Heart Radio Station
Purpose
The purpose of Heart station is to entertain the audience, the entertainment value comes from the upbeat and cheery songs that are constantly being played along with the upcoming pop chart hits which give the show relevancy.
Because the channel is a commercial channel the listenership needs to be high for the radio commercials sold to be effective to the audience, this high listenership is created through many factors alongside the music this being encoded language in the presenters chatty intervals and radio show names.
An example of this is the name of the show analysed 'Club Classics with Pandora', the word 'club' involved gives the impression of partying and happiness this therefore being associated with the radio increasing the amusement value.
As well as entertainment the show also has informative elements due to short news intervals every 30minutes-1 hour, this is another purpose and achieves gratifications such as surveillance for the listeners.
Funding / Advertising
Heart has a range of funding and advertisers this being due to Heart being one of the most popular stations in the UK, due to the popularity of the show it makes all adverts shown very effective therefore them having a huge clientele of companies wanting to advertise.
Adverts are played after 3-5 consecutive songs and these adverts are from huge brands such as EE, Northern Railway and Debenhams. The range of products advertised on the station demonstrate the mass audience and highlight the programmes target demographic.
Looking at adverts from companies such as Northern Railway we see that the target audience in mind is very family orientated, we see the advert name locations such as Aberdeen but then create an alliteration by putting a family relation in front e.g going to see aunts from Aberdeen, this association with travel to see family highlights the moral and characteristic of Hearts listeners.
As well as adverts from major companies such as Debenhams, the station also hosts competitions for its listeners and in getting the listeners to interact with the show they charge them for the text or calls that are sent into the station, even though this aspect of the show doesn't create as much profit as advertising it allows both the listeners and presenters to interact and boosts show moral.
Ownership
The ownership of Heart radio is by Global Radio, this conglomerate owns a range of radio stations such as Capital, Smooth, LBC and Radio X, the parent company ensures that listeners know this link by placing all stations together on the heart app, making it very easy to switch between these stations easily therefore increasing the listenership on all their different subsidiaries.
By Heart being part of this big network of channels it ensures that the station has appropriate funding in aspects such as hardware, this ensuring that the sound quality and technical support is there making the programmes as professional as possible especially due to them being broadcasted live this meaning little room for error.
As well as hardware the funding is also positively used for other elements such as music license which is very important due to Heart being known for its always up-to-date music and top charts reputation.
Listenership
Heart has a huge listenership, due to it being one of the most popular stations in the UK it manages to achieve up to 4.6 million weekly listeners, this huge following is down to fun and lighthearted shows that are constantly playing and the top chart hits that are played as well.
The mass listenership is not only good for appearance of the station but allows them to financially gain in the advertising element, due to it being so popular it entices huge companies to advertise with them making huge deals for the station.
Audience
Hearts audience is very varied dependant on what programme is being aired, the music played varies in age but the consistent theme is the pop genre, the genre of pop is very mainstream and popular therefore it fitting the station perfect due to the mass listenership.
The primary target audience for the show is females 21+, due to the pop genre being stereotypically more feminine due to the theme of many songs being things such as love and heartbreak, the station is primarily aimed at an older audience due to many competitions and elements of the station relying on the listeners being over 18, such as competitions and call ins. However the show does have a strong secondary audience, due to the station being played in cars, in shops and just out loud in general it does reach a mass secondary audience and allows the reach of the station to be very varied.
Access
Due to technological convergence we have seem a massive shift in how media like radio is accessed, Heart in particular due to its media involved audience have developed their channels of distribution to accompany this media shift.
Heart can be accessed on FM or DAB radios, this is the most traditional method of listening to Heart however is the most conventional and most known.
Accompanying FM/DAB, you can also access Heart on the app, this is demonstrating the technological convergence. By having the station accessible by app this allows it to be more portable and efficient for many listeners due to a phone always being carried by the target audience.
By having the app it can also provide visuals of what song is currently playing and you can see schedules of all programmes for the week ahead as well as listening to old programmes on demand.
All these additional bonus' allow the station to stay relevant and keep up with huge streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music.
