Even the BBC Has Age Issues

[DavidKaye]

Chris Moyles, considered to be the most successful morning host BBC Radio 1 has ever had, is being replaced because his demos are too old. Chris Moyles is ----- 38.

So, if you think Bay Area radio has an age issue, here's something that might be worth reading. The BBC domestic broadcasts are funded by a trust set up from taxpayer support. The director general has been put on notice that BBC Radio 1's audience is getting too old, and he's been directed to keep it under age 30. While Bay Area radio stations are pressured to keep the demos to age 49 or younger, the Beeb has to make Radio 1 younger than 30.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/18792684

The stream is available on the Top 40 section of iTunes and elsewhere. It's a fun listen.

 

[MarkO]

BBC domestic broadcasts (plus an increasing portion of the operating budget of BBC World Service radio) are funded by annual License Fees...currently approx $220 per annum...collected from British households.

Maintaining the focus of BBC Radio 1 (CHR/alternative) on the under-30 demographic is a logical move when BBC also operates other national music stations which are targeting other demos....Radio 2 (hot ac/AAA), Radio 3 (classical/world), Radio 6 (alternative/AAA), Radio 1 Extra (urban) and Asian Network (South Asian).

 

[BarryATL]

Some BBC-TV programming is wildly popular in PBS here in the USA because it targets an older demographic... that goes back to the funding from the annual license fees. It is like a tax and to make people okay with the tax, there has to be programming targeted at the people who pay the taxes. So, BBC has diverse programming with some targeting an older demographic.

Here in the USA, the majority of the programming ignores people 45 and older because that is the demo that advertisers want to buy.

 

[davideduardo]

Some BBC-TV programming is wildly popular in PBS here in the USA...

American Idol, NFL Football and NCIS are wildly popular. BBC programming is probably unknown by a significant majority of American viewers, and used by even fewer.

Here in the USA, the majority of the programming ignores people 45 and older because that is the demo that advertisers want to buy.

45-54 is a prime sales demo for radio. Witness the success of classic hits, classic rock, news and talk formats that sell based almost entirely on 45-54 numbers.

Television has been focused on 18-49 for decades. Not 18-45. You don't think that 20-20 or 60 Minutes is targeted at 25 year olds, do you?

 

[almaniac27]

American Idol, NFL Football and NCIS are wildly popular. BBC programming is probably unknown by a significant majority of American viewers, and used by even fewer.

Top Gear, Doctor Who and Sherlock are all pretty popular nowadays, but that's basically it. It's a shame too, because even a quick comparison between BBC news and, say, CNN shows that our domestic cable news media is pathetic.

 

[uncamark]

American Idol, NFL Football and NCIS are wildly popular. BBC programming is probably unknown by a significant majority of American viewers, and used by even fewer.

Top Gear, Doctor Who and Sherlock are all pretty popular nowadays, but that's basically it. It's a shame too, because even a quick comparison between BBC news and, say, CNN shows that our domestic cable news media is pathetic.

And the most popular British show in years, "Downton Abbey," is from the commercial network, ITV, although it's about the only really popular show on the network in its home country these days.

However, remember that "American Idol" started out as a British show, as did "Dancing With the Stars," so they get their licks in eventually.