[cma-l] Community Radio 50% Rules

Mon Oct 11 16:49:11 BST 2010

Alan

I don't know where you get your facts - but some of them appear to require comment.

You say that Community Radio is subject to "fixed coverage which bears no relation to local need or topography." 

Wrong.

It's up to you to specify and justify what coverage you need when applying.

If you look at TX Parameters on Ofcom's website you'll see that CR powers and transmitter locations are very varied.

You say that "If a Community Station provides a service on DAB it is not regulated in the same way"
Wrong.

Its output is regulated in exactly the same way and its business model remains exactly the same.

What else were you referring to?

Ian Hickling

transplan UK

From: alan.coote at btinternet.com
To: phil at radioregen.org; cma-l at commedia.org.uk
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:30:17 +0100
Subject: Re: [cma-l] Community Radio 50% Rules

Hi Phil,

I can’t see how one can conceivably argue that restricting a revenue stream to 50% is a benefit either to the station or its community. 

Ofcom, manage commercial radio on their output not on their input and even they say they are over regulated! They manage to write a format in a couple of sentences and yet we have pages.  

What a totally nuts situation we have, that the organisations most likely to provide a community benefit are hamstrung by over regulation and come to that fixed  coverage which bears no relation to local need or topography.

Clearly there needs to be some regulatory limits, so let create a minimum set of rules that deliver community benefits.    

Alan

PS More proof; If a Community Station provides a service on DAB it is not regulated in the same way, BUT yet again is the poor relation to commercial radio as at least they get an automatic extension to their FM licence – truly Bonkers!!!!

From: cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk [mailto:cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk] On Behalf Of Phil Korbel
Sent: 11 October 2010 12:22 PM
To: CMA-L
Subject: [cma-l] Community Radio 50% Rules

Good call Murray

Last year, I was sat with Ed Richards [CEO Ofcom] at Wythenshawe FM with a few other local licence holders and he asked us - unbidden - what we thought of the 50% rule.  I expected a bit of a ruck from the stations that had spot ads and sponsorship cental to their business plan - but there was none.  Indeed one ex ILR head [who I'd expected to lead the charge] said he was happy with the rule - because of the 'in kind' rule in main.  

I was part of the original lobby for sector's founding legislation and we proposed the 50% rule as a safeguard for a 'mixed economy' - to ensure that stations would not have to go for biggest audience/lowest common denominator - as they would if reliant solely on commercial revenue. Of course this does deprive some stations of vital revenue so the challenge I'd put back is - what other means could there be to ensure that the essential 'social gain' character of the sector is not lost?  And that cant be by more rigorous policing of the Key Commitements as we're likely to see a very different [shrunk?] Ofcom.  Perhaps a different number other than 50%?

And besides - isnt the headlong retreat from local output by many of the main commercial operators opportunity enough?

So, let's have light touch regulation that preserves our distinctiveness - but please dont make the mistake of thinking that a solely advert funded station will be able to deliver social gain in the same way as a mixed economy one...  As Zane Ibrahim famously said - dont make your stations popular - make them necessary!

bests

Phil

[who now battens down the hatches...]

On 10 October 2010 18:49, Murray Dawson <murraywdawson at gmail.com> wrote:

Alan,

I feel that the changes to the 50% rule now leaves a fair amount of flexibility to ensure that Community Radio stations can develop on a sound financial footing - without 'selling out' by going down the commercial ad driven route.

Our organisation works across a range of community media formats, which allows us even greater flexibility, as it's the income of the company that is measured.  Therefore every grant we get for another area of the organisations work means the rule becomes less and less relevant to us (and in any case we had 14,000 hrs of volunteering last year, and had no commercial adverts).

I did have a major issue with the original rule though - and it cost our organisation heavily as we had to scale back our original Big Lottery bid to a figure which I felt we could match 50/50 - this is no longer the case though.

So my recommendation - diversification......

Where I do have a serious problem with the 'rules' though is with the power and range we can transmit.  
Why should we be restricted to a fraction of the power of the commercials?  
In Aberdeen, we are in a situation where a large proportion of our target communities don't get reception - or get a very poor reception, and the commercials still moan to Ofcom that our reach is too far!  
Too far for what?  
We're not interested in stealing their revenues or audience - the opposite is the case.  We have evidence that our station has increased radio listeners across the city (commercial and community) by re-engaging people with the medium again.

Let's pull together and campaign on this one instead?

All the best

Murray

On 09/10/2010 12:48, Alan Coote wrote: 

Ian, 

The CMA will do nothing. 

Sorry to be so harsh, but during the Ofcom Community Radio review a couple of years ago they supported the 50% rule as it characterises Community Radio. 

I totally agree with you it’s outdated and in desperate need of review along with a number of aspects – the sooner the better.  

Alan

From: cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk [mailto:cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk] On Behalf Of Ian Hickling
Sent: 09 October 2010 8:47 AM
To: Jaqui Devereux; cma-l
Subject: [cma-l] Community Radio 50% Rules

I think most of us understood them Jaqui.
More so now - thank you.
But what exactly is the CMA doing about changing this outdated and punishing regulation?

Ian Hickling
Partner
transplan UK

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 2010 15:46:23 +0100
From: jaqui.devereux at commedia.org.uk
To: cma-l at commedia.org.uk
Subject: [cma-l] Community radio 50% rules - understanding them

Dear all

Just a clarification on the revised 50% rules for community radio following the CR Amendment Order:

No more than 50% of your income can come from on air advertising and/or sponsorship.

The Amendment Order does however now allow that more than 50% can come from grants, Service Level Agreements etc.

Volunteer time can be counted as part of the "income" mix, but it must be auditable (timesheets, signing in sheets etc).  However, if 50% of your income does come from on air ads etc, then only 25% of your income can be from volunteer in kind time.

So e.g.:

1 - station has a Big Lottery grant of £50,000 for the year (lucky it!), on air ads etc £20,000, volunteer time £10,000 - that mix is OK.

2 - station has a BL grant of £20,000, on air ads £50,000, volunteer time £30,000 - NOT OK as volunteer time exceeds 25% of the total

3 - station has BL grant of £25,000, on air ads £50,000, volunteer time £25,000 - is OK as volunteer time 25%

4 - station has BL grant of £20,000, on air ads £50,000, volunteer time £30,000, OFF air ads/sponsorship £20,000 - is OK as off air does not count towards the 50% limit 

Hope that  helps....

Jaqui
-- 
Jaqui Devereux
Director, Community Media Association

-- 
Jaqui Devereux
Director, Community Media Association

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-- please reply to murray at shmu.org.uk  Murray DawsonProject DirectorStation House Media UnitStation Road, Woodside,Aberdeen  AB24 2WB Tel - 01224 515013      www.shmu.org.uk listen to our community radio station live on 99.8FM and at www.shmufm.net SHMU is a charity registered in Scotland - SC034211 and a registered Limited Company - SC332413 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This message is not intended to have contractual effect---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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-- 
Phil Korbel
Director
0161 237 5454

Radio Regen is a community, media and urban regeneration charity 
A company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales No. 3753832 
Registered office: 12 Hilton Street, Manchester, M1 1JF 
Registered Charity No. 1077763 
www.radioregen.org
www.communityradiotoolkit.net

-- 
Phil Korbel
Director
0161 237 5454

Radio Regen is a community, media and urban regeneration charity 
A company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales No. 3753832 
Registered office: 12 Hilton Street, Manchester, M1 1JF 
Registered Charity No. 1077763 
www.radioregen.org
www.communityradiotoolkit.net

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