Commercial radio industry data collection

All licensed commercial radio broadcasters must complete the Radio Relevant Turnover Return every year for each licence they hold, unless specifically exempted.

Submitting returns

Return submissions should be made through the Ofcom online services portal.

The deadline for this year’s returns is 20 March 2020.

Guidance on submissions

For information on the data required and the submission process, see our user guide for radio relevant turnover returns (PDF, 1.5 MB).

We would also remind data providers and submitters:

In cases where multiple licences share a common station name, care should be taken to ensure that data for a service is submitted against the correct licence number.
In order to avoid double-counting of revenues, revenues should not be duplicated across licences:
- In cases where revenues from a service covering multiple licences are reported against a single licence, please ensure that you use the comments field to note this and enter zeros against revenue for licences where appropriate
- Community radio station revenues should be entered against your annual Community Radio data return (submitted via spreadsheet template to the Community Radio team) and a zero-revenue return made for a simulcast of this on a DAB or cable/satellite licence in MID
Please use the comments field to:
- Explain year-on-year variances of +/- 10%,
- Describe components of any ‘other relevant turnover’ / ‘other turnover’
- Draw to our attention any other issue or matter that you consider relevant

FAQs

What should I do if I haven’t received my registration email to the Ofcom online services portal?

Check your junk mailbox. The registration email will have the subject line: 'Welcome to the Ofcom Online Services Portal’. If you haven't received it, email the Radio Market Intelligence team and we'll send you a new registration email.

I am new to the Ofcom data collection process. How can I register myself on the Ofcom online services portal?

Please email the Ofcom Radio Market Intelligence team providing your full name, the company for which you are providing data, phone number, email address and job title. The team will then provide an account for you once they have completed their verification checks. Please note you will not be able to provide data for your organisation unless you have contacted the Ofcom Radio Market Intelligence team first.

My return is not displayed. What should I do?

The Radio Relevant Turnover Return is now live and available for completion for 2018. It should appear on the Scheduled Returns dashboard for each broadcasting licence your organisation and its related organisations hold. If there are any returns missing from your Schedule Returns dashboard, please contact the Ofcom Radio Market Intelligence team.

I cannot change the status of my Radio return to ‘Submit to Ofcom’.

This may be because you are registered as a data provider, but not as a data submitter. The data submitter should be a Finance Director or an authorised member of your organisation. If this is you, please email us to update your status. If this is not you, please ask your data submitter to log into the Ofcom online services portal to complete the submission. If your organisation’s designated data submitter has not received log in details, please email us and we will provide them with access.

Can I resubmit the data if I discover any errors?

If you wish to make any changes to your return after the data has been submitted, please email us and we will arrange for the submission to be re-opened.

How we use the data

We use the information we collect from you and other broadcasters for a number of purposes. For analogue licences this includes the calculation of licence fees and fines. For both analogue and digital licences this information is used to monitor the radio market.

In particular, Ofcom is required under Section 358 of the Communications Act 2003 to carry out a review of the provision of broadcasting services and to publish an annual factual and statistical report of the broadcast industries and the state of the market in which broadcasting services are provided. See Ofcom's Communications Market Report.

Therefore, and in accordance with section 393(2) of the Communications Act, we expect to include in our Communications Market Report all relevant data that relate to the areas which Ofcom is obliged to consider under section 358(3) when carrying out its review. Financial data remain confidential and, if published, are aggregated to ensure anonymity.

Failure to provide data

Please note, Condition 9 of your Local Sound Broadcasting licence and Additional Radio Services licence, Condition 11 of your National Sound Broadcasting licence and Condition 8 of your Digital Sound Programme licence states that you are to "furnish to Ofcom in such a manner and at such times as Ofcom may reasonably require such documents, accounts, returns, estimates, reports, notices or other information as Ofcom may require for the purpose of exercising the functions assigned to it by or under the 1990 Act, the 1996 Act or the Communications Act.”

Failure to provide the data requested in the specified time may lead to enforcement action being taken, in line with our General Procedures for investigating breaches of broadcast licences (PDF, 244.6 KB).

Contact us

For anything else, get in touch, stating your organisation and licence numbers.

Email: radiomid@ofcom.org.uk

Post:

Ofcom Market Intelligence
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London SE1 9HA