26
Region of Ukraine
West	8,2	16,9	9,3	10,1	19,5	24,9	10,7
Central	11,8	12,4	8,9	7,9	31,8	17,1	10,1
South	19,0	13,9	6,3	5,3	14,9	22,8	17,7
East	12,8	12,8	5,7	6,3	20,1	23,3	19,0
Age
18-29 years	11,5	11,7	5,7	2,1	14,5	31,6	22,8
30-44 years	14,4	12,0	8,2	5,0	21,8	23,8	14,9
45-59 years	12,0	16,4	8,6	10,8	24,5	16,5	11,2
60+	14,6	15,2	7,4	10,3	24,2	17,5	10,5
Education
Incomplete Secondary	16,7	8,8	9,4	8,7	17,3	18,7	18,4
Complete Secondary	13,1	19,3	7,3	7,2	17,4	21,2	14,5
Vocational Secondary	14,5	9,5	7,0	6,5	23,3	24,5	14,9
Higher	11,1	15,9	8,4	8,1	24,4	19,3	12,9
Occupation
Work	12,7	14,1	8,1	6,3	22,3	20,9	15,7
Household	11,3	10,3	6,5	4,1	20,2	32,0	15,6
Retired	14,8	15,1	8,3	10,8	23,8	16,9	10,1
Student	15,1	8,1	3,7	2,5	11,8	30,5	28,3
Unemployed	12,7	14,2	5,3	6,2	16,4	28,7	16,5
Nationality
Ukrainian	13,0	14,7	7,7	7,1	22,0	21,9	13,6
Russian	13,9	12,2	6,7	8,5	19,6	21,1	18,0
Language
Ukrainian	11,2	15,1	9,7	8,4	22,1	22,0	11,6
Russian	13,3	13,1	5,4	7,1	21,8	21,6	17,6
Both Ukrainian and Russian	19,0	14,1	7,4	5,8	20,1	21,1	12,5

 

Table 7. Please tell me whether you watch “Big Politics” hosted by Yevgeny Kiselyov on the Inter Chanel? And how many releases of program did you watch in the last month? (% of relevant group)

	One program	Two programs	Three programs	Four programs	I did, but I don’t remember how many releases	I didn’t watch any	I don’t watch at all
Sex
Male	11,7	11,3	7,3	7,2	22,2	22,8	17,1
Female	11,8	11,2	6,0	7,2	22,7	24,7	16,5
Region of Ukraine
West	7,6	10,5	9,8	5,7	20,7	28,2	17,0
Central	7,6	10,9	6,0	11,8	29,3	21,1	13,3
South	15,2	12,4	3,9	5,5	19,5	23,8	19,4
East	15,9	10,9	7,6	5,4	20,1	23,1	17,0
Age
18-29 years	8,3	6,5	2,6	2,4	16,1	37,1	27,0
30-44 years	11,1	12,4	6,0	5,9	19,6	26,7	17,9
45-59 years	12,2	13,4	10,1	8,2	26,6	17,9	11,6
60+	14,3	11,5	6,7	10,6	25,9	17,4	13,1
Education
Incomplete Secondary	13,4	5,9	6,4	4,8	25,2	23,9	18,2
Complete Secondary	10,2	9,3	7,8	7,8	21,2	24,8	18,9
Vocational Secondary	12,1	9,8	6,4	6,6	23,5	24,1	17,0
Higher	12,2	15,6	5,5	7,8	22,1	22,4	14,5
Occupation
Work	7,7	10,7	1,0	5,4	20,3	35,8	19,1
Household	14,1	11,8	8,0	11,0	25,2	17,6	12,4
Retired	4,7	1,4	,0	2,9	10,2	42,1	38,7
Student	7,5	7,8	8,3	2,5	20,5	29,1	24,3
Unemployed	9,3	,0	8,7	,0	36,9	26,4	18,7
Nationality
Ukrainian	11,6	11,4	6,8	6,7	22,3	24,9	16,3
Russian	13,1	11,6	5,3	9,9	23,0	18,3	18,8
Other	8,8	5,5	6,6	6,3	24,0	28,9	20,0
Language
Ukrainian	9,9	9,8	8,7	8,3	20,3	25,4	17,6
Russian	12,1	11,8	4,5	7,3	24,7	21,6	17,8
Both Ukrainian and Russian	16,2	12,3	6,1	5,2	22,4	26,2	11,6

Table 8. Please tell me whether you watch “Freedom of Speech” on the ICTV Chanel? And how many releases of program did you watch in the last month? (% of relevant group)

	One program	Two programs	Three programs	Four programs	I did, but I don’t remember how many releases	I didn’t watch any	I don’t watch at all
Sex
Male	11,6	6,7	4,1	4,8	22,4	32,7	17,2
Female	13,8	8,4	3,2	3,3	17,7	32,7	20,9
Region of Ukraine
West	9,3	10,5	6,4	6,8	20,4	32,3	13,2
Central	10,9	8,5	3,1	4,6	31,8	24,5	16,6
South	19,0	6,0	1,6	2,0	10,4	39,3	21,7
East	10,6	5,5	3,6	2,6	18,3	33,7	25,6
Age
18-29 years	8,3	7,3	4,0	0,7	12,6	41,9	25,3
30-44 years	17,6	6,7	5,9	2,7	16,5	30,1	20,4
45-59 years	12,5	8,0	2,7	5,5	23,6	32,1	15,1
60+	11,7	8,3	1,8	6,3	25,5	28,9	17,0
Education
Incomplete Secondary	13,3	5,1	,0	2,4	21,6	28,6	26,1
Complete Secondary	15,2	8,0	4,1	4,6	16,5	33,6	18,0
Vocational Secondary	10,4	5,8	3,2	4,6	22,6	32,4	21,0
Higher	13,1	9,7	4,3	3,0	19,4	33,5	17,0
Occupation
Work	14,4	6,5	4,2	3,2	20,3	31,6	19,6
Household	13,4	8,1	3,6	2,2	13,7	39,2	19,7
Retired	11,3	8,4	2,6	6,8	24,3	30,1	16,5
Student	4,8	9,2	3,4	,0	7,4	45,3	29,9
Unemployed	11,0	9,5	4,0	3,0	15,1	36,1	21,4
Nationality
Ukrainian	12,8	8,4	3,8	3,7	21,0	32,3	17,9
Russian	12,6	4,6	2,3	5,7	13,9	35,7	25,2
Language
Ukrainian	12,1	9,4	5,6	5,7	20,6	29,7	16,5
Russian	12,0	6,9	2,6	2,6	18,7	33,6	23,6
Both Ukrainian and Russian	17,0	5,4	1,2	3,7	20,1	36,8	15,8