Niche And Mainstream Audiences

niche audience

A niche audience is a small group of viewers of a media text that have a specific interest in a unique area. For example, people who gain enjoyment from watching or reading texts that explore the life and death of Richard III.

Breaking Bad is a television series that is currently only available on Netflix in the United Kingdom, meaning it can be played anytime. However, in America the show is a massive hit with a mainstream audience. Since it first started, the show has gained more and more recognition from UK audiences and is a good example of a niche text becoming a mainstream text. The show features a 'good guy' turned 'bad guy' and the situations that occur throughout. In order to watch the show, a subscription fee is required for Netflix in the UK and therefore makes the programme much less available to mainstream audiences. The programme is quite easy to follow as the previous episodes and situations relevant to the events featured in this episode are shown at the start, and so provide a good base of understanding for the programme to begin with. It keeps previous audiences updated but also encourages new audiences to begin watching as they can easily process the story-line so far.

Digital Photographer magazine is a media text which is dedicated to the needs of enthusiasts and semi-professional photographers. It's a monthly magazine that costs £5 to purchase and therefore tends to be targeted at those with a more disposable income. It gives information, advice and tips on techniques, photographer's work and camera models. It can be difficult to find and buy, although it can be sold in newsagents, not all cater to the needs of this small audience. Many fans of the magazine normally become subscribers and therefore purchase the magazine in advance and have it delivered to their house in order to ensure they definitely obtain a copy of the new issue. The mode of address is quite formal and it can make the magazine quite difficult to read and understand as it works on the basis that the audience already have a previous knowledge of common photography terms and therefore doesn't explain.

Wheeler Dealers is a programme produced by Attaboy TV for the Discovery Channel on all satellite networks. It tends to be shown multiple times between 5pm and 8pm which is widely renowned as a peak television time. The programme is based on the two presenters finding classic cars that are in bad conditions and restoring and modernising them so they can be sold on at a higher value. The Discovery Channel is a subscribe only channel and requires a payment to be viewed, causing it to be more difficult for mainstream audiences to view. The program is easy for audiences to follow as it uses mainstream narrative techniques, such as giving the audience reminders about activities completed on the programme previously.




mainstream audience

A mainstream audience is a typical, conventional audience who enjoy the same type of programmes across the country. The programmes made for a mainstream audience tend to be shown on the main channels available on a television and are normally shown at prime times when audience figures are the highest. They also tend to contain 'something for everyone', at least one characteristic that the different members of the audience can relate to.

EastEnders is a good example of a mainstream programme as it is shown on BBC 1 at 8pm every weeknight, a peak time for television, and therefore attracts audiences of all ages and from all over the country. The show features people of all races, religions, genders and ages and has an ensemble cast allowing a large number of people to relate to the events and issues raised. The show covers many diverse problems and sometimes chooses to reflect real-life events that are currently or recently been covered in the news. The programme is very easy for an audience to access as it is on the first and most mainstream channel featured on UK television and no digital subscription is needed. Although EastEnders is a mainstream show featured on a mainstream channel, there are certain mainstream narrative techniques that it lacks, such as a previous episode recap at the start of the show. The loss of this feature can make it quite difficult to follow to begin with, but the show itself is constructed in such a way that much of the time, the feature isn't needed and much of the action can be interpreted by the audience as the show continues.

The Sun has a mainstream audience as it covers all newsworthy events across the country and from outside the UK on a day to day basis. It has a low price and is available from the majority of newsagents and supermarkets, causing a mainstream audience to have very easy access to it. Due to the range of topics it covers, it attracts a lot of interest and attention from very different viewers and it's diversification is one of the reasons why it is so successful with a mainstream audience. It's almost a guarantee that there will be a story in the newspaper that everyone in the audience can either relate to or take gratifications from. The Sun uses an informal mode of address and acts like it's delivering a piece of gossip to it's audience rather than worldwide news, making it easy to read. It also uses simplistic language, further adding to the ease of reading and understanding.

The X Factor is another text with a mainstream audience as it shows and represents contestants of all ages, nationalities, races, genders etc so there is something each audience member can relate to. It is shown on ITV, a mainstream channel, at the peak timing of 8pm every Saturday night and attracts a large audience. The entire concept of the show is based around a singing competition and nationwide fame and features clips of contestants hoping to make it through the stages of the competition, with some informal and humorous commentary from Ant and Dec, renowned TV show host duo. The programme is very easy to access which is why it attracts such a large audience as like with EastEnders, there is no need to have a digital subscription in order to watch the show. The mode of address is direct and it's easy to watch and understand as there is no real story-line and the show is explained as it goes along.