Radio: KISS FM Breakfast show CSP

 Remember, our Radio products are targeted CSPs and need to be studied with reference to two elements of the theoretical framework - Audiences and Industries as well as Historical, Social and Cultural Contexts. This means we need to study the way radio audiences and industries have changed over time and what impact this may have on society. 

Notes from the lesson: KISS FM Breakfast show

You'll find the notes from our lessons on KISS FM below.

Background and history

Kiss FM first broadcast on 7 October 1985 as a pirate radio station, initially to South London then across the whole city. Transmitting seven-days from the start, it would be regularly taken off-air by the authorities and so became a weekend operation shortly afterwards. This means that it has its origins in common with radio in the 1960s (such as Tony Blackburn’s Radio Caroline show) as KISS was originally an illegal station that became legitimate as it grew in popularity. KISS FM is now seen as more mainstream and less controversial and has been operating legally since 1990. In 2007, it was bought by international conglomerate Bauer Media.

The station developed a committed following across London of mostly young people with figures in the press at the time stating that the station attracted some 500,000 listeners while operating as an unlicensed pirate station.

Gordon Mac approached a successful London club promoter, Guy Wingate, to discuss ways of improving the KISS FM profile. As a result, Wingate launched the very successful Kiss nights at the Wag Club where DJs from the station would DJ night club nights. These nights increased the station's reputation as a young person’s music radio station. 

KISS FM Breakfast show with Jordan and Perri

KISS has tried to move with the times by engaging on social media with its listeners and by bringing in DJs who they think will appeal to a younger target audience. Jordan and Perri took over the KISS FM Breakfast show in summer 2020 after previous hosts Rickie, Melvin and Charlie left for BBC Radio 1.

KISS FM deliberately chose younger replacements who have a big social media following (Perri has over one million followers on TikTok).

You can read more about Jordan and Perri taking over the Breakfast show in this BBC website interview.

Personal relationships: important for breakfast radio

Applying Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory, a key aspect of the KISS FM Breakfast show is the personal relationship the audience feel they have with the presenters Jordan and Perri. They took over the KISS FM Breakfast show in July 2020 after finding fame as part of the dance group Diversity and also presenting a weekend show on the station. The two are good friends who have worked together for over 10 years and KISS hope that natural chemistry will appeal to their listeners.

Here's just one of the ways KISS FM first introduced their Breakfast show team:

KISS FM deliberately chose breakfast show hosts who are:

• Members of a dance troupe called Diversity who appeared on Britain’s Got Talent (watch their first performance below)
• Friends in real life and have a natural 'chemistry' which is so important for breakfast radio and connecting with audiences. They are known for their 'banter' and personality.
• Connected to political movements such as Black Lives Matter (see clip below)

Diversity - Britain's Got Talent audition:

Diversity - Black Lives Matter:

Active v passive audience

What opportunities are there on KISS FM for audiences to actively engage?

• Listeners can send in requests or shout outs to friends via social media platforms (KISS FM are particularly active across Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok).
• Audience interaction and involvement is a key aspect to the Breakfast show and Perri has over a million followers on TikTok. 
• Audiences can download the KISS Kube app to stream shows at a time convenient to them.
• KISS runs over 100 events every summer that helps them connect with 300,000+ listeners. They also host an annual Halloween event at Wembley Arena for 11,000 fans. 

Industry contexts

KISS is part of Bauer Radio, a subsidiary of the Bauer Media Group (BMG). This multinational cross-media group owns numerous magazine and radio brands but also has interests in digital media, TV streaming and event organisation, mostly linked to its radio and magazine properties. This makes Kiss FM commercial radio - the opposite to the BBC and public service radio.

The KISS Network is made up of KISS, KISSTORY and KISS Fresh alongside recently launched online stations KISS Bliss (chilled out music), KISS Dance and KISS Garage. Each of these targets its own audience within the 15–34 age group with different styles and types of content. All are available on a number of different platforms, but the range is not the same for each of the brands. 

All are available on the KISS website and the KISS Kube app, but only KISS is available on FM radio. In contrast, only KISS and KISSTORY can be received on DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting).

