Lo1: Task 1: Case Study - Sheffield Live

Program Types:

The channel has a massive variety of shows due to the diverse audience members of age, gender and ethnicity. Also due to the time of day and the watershed regulations the shows vary. Sheffield Live is an independent company by the Community Media Association and is based in the city center of Sheffield. The ethos of the show is diverse however has a very cultural theme to address the audience members. The shows are based around the Yorkshire area as it is a local community channel.  Station owner Commedia Sheffield first applied for a Community Broadcasting License in November 2004 in order to bring original and modern programming to Sheffield soon after the introduction of the Community Broadcasting License by Ofcom in the UK. The channel is not for profit as it is community independent station.


Genres: 
The Genre of the show is urban and rural because the shows aired are not mainstream and target local issues. An example of a reoccurring show on the channel is Deep Groove, the show is aired 9pm - 10pm and is deep house music from local artists. This appeals to the local community because music technology is a highly studied field amongst young people in Yorkshire. Another example of a genre is Cool Beans aired on Saturdays at 8pm and contains a verity of comedy sketches. This type of show attracts a mature audience, however it is appropriate for people of all ages.
Audience Profiles:

Production Process:

Due to Ofcom regulations, in pre-production, all audio media products would require a production meeting  to address compliance (appropriate content before the watershed) for the audio product.

This includes

•       The use of profanity, racism, sexism & anything thought to be offensive is removed or if broadcast retracted to meet or appease Ofcom guidelines.

•       Ethically the show must avoid slander or defamation or face legal proceedings.

The budget, script, live interviews would be planned in the meeting with producers and presenter – especially for commercial radio and BBC content, such as the podcast, radio/talk show and jingle. Permission for copyright would have to addressed too. An example of this is the music content used on the radio/talk show. However for interviews and Vox pops, they are recorded before they go on air in case of bad language used and to edit the clips together.

The production process for the radio/talk show will have been recorded in a radio suite using microphones, which are connected to a computer with a play server where sound effects and jingles are available to play live on air.  The show will  have been formatted so it is available for online streaming as well as DAB.

Market Share:
The main competitors of Sheffield Live! are Hallam FM and BBC Radio Sheffield.  They are considered competitors because of the area of broadcast however the other stations are commercial stations so the USP of Sheffield Live! is the fact that it is specifically made for the local community to listen to.  The official share of radio audience for Sheffield Live! is 32,000 listeners aged 15 and above with a weekly radio 'listenership' of 11%.