Assignment 1

Assignment 1

Radio Station Name; Guardian FM

Target Audience:

The target audience would be a typical 55-80 years old. They would probably not go out much so having the radio on would be normal and comforting for them. They like listening to music from eh olden day because it is what they were brought up with so it gives them comforting memories and keeps them happy.  They also like to know about everyday events in the local area so they know that if something bad is going on hey know to avid it so they don’t get hurt. Also then they know the local weather and how their plans may be affected.  They like the company of the radio and with the presenters of older people they have something to relate to with them so they are more likely to listen.

Describing the station:

The station will be quite informative with good news and weather updates, it will also have a good source of information for the area so the older age that does not get out as much will know what is changing or happening around them. There will be a decent amount of music on the radio station to make the listeners feel comforted, and most of the music will be from around 60’s-80’s so they know the music and can relate to it from there younger life which would also be making them feel better about themselves.  The station will have clear speakers on the radio so older people that may not have good hearing can still hear them and enjoy the good company of the radio station.

Competition:

The listeners would be interested in radio stations such as GOLD and ANGEL so these would be the main competitors.

Gold would be a main competitor because they are a well-known radio station and they play music from around the 60’s/70’s, which would have been a big hit when they were younger.  They also have an average audience of 1,661,000 listeners for the show. They play a lot of original versions of songs that have been updated nowadays and sung by other people for example ‘Breakfast in America” by Supertramp. They also have shop adverts for places that people that age are going to shop such as BHS and Marks and Spencer’s and then in addition they have different people presenting at different times of the day to keep people interested.

Angel FM is very much based on the 1900’s-1959, they tell stories on the radio station to give the audience something to listen to and keep them interested, also have stories on there the audience would listen to it more and more because they would be interested about what story would be told next.  They have old presenters on the show so the target audience has something to relate to when they are listening. The music on the radio is mainly the same but sometimes there are lyrics but sometimes there are not like Jazz Music from the 50’s.  This would make them competitors because the music is varied making the audience bigger for the show. They also tell stories about there day to day lives and memories that they can remember to keep the audience interested in something different every time. Angel radio also have a comedy hours every day to keep the audience laughing whilst they are listening, this would be a good thing to have in my radio station because then they would enjoy it more.

There would also be other ones like EXPRESS FM and CLASSIC FM so again these would be competitors because EXPRESS FM is local and gives weather and news in the area and CLASSIC FM has good and relatable music on there. Although they are still competitor they are not as big of competitors because they do not have as much to relate with when it comes to a suitable station.

Express FM would also be a competitor not from there music but because they are local. They would know all the weather updates and what are going on in that area such as traffic and local events.  They also give good advice about different things that are happening in the area such as the firework night on Palmerston road, the prescient. Having all of this makes them a competitor however there constant music makes the audience of over 55’s less interested and may make them switch over radio to a different one.

Classic FM would also be another competitor for there music but then they do have a lot of relevant adverts for their audience.  They also give up to date news of what is happening with politics in the UK and also what is happening in the local area.  The music on this radio would be almost the same as my radio station but mine would have more variety, this would make the radio stations awkward because they would constantly be competing for who plays what when.

A radio station that would not be a competitor would be Capital. This would not be competitor because they play more up to date music, which would not suit for example:

·      Rumor has it - Adele

·      Our day will come – Amy Winehouse

·      It will rain - Bruno Mars

·      Marry You - Bruno Mars

·      Anyway - Cee lo Green

·      Midnight run - Example

 This would not suit my target listeners needs at all so would not be suitable for my radio station.  Also they have a more of a casual conversation theme so the understanding for the audience would be harder and they may not understand it. They would not have any relation to capital because it is not local so it would not help them on finding things out around them, so they would not be getting the help they need. Also the weather updates would not tell them what the weather is going to be in there area so they wouldn’t know whether it is going to be safe.  The y would not be the competitor because the news they would give on the radio would not be relevant to them because it would be all celebrity gossip and no politics information, which the older generation tends to like to listen to.

Description of Listeners needs

Alive: The radio keeps you motivated for the day . Provides a theme tune of your life . They wake you up and provide entertainment and informs you through out the day.
Chilled out: The radio station keep you relaxed and helps you to unwind. They make you feel at home !
Comforted: Makes you feel save and get involved through things like phone ins and quizzes. The presenters are your friends.
Informed: Informed is a radio station mainly including the news and weather and current politics. They tell you thing to tell others- more knowledge is power!

Radio 1

Radio 1 is an Adult Contemporary radio presented by Chris Moyle’s and aimed at an audience of about 17 years or above, having Chris Moyle’s as a presenter is good because he is funny and chatty and draws in a good audience on the show. The show they have a casual banter and informal feel to the show being very chatty to eachother with lots of ad lib and random conversation. They have an informed format as they have things like the news and weather on there so they are giving the audience the basic headlines and general information, in a way they act like a pick me up with a formal side which is where the adult involvement comes in. Another way I know it’s a adult contemporary so because it has music on there from the 70’s/ 80’s but then also some charts I amongst it, this is giving a clear indication of the target. At the moment they have been playing a variety of songs for examples a few are Lana Del Rey- Video Games, Professor Green, Labyrinth and Mode step. Most of these songs are all top charts which is good for a younger audience of listeners but they also do then news and weather for a more middle aged generation where they do go into a fair bit of detail especial for the breaking news. During the radio broadcasting there is no interaction with the audience which is bad because then people can’t get involved as easily so they would feel less inclined to listen because of the lack of talk to the audience, they talk more to each other as though they are blocking the audience out of the friendship group on the radio.

Definitions of Different Formats

Format:

Format is a particular way of presenting something, there are different formats for differnt radio stations. The format could also be described for the way it sounds.
Contemporary Hit Radio:
Plays current chart music, a selection of favorite artists. Can be played in heavy rotation meaning that the same song is played a number of times during the day. Appeals to a audience of 15-30 years old. (Capital)
Adult Contemporary:
plays a mix of modern songs with some older ones, maybe from the 70's and 80's. More formal in their style than younger stations - appeals to adults 29+. (Heart)
Specialist:
Plays a specific type of music to target a specific audience depending on their interest. (Classic FM)
Community:
set up to serve the people living in that are that this station brodcasts. Non profitable and usually the presenters are volunteers. A good place to learn about the radio industry. (Express FM)
Gold:
Targets a older audience with music that typically dates back to the 60' . More in the way of information. (gold)

Research on BBC- 'Unique and Highly Regarded'

The BBC is unique and highly regarded across the world this is because of it's different ways of making money and there way of having no adverts.

The BBC are funded through the television licence fee which people who own TVs have to pay annually. They also don't include adverts in there channels, there programs/music is just continuous making them well known around the world .This is very different to Commercial radio stations because they are a lot of adverts played between songs, news, weather etc. This makes them unique because the BBC is one of the only Radio stations that firstly charge money but also don't promote any other companies or businesses.

The BBC are so highly regarded because they are reliable, they broadcast on a variety of FM and AM frequencies so there radio has a world wide and constant radio for all to enjoy. They are also on digital TV in the UK and there Radio can be listened to up to 7 days after its broadcasting on the Internet. This is nearly the same as Commercial Radio's but they normally just play online as they do on the radio so everything happens at the same time, there is no previous recordings making them less reliable with there information because you don't know whether they would repeat it or whether you would have to wait to hear it again.