Content
The content of the station is very catered to their target audience, their programmes are very similar in terms of music genre and upbeat presenters. The programmes do alter slightly dependant on what time they're played for example 'Heart Breakfast with Jamie and Amanda' airs from 6.30 - 10am, the conversation and music played is very centred around topics such as waking up, preparing for the day and setting off for work.
All presenters on the station have a bubbly and uplifting attitude when presenting they all relate somehow to the target audience in age, social grade or gender, this relatability between the presenters and the audience makes the programmes even more appealing to the target demographic and topics and conversations had relate to the a mass proportion of the audience.
Looking at adverts from companies such as Northern Railway we see that the target audience in mind is very family orientated, we see the advert name locations such as Aberdeen but then create an alliteration by putting a family relation in front e.g going to see aunts from Aberdeen, this association with travel to see family highlights the moral and characteristic of Hearts listeners.
As well as adverts from major companies such as Debenhams, the station also hosts competitions for its listeners and in getting the listeners to interact with the show they charge them for the text or calls that are sent into the station, even though this aspect of the show doesn't create as much profit as advertising it allows both the listeners and presenters to interact and boosts show moral.
Ownership
The ownership of Heart radio is by Global Radio, this conglomerate owns a range of radio stations such as Capital, Smooth, LBC and Radio X, the parent company ensures that listeners know this link by placing all stations together on the heart app, making it very easy to switch between these stations easily therefore increasing the listenership on all their different subsidiaries.
By Heart being part of this big network of channels it ensures that the station has appropriate funding in aspects such as hardware, this ensuring that the sound quality and technical support is there making the programmes as professional as possible especially due to them being broadcasted live this meaning little room for error.
As well as hardware the funding is also positively used for other elements such as music license which is very important due to Heart being known for its always up-to-date music and top charts reputation.
Listenership
Heart has a huge listenership, due to it being one of the most popular stations in the UK it manages to achieve up to 4.6 million weekly listeners, this huge following is down to fun and lighthearted shows that are constantly playing and the top chart hits that are played as well.
The mass listenership is not only good for appearance of the station but allows them to financially gain in the advertising element, due to it being so popular it entices huge companies to advertise with them making huge deals for the station.
Audience
Hearts audience is very varied dependant on what programme is being aired, the music played varies in age but the consistent theme is the pop genre, the genre of pop is very mainstream and popular therefore it fitting the station perfect due to the mass listenership.
The primary target audience for the show is females 21+, due to the pop genre being stereotypically more feminine due to the theme of many songs being things such as love and heartbreak, the station is primarily aimed at an older audience due to many competitions and elements of the station relying on the listeners being over 18, such as competitions and call ins. However the show does have a strong secondary audience, due to the station being played in cars, in shops and just out loud in general it does reach a mass secondary audience and allows the reach of the station to be very varied.
Access
Due to technological convergence we have seem a massive shift in how media like radio is accessed, Heart in particular due to its media involved audience have developed their channels of distribution to accompany this media shift.
Heart can be accessed on FM or DAB radios, this is the most traditional method of listening to Heart however is the most conventional and most known.
Accompanying FM/DAB, you can also access Heart on the app, this is demonstrating the technological convergence. By having the station accessible by app this allows it to be more portable and efficient for many listeners due to a phone always being carried by the target audience.
By having the app it can also provide visuals of what song is currently playing and you can see schedules of all programmes for the week ahead as well as listening to old programmes on demand.
All these additional bonus' allow the station to stay relevant and keep up with huge streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music.
Content
The content of the station is very catered to their target audience, their programmes are very similar in terms of music genre and upbeat presenters. The programmes do alter slightly dependant on what time they're played for example 'Heart Breakfast with Jamie and Amanda' airs from 6.30 - 10am, the conversation and music played is very centred around topics such as waking up, preparing for the day and setting off for work.
All presenters on the station have a bubbly and uplifting attitude when presenting they all relate somehow to the target audience in age, social grade or gender, this relatability between the presenters and the audience makes the programmes even more appealing to the target demographic and topics and conversations had relate to the a mass proportion of the audience.
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