Why Do Popular Music Radio Programmes Struggle to Gain

Recognition as A Public Service Broadcasting

Popular music radio programmes such as the Radio 1 Breakfast Show struggle to gain
recognition as a PSB as they normally only cater to what is popular at the time. This causes
them to stick to the same music genres, which are typically only favoured by the same types
of people for an extensive period of time. This then excludes the less popular and influential
genres of that time period. This system is good for appealing to the masses however a PSBs
primary task is to appeal to almost all of the public as the public are what pays for the whole
of the BBC. As these breakfast shows do appeal to the masses, it could be argued that they
should be recognised as a PSB because it is appealing to the majority of people as the music
they play is the most popular. However, these pop music programmes do struggle to be
recognised as PSB because they usually consist of a young host, in the BBC 1 breakfast
shows case, Nick Grimshaw. These young hosts are usually only relatable to the younger
audience while the older generations may struggle to understand why this host is appealing.
This shifts the breakfast show slightly making it seem more niche towards the younger
audience and ultimately drawing attention away from the fact that it is still part of a PSB.
Another reason why the BBC 1 breakfast show could struggle to gain recognition as part of a
PSB could be there strategic decision to exclude less favoured genres specific to the time
period. For example, Rock/ Heavy Metal are almost completely excluded despite having a
very large following in the UK. This suggests that BBC are not trying to appeal to everyone
and just the stereotypical followers demographic ting .

Different contexts can influence the status of these popular radio shows.