850 word essay

How is the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show reaching, targeting and encouraging audience interaction? 

BBC Radio 1 Breakfast show has done a great deal of improvement on their audience interaction. Unlike previous hosts, Greg James has introduced various segments into the show that have advanced its ways to interact with their audience, which has ultimately enhanced their amount of views.

Previous to Greg James, Nick Grimshaw was brought in by Radio 1, as he was expected to boost the ratings; due to his celebrity status and young people connection. he inherited a program with 7 million listeners a week but during his time in control of the program, which coincided with the explosive growth of smartphones and social media, this however dipped to about 5 million. And consequently, Ben Cooper made changes to switching Greg James, 26, to radio 1's main afternoon show from 4-7pm. As a result, James had added nearly 300,000 listeners in the final three months of 2018, averaging a weekly audience of 5.11 million, including those aged 15 and older. The breakfast show is now prime time for their audience with almost 6 million people listening nationally. And with almost 1 million followers, Greg James' social media is paramount to his career; he often posts humorous and positive messages beneath his photos and is highly more interactive with the population, involving a more friendly, and characteristic personality by his funny, chatty dialogue. Furthermore, this attracts the younger audience (between 15-29), not only due to the social media and interaction but also due to the trendy new music in comparison to the BBC older audience radio show, radio 4; a classical music and news orientated show. On the other hand, Nick Grimshaw was extremely fame focused, as he constantly posted photos of other celebrities and mentioned famous names, resulting in a distant relationship between himself and the audience. Positively, Bob Shannon, Director of BBC Radio and Music, says: "it's brilliant that out new and fresh Radio 1 Breakfast Show is doing so well, on air as well, as digitally on BBC Sounds, social media and youtube. Greg James is a superb DJ and we know his listeners love the show." Greg James has also insisted that radio 1 is entering a new era, and that anyone is allowed to listen, which is a good example of 'james promoting the new connection to pop culture.' And therefore, is another reason why the younger generation is far more interested in Greg James' aims and goals. 

BBC Radio 1 also reaches out to a wider audience by seeing the future mainly on Youtube and other important social medias. They have created their own personal YouTube channel, on which they have 5.5 million subscribers, where they upload videos of celebrity interviews and fresh, interesting games 6/7 days a week, providing a variety of content. This usually targets the younger generation, due to the explosive interest in watching or listening to certain aspects on youtube, so therefore do not tend to listen to the radio. Consequently, BBC Radio 1 is expanding due to the added exposure to a wider audience on social media. 

Another way Radio 1 interacts with their audience is by the website: this consists of the latest music, (which is updated frequently) live music and mixes (this will benefit the audience by showing them what has played so they can access it later after already listening to it) , such as live lounge, where artists sing covers; the official chart, radio 1 playlists, 'whats new', news, sports, weather, iplayer, sounds etc. All of these features are easily accessible for all ages and enables the audience to have a 'choice' in what they want to listen to or participate in. This interaction is further developed through the games; such as 'a journey back into fake Britain' - Greg James plays a game by ringing lots of callers and firing random questions, in which they have to respond with the first thing that comes into their head without panicking or thinking too much. The idea is that the person on the end of the phone is under pressure, which makes it more entertaining for the listeners. Examples of the sort of questions are: what noise does a koala make? Or a happy butterfly? These questions are unusual which engages the audience because Greg James can be known as a fun, younger guy, friendly, like your best mate- very likeable. Another part of the podcast presents him asking viewers what they listen to, to help them fall asleep. This is affective in receiving more listeners because it shows that the radio presenter has an interest in what their fans like and dislike. People want to get involved because a wide target audience listens to Radio 1.

Lastly, the BBC Radio 1 run a festival weekend, where they pay famous celebrity singers to perform, such as Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran. This is a free event to go to as Radio 1 is not allowed to make money, however they sold a total of 175,000 tickets last year alone and was a great success, and as a result it is held in four different venues. This is a way for the company to target a wider audience and enable the audience to interact with them; they can enjoy and experience a fun festival.