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The FM local commercial radio licence for Ipswich was awarded on 12 December 2005 to Town FM Limited.

Ipswich licence award decision

When the Ipswich licence was advertised last June, we stated that, given the relatively small population coverage afforded by the licence, Ofcom would be likely to place particular emphasis on the ability of each applicant to maintain its proposed service for the duration of the licence period (Section 105(a) of the 1990 Broadcasting Act).

As a 'smaller' licence serving a locality which is not the sole focus (in editorial terms) of any existing service, we also said that Ofcom was likely to consider speech content to be more important than music proposals in assessing Section 105(c) – the extent to which each applicant would broaden the range of local commercial radio services available in the area, and that 105(c) might be considered less significant overall than Section 105(b) – the applicants' ability to cater for local tastes and interests.

Finally, in respect of Section 105(d) – the extent to which there is evidence of local demand or support for a proposed service – we said that non research-based evidence of local support would be likely to be considered alongside evidence of demand.

We also noted that this guidance is subject to discretion, and that Ofcom will always consider each of the four statutory criteria when making a licence award.

This licence attracted eight applications, several of which were of a high standard, making this award a particularly difficult decision for the Radio Licensing Committee (RLC). However, the committee considered Town FM to be marginally the strongest for the reasons set out below.

With regard to section 105(a), the RLC felt that Town FM was an ambitious but very well-funded proposition from a company (Tindle Radio) that knows the region well and has, in general, a good track-record in attracting audiences to its stations elsewhere in East Anglia which have similar competition to that which the new Ipswich service will face. Tindle’s ownership of other services in the region, including Dream 100 (which serves the adjacent Tendring area) and its 47% stake in the new Norwich licensee, give Town FM the opportunity to offer a combined advertising sell which would be likely to place the new service in a much stronger financial position in relation to the heritage station SGR FM than might otherwise be the case.

Furthermore, RLC members felt that Town’s decision to focus on an older 35+ audience “with a particular emphasis on 46-64 year olds” would help to address a clear market gap, given that local commercial radio’s share of listening in the Ipswich area is particularly weak (in comparison to the national average) among adults aged over 45.

In terms of Sections 105(b) and 105(c), it was felt that Town FM’s commitment to providing unusually high levels of speech, including a well-resourced 24-hour news service, would significantly increase the amount of Ipswich-specific news and information available to local listeners, and in this respect would significantly broaden choice from existing local commercial radio services, although RLC members did express some concerns regarding the viability (for a station of this size) of Town FM’s non-daytime speech minimum of 30%.

Musically, Town FM’s 15% cap on current hits, together with a broad music policy incorporating music from the 1960s onwards, should ensure that it is distinctive in relation to the two FM services currently available in Ipswich (SGR and Vibe), both of which play large quantities of current hits. Meanwhile, the inclusion of some appropriate contemporary music is likely to distinguish Town FM from Classic Gold Amber.

With regard to Section 105(d), Town FM’s target audience and programming proposals were, in general, supported by a comprehensive and robust range of research and local market analysis. In particular, Town’s research demonstrated that its older target audience has a preference for services with a more balanced mix of music and speech compared to under-35s in the Ipswich area, whom the research showed preferred a more music-intensive approach.

The RLC considered that, in relation to Section 314 of the Communications Act 2003, Town FM’s programming proposals contained a suitable proportion of local material and locally-made programmes. The station will be locally produced and presented 24 hours per day (this was clarified in applicant questioning), and its Format includes commitments to deliver a range of local material, albeit that this is lacking in specifics.

The following pages set out the statutory requirements relating to radio licensing, and details of the licensing process. Further information about these, and detailed information relating to the applications for the Ipswich licence, can be found at:

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radio/ifi/rbl/car/ifmapps/

Statutory requirements relating to radio licensing

In carrying out all of its functions, Ofcom is required to have regard to the general duties set out in Section 3 of the Communications Act 2003. In addition, under section 85(2)(b) of the Broadcasting Act 1990, it is the duty of Ofcom to do all that it can to secure the provision within the UK of a range and diversity of local radio services.

'Localness'

In carrying out its functions in relation to local commercial radio services specifically, Ofcom is required (under section 314 of the Communications Act 2003) to act in the manner that it considers is best calculated to secure:

• that programmes consisting of or including local material are included in such services but, in the case of each such service, only if and to the extent (if any) that Ofcom considers appropriate in that case; and
• that, where such programmes are included in such a service, what appears to Ofcom to be a suitable proportion of them consists of locally-made programmes.

