Understanding RadioBy Sam Webster

Commercial RadioWhat is it? Who owns the commercial stations in Yorkshire?What are the listening figures for Capital FM, Radio Aire and Real Radio?

What is Commercial Radio?Commercial radio is the broadcasting of radio

programmes that are by privately owned companies.

Commercial radio is every single radio station out side of the BBC as they are owned by public.

Commercial radio stations are funded by advertising unlike Non-commercial radio stations.

What is Commercial Radio?The BBC is a public service broadcaster and

because of this they have to do three things which are; Entertain Educate and inform. Which means they are not all about trying to get listeners, as they already have the money.

This is different to commercial radio as they are all about getting high amounts of listeners because their money is funded by advertisers.

This is also why commercial play popular mainstream chart music to try and gain the highest audiences possible.

Who owns the commercial stations in Yorkshire?One of the main commercial stations is what

used to be Galaxy FM which is now Capital FM.

Capital FM has nine stations across the UK, and Capital FM as well as Gold Network and XFM and Classic FM is owned by Global Radio.

Another main commercial stations in Yorkshire is Radio Aire which is owned by Bauer Radio who also own Magic 828.

Real Radio is owned by Guardian MediaGroup.

What are the listening figures for Capital FM, Radio Aire and Real Radio?Radio Station Listening figures (per week)

Capital FM (All over the UK) 6,764,000

Radio Aire (Yorkshire) 160,000

Real Radio (Yorkshire) 317,000

Public Service BroadcastingWhat is PSB ?What are the different BBC stations, their remit and what do they cover ?

What is PSB ?Public Service Broadcasting is basically

programmes that are broadcasted for the benefit of the public and their needs.

This means that the Public Service Broadcasting have to do three things which is to inform, educate and entertain. They must do those three things.

BBC stationsStation Target

AudienceWhat type of music? Music

and Speech

Popular ?

BBC Radio 1

15 – 35 year olds

Day time- New and Old MusicNight time- Dubstep and Bassline Music

Mix of Music and Speech

2nd most listened to station in the UK

BBC Radio 2

Over the age of 35

Daytime – Older music Night time – Older music

Mix of Speech and Music

1st most listened to station in the UK

BBC Radio 3

Anyone that likes classical and jazz music

Day time – Classical and JazzNight time- Classical and Jazz

Mostly Music

...

BBC Radio 4

Older Listeners Daytime- Speech and DramasNight Time- Speech and Dramas

Mostly Speech

....

BBC stationsStation Target

AudienceWhat type of music? Music

and Speech

Popular ?

BBC Radio 5

Sport fans any age

Day time- SportNight time- Sport

Mostly Speech

...

BBC Radio 6

Any Ages Old music and new music that is outside the mainstream music.

Mix of Speech and Music

...

BBC Radio 7

People into documentary's and politics

Speech All Speaking

...

New TechnologiesHow are the BBC and commercial radio stations using new technology to broadcast to their listeners.

How are the BBC and commercial radio stations using new technology to broadcast to their listeners.When the internet was invented people thought

that would kill off the radio, but instead it made it better and stronger then it ever was.

The internet has increased listening figures. The first way it has done that is internet radio for example, stations like radio 1 or radio 2, can be listened to worldwide, on the world wide web. The BBC have also now got, the BBC’s Iplayer, which has helped the listening figures increase, as the listen again button has made peoples life a lot easier.

Non-for-profit radioWhat is non-for-profit radio ?What examples are in the Yorkshire area?

What is non-for-profit radio ?Community radio (Non-for profit radio) is a

type of radio service. This is a commercial and public service. Community radio stations broadcast content that is very popular to there target audience and relevant to the local town/city.

What examples are in the Yorkshire area?The major non for profit radio

station in Pudsey is PGFM. The reason this is a non for profit radio station is because the presenters do not get paid and all the presenters use the experience for there school work. The way PGFM is funded is by advertisers from local businesses in Leeds.

The major non for profit radio station in Bradford is BCB (Bradford Community Broadcasting) which also has non paid presenters and is run off advertising.

Professional BodiesWhat is the role of the following professional bodies in the radio industry?

The National association of Broadcasters (NAB)National association of Broadcasters provide

professional development opportunities for all the local radio stations, all over the UK. They help with cost-saving initiatives where available.

Ofcom regulate the content on radio to ensure it is suitable for broadcast, and if someone has a complaint about a radio station they report it to Ofcom, who then sort it out.

Ofcom

Advertising standards authority (ASA)ASA is another regulating body. ASA ensure

all adverts are suitable for broadcast, and also that they don’t break any of the CAP codes. This is also where people go to complain about an unsuitable advert.

PRS is an organization who make sure that the artists and composers of the music, get paid, when their music is played on the radio.

PRS For Music

Community media association (CMA)The CMA is a non-profit making organisation.

CMA’s remit has  been to expand to now include community television and community based Internet projects. CMA represents the community media sector to Government, industry and regulatory bodies.

CRCA represents Commercial Radio to Government, Ofcom, copyright societies and other organisations concerned with radio. CRCA owns Radio Joint Audience Research Ltd (RAJAR) which is where you find all the listening figures for radio.

Commercial Radio Companies Association

Employment in the Radio SectorHow many people work in the radio industry?What is the breakdown of roles in the industry? What does it mean to work freelance and what percentage of the workforce work on a freelance basis?Where are most of the workforce based geographically?Is it essential to have a degree in Media Studies?What types of roles will be available in the future and what kind of skills are needed to be involved in radio in a technologically advanced world?

How many people work in the radio industry?In the commercial radio business there's

around 10,000 people working in the commercial radio. Compare that to just under 11,000 people who are employed by the BBC. As these figures show that more people work in the public sector then in commercial radio sector.

What is the breakdown of roles in the industry?

In the radio industry, the broadcasters that are employed is around 6320. There are around 2320 in production side of radio, and around 4910 in journalism. There are also a very high amount of freelance workers in the radio industry, because this means the radio industry have a lot of workers who help at more than one section. 25% of people is made up of freelance workers.

Where are most of the workforce based geographically?

Most of the main workforce for the radio industry is based in London with around 39% of all radio jobs are located here. This is including 58% of all BBC radio jobs.

The highest percentage of commercial radio jobs are in the North of England with around 20% here, slightly more than London, around 17%.  

Is it essential to have a degree in Media Studies?Media studies is a very important subject to

work in. Production side of Media has just over two-thirds (69%) of nationwide workers are graduates which means 18% didn’t secure a qualification.

That shows that it is not essential to have a media degree is more about multi skilled talent, what more can you add to the company.

What types of roles will be available in the future and what kind of skills are needed to be involved in radio in a technologically advanced world?According to Skillset, if you want to be a

future employee to the radio sector you will need to be an multi skilled talent to deliver flexibility and adaptability, which means you can offer more the company. As well as technical and creative specialists to help ‘break new ground’.

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