Helpnote – Scheduling

Principles
Whilst there is no specific ‘watershed’ for radio advertising as per television, scheduling care is needed for certain categories of advertisement. This generally means that some ads should not be scheduled at breakfast, drive or school run times or during school holidays. Scheduling care is needed for ads that, through their content, might harm, frighten or distress children of particular ages (whether these ages are 15 or 8) or are otherwise unsuitable for children of particular ages to hear.

BCAP Code Rules
Ads for the following categories of ad must not be scheduled near or in programming principally directed at or likely to appeal particularly to listeners below 18:
Alcoholic drinks; gambling; betting tipsters; violent or sexually explicit material, slimming products, treatments or establishments; religious advertisers; live premium-rate services.
Ads for the following categories of ad must not be scheduled near or in programming principally directed at or likely to appeal particularly to listeners below 16:
Lotteries; football pools; equal-chance gaming; prize gaming; category D gaming machines; medicines/vitamins/dietary supplements; low alcohol or no alcohol versions of an alcoholic drink; computer or console games carrying 18, 16 or 15 ratings.
Ads for the following categories of ad must be scheduled carefully:
Media and websites containing sensational content; sexual material, sex shops, stripograms or similar; divination or the supernatural; sanitary protection; family planning; sexual health messages; HIV prevention messages; anti drugs messages; solvent abuse messages.

Factors to Consider for Scheduling of Ads

• When under 18s and children are likely to be listening to the station (if more than 25% of audience is under 18, consider scheduling the ad away from this time; also consider scheduling away from breakfast and drive and not in school runs or daypart in school holidays),
• RAJAR data, if applicable [current national RAJAR averages indicate that child listening (10-14s) is above average at the following times: Weekdays: breakfast peak (0600-1000) and PM drive (1600-1900); Sat/Sun: breakfast peak (0600-1000), mid-morning (1000-1300) and afternoon (1300-1900)],
• The station’s target audience and demographics,
• The nature of the station’s programming at the time of the ad.