P1 LO1: Write a report on different radio stations that exists

Public radio stations

Public radio stations are stations funded by the public through licenses and taxes, their prime objective is public service due to them being funded by the public, so they provide more informative news as a such to more radio shows. A prime example is the BBC, they have many radio stations however all of them have some form of informative content. Focusing on BBC Radio 1, the content of public radio stations include contemporary music and then news and information, this station bases its content. The target audience of BBC radio 1 is 15- 29 year olds which is considered a younger adult audience. Since it is targeted towards younger audiences it predominantly plays alternative music, most commonly songs from the charts, with only a few shows targeted towards teenagers. As this station is public funded it doesn't host competitions like a commercial station like Capital FM, this is probably since it is crowd funded and I do not believe that the public would be happy with this use of their funding. The only few shows on Radio 1 consist of mostly Breakfast Shows and some talk shows where they engage with their audience, an example being 'Rickie, Melvin and Charlie'.

Regional radio stations

Regional radio stations can be either public or commercial radio stations, and it is targeted towards a particular region, hence the name, instead of broadcasting over a larger area, examples of regional radio stations are: Radio Sheffield, TX1 Radio. These radio stations usually target their local communities so for example Radio Sheffield will only broadcast and base its shows and news around what is happening in Sheffield. The target audience of Radio Sheffield is people aged 50 and over, this will mean that the music broadcasted on this station is older as it is to appeal to an older audience who is in the local area, as it will be in their interest of learning about things in the local area, this can be news reports, traffic reports or just general information. Some of their more popular shows are Toby Foster at Breakfast and Football Heaven.

National Commercial Radio Stations

National commercial radio stations are large conglomerate radio stations with subsidiaries in different sectors, all with the purpose of making a profit, they do this by having stations that reach different demographic sectors, and they generate money through advertising products for companies and endorsement from companies. An example is Capital Radio, it is one of the largest radio stations in the UK and it is targeted towards 15- 34 year olds which is a relatively young audience, it has a variety of shows and content for users, for example they host small competitions for people to visit the Capital Summertime Ball which is an event with popular artists, this is all done to create profit as it advertises the event and it also allows them to raise revenue as people have to pay to enter some competitions, so if they advertise that it costs £2 to enter, across its 7,599 listeners (taken from RAJAR), even if only half enter, it leaves them with quite a bit of profit every time they do it. They may also gain money from advertising for companies, such as McDonalds, who advertise for their products that they are wanting people tp buy, for example when limited time products return such as the 'Big Mac with Bacon', from listening to this people, especially drivers, as they may be more likely to purchase the product. One of the more popular shows on Capital is Breakfast with Roman Kemp, a young producer with quite an enthusiastic tone and presenting style, this is to meet the needs of the younger end of the spectrum as this is likely when many kids are getting ready for school, and it can give audiences a positive mindset which may attract them to this show.

Non for Profit Radio Stations

Non for profit radio stations are small radio stations that broadcast across a very small area, for example on a university campus or a hospital, they would tailor their content around the listeners, so for a university it would be tailored around things happening on campus, so if there's any important information or events going on around campus or perhaps something that may affect the students, for example travelling to and from the campus via buses or train. Its known that many popular Dj's start out in this type of station. Usually the content of the radio stations is mostly music, with little to no actual shows, in actuality there are only really notices that go through the radio and in some there are adverts for events, this is probably as the listeners aren't as bothered about all the news, and there isn't a high listenership, perhaps this is as people would rather listen to the larger radio stations instead.

Community radio

Community radio is a form of non for profit radio that allows people to produce and broadcast their own programs, these stations tend to cover a small geographical area. Usually with it covering such a small area, they tend to be targeted towards a particular demographic, for example in a country village, they may play older songs and perhaps people may do a prayer, for example they could put in a notice for if there is a big gathering or meeting going on in the village. In some cases people broadcast from their own homes however this is technically not allowed as only companies can have the licensing to have their own radio channel.  for example Asian Star Radio is a community radio station targeted towards the particular demographic of Asian people, perhaps this is as it is a small demographic so there isn't as large enough of an audience for commercial companies to turn a profit from it.

Internet Radio

Internet radio is a radio station that is broadcasted over the internet, usually this is done when you're intending on reaching people across the world. An example of this is Cinemix an American radio station which is accessed via the Radio.net app or their website. This station is well known for its broadcasting of film soundtracks, as films are popular across the globe it is probably better to broadcast over the internet. The content on this radio station is television and film soundtracks, this could easily mean it appeals to a broad audience however from further inspection it seems that it is targeted towards an older audience, this is implied through the idea that a younger audience would want to listen to what's popular as they are more likely to follow the hypodermic syringe and only be interested in the things advertised to them and what is pushed at them for consumption, for example certain songs may be played 7-8 times a day whereas an older audience wouldn't be interested in listening to something more than once. The primary gender targeted by this radio station isn't actually specific due to the genre of music shown, this is as films can appeal to either males or females so i believe it will include a mix to appeal to both in order to attract a larger audience.