OfCom have rejected previously reported calls by some commercial radio types to allow further nationwide syndication of programmes on local radio stations.
As previously reported, some commercial radio firms want to be able to broadcast the same programmes across all their local stations in prime time, in the same way some stations already do in other time slots. The logic is that said firms would be able to command big celebrity presenters for such networked prime time shows, enabling them to compete against the national BBC stations.
But, having considered those proposals as part of its ongoing Future Of Radio review, OfCom has said that FM local stations will still have to broadcast at least 10 hours of locally made programmes each weekday, and that includes the breakfast slot. Some of the radio station owners had proposed just three hours a day.
OfCom also says it is not willing to give the radio groups a free rein on how they use their digital airwaves, fearing that they may reduce the sound quality of some of their output in order to launch new or data services. The radio firms had argued they should be able to manage their own airwaves unhindered, but OfCom said this week: "We do not accept that, left to itself, the market will necessarily reflect the interests of consumers. For example, the carriage of non-radio data services may prove more lucrative for multiplex operators than audio services, which may not be in the interests of listeners".