Radio broadcast update - May 2023

Amber Radio Ltd

Gaydio

Increase in licensed area: An extension via a relay in Halifax was AGREED. Ofcom has also agreed a relay to improve coverage in the area of Keighley. The increase in the size of the adult population served was not deemed to be significant.

Exceptional circumstances: Ofcom did not need to consider whether there were ‘exceptional circumstances’ to justify an increase in this case.

Other considerations:

• The licensee submitted an application which sought an improvement to their existing coverage and an extension to an area not currently served by their analogue service.
• While Ofcom would not usually publish information with regard to an approval of an improvement request, we have added reasoning on this occasion because the published application form references requests to both improve and extend the service, which we have considered together.
• The proposal to improve coverage in Keighley has been approved. Keighley was included in the coverage brief for the analogue commercial radio licence when it was first advertised, but local topography has made coverage of this area challenging from the existing transmission site. The provision of a relay to improve coverage will therefore allow the licensee to provide coverage to listeners within Keighley, who are currently unable to access the service on the analogue platform.
• Ofcom’s analysis has demonstrated that there is sufficient spectrum resource to facilitate this request, and the extension proposal into Halifax. There are no other current applications to use the spectrum in these locations in which to consider the opportunity costs of this resource. Additionally, we consider that the proposal submitted by Sunrise Radio makes the best use of the frequency resource in this area.
• The applicant provided information with regard to the relationship and affinities that exist between Bradford and Halifax, with specific focus on the target demographic of the Sunrise service (Asian/British Asian). It has stated that since Sunrise first commenced broadcasting in 1989, many of the original listeners have migrated outside of Bradford into neighbouring communities. According to Sunrise, the cultural links and relationships that these listeners have with Sunrise’s radio service still remain strong, though members of this demographic are unable to listen to the service on analogue radio since they moved away from Bradford.
• The proposal seeks to reinforce this relationship. The current output of the service is culturally-focused (rather than locally-focused) but the licensee has confirmed that it will produce targeted local information programming for listeners in the extended area, such as local news relevant to the extended area and coverage of local events. The licensee will continue to organise events both in its current licensed area and in areas where coverage has been improved/extended. We are therefore satisfied the extended service will meet the needs of listeners in the extended area.
• The licensee provided letters of demand and support for the extension of the service into Halifax. The local MP for Halifax, Holly Lynch, provided a letter of support for the proposal. In this letter, Sunrise Radio was cited as a valuable community asset and provided specific commendation for the way it works with local authorities to facilitate and organise events in the local area.
• The licensee also provided letters of support from local Councillors from Halifax and letters of demand from local listeners who regard the service not just as an essential service in terms of the programming it delivers, but also the engagement it provides for its target demographic and how involved it is in this community off-air.
• The licensee provided a helpful overview of the coverage of its service across different listening platforms with an explanation of why this is relevant for this proposal. Sunrise will be migrating its digital service onto the Bradford Small-scale DAB multiplex when this is launched. This will result in the Sunrise service being removed from the Bradford and Huddersfield local DAB multiplex, which will result in residents of Halifax being unable to access the service on any platform because the SSDAB multiplex will not provide digital coverage into Halifax. By approving this proposal, residents of Halifax will be able to continue to listen to the Sunrise service on an analogue platform.
• With regard to the Halifax extension, Ofcom considered the impact of the overlap with existing services. Our analysis demonstrated that this extension would result in a 66% overlap with the existing community radio service based in Halifax. Additionally, the Sunrise Radio service would increase its overlap with two existing commercial radio services broadcasting in the area.
• However, the target audience of the three existing services is significantly different to that of Sunrise Radio (the local community radio service is not targeted at a specific demographic and is instead a general service with local news, issues and information for the people of Halifax). The existing commercial radio services are generic services broadcasting to the general population and do not serve a particular demographic. Ofcom therefore considers that there would be minimal impact to these services as a result of this extension because of the differences between the target audiences of the respective services.

Driffield