KISS listening figures

Like most traditional media brands, KISS FM is struggling to maintain its audience in the digital age. The previous breakfast show hosted by Rickie, Melvin and Charlie had over 2 million listeners but by the time Jordan and Perri took over it was already down to 1.4m. The most recent figures have Jordan and Perri at 980,000 listeners so less than half the 2m figure the KISS FM Breakfast show used to enjoy.

How does KISS FM make money?

Bauer Media Group revenue was 2.2 BILLION euros (see Bauer website here for more details) which demonstrates how much money is made across their many media brands. 

KISS FM makes money through advertising, sponsorship and events (such as summer festivals and the Wembley Arena Halloween party). The KISS FM Breakfast show is one of the most popular slots for the radio station so losing around one million listeners over the last few years means Bauer Media cannot make as much money from the KISS brand as it used to. Indeed, Bauer Media Group's revenue is down from 2.3bn euros - in part due to the increasing pressure on traditional media such as magazines and radio.

The changing nature of radio

Young people tend to listen to radio much less as the media landscape is saturated with other products for them to consume (games, apps, numerous TV channels, streaming services, etc).  

Also, people now expect to consume media products not in a linear fashion (you turn on the radio and hear what’s currently broadcast) but on-demand (streaming services such as Spotify, Amazon Music and Deezer). This means Kiss FM is attempting to target an audience of 15-34 year olds who are consuming media in a totally different way compared to radio in the 1960s.

Radio in the 1960s v radio today

There are many differences in the radio industry between the launch of BBC Radio 1 in 1967 and the global online marketplace we see today:

• More radio stations broadcasting (There are around 600 licensed radio stations in the country) and thousands of online broadcasters.
• Improved quality as radio moved from AM to FM and now to DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting).
• Radio stations have become increasingly specialised (look at KISS, KISSTORY and KISS FRESH or rivals Absolute Radio, Absolute 60s, 70s, 80s, etc.)
• Many shows are downloadable on-demand (e.g. as podcasts), on a range of devices (e.g. using iPlayer on TV) and streaming-only ‘stations’ (e.g. Spotify ‘stations with no DJs')

Regulation: how is KISS FM regulated?

KISS FM is regulated by Ofcom. This means the KISS FM Breakfast show must follow the Ofcom broadcasting code and not include anything inappropriate for children or younger listeners. 

In 2006, KISS was fined a record fee for any UK commercial radio station of £175,000 by media regulator Ofcom. Ofcom punished KISS for "numerous and serious breaches" of broadcasting codes after receiving 10 complaints from April to November 2005. They involved prank calls on the Bam Bam breakfast show where consent was not sought from the victims and controversial material aired when children were likely to be listening. KISS said it accepted the findings and apologised for any offence. You can read more on that case here.

KISS FM Breakfast show CSP: blog tasks

Work through the following questions to complete your final Radio case study on the KISS FM Breakfast show CSP:

Audience

Look at the KISS media pack carefully. This will give you a brilliant background to the brand and how they target their audience (important note: it features the old Breakfast presenting team). 

Answer the following questions:

1) Read page 2. What is KISS FM's mission?

KISS FM's mission is to target a young audience by making their radio widely accessible on all platforms and devices. 

2) Look at page 3. What is the target audience for KISS FM? As well as writing the key statistics from the media pack, try and suggest what psychographic groups would fit the KISS audience too.

Kiss FM is attempting to target an audience of 15-34 year olds, key statistics include a 60/40 Female to Male split, they also have over 1.3m downloads of the KISS Kube App. Their audiences are predominantly urban but are becoming  increasingly national with 65% now living outside London. Their social platforms reach a potential of 321m people and they're active on Facebook, Twittter, Instagram and snapchat, psychographics may include the mainstream who have a fundamental routine they follow that may include listening to thew kiss breakfast show. 

3) Now look at page 5 - The KISS network. How does KISS use digital media and technology to reach its audience? Kiss uses sites like Youtube to promote content based on the types of music people listen to, they're present through live events and on-demand streaming apps which make the network accessible to its audience.

