Radio Industry Research

Differences between Podcasts and Radio Broadcasting:

Schedule Vs On Demand:

• Radio:
• You have to stick to a clear schedule as you're only on for a set amount of time per day
• Have to communicate the schedule to your audience so they can listen to the full broadcast
• May need to reintroduce yourself, the topic being discussed or the show that's on if they tune in halfway through 
• Podcasts:
• Audiences are able to watch it whenever they want, as they can start at the beginning and start and stop the podcast when they want to 
• Your audiences have a lot more control when it comes to what and when they watch their product
• Still follow a schedule, however audiences don't have to listen to it when it comes out 

Mass Appeal Vs Niche:

• Radio:
• Tend to appeal to larger audiences - play more popular music so more people can relate to it 
• Even if you're appealing to a large audience, it may be hard to actually reach them and capture their attention
• Podcasts:
• Some appeal to a mass audience, however a majority of the podcasts end up focusing on niche audiences
• Should be able to reach them due to their online habits, as it will hopefully be advertised to them. 
• Still overlap between both Radio and podcast, as both can appeal to mass and niche audiences, however this is only a small amount 

Live Vs Pre - Recorded:

• Radio:
• Radio hosts have to be comfortable moving past mistakes or moving onto the next subject, as there isn't much room for mistakes or hesitations during live shows
• you can't edit any mistakes out afterwards, as it's live
• You have the time constraint of how long the radio show is scheduled for - can't go overtime
• Podcasts:
• have the ability to re-record or edit out any mistakes or technical difficulties 
• may lose spontaneity due to the fact you can re-record, as it may seem scripted 
• no time restraints - allows for more freedom for what you want to do in the podcast as you have as much time as you want 
• can include all of your chosen topic - doesn't have to be cut down

Regulations and Licensing Vs Unlicensed:

• Radio:
• To legally be able to play the music that radio stations need to, the station have to obtain licensing 
• A lot of regulations for the amount of times you can play the album, song etc. 
• Podcasts:
• Can't actually use music in your podcasts because of copyright issues 
• You're only allowed to use music if you have specific permission from the artist or if it's under the public domain 
• Aside from that podcasts are unregulated 

Short Life Vs Long Life:

• Radio:
• Radio podcasts have a short life as they're only available when they are on a live broadcast
• Once a live radio event is over, it's 'life' is over (can't catch up with it later)
• Small window of opportunity to consume the radio broadcast 
• Podcasts:
• Have an incredibly long life as they are able to be viewed whenever the listener wants to
• A podcast will be online forever, so the audience can watch it weeks, months or years after it's recorded 

Commercial and Public Service Radio Broadcaster 

Commercial Broadcaster:

• A Commercial Broadcaster is a radio station that generates money through radio commercials, radio spots or advertising jingles (generates money through advertising) 
• The advertising is released by companies that use radio stations as a good medium in order to get their message across
• Examples include Classic FM and Absolute Radio, as they both generate their money through advertising  

Public Service Broadcaster:

• The term refers to broadcasting that is intended for the public's benefit rather than just their commercial interests 
• Includes Radio 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Live and 6 Music
• The BBC is the most know public service broadcaster in the Uk.
• Public service broadcasting doesn't include any advertisements, as they are all funded by license fees, which are paid by the public. 
• All public service broadcasters have a remit that they broadcast digitally.

The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)

Purpose, Mission and Values:

• The BBC's mission statement is "to act in the public interest, serving all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain" - The statement stresses on the difference it makes in society while fulfilling it's objectives. 
• The vision statement is "to be the most creative organisation in the world" - the BBC isn't happy just dominating the UK
• One of the missions that the BBC has is to have a Global Reach

• The BBC's core values are: 
1. Trust is the foundation of the BBC. We're independent, impartial and honest
2. We put audiences at the heart of everything we do
3. We respect each other and celebrate our diversity 
4. We take pride in delivering quality and value for money 
5. Creativity is the lifeblood of our organisation 
6. We're one BBC. Great things happen when we work together

• The Charter that the BBC has sets out the five public purposes:
1. To provide impartial news and information to help people understand and engage with the people around them
2. To support learning for people of all ages 
3. To show the most creative, highest quality and distinctive output and services 
4. To reflect, represent and serve the diverse communities of all of the United Kingdom's nations and regions and, in doing so, support the creative economy across the United Kingdom.
5. To reflect the United Kingdom, it's cultures and values to the world 

BBC Broadcasts: Locally, Nationally, Globally:

Local Services:

• BBC offer listeners BBC Local Radio, which operates at 39 stations across England, offering speech based services for news, information and debates, which has a strong emphasis on interactivity
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National Services:

• The BBC broadcast their different channels nationally across the UK, and includes the Welsh, Scottish and Irish versions of some one their main channels, for example BBC One Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Same as their Radio stations, for example BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and Cymru 2 (made for people that speak Welsh in wales)
• They offer these services so that their products can reach a wider range of people

Global News Services:

• BBC world services is an international multimedia broadcaster, which delivers a wide range of language and regional services on radio, TV and online 
• Reaches a weekly audience of around 279 million people around the world
• Operates in more than 40 languages 
• This is funded by the license fee, however the money for the expansion was awarded through a grant from the government 
• This is similar with BBC World News, which is broadcasted in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. This provides the public with news, business, sport and weather information and broadcasts hourly

Content and Style of BBC Radio 4

• Broadcasts a wide range of spoken word genres such as news , drama, comedy , science and comedy
• The target audience for BBC Radio for are people aged 34-54 ABC1 and the average aged listener is at 54 years old
• Out of all the genres they mainly seem to broadcast the news and sports coverage on the radio broadcast
• Example: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman is read out loud in 10 separate episodes 
• Example: Woman's hour - talk about important women's topics 
• Example:  Always includes the news at certain points throughout the day - keeps their viewers up to date with current affairs