Radio Industry

Broadcasting is when TV or radio is shown at the same time everywhere, e.g. the same show is on every Tuesday at 8pm. Podcasting is digital and available to listen to at any time. A podcast will usually also have a set time it comes out, e.g. mid day on a Saturday, but the difference is that you do not have to listen to it at that exact time. Also, you are able to listen to part of a podcast and then leave the rest for later, compared to broadcast radio that requires you to listen to it for the time slot it is in and if you leave midway through you will miss part of it. Podcasting give the audience more listening freedom, as they can still listen to it even if they are busy at the time it releases, whereas broadcasting requires the audience to plan around the showing times. On the other hand, broadcasting offers a more social experience, as people can watch the same thing on different TVs and message each other about it as it happens. Many people also gather together to watch some shows, creating a community. Podcasts have lost this social element as one person could get further along than another and they have to wait to talk about it for fear of spoilers.

Content is also affected. For a broadcast program, if it is played after 10pm it has a lot of freedom in what it can show and say. For a podcast, because it is accessible at any time, it is more limited. If it wants to have the same contents as the post-10pm broadcasts, it must put restrictions in place to avoid children finding it. Broadcasts have the shield that if a child is watching a show past 10pm, that is on the individual as they should not be up that late. Podcasts could get into a lot more trouble if they didn't put the proper restrictions in place. this usually involves making an account to listen to it and verifying age.

The most basic difference between commercial and public service radio is that commercial radio is payed for by advertisement, while public service radio is payed for by the people. For example, the BBC is payed for by people's TV licenses. Public service radios are more restricted in what they can play, as they are required to fill a quota for the public. In the case of the BBC this is to educate, inform, entertain. Failure to meet these results in backlash. Commercial radio is more free in what it plays as there is no requirement for what they must play. Commercial programming can also buy out public service programming, such as ITV buying The Great British Bake Off from the BBC. However, commercial radio has more adverts, whereas public service radios can only advertise themselves.

The BBC was formed on 18 October 1922 by a group of leading wireless manufacturers. In the beginning it played the news, music drama, and talk radio for a few hours a day. Very soon after creation it was being broadcast across the nation, and its list of programs appeared in the first edition of The Radio Times. In the 1930s it began on TV, and was the first broadcaster to have regularly scheduled TV services, in 1936. Over the course of it 97 years, it has been the first to bring in many new ideas to radio and television, such as adding the weather to the news and being the first radio station to have a monarch on it. The BBC, as a public service, is funded by TV licence's that the public pay. Over the years it has created an identity as one of the most popular and well-known radio companies in the UK. While in recent years commercial radio has overtaken it in terms of popularity, it still holds ground and BBC2 is currently the second most popular station in the UK, only beaten by Heart Radio.

The BBC purpose is made clear in it's mission, which includes such requirements as:
-To educate, inform, entertain
-To provide impartial news and information
-To support learning for people of all ages
-To show the most creative, highest quality and distinctive output and services
-To reflect and represent the diverse communities around the UK
-To reflect the UK, its culture and values to the world

While many would argue they fail to fulfil this, this is the BBC's target and intended purpose.

The BBC has both national and local broadcasts. National BBC radio stations include BBC Radio 1 through to BBC radio 5. Any news told on these stations will cover the biggest stories from around the whole UK, rather than region specific news. Local stations, on the other hand, would be able to stick solely to the news of the area as the only people listening to it are people from the area. There are 40 local BBC stations across England, each covering a different county. For example, BBC Radio Newcastle would have news specific to Newcastle and, unless something massive had happened, would have little to no overlap with the news on BBC Radio Kent. The BBC also has a global Radio Station, BBC Radio News, that is broadcast in English in over 200 countries worldwide.

Radio 4 has 6.4 million listeners a week. The average age of a Radio 4 listener is 56 years old.