Audiences 2
Media Studies: Eduqas GCSE, topic 3.5.5
Audience Engagement
Technology has had a huge impact on the radio industry and has changed the way audiences consume the products.
On demand services
- Live broadcasts take place daily on BBC Radio Four and are also repeated on the digital station Radio Four extra.
- The podcast can be downloaded via iTunes and BBC iPlayer Radio offers a listen ‘on demand’ service also so audiences can listen wherever, whenever.
Social media
- Social media has also offered audiences additional platforms to consume The Archers as there are official Twitter and Facebook sites, as well as the main The Archer’s page on the BBC website.
- Social interaction is a key pleasure offered by social media and can link to Blumer and Katz’ Uses and Gratifications pleasures.
Public service duty
- The Archers is a flagship show for the BBC and means it is important to keep broadcasting fresh content to satisfy its large audience and fulfil its public service duty.
- The Archers keeps audiences engaged by introducing new characters from time to time.
Domestic abuse
- The Archers also attempts to reflect the UK’s changing society and used the characters of Rob and Helen to introduce a domestic abuse storyline.
- The domestic abuse storyline allowed the audience to see the progression of domestic abuse over several episodes and offered a form of education on the subject.
Fund raising
- The use of this storyline has led to audiences raising over £100,000 in donations for the The Helen Titchener (nee Archer) Rescue Fund, which was set up by a fan to raise money for refuge.
Praise and awareness
- The storyline was widely praised by domestic abuse charities for raising awareness and the Press Association claimed calls to the national domestic abuse helpline have increased by almost a fifth in the year the episode was broadcast.
Target Audiences
The Archers is viewed as a high quality soap opera and in the past had steered away from becoming a melodrama. The Archers target audience is primarily white, well-educated, middle class women.
New v. old audiences
- The Archers traditionally was a light-hearted mellow drama where nothing too drastic happened to the characters.
- To keep up with society and other types of material audiences are consuming, The Archers has become more dramatic.
- Older fans have criticised this move.
- However, by including more dramatic storylines, The Archers has been able to attract new audiences.
Target audience
- The Archers target audience is primarily white, well-educated, middle class women.
- The broadcasting on BBC Radio 4 is appropriate as Radio 4 itself targets a high cultured audience.
- The target audience for The Archers are normally middle aged and over.
Global reach
- The development of technology means the online audience of The Archers is global.
- The ability to listen to a programme that epitomises British culture from anywhere in the world can be appealing for those who no longer live in the UK.
Uses and gratifications
- In the same way, listening to stories involving the UK countryside can appeal to those who live in an urban city and seek uses and gratifications pleasures from hearing stories about a different, more idyllic community than theirs.
- Other uses and gratifications The Archers can offer its audiences include information, education and entertainment.
Identity pleasures
- The use of a range of characters within the narratives offer various opportunities for identity pleasures.
- The convergence of social media and the online web page allows for social interaction, another uses and gratifications pleasure.
Test yourself on Audiences 2
Which social issue was addressed in The Archers through the characters of Rob and Helen?