A17. Channel Listings Analysis

In this analysis I shall be looking at 3 radio adverts and discussing how they use and portray genre, representation, target audience, narrative, connotation, denotation, sound, sound effects and theory.

I will be analysing 3 existing channel listings websites in order to get a good understanding as to what to feature in my channel listings advertisement. I shall be analysing them in terms of Colour, denotations, representation, theory and layout.

I shall be first analysing this channels listing on the TV times’ website. It has a fairly basic colour scheme with Black, white and blue being its primary colours. The logos of channels down the left hand side also have various colours however this has clearly not been specifically designed by the website editors themselves. I feel that by making all the programmes have bold black titles, it states clearly what it is and it entices readers into learning more about programmes they are interested in. When I make my advert, I need to consider how to use to colour to help to make my programme stand out.

I feel that black has been used purposefully heavily in this advert as it connotes formality which is exactly what a channel listings advert is meant to be. The white used in the background connotes simplicity which is highly required in channel listings, if you make this too complexed it will be over complicated which will make it difficult for its middle to lower class adult target audience. 

I feel that the TV times have done a fantastic job when it comes to representing its target audience. It purposefully uses a neatly presented schedule which is both formal whilst adding that simplistic touch at the same time. It also represents its target audience by using the actual logos from the TV channels that are being advertised. Channels such as BBC One and ITV have a recognisable logo so by using it, the audience will feel catered for and also it will help certain readers who struggle with names of channels. When making my advert, I need to consider how my advert represents my target audience as this is very important into making my advert successful. 

The layout of TV Times magazine is very formal and neat which represents its target audience very well as it is sophisticated which suits its adult target audience. It’s very systematic in the sense that all the channels are in the same order as they are on the television making it more relatable. It is also in chronological order which helps the readers to understand what time certain programmes are on, if it had been jumbled up into popularity order or alphabetical, it would be a lot harder for readers to plan their evenings of television viewing and it would be a case of pot luck as to whether they would see their favourite shows on any given evening.

In terms of representation theory, I feel that the channel listings represents its target audience as its formal and well structured, this is vital as channel listings need to be structured so that the audience all know what is going on.