[cma-l] Abandon digital radio switchover plans, stations tell ministers

[tlr at gairloch.co.uk]

An interesting item from today's Guardian newspaper...

Abandon digital radio switchover plans, stations tell ministers

Group representing 80 stations warns that turning off analogue signal too early
will damage local radio and cost listeners money.


A group of broadcasters has called on the government to abandon plans for
digital radio switchover, claiming the move would jeopardise local radio and
cost households "several hundred pounds" each.

The consortium representing 80 stations across the UK listened to by 6 million
people a week issued a joint statement on Monday less than six weeks before
ministers are due to confirm its policy on the matter.

The group said the switchover posed a serious risk of listeners losing access to
radio because most households only have an analogue set. It estimates that there
are about 100m analogue sets still in use in UK homes.

The switchover – in which national, regional and large local stations disappear
from AM and FM – would hamper smaller local stations and force homes listening
on analogue to spend hundreds of pounds on new digital receivers, the statement
says.

The group is made up of 13 commercial companies including UTV-owned national
sports station TalkSport and Celador Radio run by Paul Smith, the man behind
ITV's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?.

Scott Taunton, managing director of UTV Media (GB), said: "We think the concept
of migrating stations from AM and FM [to digital] is flawed. There is no
consumer demand for this and unlike digital TV switchover there is no digital
dividend for the taxpayer. The bulk of people are quite happy with the radio
services they already have.

"We're not saying digital radio is flawed but it's like saying mobile phones are
so prevalent we can switch off all the landlines. This hasn't been thought
through and we shouldn't be rushed into a decision."

The initial target date of 2015 for the switchover has already been pushed back,
after digital radio take-up was slower than expected. The commercial radio trade
body, the Radio Centre, has suggested 2018, while others have said 2020 is a
more realistic target for the switchover.

Ed Vaizey, the minister for culture, communications and creative industries, is
due to clarify the government's switchover plans on 16 December.

Digital Radio UK, the body tasked with overseeing the switchover, said most
radio groups, representing the vast majority of listeners, continued to support
an "in-principle decision on radio switchover".

A spokesman said: "We believe that the future of local radio is secure and that
the fact that FM will be sustained for ultra local commercial stations and
community stations is good news for listeners and local radio."

But there remains uncertainty about how the multimillion pound nationwide
network of digital radio transmitters will be funded. Digital audio broadcasting
(DAB) radio currently falls a long way short of the coverage provided by
analogue radio.

A memorandum of understanding announced last year outlined an agreement in
principle between the BBC, commercial radio and the government on how DAB
rollout would be funded. That agreement,was described by one source as "dead in
the water".

A spokesman for Global Radio, the biggest commercial radio group which includes
Classic FM, Capital and Heart, said coverage and funding issues had to be
addressed.

"We hope the ongoing debate will be less about switchover - which, in any case,
will not happen until listeners are ready – and more about the necessity for
continuing investment in Britain's digital infrastructure," said a spokesman.

Sales of digital radios have stalled at just under 2m over the past four years,
with a recent report by the media regulator Ofcom suggesting more than half of
homes without a DAB set have no intention of buying one in the next 12 months.

A spokesman for Bauer Radio, which includes Kiss, Magic, as well as a number of
national digital-only stations, said: "A positive decision from government on
digital radio will provide the radio industry and all stations, national and
local, with a certain and exciting future at the heart of the UK's digital
economy. We believe that with the right structure, investment and talent, local
radio will thrive following switchover."

The 13-strong group of commercial stations behind Monday's statement also
includes UKRD, CN Radio, Anglian Radio, Quidem, Radio Jackie, and Brighton's
Juice 107.2.

Celador chairman Paul Smith said: "We think there's no need for the government
to be committed to switchover. The two platforms have sat together for many
years. We are not saying it's bad technology but what's the point of excluding
listeners from the services they are comfortable with?"

Digital TV switchover was completed in the UK in 2012 after a relatively
trouble-free five-year plan was rolled out across the country. Digital radio
switchover has proved more problematic, with the advantages of the new
technology less clearcut to the consumer.

A total of 35.6% of all radio listening was on digital platforms in the third
quarter of this year, the lion's share on DAB radio.
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