LO1: P1: Describe the Different Radio Industry Operations

 Describe the Different Radio Industry Operations 

INTRODUCTION

Within this report, I am going to describe all the different types of radio stations as well as the different types of radio programmes on the aforementioned radio stations. After discussing what makes these different, I will give some examples of each radio station and radio programme. I will then go onto discuss the target audience of each radio station through areas such as the psychographics, social grade, age, gender, ethnicity or nationality. Surrounding each radio programme, I will consider the purposes of these and how they are meant to provide the audience with something for example either entertainment or information. Also, I will mention the different ownerships for each of the previously talked about radio stations. 

RADIO STATIONS

One type of radio station is called public radio. Public radio stations are funded by the license fee that the general public pay but they also received some funding from the Government. Due to this, public radio stations are limited in the types of content they can air, for example they cannot advertise or explicitly promote specific brands or branded products. This is because they would then be seen as favouring specific brands by the Government and they cannot receive money from these advertisements so it would be free promotion. To ensure that no free advertisement is happening, if a guest (either a celebrity who is being interviewed or a civilian who has called in from home to take part in the radio station's segment) mentions a branded product it would be left to the presenter's responsibility to cover for them and quickly say how other products are available. By doing this and talking about the other types of products available allows the radio station to show they aren't sponsored or being paid to promote one product as this would go against what a public radio station is allowed to do. Another aspect of public radio stations is that they do not hold competitions for tax free prize cash due to the fact that these would usually be funded through adverts and the people paying in to be a part of the competition. However, despite this, public radio stations hold some of the highest listener numbers in the UK. For example, Radio 2 have 14.9 million listeners tuning in every week. Some other examples of public radio stations are Radio 1 and Radio 5. The radio stations with the BBC name are all public radio stations, such as BBC Sheffield, this is because the BBC is Government and tax funded. The target audience of BBC Radio 1 include people in the age range of 15 year olds to 29 year olds. It would include the psychographics of mainstreamers, explorers and aspirers. This is because BBC Radio 1 offers a range of newer music and supports emerging, rising new artists which would appeal to the explorer psychographic. It also contains some news or advice campaigns which cover topics related to young adults meaning the younger age bracket for the target audience. The purpose of BBC Radio 1 is to provide entertainment for its' target audience through the music being aired as well as provide some occasional informing of advice or news. 

Another type of radio station is called national commercial. National commercial radio stations, in opposition of public radio stations, contain advertisements and endorsements. This is to fund the radio station is terms of running the station, keeping it live and on air, paying the staff and the buildings and other aspects too. National commercial radio stations also make their profit for the company through the use of these advertisements and endorsements. Some major conglomerates of national commercial radio stations, for example Global, will own multiple stations as subsidiaries which cater for different target audiences. The conglomerate Global own stations such as Capital, Kiss, Classic FM and LBC. Each one of these radio stations cater to a different target audience. Capital FM have a younger target audience compared to LBC or Classic FM. This is because Capital air more modern and mainstream artists whereas LBC (which stands for Leading Britain's Conversation) contains more chatting and talking content. Furthermore, Capital FM would be targeted towards an audience with the social grade of the lower bracket, C2, D and E whereas LBC would be towards the higher bracket of the social grades. This is because the lower bracket include students, unemployed, and jobs which typically include having more free time to listen to music and that is why they would turn Capital FM on either at home or in the car on the way to work. Whereas, the higher bracket of the social grade system, have typically less free time to be listening to music and would be more interested in the current news and events which would be discussed about on the LBC station. An example of a national commercial radio station would be Capital FM which is owned by Global. The purpose of national commercial radio stations is to provide entertainment and interaction with their audience by having features such as call in and chat or entering the cash prize competitions which are held by the radio stations. 

A different type of radio station is called regional radio. A regional radio station can either be a public radio station or a commercial radio station. The main difference with a regional radio station is geographically where the target audience reside. For a regional radio station instead of being targeted at a larger, more national audience (like a national commercial radio station is) it is aimed at a specific, particular region. The regional radio station then filters the information it is giving out to their audience by making it specific to the local area. An example of this tailored information would be the weather or any traffic updates such as roads being closed or any accidents happening. Furthermore, the advertisements which are aired on a regional radio station would promote smaller, more local companies and businesses. Some examples of regional radio stations would be BBC Radio Sheffield or TX1 Radio, these cover Sheffield and Doncaster & Bassetlaw. TX1 Radio's ownership belongs to Chris Holden meaning it is a commercial radio station as it makes its profit off advertisements and sponsorships. Whereas, BBC Radio Sheffield is owned by the BBC and is therefore a public radio station because it is funded by the Government and public fees. The target audience for a regional radio station would mostly include the people who live in the local area and can access the radio station on their devices. The purpose of a regional radio station is to provide entertainment as well as more of a local news source to the listeners surrounding weather or traffic as people would most likely be listening to the radio while they are in the car or on an app as they are getting ready to leave the house. 

