Commercial radio deregulation consultation
Read the full outcome
Detail of outcome
The government launched a major consultation outlining proposals to deregulate commercial radio licensing on 13 February 2017. The consultation ran for 12 weeks and closed on 8 May 2017. In total, 67 responses were received from a wide range of respondents.
Overall there was strong support from respondents and the industry for the government’s proposals to deregulate the commercial radio sector.
The government now intends to move forward with specific proposals as set out in the response document, although there will need to be further work and discussion in some areas with the industry, such as international licensing of stations on UK DAB, the provision of news, arrangements in the nations, and local content and production requirements.
Detail of feedback received
As part of the consultation, we are publishing 44 of the 67 responses received to the consultation. Of the responses which have not been published, this is due to the respondents not giving their consent to their representations being published and therefore these have not been included. Some of the respondents who agreed to have their responses published also requested to remain anonymous and therefore their names have been redacted. Personal details such as email addresses and postal addresses have also been redacted.
Original consultation
Consultation description
In September 2015, the previous Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries Ed Vaizey MP asked Ofcom to examine the scope to deregulate aspects of commercial radio. There are a number of out-dated and burdensome regulations in place for analogue radio which were put in place back in the late 1980s, while digital radio enjoys much more freedom in comparison. Following a number of recommendations made by Ofcom, this consultation outlines our proposals for how we intend to deregulate commercial radio.
As the radio market is changing with more people move towards digital and online audio services, and as Ofcom’s scope to make further changes is limited by the current regulatory framework, the Government believes it is the right time to consider the overall regulatory structure for commercial radio.
Have your say
We welcome comments from individuals and organisations involved in the commercial radio sector, including members of the public who hold an interest in commercial radio.