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UTV request for Format Change to Imagine 104.9 (Stockport) Request rejected

Request rejected

At its meeting on Wednesday May 21 the Radio Licensing Committee rejected a request made by UTV to change the Format of its Stockport station, Imagine 104.9 FM. It wished to co-locate the station at Warrington , where it already houses three other stations.

Background

UTV’s request involved a station with a measured Coverage Area of 463,000. Ofcom’s published guidelines on station co-location say that there is likely to be a stronger case for co-location where one of the stations has a licensed area with a population of fewer than 250,000, but that Ofcom does not rule out agreeing to requests to co-locate larger stations in exceptional circumstances.

Because this particular request related to a larger station, Ofcom commissioned a four-week public consultation which ended on 1 May 2008.

UTV’s Application

This has been made available in full on the Ofcom website. Its case hinges on a desire to see at least break-even at the station. UTV cite a fiercely competitive Manchester market as the main reason for station failure, along with a problem of keeping staff which stems from that market. It argued that economies of scale would be achieved by co-location, thus preserving the station’s future

The Consultation

There was only one question in the consultation. Should Ofcom agree to UTV’s request to co-locate 104.9 imagine FM ( Stockport ) in premises at Warrington alongside Tower FM, Wish FM and Wire FM, having particular regard to the statutory criteria and co-location guidelines?

There were 22 responses. These were split 50/50 for and against the proposal. Most of the “yes” responses were from station advertisers wishing to secure the station’s presence. Six responses were confidential, including two from industry parties arguing that the station should be able to stand alone in its market. All non-confidential responses are on the Ofcom website.

Committee Decision

The Committee had regard to both the Broadcasting Act and its co-location/localness guidelines (outlined in the Appendix below).

With regard to the Broadcasting Act 1990 Section 106 (1A), the request had been regarded as (a) one that would substantially change the character of the service. This had triggered the consultation. Consideration was, therefore, given to the other three criteria.

The station would still be available to listeners, but the actual location of the studio – and, therefore, the distance from which its locally made programmes would then be broadcast - is important when considering the range of services available, which would be narrowed in this request as set out.
Insufficient evidence was provided to make an assessment of a change on competition grounds.
Evidence of support within consultation responses for the change of location was evenly balanced with those opposed.

The Committee concluded the request should be refused under our co-location guidelines because:

a station for an area as large as this should, as per the spirit of the guidelines, be expected to operate studios within its own licensed area
there is insufficient evidence of cultural affinity to warrant a challenge to that expectation
UTV did not convincingly demonstrate that co-location is required to ensure the financial viability of the station concerned.

21/05/08

Appendix - Legislation

The Broadcasting Act 1990 :

Ofcom has the ability to consent to such changes under conditions included in the Imagine FM licence, in accordance with Sections 106 (1A) of the Broadcasting Act 1990 (Annex 4) if it is satisfied that at least one of the following criteria is satisfied:

The departure would not substantially alter the character of the service
The change would not narrow the range of programmes available in the area by way of relevant independent radio services
The change would be conducive to the maintenance or promotion of fair and effective competition or
There is evidence that, amongst persons living in the affected areas, there is a significant demand for, or significant support for, the change.

This means that if criterion (a) above is not satisfied, then the changes can only be approved if one of criteria (b) to (d) is satisfied. In these circumstances we are required to carry out the public consultation.

This request, therefore, was considered under both this legislation and localness guidelines. It should be noted that Ofcom does not have to agree to a change, even if it believes one or more of the legislative criteria is met.

Ofcom Localness and Co-location Guidelines :

Stations can a apply for co-location; in deciding whether to allow co-location, the sort of factors Ofcom may take into account are:

Size of station: there may be stronger case for co-location and/or programme sharing where at least one of the stations has a licensed area with a population of fewer than 250,000, and especially those under 100,000, although we would not rule out requests from larger stations in exceptional circumstances.
Distance and affinity between the areas: there is likely to be a stronger case for co-location where the stations concerned are not too far apart geographically and are able to demonstrate a cultural affinity between the two areas.
Financial: there may be a stronger case for co-location where stations can demonstrate that co-location is required to ensure the financial viability of the stations concerned.

However, there may be other factors to be taken into account, and Ofcom will treat each co-location request on a case-by-case basis. Ofcom does not rule out allowing co-location for larger stations in exceptional circumstances.