Broadcast or narrowcast ? WHY DO YOU THINK THIS?

1. Broadcast or narrowcast? WHY DO YOU THINK THIS? The channels on the left are broadcast. This is because its covers a range of different types of shows such as, news, comedy, drama and documentary etc. Plus it is available to everyone through terrestrial tv not subscription The channels on the right are narrowcast because the type of shows it shows are aimed at specific audiences. I.e BBC3 is aimed at young people between 15 – 30.

2. Type of programmes – and some examples… What could you say about the shows on the channel? Alibi is a channel aimed to viewers who are interested in crime/drama. Its was launched on the 1st November 1997. White collar, the glades and the body of proof are some of the shows that viewed on alibi The channel launched on 7 October 2008 as the new flagship channel for the UKTV network of channels. The channel would feature general entertainment programs, primarily from the programme archive of the BBC. Watch broadcasts shows such as, the bill, doctor who, total wipeout and outnumbered The channel launched on 8 March 2004 as UKTV People, showing repeats of factual programming of a lighter nature, based on the people of the world with programs such as Top Gear and the docusoap Airport. It views shows such as, made in Britain, My brilliant Britain and the real little Britain The channel originally launched on 1 November 1997 and relaunched in its current format on 30 April 2009. Home is available 24 hours a day on Sky, TalkTalk TV and Virgin Media and is also available on digital terrestrial television through Top Up TV between 11:00-12:00. Get the look, first home and massive moves are a few of the programs that are viewed on home Gold is a classic comedy channel, which has been airing on televisions since 1992. Also the show gold is only able to be accessed on sky, virgin media, small world cable and talktalk TV. The vicar of dibley, the royal family and yes, prime minister are just a few of the classic programs that are viewed on this channel Dave is a television channel owned by UKTV and which is broadcasted around the UK a Ireland. Dave allows there viewers to watch such programs as, Top gear, the gadget show and dragons den etc. Really is a digital television channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom as part of the UKTV family of channels. The channel launched on 19 May 2009 as the UKTV's channel for female lifestyle programming and is available on satellite through Sky, cable services through Virgin Media and Smallworld Cable also on digital terrestrial provider Freeview The channel originally launched on 30 October 2002 and relaunched in its current format on 2 March 2009. There are a few historical on yesterday for example, Jack the ripper, Nazis hunters and a history of modern Britain. Eden is a digital television channel broadcasting factual content in the United Kingdom and Ireland as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel originally launched on 8 March 2004 and relaunched in its current format on 26 January 2009. Also Eden allows viewers to watch a variety of programs like, David Attenborough and the blue planet Good food is a lifestyle channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom as part of the UKTV. Its popular shows are man vs. food, hairy bikers and entertaining with James

3. Choose 3 channels – and define the target audience – using CARGEL – explaining WHY you think they are the target audience… Look at the programme listings to help you and think about the name of the channel 1. 2. 3. For my 1st channel I have chosen Dave. For Dave the target audience is young males between the ages of 16-34yrs old. It has lots of male humor and programs to do with cars and generally what males tend to watch And for the 3rd I have chosen Food. This UKTV channel appeals to people who are interested in food or who would like to learn to cook. The age it targets is 16+. For the 2nd I chose Really. Really targets the female audience. Also the target audience age is 15-35. It programs normally interest females more then men. Your 3 Channel’s NARROWCAST to A NICHE audience – try to explain what this means These channels above are just a few examples of narrowcasting to NICHE audiences. This means scheduling certain programs at certain times for certain people of that interest. For example really targets a female audience by airing programs that only appeals to females.

4. Can you think of any other channels that narrowcast – to niche audiences What are the strengths and weaknesses of a ‘niche’ TV channel? Why do they show the same programmes day in day out? For example the discovery channel is mainly aimed at people who have an interest in science, technology and history. However its not just factual information its shown through entertainment. Which suggest you can be entertained and educated at the same time. This is because it has targeted a certain gender/age group and by showing the same programs day in day out people know to turn to that channel when they like, and know that there will be something that they enjoy will be showing. A strength is that they do not need to worry about creating new programs they can keep the same and still get the same amount of views. However a weakness is that it only targets certain types of people instead of a large range.

5. To conclude - explain how these channels (DAVE, GOLD etc) appeal to different ranges of audience than the films we have already looked at  - even though arguably they are all “mainstream”. How are they able to do this? (Cheaper, repeats, no production costs) Where this is so many channels due to satellite , they are actually able to have channels that focus on specific types of programs, because they have the space in the scheduling. Also they buy in all there program so they don’t actually spend money on their programs, for example they don’t have to spend money on studio space or staff therefore they save money. The programs they do buy are old series so there cheaper then they run them on a loop so they might show they same program 2 or 3 times a day and several times though out the week, which keeps cost down even more. This means there targeting people who like those programs and at those people convenience. So no matter what time you come in you can watch your favorite program. Some of you should attempt to comment critically - i.e. is a ‘niche’ TV channel a good idea? Why & why not? You have a guaranteed audience even if it’s a small one, because they own a cluster of channels rather then just one single channel they have the scheduling time to be able to target small groups like this. If they only owned one channel it wouldn't’t be a good idea to make ‘niche’.

6. THE CHANNELS SHOW THE SAME TYPE OF PROGRAMMES BECAUSE THEY ARE TRYING TO APPEAL TO A SMALL AUDIENCE THAT LIKES SPECIFIC PROGRAMMES – KNOWN AS A “NICHE” AUDIENCE. THEY ARE “NARROWCASTING” THE PROGRAMMES TO A NICHE AUDIENCE. DEFINITIONS: NICHE AUDIENCE When a TV show (or website or magazine or radio station) is aimed at a person’s individual interests - they are said to be a “niche” audience. It appeals to a niche or small or specialist audience. NARROWCAST To transmit programmes (especially by cable / satellite television) confined to the interests of a specific group of viewers, subscribers, or listeners, such as business people, or teenagers. This is the opposite to BROADCAST - e.g. Eastenders appeals to a wide audience (it has 80 year old and 16 year old characters, of different classes and different ethnic groups) of 8 million per episode - therefore it is “broad”cast. Appealing to a wide (broad) audience.