Soap Opera - Target Audience

1. Soap Opera Genre –
Target Audience
Name: Abigail Ronald
Candidate Number: 2121
Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center Number: 64135
OCR Media Studies – A2 Level
Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio

2. EastEnders
• The typical viewer of this soap is aged between 16 – 70. The reason as to why there is such a wide age range is because so
many issues are covered which appeal to everyone within the age group, such as health issues, family problems and many
more, so therefore this soap opera cannot be targeted at a specific generation. Another reason why the soap appeals to this
wide range of people is because there are characters who are of all ages. There are many different qualities and elements of
the programme which make it so popular and mainstream, these include things such as a huge amount of different cultures
and social classes which are portrayed in the soap opera. This then allows a wide range of people to connect with the
different types of people and families which are represented in the programme.
• This soap is exhibited either during prime time hours at 7:30 or 8 depending on which day is aired, it is shown four times a
week with the exception of special occasion episodes which are usually shown on public holidays, because the soap is aired
before the watershed, it means that the producers are limited to the intensity of language/sexual references etc. Due to this,
it means that the soap is appropriate for younger viewers as well because that content isn't explicit.
• According to Hartley’s seven subjectivities, the gender of the common viewer of EastEnders can be either male or female,
this is because of the diverse use of characters of storyline, the same applies to the diverse ethnicities among viewers as
many different ethnicities are represented within each episode.
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs suggests that the two types of people who would be viewing this soap would most likely be
‘Caregivers’ and ‘Survivors’. One reason to why the audience would be referred to be “Caregiver’s” is because in several
occasions the audience will be made to relate to the storylines, and they will sympathise for the characters situations, which
make them caregivers. The audience would also be classed as “Survivor’s” because the audience tend to be significantly
involved with the soap and the storylines normally tend to be continuous, some audience members want security and
routine of knowing that the characters are safe (For example) or that the current murder/crime will be resolved (For
example).
• According to Katz’ Uses and Gratification Theory, the typical viewer of this soap opera chooses to watch this programme in
order to entertain and educate themselves. Viewers tend to watch this soap in order to gain ‘enjoyment’ and a sense of
escapism which enables them to temporarily forget about their real life issues to hear about fiction ones presented on the
soap. People also watch this programme to acquire knowledge and understanding of current affairs in the current soap
storyline.
• The stereotypical viewer of EastEnders could be placed in any group between B and E on the socio-economic needs scale as
there is such a wide variety of people whom watch the soap opera.

3. Hollyoaks
• According to Hartley’s Seven Subjectivities, the typical viewer of this soap would be of an age between 14 – 25 year olds.
One reason as to why I would say this age group is Hollyoaks’ target audience is due to the choice of characters within the
soap, the majority of characters are young with the exception of a few elder characters. As the audience will be a similar age
of the characters portrayed in the soap, they will be able to relate to the multi- stranded narratives presented. Evidently the
soap is more targeted towards females, this is because the storylines portrayed are usually to do with romance which
stereotypically women are more interested other than men, another way in which the show manages to appeal to females is
by ensuring that the female characters are always dressed in the up to date fashion trends of that time, and generally these
features are important to women.
• Unlike other soaps, Hollyoaks tend to stick to focusing on the same characters other than intertwining storylines like other
soaps, such as EastEnders. By doing this, the soap is attracting the attention of the audiences who belong to Maslow’s
‘Survivors’, this is because these are the types of viewers who like to be involved and ‘attached’ to certain characters that
they take a shining to.
• The dialogue and tone of language used by the characters is also extremely casual and ‘slang’ which is another element that
appeals to the younger target audience as they will relate more than with soaps that use more sophisticated language.
• The social class that would be watching this soap would be mainly teenagers living within a working class family, this is
because the characters presented in the soap are of the same age which allows the audience to relate to their lifestyle.
• The locations that the soap chooses to focus upon is a key feature that attracts their target audience, this is because the
main locations featured are places such as parks, colleges, university halls and clubs. By choosing to feature these locations
it means that the audience will either be able to relate the life the actors are portraying, or look up to the them.
• According to Katz’ Uses and Gratifications Theory, the typical viewer of this soap opera would be watching the programme
purely for entertainment purposes, however some people may watch to inform themselves about different lifestyles
presented as well as how different classes live their lives. People enjoy doing this in order top compare their lifestyles to
those presented on the soap opera.
• The socio-economic scale suggests that the common viewer of Hollyoaks would be in group E. This is because the average
viewers of this soap opera are students .
• Overall, the main target demographic for the soap Hollyoaks is females aged between 14 – 25 year olds due to the choices
of storylines and other relating features within the programme.