Mainstream Audiences:

A mainstream audience has a much broader target audience. These producers of these texts make an extra effort to ensure as many audiences view their text.

An example of texts with mainstream audiences would be:

The X Factor is a British reality TV show that is targeted at an extremely large group of people. The producers are constantly changing the show and always aiming to add features that appeal to various viewers. The show broadcasts at prime-time viewing hours. It is before the watershed and on a Saturday night. It broadcasts on the channel ITV which is an extremely popular channel in the UK and has a substantial catch up site allowing viewers to never miss an episode. The subject content is always humourous and entertaining, but clean and appropriate for all audiences. 

Lost is an extremely popular television show, due to its ensemble cast. Lost has a large cast of people, portraying characters with different personalities and lifestyles to appeal to as many audience members as possible. The original cast was made up of 70 people and one dog, which was costly to produce however the executive producer Bryan Burk is quoted as saying it gave them flexibility and that "you can have more interactions between characters and create more diverse characters, more back stories and more love triangles". Having a broader set of stories appeals to a broader audience, in relation to the uses and gratifications theory. Audience members can personally identify with characters similar to themselves. For example, the show stars Ian Somerhalder portraying a Boone Carlyle, a businessman. His career appeals to other similarly qualified or educated people and he also creates sex appeal, creating entertainment for various members of the audience. Another character is Sun-Hwa Kwon played by Yunjim Kim. This powerful Korean socialite creates an audience of people with the same nationality. It is most likely that each individual member of the Lost audience watches for one specific character and follows them carefully. However as they are tuned in to the show they are engaged and entertained by the series as whole and will continue to watch, developing a mainstream audience.