Radio - Comparative Essay (Radio 1 vs Radio X)

Radio X and Radio 1 are radio shows that are drastically different in terms of their audience, advertising and funding.
While the Radio 1 Breakfast show is hosted by Nick Grimshaw, Radio X features hosts such as Chris Moyles, Johnny Vaughan, Gordon Smart, Jack Saunders, Dan O'Connell, Toby Tarrant. They also feature Russell Brand as a comedy broadcaster. Chris Moyles has been argued to be fairly offensive in the past (as well as Russell Brand) however he has a large fan base of adults from other works such as being a previous host on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show. Sometimes Radio X is advertised as the Chris Moyles Show in order to attract these audiences.

Radio X broadcasts playlists and songs such as Foo Fighters, U2, Green Day, Kasabian and Green Day. This is drastically different from the music broadcasted by the Radio 1 Breakfast show which consists of pop artists such as Zayn Malik, Ed Sheeran, Sia and others such as Harry Styles. Radio 1's music will as a result appeal to younger audience's as opposed to Radio X due to the fact that teenagers will be involved with social media and may prefer uplifting music due to the escapism needs.

Radio One has a Public Broadcasting Service, meaning that it broadcasts for the public's needs rather than purely for commercial benefit. It achieves this through its remit, which states that the BBC will 'inform, educate and entertain'. Radio X on the other hand is funded by the commercial aspect, and often represents advertisements that may be considerably stereotypical towards men. For example, "win big with Radio X & Greene King", an advertisement that features a photo of beer. This would typically appeal to men as alcohol is associated with men.

Radio One is funded through a licence and tax, roughly equating to 40p a day for each household. This funding is evidently most effective due to the fact that in one month Radio 1 plays over 3,200 tracks compared to the roughly 200 by capital. This means that Radio 1 are able to reach more audiences through a wider range of music throughout the day, and therefore will be able to appeal to most 15-29 year olds.