Radio Broadcast Update March 2010

Published 06|04|10

• Commercial Radio
• Community Radio
• Radio Restricted Service Licences

Commercial Radio 

Licences issued in this period

There were no licences issued in this period.

Services which have ceased to be licensed (handed back or revoked) in this period

The following services are no longer licensed. The relevant licence is either:

• No longer required by the licensee so has been handed back, or;
• In the case of a licence covering multiple services, has been amended to remove the requirement to provide the specific service; or
• Revoked for breach of a licence condition

*Digital Sound Programme service
**Radio Licensable Content Service

In addition, the local analogue (AM) licence for Hereford and Worcester has ceased from 06 April 2010.  This follows the dissolution on 06 April of the licence-holding company, Classic Hits Radio Ltd.

Licence re-advertisements

Declarations of intent

Ofcom has today invited declarations of intent to apply for the following FM local commercial radio licences. Please click on the 'area' in the first column for further detail on the pre-advertisement:

Invitiations to apply under fast-track

Ofcom has received one declaration for the following licences, in each case from the current licensee. We are therefore inviting the incumbent licensee to re-apply for the licence under the 'fast track' procedure as set out in Ofcom's guidelines:

Re-awards

Ofcom has today announced that it has re-awarded the following local FM commercial radio licences to the current licensees. The licences have been re-awarded under Ofcom's 'fast-track' process, as set out in published guidelines, and will be for a period of five years from the expiry dates of the existing licences:

Licence extensions and renewals granted in this period

Four-year extensions have been granted to the following:

Analogue station Format Changes

Each station has as part of its licence a 'Format', which outlines the essential nature of the service and details any specific expectations of that service.
Any changes to a Format can only be made by following the correct procedure and with the appropriate permission from Ofcom.

Radio Ceredigion
Published 06|04|10

Radio Plymouth
Published 06|04|10

Content Sampling Reports

Ofcom ensures that an individual station is meeting its Format requirements by listening to that station's output - a process which we refer to as 'content sampling'. The sampling of a particular station may be prompted by a complaint concerning a Format-related issue, or may be entirely routine.

Buzz Asia
Published 05|03|10

DAB station Format Changes

The following multiplex Format changes were agreed in this period:

Change of Control Reviews

Whenever a local radio licence undergoes a 'change of control' (for example, when it is sold), Ofcom is required under section 355 of the Communications Act 2003 to undertake a review of its programme output.
Specifically, Ofcom must review the likely effect of the change of control on:

• the quality and range of programmes included in the service;
• the character of the service; and,
• the extent to which local material and locally-made programmes are included in the service.

When the review has been completed, Ofcom may amend the content requirements of the licence.

There were no Change of Control Reviews in this period.

Community Radio  

Community Radio Fund – Round 1 2010-to-2011

The first round for funding applications to the Community Radio Fund in 2010/11 will be open from 14 April 2010 until close of play on 11 May 2010. The awarding Panel will meet on 28 June 2010 to consider the applications.

Grants can only be made to community radio licensees who are broadcasting under a community radio licence (and not an RSL, for example) and which are on-air by the time the Panel meets for the second round in January 2011.

The latest application form and guidance notes are available on our website. Please also see statements detailing the outcome of previous Panel meetings.

For further information, please contact Ofcom's Community Radio Team via email: community.radio@ofcom.org.uk, or by telephone 020 7981 3870.

Licences issued in this period

Licences awarded in this period and reasons for the awards

Ofcom has published the reasons for the award of 1 community radio licence in the southeast of England:

Full statement

Services which have ceased to be licensed (handed back or revoked) in this period

There were no licences revoked/surrendered in this period.

Licence extensions granted in this period

A five year extension has been granted to the following:

Radio Restricted Service Licences (RSLs) 

Notes of Guidance

Ofcom is publishing revised notes of guidance for applicants for short-term RSLs, long-term RSLs and ADS-RSLs. They remain largely unchanged, with the exception of two revisions to our rules:

• Extended duration short-term RSLs at event-related venues are available on FM at up to 25 watts under some circumstances;
• Low-powered FM long-term RSLs are generally available in pre-defined, sparsely populated, areas of England, Wales and Scotland, but in future may also be available in other areas of the UK where there has been no short-term RSL (SRSL) activity over a long period (normally three years or more).

Annual Report 2009