Introduction to Radio: Blog Tasks :)

BBC Sounds

Read this Guardian feature on the launch of BBC Sounds and answer the following questions:

1) Why does the article suggest that ‘on the face of it, BBC Radio is in rude health’?

Because it has half the national market with dozens of stations reaching more than 34 million people a week 

2) According to the article, what percentage of under-35s used the BBC iPlayer catch-up radio app?

Just 3% of under-35s use the BBC iPlayer catch-up radio app, which will soon be axed

3) What is BBC Sounds?

BBC Sounds is a new app and website that will bring radio livestreams, catchup services, music mixes and podcasts together under one roof 

4) How do audiences listen to radio content in the digital age?

In the digital age, audiences listen to radio content on platforms like Spotify which has started to include a large number of podcasts – including BBC material – directly in its app and a growing number of people listen to the radio via voice assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa 

5) What does Jason Phipps suggest is important for radio and podcast content aimed at younger audiences?

Jason Phipps suggests that it is important for radio and podcast content aimed at younger audiences to reconsider the entire tone of how it tells stories and to shift away from rigid formality if it wants to attract the precious under-35 audience: “It has to be a warmer, more story-led journey. You need to report the very personal experience of it."

6) Why does the BBC need to stay relevant?

The BBC is funded by the license fee so payers must receive relevant content in order for them to continue paying so that the funding of the BBC remains

Now read this review of the BBC Sounds app and answer the following questions:

7) What content does the BBC Sounds app offer?

Music, news, drama, documentaries, true crime and comedy

8) How does it link to BBC Radio?

The BBC Sounds app links to BBC Radio because the app allows you to click through to any live BBC radio station, but it also offers you other forms of listening, from podcasts to playlists 

9) What are the criticisms of the BBC Sounds app?

The programme information can be a little bit difficult to access, the search isn't sensitive enough, and there isn't enough content

10) Two new podcasts were launched alongside the BBC Sounds app. What are they and why might they appeal to younger audiences?

• Beyond Today: An attempt to mimic the New York Times’s successful The Daily Programme. The first show is about whether the UK has enough money, and the second is about an Iraqi Instagram star killed for being too provocative. Younger audiences are gaining an increased interest in current affairs from around the world so it could be said that we can apply Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory to state that surveillance is a audience pleasure for a younger audience 

• End of Days: (exclusive to the Sounds app) a gripping tale about the Waco cult victims from the UK who were mostly recruited from the Seventh-Day Adventist church. End of Days talks to their families and friends. There are moments when you want more specifics (the first episode is vague as to what David Koresh actually talked about), but it’s a very interesting show. Due to the fact that this show covers a real event, an audience pleasure may be surveillance (Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications). Younger audiences are beginning to have more interest in history which would make this appealing to a younger audience