Commercial Radio

Commercial Radio

Commercial Radio is the youngest member of the UK’s ‘traditional’ commercial media cannon, having only started broadcasting in October 1973. Commercial broadcasting is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship. Commercial broadcasting is primarily based on the practice of airing radio advertisements and television advertisements for profit. This is in contrast to public broadcasting, which receives government subsidies and avoids most (or all) paid advertising. Radio broadcasting originally began without paid commercials. As time went on, however, advertisements seemed less objectionable to government regulators and became more common. While commercial broadcasting was unexpected in television it was planned due to commercial radio's success. There are two types of commercial radio stations: regional and national. Regional means a large area such as the north west and includes radio stations such as key 103 and real radio. An example of a national commercial radio station can be seen below (Absolute and Capital).

A brief history of UK commercial radio stations:

 The first ILR (Independent Local Radio) station on-air was LBC in 1973, followed a week later by Capital Radio, both in London. Across the next two years, sixteen new stations were launched before the development of ILR was halted in 1976 by a new Labour government cautious about commercial organisations running radio stations. With the return of the Conservative government in 1979, the ILR network was given permission to expand again, and across the early 80s many new stations were launched, gradually filling in gaps in coverage across the UK. The Radio Authority introduced many new local radio licences during the 1990's filling any remaining gaps in coverage, as well as creating new ‘Regional’ licences. However, the biggest change came with the introduction of ‘National’ licences, leading to the launch of Classic FM in September 1992. Virgin Radio (later Absolute Radio) followed in 1993 and Talk Radio in 1995. The Radio Advertising Bureau was also launched on May 18th, 1992. By the late 1990's the number of AM or FM frequencies remaining for further large-scale expansion of the radio market was limited. Digital One, the national commercial DAB multiplex was launched in 1999 carrying the existing national analogue station brands in addition to some new digital only station brands.

Absolute Radio

Branding: Absolute

Slogan: “Discover real music” “The home of the no-repeat guarantee”

Frequency: 1215 kHz,

105.8 MHz0 (G.London)

 DAB – Digital One

Television channels: Sky, Virgin Media, Freeview, Freesat, TalkTalk TV, Smallworld, Orbit Network, Usen (Japan)

Formant: Modern Adult contemporary

Audience share: 1.2% (National) 2.3% (London) – December 2012

Absolute radio is one of the UK’S three independent local radio stations. The 1990 broadcasting act allowed for this, with the other two stations being classic FM and talk radio (later to become talksport). The license for the independent station would be sold to the highest bidder and the station would occupy the medium wave previously occupied by BBC radio 3. The owners of absolute radio are TIML radio limited, which also owns its sister stations Absolute 80’s, Absolute 90’s and Absolute classic rock among other absolute stations. Absolute radio originally began as Virgin radio under Richard Branson’s Virgin brand. The station officially launched on the 30^th April 1993, with a cover version of ‘born to be wild’ being played. The station was originally on AM but after a campaign and winning an FM license advertised, it began broadcasting on FM on the 10^th April 1995. In 1997, Chris Evans’ ‘The Ginger Media Group’ bought the station. Evans' ownership of Virgin Radio started well, with a breakfast show audience increase of 660,000 to 2.2m in his first three months. The ginger media group were considering acquiring the Daily Star but the shareholders got cold feet and the management eventually sold the business three years ahead of schedule. From 2000-2008 the company was owned by the SMG group, who bought it for £225 million. Chris Evans who made £75 million from the sale was eventually sacked in 2001 for missing five days of work. In 2006 virgin radio became available on freeview for the first time. In 2008 the station was bought by TIML (a part of the times of India) and there was a complete rebrand of the station. It was renamed Absolute Radio and many of its former presenters left. It is due to be sold to the Bauer Media Group for around £25 million pending regulatory approval of the sale.

Classic FM

DAB: 11D

FM: 99.9 -101.9 MHz

Television Channels: Freesat, Sky, TalkTalk TV, Virgin Media, UPC Ireland.

Format: Classical Music

Audience: 3.6% (December 2012)

Classic FM broadcasts nationally on FM, DAB digital radio, satellite and cable television and is available internationally by streaming audio over the internet. As well as playing older music, the station plays several modern film scores. The idea for a national, commercial FM network devoted to classical music originated with the management at GWR group, an entrepreneurial who were themselves owned by daily mail and general trust plc. The station launched on the 7^th September 1992 and is one of three independent national radio stations in the UK, the other two being absolute radio and talksport. It had been operating a trial program on its AM frequencies in Wiltshire and Bristol, testing audience reaction to a regular drive-time program of popular classical music. It proved very successful and the company's CEO, Ralph Bernard, and program director, Michael Bukht, drew up the plans for a national station. Today Global Radio, the UK's largest radio station ownership group, owns the station. Classic FM has broadcast from its current studios in Central London since March 2006. Global radio also owns capital, heart and XFM among many others. A benefit of being part of a wider group means things such as news can be more smoothly accessed because, instead of separate small teams of journalists there are bigger groups who then pass information onto to each station.

Classic FM also runs on several other media platforms, including magazines, online and through CD's.

Independent Radio Programme Production Companies

Independent Radio Production Companies are what make certain shows or programmes for a radio station. They can range from news reports and documentaries to adverts and jingles. The companies can also create podcasts or compile CD’s for an individual or company. The companies can also work with presenters, writers and actors to help them in the media industry by delivering master classes. 

