Concurrent Evaluation of First Ever Television Chat Show on AIDS

Producing and telecasting what they consider to be India's first chat show on HIV/AIDS - 'Khamoshi Kyon' in Hindi and 'Talk Positive,' in English - the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) seeks to educate individuals so that they can make their own decisions about safe behaviour practices. This ten-page Executive Summary by Centre for Media Studies (CMS) in India describes the evaluation process, the findings and the suggestions.

The evaluation by CMS seeks to concurrently track and evaluate specifically designed chat shows on HIV/AIDS. The evaluation for the Hindi chat show 'Khamoshi Kyon', telecast in Doordarshan occurred in two districts of each of the five selected states: Bihar, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. One slum location, one small town and several villages were chosen in each district. The survey for the English chat show 'Talk Positive' telecast in Zee News was carried out in four cities: Bangalore, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Mumbai.

The specific objective of the study was to assess the frequency of viewership of the programme, its reach and effectiveness, the exposure of the viewers to the promotional campaigns and the awareness level about HIV/AIDS among various groups. The study also ascertained the quality of the programme in terms of presentation, format, timings etc. and also the respondents’ preference of channel, timing and information.

The respondent category consisted of sexually active males and females, students and high-risk groups (sex workers, pimps, truck drivers, and labourers.)

Each of the 3 rounds of surveys for the 'Khamoshi Kyon' was conducted after the last three episodes, and for 'Talk Positive', there was a gap of 2 episodes between each round.

Based on the report, the timing for the chat shows considered suitable by most viewers was 7-9 p.m. While the content and format of the chat shows showed a favorable response, one detected weakness was the fact that the audience was more urban and the shows offered no semi-urban or rural representation.

In respect to promotion, the report suggests that channels should have frequent pre and post promotional announcements through out the week to encourage increased viewership. Further, the report suggests that it is beneficial to use the existing network of service providers (Doctors, NGOs, Counselors, etc) working in this area and also other related programmes (either on radio or in print) should carry a promotional line regarding this programme. In the end, the concept of dissemination of information about HIV/AIDS through chat shows was considered to be fairly well accepted. Suggestions for improved effectiveness include: reaching a wider audience and number of experts in the show; attaining more publicity; and airing the show at a convenient time on a carefully selected channel.

Please contact Ms. P N Vasanti: pnvasanti@cmsindia.org for this 10-page Executive Summary.