Radio 1 Economic Factors Essay (21/11/17)

The significance of economic factors, including commercial and not-for-profit public funding, to media industries and their products.
Here you will need to compare How Radio 1’s BBS production content is different to commercial radio.
Write an essay 400 – 500 words comparing Radio X Production and comment on 
The hosts used
Discuss the typical  production content including examples of music and guests and how the content& hosts  is geared towards a specific audience. 
Discuss how Radio X is as a commercial station is dependent on advertising revenue
Discuss how the advertising content is aligned to the audience profile of Radio X.
Discuss Radio 1’s PBS status
Discuss the impact of Radio 1’s funding (from tax payers money) on its production content. (take into account the stations remit…   
Identify examples from your analysis of Good morning Demi Lovato.


There are a few noticeable differences between Commercial Radio and Public Service Broadcasting (PSB). Commercial Radios are usually privately owned and rely on advertisements and sponsors to keep them running. These advertisements and sponsorships keep the radio show going and helps the radio station to be able to fund the different radio shows that they have going, all of which are targeted to a male audience. For example, Radio X is a commercial radio, and it is a radio station that's target audience is mainly male, and includes content and advertisements that are aimed at men, as they know that this is their target audience and that men are the most likely gender to be listening to the show. For example, there is an advertisement for Strongbow and an advert for Greene King. These companies are being advertised on Radio X as they are aware that the predominant audience is male, and know that men are more likely to take notice of these adverts and buy the products advertised. This radio station could be seen as offensive to women due to the fact that it is advertised as a male radio station, and that there are no female presenters. A female audience may enjoy the music that they play, but may feel as though they are not welcome to listen to the radio stations due to the fact it is dominated by a male audience, and these products also direct themselves towards the male audience. Additionally, diversity is limited due to the fact that it is only aimed at one gender, and that the music generally consists of artists that a male audience would listen to. For example, Nirvana mainly had a male following. Show hosts are also only male, meaning a female audience may not be interested in listening to the show.

They use male hosts to bring in the male audience. Presenters such as Johnny Vaughan, Chris Moyles, Ricky Wilson and Vernon Kay. All of these presenters are white, british men which may attract an audience of the same ethnicity. They are all within the audience age range and they do not particularly present themselves as 'posh' people, or people from a middle or higher class background. Before Chris Moyles became a presenter on radio X, he was the presenter of the Radio 1 breakfast show. This may resonate with a slightly older audience that remember him on this breakfast show and with people who used to listen to it regularly. If they remember his breakfast show on Radio 1, they may want to move over to radio X to listen to his show on there, and see if it is similar to his time on radio 1, or if they enjoy the show itself. The fact that all of their hosts are men could indicate that they are trying to reach an entirely male audiences. As mentioned previously, all of the advertisements presented on Radio X are male based and advertise products that would be appealing to the male audience, such as Greene King and Strongbow, both of which are male orientated products. As a commercial radio station, they have no public service remit so they can cater to whatever audience they feel would benefit them. They may take into consideration the financial element of commercial radio and what audience and advertisements would benefit them in the best financial way possible. This also means that they are limited in how many listeners they will generate and in how diverse their audience will be.

BBC Radio 1 is a public service broadcaster that is funded through the BBC and through the collection of the TV license that people pay every year to access all BBC channels and platforms. They offer a wider range of programs as they are aware that because they are a public service broadcaster, this enables them to reach a wider audience and this means they will have to provide programs that meets everyone's individual needs. Radio 1 includes content for both male and female, whereas Radio X only includes content for a predominantly male audience. Public service broadcasting is more inclusive as it may be generating higher listening numbers from a variety of different people from different backgrounds. Radio 1 also include content for a wider audience, and not just for a specific type of person. This helps them to increase their following, but also helps to allow everyone to be included in the target audience. From the particular episode 'Good Morning Demi Lovato!", they have included many aspects that demonstrate their remit to educate, inform and entertain. For example, when speaking with Demi Lovato herself, they were able to entertain the audience through the general conversation between herself and Nick Grimshaw, inform about her latest album but also a documentary that she was releasing, and educate by talking about some of the topics touched on within the documentary, which may give the listeners any advice they need and what to do in certain situations, in relation to Demi Lovato's personal experiences.