M1: Structure of Radio Station

In this report, I will be analysing the structure of the Capital FM radio station. I will talk about Capital's target audience, how they entertain audiences, how they make money and how they structure their radio shows.

Capital FM is a commercial music radio station aimed towards teenagers and young adults. I would place listeners of Capital in the mainstreamer psychographic since this is popular music that a mass audience enjoy. They were founded in 1978 and lots of famous presenters work at Captial FM such as Roman Kemp. The focus of Capital FM is modern pop music that is being released right now by famous music artists/singers. Capital FM is a commercial radio station. This means they earn money from their radio station; they entertain their audiences and I learnt what a commercial company is in unit 1. Capital is owned by the conglomerate Global Media company. They make money by placing advert breaks into their radio. Their Capital Give Me the Cash! money draws also cost £2.00 to enter with listeners earning big money if they say the phrase that pays. Capital FM holds called Capital Summertime Ball, Jingle Bell Ball, Capital In Ibiza... These music events bring famous pop singers to the stage for their fans.

 REGULATIONS

Capital FM have lots of professional presenters such as Roman Kemp, Amy Vivian. Ant Payne, Jimmy Hill, Kamila Rose, Laura Layfield, Marvin Humes and much more that you can see in this screenshot. The presenters speak with lots of energy and enthusiasm throughout the radio show. They show their presenters on the Capital FM website. Roman Kemp is probably the most famous; he took part in the I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! TV show and he also created a documentary educating people about mental health and suicide (especially in males), this is called Roman Kemp: Our Silent Emergency. They play modern music in each radio show but they are just different presenters. For example, Sonny Jay is presenting on his Capital Late Show at 10pm-1pm. But he will be playing the same type of music as the rest of the radio shows.

 

  Capital is a commercial pop music station, this is how they structure their radio shows. Firstly, you can hear their radio jingle "The UK's number one hit music station, capital". This is important so the listeners know what radio station they are listening to. This is so essential for Capital radio so they can build a brand identity. The presenters will introduce themselves and a topic. They will then introduce the music artist's song and this will then play. Afterwards, they may tell us the weather forecast and any major road closures since some listeners might be driving or any news. The presenter will talk to the listeners again and they might do company endorsement. While I as listening to the radio with Jimmy Hill presenting, the talked about how we will need coats now since it is getting cooler and Ebay can help you keep warm; the listeners can win a prize of £1000 for Ebay. This another way Capital earns money since Ebay will have asked them to endorse them and paid some money for this. Ebay are a popular buying and selling company that younger people use so this company ha the same target audience as Capital. Once again, the Capital jingle plays and adverts start playing. This is the basic structure of how Capital FM plays. This helps the radio show flow; the sections repeat and the radio show is edited/ the presenter tells us what section of the radio show is up next such was what songs or an upcoming competition.

 

 Here are some radio techniques they use. First, they have their Capital FM jingle to open the radio show (this is pre-recorded and edited). This creates brand recognition and ensures the audience know they are listening to Capital FM. Their radio shows are live. The presenters will introduce themselves and the radio show they are on. There will use background music when the presenters are talking to each other. This makes sure the radio show keeps the attention and engages the audience. They play popular, newly released music for their audience. This is pre-recorded since the singers are not actually singing this in real time.

 

 In June 2022, Capital FM radio stations had around 5.6 million people listening weekly to their stations. 57% of listeners fit into the 15-34 age group which means my estimation of the target audience is correct (My source is Wikipedia). It looks like Capital FM haven't won any radio awards according to Google. The target audience can access Capital FM through their radio, TV, the Global Player app or website and through smart speakers (Alexa, Google home...).

 

 Reference Links

 https://www.capitalfm.com/how-to-listen/getting-started/

 

From Listening to Capital I learnt their structure.

https://www.capitalfm.com/digital/radio/shows-presenters/