As part of my training with the Bauer Academy, I attended a 2 day course at Key 103 in Manchester, which gave a brief insight into the world of commercial radio.
Key 103 is one of the major radio stations within the Bauer City Place group, and is located in Castle Quay, which is located within the Deansgate area of Manchester City Centre. From the Key 103 studio building, a lot of the network programming is created for the rest of the group. Most of the radio franchises have 3 individual radio stations, for example, Viking in Hull have Viking FM, Viking 2, and Viking 3.
Viking FM is broadcasts a mixture of local and networked shows, with Breakfast, Mid-Morning, and Drive from the studios in Hull, whereas the rest of the output is from other studios. Viking 2 and 3 are all produced away from Hull, and have links and adverts targeted at the local audience but are created away from the area.
The course at Key 103 was hosted by Alex James, who is an experienced presenter and has until recently been covering the breakfast show at Radio Aire as well as covering holidays throughout the rest of the Bauer group.
The content of the course, looked at the start of commercial radio in the late 1960’s and 70’s right through to today’s business model and the way in which it serves the local, national, and online audience.
With commercial radio, there are targeted demographics for a radio station, and each of the groups within the course had to look at, and develop a radio station for one of the Bauer demographic groups. For Bauer, City 1 (Viking FM, Hallam FM, Key103) has an audience of ages 25-44, City 2 (Viking 2, Hallam 2, Key 2) has an audience of 45-64, and City 3 (Viking 3, Hallam 3, Key 3) has an audience of 16-24.
Within the group, we were tasked with creating a new radio station that was aimed at the City 1 demographic of 25-44, and we had to look at all different aspects that go into the creation of a station. Presenters, Sales and Marketing, Advertising, and Branding all had to be addressed very early on in the session, before moving into the studio to record jingles, beds and sweepers in order to properly brand the on-air sound.
Over the two days, the station developed was known as “Up!”, which was a blend of music, chat and comedy, which the group felt was an untapped market within the UK radio sector.
The sessions were a useful insight into what Bauer would have to look at in terms of developing radio stations within new markets, and also increasing their current market offer.
I will be using this knowledge throughout my time in the Bauer Academy, and also within my degree. I’ve met people within the industry who are very helpful in terms of sharing skills, and their experiences within the radio industry, and I will be utilising the contacts as I move into the 2nd and 3rd years of my degree and beyond.
Jools Oughtibridge 