P1: Describe the different radio industry operations

 Describe the different radio industry operations

 

Introduction

In this report, I am going to outline the different types of radio stations and go in depth on each type and the differences between them. 

Public Radio

In the UK, public radio stations are the BBC radio stations e.g. Radio 1 and Radio 2. However, this also includes the local stations like BBC Radio Sheffield or Trax FM when it still existed. Public Radio is funded by the Government and by the license fee the general public pay; due to this, it means that they cannot explicitly promote products or advertise on their stations. Public radio have to be careful with the content they produce due to being funded by the government and license fee. They also don't have competitions that offer cash prizes. They have some of the highest listener numbers in the UK with approximately 14.9 million listeners tuning in to Radio 2 every week.  According to RAJAR, all BBC radio stations had a population of 56,348(000s).

The BBC's radio services began in 1922. The British Government licensed the BBC through its General Post Office, which had original control of the airwaves because they had been interrupted under law as an extension of the Post Office services. Some presenters on BBC Radio are Chris Evans, Clare Balding, Simon Bates and Billy Butler.

Regional Radio

Regional radio stations are radio stations that operate in a much smaller range compared to national radios, there are many regional radios and they operate in specific areas like TX1 Radio operates in Doncaster and although you can listen online to these radio stations from anywhere it is unlikely that anybody that does not live in the region will be listening. The funding for regional radios are either commercial funding or public funding. Regional radios can tailor the news and adverts featured on their radio stations to the specific area they operate in; for example, BBC Sheffield Radio can tailor the content on the station to the city of Sheffield. According to RAJAR, BBC Radio Sheffield had a listening population of 1,322 (000s). Presenters on BBC Radio Sheffield are Toby Foster and Becky Measures. The target audience for regional radios are anyone who lives in a specific area, more so adults rather than children because adults listen to the radio more often.

National Commercial Radio

National Commercial Radios are quite similar to public radio in the aspect that they both are very widespread. Major companies, such as Global, will have multiple stations under their ownership which will cater towards all different kinds of audiences. Example of these are: Capital, Heart, Kiss, LBD and Talk Sport. Unlike public radio, commercial radio contains advertisements and endorsements and these radio stations will be run as a method to create profit for the company through their use of advertisements and endorsements. Since commercial radio is funded by advertisers, they have less restrictions then public radio and are allowed to offer cash prize competitions and promote products. According to RAJAR, Capital had a listening population of 56,348 (000s). Some of the presenters on Capital are Roman Kemp, Sonny Jay, Jimmy Hill and Chris Stark. These are generally younger presenters than the presenters on public radio, which means the target audience for this radio station are younger than a radio station like BBC Radio for example. 

Not for Profit Radio

This is a radio that is developed to not make a profit, and they keep costs minimal. They will rely on volunteers to make sure that the station can keep running because they do not have the funds to have payed employees. Not for Profit Radio stations can mainly be found in use in places like Hospitals, Colleges and Universities. A lot of popular radio DJ's started off as a volunteer radio presenter on university radio stations to gain experience. Not for Profit Radio will tailor their content based around their listeners and use their service to inform and entertain them. The target audience for these radio stations are most likely students on the campus of a university or patients in hospitals.

The Student Radio Association is a representative body that supports and acts on behalf of the UK student radio network, compromising of student radio stations based in universities across the UK and Ireland.

Community Radio

This is a form of not for profit radio, this is when local people produce and broadcast their own programs and participate in operating the station. It will cover a small geographical area (about 5km), by having a small area of coverage they can cater for whole communities or for different areas of interest - such as a particular ethnic group, age group, or interest group. Community radio stations reflect a diverse mix of cultures and interests. For example, Angel Radio in Havant, Hampshire is a community radio for people aged over 60. Angel radio play vintage music for nostalgic memories for older people. Some of the presenters on Angel Radio are Tony Bradley, Bob Hind and Dave Gamblen. The target audience for Angel Radio is very evidently pensioners and elderly people over 60 as every aspect of the Angel Radio station is catered towards that age group from the music played to the presenters. 

Internet Radio 

Internet Radio's use the internet as a form of distribution for its contents rather than radio waves. The official term used for Internet Radio's is webcasting. It is a form of streaming media where content is usually provided live instead of being prerecorded like some podcasts. They key perk of of internet radio is that it will be available on a global scale as it uses the internet to distribute and anyone with a device connected to the web can access it. You can listen to radio stations from the internet like Heart Radio, meaning you can listen to it wherever you are as long as you have a device connected to the web. Some of the presenters on Heart Radio are Amanda Holden, Zoe Hardman, Yasmin Evans and Devin Griffin. You can listen to these presenters on the radio itself or from the internet if you search up Heart Radio on a web browser you can listen from anywhere. I believe that the target audience for Heart Radio on the internet is young adults because they are more likely to use the internet whereas older people are more likely to listen to traditional radio. Additionally, the presenters on Heart Radio are quite young or more trendy therefore I believe that the target audience are younger generations of adults.