A content analysis of alcohol content in UK television.

Background: Exposure to audio-visual alcohol content in media is associated with subsequent alcohol use in young people, but the extent of exposure contained in UK free-to-air prime-time television has not been explored since 2010. We report an analysis of alcohol content in a sample of UK free-to-air prime-time television broadcasts in 2015 and compare this with a similar analysis from 2010.

Methods: Content analysis of all programmes and advertisement/trailer breaks broadcast on the five national UK free-to-air channels in the UK between 6 and 10 pm during three separate weeks in September, October and November 2015.

Results: Alcohol content occurred in over 50% of all programmes broadcast and almost 50% of all advert/trailer periods between programmes. The majority of alcohol content occurred before the 9 pm watershed. Branding occurred in 3% of coded intervals and involved 122 brands, though three brands (Heineken, Corona and Fosters) accounted for almost half of all brand appearances.

Conclusion: Audio-visual alcohol content, including branding, is prevalent in UK television, and is therefore a potential driver of alcohol use in young people. These findings are virtually unchanged from our earlier analysis of programme content from 2010.