4) Now look at the other side of page 5. What content do KISS Fresh and KISSTORY offer and how can audiences access those stations?  KISS FRESH is where you’ll find exclusive first plays of the biggest track from some of the hottest artists and producers in the industry. KISS FRESH is available on DAB (in London), Freeview, Sky, plus at KISSFMUK.COM, via the KISS Kube app, on social and at events.KISSTORY is also hugely successful beyond the radio with compilation album releases and sell out club nights across the world from London to Europe

and the UAE. KISSTORY is available on DAB (in London), Freeview, Sky, plus at KISSFMUK.COM, via the KISS Kube app, on social and at events.

5) Read page 6. What are the different ways audiences can actively engage with the KISS radio brand?

Audiences can engage with the radio app by streaming their favourite shows from KISS, they can listen live online, go to live events and listen to the radio. 

6) Are listeners to the KISS Breakfast show active or passive? You can argue this point either way - explain your opinion in your answer.
The targeted audience which may already consist of a large majority of KISS's demographic are passive listeners,  "they want or already own the latest cool stuff and have the devices at their fingertips to facilitate this sense of immediacy. It’s more than just dual screening – it’s about using multiple devices simultaneously from a mobile, tablet, TV, and laptop." This suggests that due to the fact that they already have all this media that's easy for them to access, they likely use it such a way that they aren't engaged with whatever they're listening to due to the over-saturation of the market.

Though it can be argued that they are active as you can cal in and talk with the radio hosts in order to engage with games, there also competitions, concerts and events that are constantly announced that listeners can attend.

7) Now think about the clips you've watched or listened to of the KISS FM Breakfast show with Jordan and Perri. What audience pleasures are offered by the KISS FM Breakfast show? Use Blumler and Katz Uses and Gratifications theory here.

Diversion: 

8) How have audiences changed in terms of how they listen to music and radio since the 1960s?

Audiences have become far more diverse as online streaming services have become more accessible over the last 20 years, this makes it easier for KISS to reach larger audiences however the competition also increases.

9) How does the KISS FM Breakfast show contrast with Tony Blackburn's 1967 Radio 1 Breakfast show and the launch of BBC Radio 1?

KISS FM isn't quite as popular as Radio 1 was in it's time due to the competition in the market, KISS FM is also readily accessible on demand and has increased in quality proportionally with the advancement of technology over the decades. 

10) Use Stuart Hall's Reception theory to offer a preferred and oppositional reading of the KISS FM Breakfast show. For the preferred reading, why do fans love the show? On the oppositional side, why might someone criticise the show or not want to listen?

Industry

1) When did KISS FM first launch and what type of station was it then? 

KISS FM first launched on October 7, 1985 as a pirate radio station in London, broadcasting "black music" such as soul, funk, and disco.

2) Look at the Bauer Media Group's list of brands. How many different types of media can you find on there? What brands do you recognise? 

Bauer Media Group utilizes at least six distinct media types across its global operations: Magazines, Digital Products, Radio Stations, TV Stations, Out-of-Home Advertising, and Postal/Distribution Services. 

3) How does KISS FM make money? 

KISS FM makes money primarily through advertising, including traditional ads, sponsorships, and live reads from presenters, all of which generate revenue by selling airtime to businesses and brands. Additionally, they earn income from events like festivals and parties and through their associated sub-brands and digital platforms. 

4) How many listeners does the KISS Breakfast show have and how has this changed in recent years?

The KISS Breakfast show had an increase of 80,000 listeners in the latest quarter, reaching 2.1 million weekly listeners. This follows a previous loss of over a quarter of a million listeners in 2024, showing a significant upward trend in listener numbers following the loss. 

5) How is KISS FM regulated and what can happen if they break the rules?

KISS FM is regulated by Ofcom, the UK's broadcasting regulator, which issues broadcast licences with conditions that broadcasters must follow, including adhering to content rules. If KISS FM breaks these rules, Ofcom can impose various sanctions, including financial penalties, a requirement to broadcast corrections or apologies, shortening, suspension, or even revocation of their broadcast licence.