Influence of Audience Trust in Selected Nigerian Television Interviewers on Viewing Loyalty and Programme Engagement

Abstract

This study examined the influence of audience trust in television interviewers on viewing loyalty and programme engagement. The study was anchored on the Uses and Gratifications Theory, which explains that audiences actively select media content that satisfies their information, surveillance, and engagement needs. A quantitative approach employing a survey research design was adopted. Data were collected from 381 valid respondents selected through a multistage sampling technique across Lagos, Oyo, and Ogun States, Nigeria. Descriptive statistics and simple linear regression were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that respondents generally expressed moderate to high levels of trust in television interviewers and that audience trust significantly influenced continued viewing of television interview programmes. The results further indicated that viewers were more likely to remain loyal to programmes and actively engage with their content when they perceived interviewers as credible, fair, objective, and professional. The hypothesis test showed that audience trust significantly predicted programme engagement (F = 59.512, p < .001), leading to the rejection of the null hypothesis. The study concludes that audience trust is a significant predictor of viewing loyalty and programme engagement and recommends that television interviewers adopt ethical, balanced, and evidence-based interviewing practices to strengthen audience confidence and sustain viewer engagement.