HOW IS COMMERCIAL RADIO REGULATED?

The Radio Authority is a statutory body set up by the Broadcasting Act 1990 to license and regulate commercial radio within the UK. The Broadcasting Act 1990 requires the Authority, after wide consultation, to draw up, review, and enforce codes which set standards and practices on advertising and sponsorship, programming, and engineering. The Authority is also required under the Broadcasting Acts 1990 and 1996 to draw up and enforce the rules on ownership of radio licences.

The Authority's Advertising and Sponsorship Code deals with standards for the presentation and content of advertisements and sponsored programmes. Radio advertising should be legal, decent, honest and truthful. The code sets out certain 'special category' advertisements (see Code for detailed list) which require advance central clearance by the Radio Advertising Clearance Centre (RACC), an organisation approved by the Radio Authority. This body also vets advertisements for national campaigns, but stations are free to clear these scripts individually. Where there is doubt, however, about the interpretation of the rules, guidance may be sought from the Authority. All sponsor involvement must be declared so that the listener knows who is funding the programme. Licensees must ensure that their sponsored programmes comply both with the Advertising and Sponsorship Code and the Programme Code.

The Authority's News and Current Affairs Code sets out the rules governing the broadcasting of news and related programmes. The Code requires news and current affairs coverage to be both accurate and impartial. It also sets out a series of rules covering documentary programmes; personal view programmes or features on political or industrial matters; discussion and 'phone-in' programmes; interviews; the expression of opinion by licensees; political programming; and the appearance of candidates in programmes at the time of elections. The Authority is also required to ensure that its licensees adhere to Section 93 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 which stipulates particular requirements at times of elections.

The Authority's Programme Code sets out the rules to be observed generally in programmes. The Code covers such matters as taste and decency, the portrayal of violence; accuracy; privacy, gathering of information; crime, terrorism and anti-social behaviour; other legal matters; charitable appeals and publicity; religion; promotion and presentation; royalty and obituary procedure; and the handling of complaints.

The Radio Authority is empowered to supervise and enforce technical standards on its local licensees (its national licensees are subject to a separate specification) to ensure the efficient use of radio spectrum and the protection of other broadcasters and users of the radio spectrum. Its Local Licence Engineering Code sets out the rules covering tests and inspections; characteristics and limits of transmissions on the FM (VHF) and AM (MF) wavebands; transmitter equipment; and FM deviation limits.

In addition to adhering to the above four codes, the Radio Authority's national and local licensees are required to abide by their individual Promise of Performance, which changes to a 'Format' within around 6-months of a station coming on air, which forms an important part of their licence. A Promise of Performance/Format summarises the output a station undertook to provide when it applied for its licence (e.g. how much output will be speech and/or music and what kind of speech and music will be broadcast). A station must not deviate from its Promise of Performance/Format which may only be modified by the Authority if the proposed changes do not substantially alter the character of the service or if the amendments do not narrow listening choice.

The Radio Authority considers complaints concerning programming, advertising & sponsorship, and transmissions for all non-BBC radio services. If the Authority decides to proceed with an investigation, it will request a tape of the output covering the item (which stations are required to keep for 42 days) and then decide if the item is in breach of any of its codes or a station's Promise of Performance/Format. If a station is found to be in breach of the Authority's rules, the Authority has a number of sanctions it can impose. It can admonish the station concerned; it can require a broadcast apology; it can require a correction; it can impose a financial penalty; or it can, ultimately, shorten or revoke a station's licence. A leaflet 'The Radio Authority and the Listener' details the Authority's complaints procedure.

Listeners are also able to complain to The Broadcasting Standards Commission. The BSC deals with complaints from individuals alleging that a programme has treated them unfairly or unjustly or that their privacy has been infringed; and considers complaints about violence, sexual conduct and taste and decency in programmes and advertisements. After an adjudication, the BSC may require the publication of their findings.

Information Note

The Authority's main tasks are: to plan frequencies; to appoint licensees with a view to broadening listener choice and to enforce ownership rules; and to regulate programming and advertising.

The Radio Authority is funded solely by the licence fees paid to it by each of its licensees and by application fees.

This fact sheet is for general information only. All the codes mentioned above are available from the Authority's website or upon request from the Press and Information Office.

January 2001

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Revised: April 01, 2003 .