3.3.2

Categories of Radio Station

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Public Service Broadcasting

PSB stations create and broadcast high quality content intended for purposes other than commercial gain, such as public benefit.

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PSB

  • PSB is defined (by OFCOM) as:
    • ‘High quality content, made for as wide a range of audiences as possible, and for public benefit rather than purely commercial ends’.
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UK channels

  • The main public service broadcaster we have in the UK is the BBC.
  • According to its remit, the BBC aims to educate, entertain and inform via its range of programmes and services.
  • Many other TV channels and radio stations also dedicate a proportion of their programmes to public service content.
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The BBC

  • The BBC operates several national radio stations including:
    • Radio 1, Radio 2, Radio 4, The BBC Asian network, 5 Live and 1Extra.
  • It also operates some specific regional stations such as Radio Wales and Radio Scotland.
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Funding

  • The BBC is primarily funded by the licence fee.
  • This pays for many of the radio and TV stations and channels as well as the BBC websites and online content.
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Regulations and impartiality

  • The BBC is regulated by OFCOM and has to remain impartial and accurate.

Community Radio Stations

Community radio channels tend to be small organisations who broadcast specialised programming.

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Community radio channels

  • Community radio channels are usually small and cover a small geographical area.
  • They are nonprofit organisations.
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Specialised programming

  • They can also be quite specialised in their programming, appealing to niche audiences with specific interests of beliefs.
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Examples

  • Examples of community radio would be:
    • Asian Star FM.
    • Branch FM.
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Funding

  • Community radio is funded in a variety of ways such as sponsorship, advertising and fundraising.

Commercial Radio Stations

Commercial radio stations are run for profit and funded by advertising.

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Funding

  • Commercial radio stations are funded by advertising.
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UK stations

  • Some of the most well known commercial stations in the UK are:
    • Heart.
    • Capital.
    • Kiss.
    • Magic.
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Ownership: Global or Bauer

  • Many of the commercial stations are owned by either:
    • Global or Bauer.
  • They reach millions of listeners every week.
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Global

  • Global owns:
    • Heart.
    • Capital.
    • Smooth FM.
  • And many more.
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Convergence

  • The radio industry is also a good example of convergence as Global and Bauer also own music related TV channels and magazine publications.

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4Component 2: Section A

5Component 2: Section B

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