For the purposes of the licensing process, Ofcom does not consider it appropriate to prescribe an amount of local material or a proportion of locally-made programming that new services should contain, as such matters may well vary greatly between different types of service. Rather, it is for applicants to set out in their application the amount of local material and the proportion of locally-made programming they propose to provide, supported, as appropriate, by evidence of demand or support for such proposals. Ofcom will then consider on the basis of the application whether the amount of local material included is appropriate, and whether the proportion of locally-made programming is suitable, for that particular service proposal.

Specific local licence award criteria

In considering the applications it receives for local commercial radio licences, Ofcom is required to have regard to each of the statutory criteria set out in section 105 of the Broadcasting Act 1990. These are as follows:

1. the ability of each of the applicants for the licence to maintain, throughout the period for which the licence would be in force, the service which he proposes to provide;
2. the extent to which any such proposed service would cater for the tastes and interests of persons living in the area or locality for which the service would be provided, and, where it is proposed to cater for any particular tastes and interests of such persons, the extent to which the service would cater for those tastes and interests;
3. the extent to which any such proposed service would broaden the range of programmes available by way of local services to persons living in the area or locality for which it would be provided, and, in particular, the extent to which the service would cater for tastes and interests different from those already catered for by local services provided for that area or locality; and
4. the extent to which there is evidence that, amongst persons living in that area or locality, there is a demand for, or support for, the provision of the proposed service.

The legislation does not rate these requirements in order of priority, but it may be that Ofcom will regard one or more of the criteria as being particularly important in view of the characteristics of the licence to be awarded and the applications for it.

Process for assessment of applications

The Ipswich licence was advertised on 2 June 2005. By the closing-date of 1 September 2005, eight applications were received, as follows:

Highgrove Resources Ltd (HR 102 FM)
Ipswich Local Radio Ltd (Ipswich 102)
Lite FM (Ipswich) Ltd
Orwell FM Ltd
Radio UK Holdings Ltd (Silver 102 FM)
The Ipswich Broadcasting Company Ltd (Switch FM)
Today FM Ltd
Town FM Ltd

The membership of Ofcom's Radio Licensing Committee (RLC) for this licence award was as follows:

Kip Meek, Chief Policy Partner, Competition & Content (Chair)
Peter Bury, Director of Strategic Resources
Peter Davies, Director of Radio and Multimedia
Pam Giddy, Content Board member
Matthew MacIver, Content Board member for Scotland
Neil Stock, Head of Radio Planning & Licensing

The applications were circulated among all members of the RLC as well as among relevant Ofcom colleagues. Copies of the non-confidential sections of the applications were made available for public scrutiny on the Ofcom website, and public comment on the local radio needs of listeners in the area, and the type of programme service required, was invited both at the time of the licence advertisement and on the day after the applications were received. The Radio Licensing Committee took all replies into account when reaching its decision.

The Radio Licensing Committee had an initial discussion of the applications at its meeting on 3 October 2005. This comprised an initial presentation by a member of Ofcom's Radio Planning & Licensing team, summarising the proposals put forward by each applicant as they relate to the statutory criteria, followed by an opportunity for the RLC members to highlight any questions of clarification and/or amplification they wished to be put to the applicants.

Shortly after this meeting, each applicant was invited to respond, within a two-week period, to written questions of clarification and/or amplification on aspects of their proposals. The non-confidential questions and responses were subsequently made available for public scrutiny on the Ofcom website.

In line with Ofcom's published procedures, each application was awarded a score (of between 0 and 10) for each of the four statutory criteria contained in section 105 of the Broadcasting Act 1990. These scores provided an indicative picture of the perceived strengths and weaknesses of each application, and were used for guidance only. A summary of the scores was presented to the RLC at its 12 December 2005 meeting, as part of a paper which summarised the issues of relevance for each application under each of the statutory criteria. The information included in this paper was drawn both from the applications and the subsequent responses to questions of clarification and/or amplification.

Points for future applicants

1. Applicants for licences in other areas should note that this licence award was made based on the particular characteristics of the Ipswich licence area, and the applications which were submitted. Each licence award will be made on an individual basis, with regard to the factors which, in the view of Ofcom, are particularly relevant to that case. Where possible, the likely weight accorded to each of the statutory criteria will be signalled as part of each licence advertisement.
2. Applicants are once again reminded of the care that should be taken in drafting and proof-reading their Format document. It was noted by the RLC that there were numerous literal errors and errors of syntax contained within this particular set of applications. Applicants for other licences are reminded of the importance of the Format within the application, and are encouraged to pay particular attention to any advice concerning Format proposals in advertisements for future licences.

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