Radio 1 Launch CSP: blog tasks

 Historical, social and cultural contexts

1) What radio stations were offered by the BBC before 1967?

BBC Radio light, BBC radio home, BBC third.

2) How was BBC radio reorganised in September 1967? What were the new stations that launched?

Radio1 was music based. Radio 2 was comedy and entertainment based.

radio3 was based on talking about art and music and radio 4 is educational.

3) What was pirate radio and why was it popular?

It was a radio station on a boat in international waters, it was made for the younger audiences as they didn't need to follow laws and could play music for as long as they want to. They played a lot of pop music which was gaining popularity.

4) Why did pirate radio stop broadcasting in 1967?

1967 Marine Broadcasting Offences Act officially outlawed pirate radio stations. The Government had closed the legal loophole that allowed these stations to broadcast and these had a British audience of 10 to 15 million. This meant the audience had to go to Radio 1 if they wanted to listen to popular music.

5) How did the BBC attract young audiences to Radio 1 after pirate radio stations were closed down?

Many of the pirate station DJs were then employed by BBC Radio 1, thus bringing many of the their loyal listeners with them. Commercial radio didn’t broadcast until 1973 so it had no competition. Radio 1 also developed better content more suitable to the target audience as it became more popular. In the 1970s and 1980s, Radio 1 became the most listened to station in the world with audiences regularly over 10 million. 

6) What was 'needle time' and why was it a problem for BBC Radio?

Needle time was a rule for radio that they can only play music for 5 hours per day so people would still buy vinyl. It was a problem because Pirate radio could play as much music as they wanted, hence them being more popular.

7) How did BBC Radio 1 offer different content to previous BBC radio stations?

In response, the BBC reorganised and renamed their radio channels. On 30 September 1967, the Light Programme was split into Radio 1 offering continuous "Popular" music and Radio 2 for more 'Easy Listening'.
The "Third" programme became Radio 3 offering classical music and cultural programming. The Home Service became Radio 4 offering news, and non-musical content such as quiz shows, readings, dramas and plays. 

8) Who was the first presenter for BBC Radio 1 and why did these new Radio 1 DJs cause upset initially at the traditional BBC?

Tony Blackburn was the first presenter. They were upset because he was more informal and some people believed he sold out as he was now working for BBC.


9) Listen to excerpts from the Tony Blackburn's first 1967 broadcast - how might it have appealed to young listeners?

He was informal and made it seem as if he was a friend rather than the boring formal and older radio hosts at the time. He was 24 at the time so he represented the younger populations.

10) How was Tony Blackburn's radio show more like pirate radio rather than traditional BBC radio content?

he was informal, he had a lot of sound effects, jingles and was quite enthusiastic as he was emphasising the way he spoke like he would in a pirate radio while the traditional BBC content was more boring and more formal and targeted toward adults.

Audience and industry

1) What was the target audience for BBC Radio 1 in 1967?

The Radio 1 target audience in 1967 was young people who were listening to pirate radio. Today, the BBC Radio 1 target audience is 15-29 year olds but they are struggling to attract these listeners. The median age for a Radio 1 listener is 32 and only 41% of the audience today are aged between 15-29.

2) Why did Radio 1 initially struggle to attract young listeners?

Many people didn't find BBC to be cool, They didn't copy pirate radio very well and it struggled financially. It was still too formal that the original pirate radio. It was not seen as ‘cool’ by many young people as the BBC stood for traditional, conservative values.

It struggled financially as there was no increase in the licence fee to pay for this extra radio station. Whilst Radio 1 tried to copy the pirate radio’s style, it didn’t quite do it effectively initially as it broadcast simultaneously with Radio 2 – so it had to have a more formal style than the pirate broadcasters.  Some young people didn’t respond positively to this.

3) What audience pleasures did Radio 1 offer listeners in 1967? (Use Blumer and Katz Uses and Gratifications theory).

Personal identity- the younger audience relates to Tony Blackburn, who was 24, as he was more informal and rebellious/cooler than the BBC. as well as the cooler music.

Personal Relationships- the radio was more chatty, like 'hanging' out and listening to music.

Diversion- There is more emphasis on music and chat and competitions, upbeat and fast-paced.

4) How is the BBC funded?

The government would make people pay a licence of £4 in the older days as well as by tax.

licence fee (£159 now; it was around £4 a year in the 1960s). As everybody pays, then everybody should receive content suitable for their needs. Given the growth of pirate radio in the mid-1960s, the BBC realised that it was not providing content for this growth market of younger people. 

5) Applying Stuart Hall's Reception theory, what would the preferred and oppositional readings have been for BBC Radio 1 in 1967? 

The preferred reading for the BBC was that they want to seem 'cool' and innovative and new.

the oppositional reading is that people would think that they had 'sold out' due to their desperation to be attract younger audiences and to rid of pirate radio.