Studio Production - Research into Soccer AM

In the development of my idea, I decided to look into what makes a good sports based live studio show. One show that instantly came to mind was Soccer AM. As a producer, it is important to think about the casting, the scripting and the target audience amongst other things, so these were the things I looked into most of all.

Though the target audience consisted of young adults between the ages of 16-34, the show also has an appeal to even younger audience due to the slapstick nature of the show as well as football being the topic of discussion. Like with Top Gear, the target audience goes beyond the topic of football as the slapstick humour attracts other viewers. The inclusion of both a male and female host on the show opens up the appeal to both genders which is particularly important given that football is such a male dominated sport.

The show often brings in footballers as their guests, both former and current, to match the obvious appeal of being a football based talk show. However they also invite various actors, music artists, sports stars and other celebrities. The conversation will often begin by talking to the guest about their own career before turning the conversation towards football. Bringing in these different guests may also introduce a new demographic to the show, as fans of this guest may tune in to watch the interview and may even stick around to watch the remainder of the show.

As mentioned previously, Soccer AM adds a comedic element to the show, a unique selling point that works to the shows advantage. Shows like Match of the Day or Goals on Sunday might be seen as competitors due to sharing the same topic, however the slapstick humour adds a different element to the show that will attract a large audience to tune in week in, week out. Various characters like Rocket, Tubes and Frankie Fryer each add their own comedic style to the show.