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Commercial Radio want local radio rule change in return for new DAB investment
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 18 February 2009
A confidential report from commercial radio trade body RadioCentre submitted to media regulator OfCom says that commercial radio firms are willing to make new investment into the ailing Digital Audio Broadcasting network in return for a relaxation of rules governing local FM radio stations.
As previously reported, while the big commercial radio companies were initially enthusiastic partners in the roll out of DAB radio, the poor advertising revenues generated by digital only stations, and the high costs of simulcasting FM services on DAB compared to the modest extra audiences those simulcasts delivered, mean commercial radio chiefs have become less keen onu it all of late.
Prior to its takeover by Global Radio, GCap were talking about bailing out of DAB altogether, despite the two companies that merged to create GCap – GWR and Capital – having invested lots of cash into the digital medium over the years. Then Channel 4 dumped its plans to launch a second national DAB network, and the other commercial radio players involved in that venture shelved all their own digital only proposals. All of which left the BBC the only real DAB advocate.
But the RadioCentre report says the big commercial radio companies would invest in two new national digital only services – one speech based, one music based (so, a bit like the original Channel 4 proposals) – and become more proactive in promoting DAB, if in return OfCom relaxes the rules regarding how many hours of local programming must be carried by smaller local radio stations.
A number of commercial radio firms have said existing rules governing small local stations are too strict, to the extent that they impact on the commercial viability of some services.
The RadioCentre report was seemingly based on interviews with various senior commercial radio players and was submitted to OfCom ahead of the regulator’s own recent review of digital media, which included recommendations on the future of digital radio and proposed a more indepth review of the future of local radio.
Commenting on the report, an OfCom spokesman said they welcomed any new investment in DAB, but insisted that [a] the commercial sector was already committed to that and [b] the future of DAB is a separate issue to the rules governing local radio.
Mr OfCom: “Ofcom would welcome the launch of more national stations that would cater for a number of tastes and interests. [Commercial DAB network] Digital One has an obligation to launch a further four national stations under the terms of its licence [anyway]. These plans are a step toward this but are a separate issue to localness. [Outgoing GMG radio chief] John Myers has recently been appointed by the government to consider the role of localness on commercial radio in a digital age”.