Another type of radio station is called not for profit. A not for profit radio station relies mostly on volunteers to ensure that it stays running and active. It is similar to a public radio station in terms of content however it does not receive funding from the Government or public fees so it has to keep the costs minimal. As the name says, a not for profit radio station does not run to earn a profit. Not for profit radio stations mainly run in places such as hospitals, colleges and universities. Some examples of a not for profit radio station would be University Radio York and Sheffield Hospital Radio. These are owned by the names of the stations, so volunteers from the Sheffield Hospital and typically students from the University of York. Bigger name radio DJs usually begin in university radio stations which are not for profit radio stations. The target audience for the University Radio York station would be the university students around campus, so the genders and sexualities would aim to be all inclusive while the music would be aimed at the ages of 18+ and would most likely to be more trending, mainstream music artists. This not for profit radio station would also then tailor its' content to be based around the listeners' needs. The purpose of the University Radio York is to provide its' listeners with entertainment and inform them of activities happening around the university, for example any of the student union or exams or projects coming up within university.  

A different type of radio station is called community radio. This type of radio station is a form of the not for profit radio station where they produce and broadcast their own radio. A community radio, similar to a regional radio station, covers a smaller geographic radius in their target audience and availability. The community radio station's target audience includes a diverse mix of cultures and people who are interested in a lot of different things. They are aimed at certain demographics, for example different ethic groups, ages, genders or religions. An example of a community radio station is Sheffield Live! which is owned by Commedia Sheffield. Another example is Premier Christian Radio which is owned by the charity Premier Christian Media Trust. This is an example of a community radio station because the music which is aired is specifically aimed at people of the religion of Christianity. The purpose of these community radio stations are for entertainment and to provide some information.

The final type of radio station is called Internet Radio. This type of radio station uses the internet as a form of distribution rather than the typical radio waves. The proper technical term for an internet radio station is called webcasting, which is a form of streaming media where the content is usually provided live instead of prerecorded programmes. An example of this is having a podcast being aired live. An advantage of an internet radio station is that it is available on a global scale as it uses the internet to distribute through to anyone with a device which can connect to the Wi-Fi. An example of an internet radio station is called Soho Radio which is owned by Adrian Meehan. The target audience of Soho Radio is aimed at a wider spread of people who have interests in different genres of music. For example, the people who are going to listen to Soho Radio are most likely to be of the psychographic of mainstream or explorers. This is because as explorers are always travelling they can listen to Soho Radio if they have a internet connection and they would like to try out new genres of music for example Jazz or Soul. It would also interest mainstreamers as they also host chat and interaction shows as well. There are no playlists which give the presenters complete freedom to broadcast anything they want to. The purpose of Soho Radio is to entertain the tuned in listeners and gives them access to a variety of music genres. 

RADIO PROGRAMMES

Radio stations also host a variety of different types of radio programmes. One of these radio programmes is music. An example of this type of radio programme is called the Asian Wrap on the Sine FM Radio Station. This radio programme is hosted by the presenter Ammara Khan on Fridays from 10am to 11am. This programme airs Bollywood and Bhangra music and the purpose of this programme is to target the more Asian community to air the different styles of music you wouldn't normally hear on a radio station. 

A different type of radio programme is called current events. This radio programme is for the presenters to discuss the different types of events that is currently happening either in the news or in society. These topics are talked about between the presenters and sometimes guests or the public's opinions can be included through call in sections. An example of a radio station which holds current events radio programmes is LBC. Some presenters of the LBC include Nick Abbot, Shelagh Fogarty and Rachel Johnson. 

Another type of radio programme is called dramatizations. A dramatization is like a tv programme but just the audio instead of visuals. This means that the settings and actions will be described for the listeners. An example of a radio station which airs dramatizations is BBC Radio 4 and one of the dramatizations is called The Archers. Initially, it was marketed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is however now promoted as a "contemporary drama in a rural setting". Listeners often compare this to Emmerdale. The purpose of this radio programme is to entertain the listeners as they immerse themselves in a fictional world. 

During a radio programme or while a radio station is on air, there might be segments where people call in and they talk about any troubles or problems they might be having in their lives. This type of radio programme is called Lifestyle.The point of this is so the presenters can offer some advice or a solution to their problems and by doing this on the radio, it gives the listeners something to relate to as they might experience a similar problem and then they are then informed on ways to try and fix the issue. An example of this is when Martin Lewis gives advice to people on how they can avoid or ways to help with their money issues during an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live.  

The final type of radio programme is called chat. This type of radio programme can be included on a radio station as a whole programme or sometimes just as segments or at quick intervals between songs. It can also link to lifestyle, music and current events due to this. This is when the presenters are just talking either between themselves but also towards the listeners. An example of this is Radio 1 with Jordan North and Vick Hope. The purpose of this is to help the listeners relax, destress and give them an enjoyable experience. 

CONCLUSION 

In conclusion, I have discussed thoroughly the different types of radio stations as well as the variety of radio programmes which are aired on each radio stations by giving some examples as evidence. I have also discussed the target audiences of each radio station in detail along with the purpose of each different type of radio programmes for the listeners. To summarise, I have described the different operations within the radio industry.