The RIG(Radio Independents Group) is a non-profit making trade body funded through membership fees and fund-raising.  The RIG represents the interests and needs of the UK's independent radio production industry in negotiations with groups such as the BBC and commercial radio stations as well as the government. A benefit of having an independent radio production company make a show would be the costs. The company would provide their own equipment, actors/actresses and electricity among other things, easing the financial costs for the group employing the production company.

 To get commissioned by the BBC a production company has to be signed up to the BBC Radio Independent Production Company database. Rather than the production company going to each organisation ( e.g. the BBC) offering individual ideas, the BBC have ‘commissioning rounds’ where production companies can pitch to the BBC radio networks (they also have a “what we want” section on their website). Using their expertise the companies must come up with a good idea before pitching and if they are lucky enough their idea will be commissioned for airing on a BBC radio station.

Not For Profit Radio

Not For Profit Radio

 

Not for profit radio includes hospital, community, student and special event radio. Not for profit radios cannot raise more than 50% of their operating costs from a single source, which includes advertising and sponsorship. Other operating costs must be raised via other means, such as donations and fundraisers or grants from the government.

Community radio stations are smaller local stations that offer opportunities to individuals, such as training and experience working in the radio industry. Community Radio gives people of all ages a chance to give something back to their community. They typically broadcast within a small are-usually about 5 km Salford City Radio is an example of a community radio stations. The majority of presenters are unpaid volunteers and usually have a show of around an hour discussing things that benefit their communities. The stations need to become a part of the community by reflecting the community’s interests

Ofcom allows applications for community radio licenses on a region by region basis. To gain a license, the applicants must demonstrate that their station will meet the needs of a specified target community. The station also needs objectives, such as things that will benefit the community, such as committing to training people in broadcasting or providing a certain amount of programming for a certain amount of people.

Another form of not for profit radio is hospital radio. It is designed for the in-patients of the hospital and also offers volunteers to take part within its broadcasts. The volunteers may go around the wards and ask the patients what sort of music they would like to listen to. Features of hospital radio typically include news about the hospital and interviews, as well as catered music based on general tastes of the patients. The radios are usually transmitted by low-powered AM or FM radio licenses or via the internet. Live programming is restricted as to when volunteers can attend the radio studios.

Student Radio is a station which broadcasts within a college or university. The features are more often than not created by students but may feature people from the surrounding community. Student radios typically feature music, interviews and news and sports relating to the campus. They may also provide opportunities for up and coming artists, giving them airtime through playing their songs or promotional material.

Restricted Service Licences (RSL) are used for special event radio stations or for a trial before an application for a more permanent license. Short term RSL’s typically last for a 28 days and can only be used twice  a year, with four moths separating each broadcast.

 

 

Public Service Radio

Public Service Radio

Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other media outlets whose primary purpose is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from a wide range of sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing. The BBC is the UK’s public broadcaster and makes the majority of its money through license fees. The annual cost of a TV license is £145.50 and a black and white TV license is £49. These prices increase a small amount each year but they have currently been frozen by the government. A few general rules of Public Service radio include universal accessibility and appeal (wide ranges of music and interests) and being able to appeal to minority interests, which is why there are a large amount of BBC radio stations. A main purpose of the BBC is listed on the BBC's Trust site as to educate, entertain and inform. the BBC Trust is the governing body of the BBC and makes sure that it adheres to those guidelines. The trust also assesses if their services are meeting audience expectations and are also register complaints, with the ability to impose sanctions on the BBC.
In the UK the term "public service broadcasting" refers to broadcasting which is intended for the public and will benefit them, rather than for purely commercial concerns. The communications regulator Ofcom requires that certain television and radio broadcasters fulfill certain requirements as part of their licence to broadcast. These can be seen in the above points.  All of the BBC's television and radio stations have a public service remit, including those that broadcast digitally. The BBC is the main Public service broadcaster in the UK and employs around 11,000 people in the radio industry to provide its huge array of national and local services. These consist of 11 national UK services:

Radio 1: Plays a mix of both new and contemporary music aimed at 15-29 year olds. It also provides news, documentaries and advice campaigns suitable and attractive to young adults.
Radio 1 Xtra: Plays the best new hip hop and RnB. Also plays black music with a mix of entertainment, documentaries and news aimed at 15-24 year olds.
Radio 2: Broadcasts a mix unique music and speech programmes as well as a wide range of pop and rock concerts.
Radio 3: Dedicated to classical music and aimed at the older generation, this station also has programmes dedicated to jazz and world music. it also features speech based programmes and documentaries.
Radio 4: A primarily speech-based programme, it offers in-depth news, current affairs, comedy shows, readings and factual magazines.
Radio 4 Xtra: Originally Radio 7, this digital only station features the BBC's archive of speech entertainment, including comedy and drama readings.
5 Live: Broadcasts continuous news and live sports coverage, also provides analysis and discussion on the news topics.
5 Live sports extra: Extended coverage of live sports action
Radio 6 Music: A digital radio station, radio 6 plays popular music from the 1960's to the present day.
BBC Asian Network: Provides speech and music that appeals to the British Asian communities. 
The BBC also has a world service which broadcasts in 28 languages to many different parts of the world and includes news and discussions among other things.