Friday, 4 November 2016

The Great British Bake Off

Great British Bake Off

Produced by: Love Productions
Broadcasted on: BBC (moving to Channel 4)

TEXT
Genre:
Baking – the TV show is primarily about baking, it is also a game show as it consists of 12 contestants who go head to head to win at the end of the show.
Narrative:
Bakers attempt three challenges each week trying to impress the judges enough to go through to the next round and eventually are crowned Britain's best amateur baker.
Representation:
o   Middle class – the presenters are all celebrities, meaning they’re middle class.
o   Lower class – Paul Hollywood was born into a lower class background, this could be inspiring to lower class audiences as it might encourage them to try harder to pursue a successful career.
o   Men – baking may stereotypically be known as a feminine occupation, however this show makes it clear that it’s for both genders, as men are as successful as females in it.

AUDIENCE
Appeal and targeting:
They target the audience through the large amounts of advertising. The fact that it’s been running since 2010 means it has a large fan base who follow it. The fact that it is the great BRITISH bake off might appeal more to the English population.
Uses and gratification:
o   Information – people who enjoy baking might watch the show for tips and ideas or to generally receive more knowledge on baking.
o   Entertainment – for some it might offer an escape from their everyday life and possibly relieve stress.
o   Social interaction – because it’s such a popular show some may start watching it to be able to join in with peoples discussions about the show. Over 10 million people follow the show.


Other literal responses:
o   Preferred response – the audience love the show, watch it every week, encourage others to watch it, might also watch ‘an extra slice’.
o   Oppositional response – some people may dislike the fact that the show is taking over newspapers, TV and social media. They may not find baking interesting.
o   Negotiated response – some may like the baking concept of the show, but not like the presenters or contestants.

INDUSTRY
Marketing:
o   Merchandise – the great British beak off is clearly very popular as they have merchandise for all the fans of the show.
o   Press coverage – after every new episode, there are articles released about it in Britain’s top newspapers.
Importance for the BBC:
In 2014, the telegraph released an article titled, “BBC's Bake Off draws greater audience than World Cup final”
This shows that the show was important for the BBC as it was giving outstanding numbers of viewers.
10.4 million people were watching this year’s first episode, becoming the most-watched series opener in the show’s history.
However, the BBC has recently lost the contract to broadcast The Great British Bake Off, which will now be shown on Channel 4. This is due to a falling out between Love Productions and the BBC. Channel 4 offered more money for the show (supposedly £25 million).
“The BBC earlier said it hoped Love Productions would change its mind and that Bake Off was a "quintessentially BBC programme".” – this shows that the BBC is aware of how important the show was for them.


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