Assessment [1A]

How effective is BBC Radio 1 at serving the target audience of 15-29 year old's through the station's music scheduling?

BBC Radio 1 predominately plays Chart and Dance music during the day, although it does have shows that showcase different genres of music, these are directed toward a smaller demographic of listeners, so these are broadcast during hours that aren't considered to be "Prime-time". However, during the day, especially during "drive-time" hours (the times of day that people travel to and from work) the station airs more main-stream music, with flag-ship shows including "The Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw" and Shows hosted by DJ's such as Fearne Cotton, Zane Lowe and Greg James. All of these shows mainly choose to focus on music that is currently in the charts although they also use these shows to showcase newly released music and material by lesser known artists.
The majority of these shows feature special guests, usually music artists, in order to promote their music.  The show attracts it's target audience, by playing the music during times of day that most people will be listening. the target audience of 15-29 consists of people that are either in Education or day work. The majority of these people will listen to the radio mostly in the mornings and evenings, as well as occasionally during the day. The general hobbies of this demographic include going to gigs/club-nights and also festivals, which Radio 1 heavily focuses on during the festival season.
The station tries to suit all tastes in music, including specialist shows such as: BBC Introducing with Jen and Ally, David Rodigan's Reggae Show, The Rock Show, presented by Daniel P. Carter, Mistajam- who plays Grime and Dubstep. The majority of these shows are played during hours of the day when not so many people are listening to the Radio. However, many alternative and non-mainstream songs are played during the day by DJ's such as Zane Lowe, this could possibly be to garner more attention to the specialist shows.
The reason that Radio 1 adheres to it's playlist schedule each day is so that regular listeners can tune in and listen to the same standard of music everyday, ensuring that Bands and Artists can gain exposure at these peak times.
I personally believe that BBC Radio One is very effective at serving it's target audience, I believe this because  they prioritise the most popular types of music to be played at the times of day when there will be the most listeners, they also merge in less familiar songs, in order to gather attention to other shows played at different times of day. The radio caters to a very large demographic, and ensures that the majority of people aged 15-29 will have a show to suit their own individual tastes in music.