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The FM local commercial radio licence for the city of Preston , together with Leyland , Chorley and the immediately surrounding area, was awarded on 7th December 2006 to Proud FM Limited (Proud FM).

Preston licence award decision

In considering the application in relation to section 105 (a) of the Broadcasting Act 1990, Ofcom’s Radio Licensing Committee ( RLC ) was of the view that Proud FM’s application demonstrated the group’s ability to maintain its proposed service. The RLC recognised the financial backing which UTV would be able to provide, and the fact that the financial projections demonstrated an understanding of the local marketplace. The RLC also noted that the new service would benefit from an ability to collaborate with nearby stations owned by the same group, and considered in particular that Proud FM's ability to maintain its proposed service was enhanced by its simple ownership structure (the station is a wholly owned subsidiary of UTV Radio (GB) Limited).

With regard to sections 105 (b) and (c), the RLC made specific note of Proud FM’s commitment to local speech. This commitment includes a minimum of 20% speech during daytime, a wide range of non-news speech features (including distinct elements such as local what's-on information, and community action features), and the promise of hourly local news during weekday and weekend daytimes. The station's Format will also contain an obligation to provide half-hourly news updates during morning and evening peak times, plus two extended bulletins on weekdays. The Committee considered that such provision would clearly enable Proud FM to broaden choice in relation to the existing commercial services in the area, and concluded that, in combination with the broad mix of music, it would also cater to local tastes and interests.

With regard to section 105(d), the RLC observed that Proud FM had carried out a full range of research which showed general support for its proposals, and particular support for the group’s local speech and music output commitments. The applicant further demonstrated strong local support from a wide range of representatives of the local community.

Finally, the RLC considered that, in relation to section 314 of the Communications Act 2003, Proud FM demonstrated evidence of demand and support for the amount of local material and proportion of locally-made programming it proposed in the application. The station will be locally-produced and presented for at least 20 hours each day, and will feature local news and other locally-relevant information.

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 Preston licence, can be found at:

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

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 Preston licence was advertised on 6th June 2006. By the closing-date of 7th September 2006 , four applications had been received, as follows:

• CLR (Central Lancashire Radio Limited)
• PLC (Preston Broadcasting Company Limited)
• Proud FM (Proud FM Limited)
• UFM (Ultimate FM Limited)

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

Ian Hargreaves , Ofcom Board member (Chair)
Peter Bury , Director of Strategic Resources
Peter Davies , Director of Radio & Multimedia
Martin Campbell , Chief Advisor, Radio
Neil Stock , Head of Radio
Joyce Taylor , Content Board member for Scotland

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 application was received. The RLC took all replies into account when reaching its decision.

The RLC had an initial discussion of the applications at its meeting on 12th October 2006 . This comprised an initial presentation by a member of Ofcom's Radio Team, summarising the proposals put forward by the 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 applicant.

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

At its meeting on 7th December 2006 , the RLC was presented with a paper which summarised the issues of relevance for the application under each of the statutory criteria. The information included in the paper was drawn both from the application 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 Preston 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.

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