Radio Drama

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Secondary research – Radio Dramas

Direct quotes and figures

It was in the 1960s that W.H. Auden declared radio drama to be a “dying art”.

Television was getting lots of attention in the press, but it was an expensive medium - and
one very much broadcasting to a large family-based audience: by-and-large it had to play
safe. Radio, having been kicked out of the prime spot in the sitting-room corner by TV, was
increasingly listened to alone rather than by whole families. It was liberated to serve more
specialised audiences. Quite apart from being cheaper, it could simply take more risks.

https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/100-voices/radio-reinvented/the-strange-survival-of-
radio-drama/

The definition of audio drama from Wikipedia goes as follows: “Radio drama (or audio
drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic
performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound
effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story.”

While listening to radio dramas may seem like something outdated, radio was the machine
that turned oral stories – often told inside one family – to a magical form of entertainment for
a whole population. Before video, before TV, radio dramas were the place where stories,
more than just being read, took form. 

The first play written specifically for radio was A Comedy Of Danger, by Richard Hughes,
which aired in January of 1924, commissioned by the BBC in Britain. 

younger generations are now listening to podcasts, and that brings the advantage that we can
actively choose what we listen to, and which matters should be worthy of our attention

Although the UK’s BBC is still the biggest audio drama provider – at least station-wise, with
BBC Radio 4 producing several drama and comedy shows and even hosting audio awards 

Of course, one of the reasons audio entertainment has become so popular is due to the fact
that it is now easier than ever before to acquire the necessary material to start an audio
production. Even people with a very limited budget can make a podcast from scratch from
their homes and succeed. With only a laptop and a microphone, you’re good to bring to life
great audio content from the commodity of your house.

https://bookriot.com/history-of-the-radio-drama/
https://media.info/radio/stations/bbc-radio-4/listening-figures
The average age of the Radio 4 listener is 56 years old and skews towards an older audience.
Our target audience of 35-54 ABC1 (commonly termed 'replenishers') makes up 24% of the
audience.

This isn’t too surprising as if younger people were to listen to radio dramas it’s more likely to be on
streaming services rather than on the radio.

https://www.google.co.uk/url?
sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwipq9Tj4u_1AhXNT8AKHdgRDd0QFnoECAY
QAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdownloads.bbc.co.uk%2Fradio%2Fcommissioning
%2FR4_44_Minute_Drama_Audience_Pack.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3VHqjkRVeQ-WrCvTkiuESO

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