A mass audience targets a large audience however with the variety of texts available nowadays there aren't many shows that targeted a mass amount it's mainly used for broadcasting news events such as in a major events like 9/11 and 7/7 attacks. Whereas a fragmented audience targets more specific and smaller audiences with each show, so each genre has a specific target audience such as Downton Abbey is a period drama so it's likely to target a similar audience of Upstairs Downstairs which is another period drama.
Strictly is on at around 7pm on Saturdays which is prime time for family viewing therefore it draws in a large audience. Strictly is a popular show as it allows the audience to participate by voting to ensure their favourite stays in the competition. Shows like this often gain more viewers due to social networking sites because people like to comment on the dancers performances and share their views therefore Strictly is often trending in the UK on a Saturday night, therefore people using the social networking sites are influenced to tune in. Another benefit of social networking sites is that many of the celebrities on the show use them so the fans can follow the celebrity's personal views. Star appeal draws in a large audience because many celebrities have an established fan base so they are likely to watch Strictly to see their favourite celebrity.
Homeland is on at 9pm on a Sunday which dismisses family viewing therefore it has a fragmented audience. It targets adults who are likely to be unwinding on a Sunday evening before work on a Monday morning. The genre is a political thriller so it has a complex plot which doesn't allow viewers top dip in and out of the series. Channel 4 is known for showing American shows which narrows the target audience because some British people don't like to watch American tv.
Despite the fact Homeland is a fragmented audience the viewing figures of 3.04 million is larger than most fragmented shows however there is a clear difference between the figures between Homeland and Strictly. Strictly has a viewing audience of 11.413 million and comes in top with the most views every week it's on. It is likely that Strictly is so successful because its shown on BBC 1 as they try to provide informative, educational and entertaining British shows for everyone where as Channel 4 have more specific audiences as they bring popular American shows to the UK and don't show reality programmes which usually draw in a mass audience.
Some good ideas here, but you could try to make stronger connections between the theories and the case-studies; you could have analysed the content of the programmes and explored how they approach their audiences differently.
ReplyDeleteAlso, a Sunday 9pm audience (no kids) doesn't have to mean 'fragmented'. Fragmentation is more complex - it is about the viewing habits of the audience more than who the audience is. Does Homeland encourage people to catch-up at different times (4oD) does it invite it audience to engage with the text on different platforms (internet, TV, iPad etc?) Do the viewing figures suggest that the audience is 'dipping in and out' of the weekly schedule rather than religiously tuning in each week? Will the audience wait for the DVD?