Radio 1 Launch CSP: blog tasks

 

Historical, social and cultural contexts

1) What radio stations were offered by the BBC before 1967? - Before the launch of Radio 1, the BBC ran three radio stations (the BBC Light Programme, the BBC Home Service and the BBC Third Programme), but these were considered old fashioned and were closed down in 1967. They were replaced with Radio 1, 2, 3 and 4.

2) How was BBC radio reorganised in September 1967? What were the new stations that launched? - On 30 September 1967, the BBC split the Light Programme into separate pop music and entertainment stations, becoming Radio 1 and Radio 2 respectively.

3) What was pirate radio and why was it popular? - Private radio was the first alternative to mainstream radio at the time - playing mainly alternative Pop and Rock.

4) Why did pirate radio stop broadcasting in 1967? - Pirate radio still had lots of other underrepresented genres to play, so it shifted its focus to them.

5) How did the BBC attract young audiences to Radio 1 after pirate radio stations were closed down? - The BBC attracted young audiences to Radio 1 after the private radio stations were closed by 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.

6) What was 'needle time' and why was it a problem for BBC Radio? -  The needle time was a music listening company that restricted the amount of recorded music that could be transmitted by the BBC during the course of any 24-hour period.

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

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? - The first presenters for BBC Radio 1 were Many of the pirate station DJs that were 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. 

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.

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

• 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.

4) How is the BBC funded? - The bbc is funded through a  compulsory license fee (£159 now; it was around £4 a year in the 1960s)