[cma-l] Forthcoming Ofcom Consultation on Commuinity Radio

[Ian Hickling]

Ofcom has said that it is aiming to issue a consultation in October on proposals/options for the next phase of Community Radio licensing. That will be a public consultation, open for all stakeholders to respond to, and the window for responses to that consultation will be an 8 week duration. They are getting on with drafting that consultation now, and that is being framed having received valuable input and thinking from both the CMA survey and engagement with stakeholders, including the useful sessions at the CMA conference. Ofcom expects to issue its Statement which summarises its conclusions from stakeholder responses to the consultation and sets out the way forward in early 2017.

So it will now be putting together a Consultation comprising a number of questions - based in part on the points gleaned from the Conference and from individual suggestions and will then put this out into the public domain and invite a response over the following 8 weeks.

I have a feeling - and I'll be delighted to be proved wrong - that Ofcom will have very little more after those 8 weeks than it has at present.The reasoning behind that is two-fold:

Firstly - the questions will either be those that will give the answers Ofcom would prefer to receive - which will be labelled as valueless and a waste of time - or they will be questions that will produce answers which will be very uncomfortable which Ofcom will either reject outright or will take a great deal of time, expense and manpower to resolve.

And secondly - anyone with points to make will have already made them - and those who do not have a view will simply not respond.
This just leaves input from the large and heavily influential national and commercial radio concerns, who will naturally strongly oppose any escalation of the Community Radio sector.

Can I stick my neck out by putting my own version of the Consultation - and the response - on record?
It will be interesting to see how it compares with what Ofcom publishes:

Do you think that Ofcom's concept of fairness is correct?
No - in trying to appear to be fair to all, Ofcom is being unfair to significant stakeholders.

Do you think Ofcom's balance between Community Radio and the commercial and national sector is right?
No - Ofcom's approach and decisions are regularly and clearly influenced by the large operators who exert political and financial pressure. Many examples of this have been documented.

Is the level of attention paid by Ofcom to Community Radio right?
No - Ofcom is hopelessly under-motivated, under-staffed and under-financed in this regard. In alliance with Government and the DCMS, Ofcom pays lip-service with statements such as "Our aim is for every community in the UK which wants a Community Radio station to have one" - but then places numerous hurdles in the path of such a principle.

Are the systems and the time taken for Ofcom to process Community Radio Applications right?
No - The Regional format was far too time-consuming and has outlived any usefulness it may have had. We now need an on-demand and on-merit system. Should Ofcom find it is incapable of dealing with the resulting demand it should increase its processing capacity rather than continually announce delays.

Is Ofcom's frequency and power allocation process to Community Radio Licensees right?
No - Ofcom's processes are antiquated and unnecessarily restrictive. Protection factors invoked are too rigid and unfairly favour larger influential broadcasters. Coverage modelling software in use is clearly flawed in some respects. Ofcom unnecessarily waits for long periods for approval for its actions from organisations which it in fact regulates.

Is Ofcom fair and honest in its dealings with Community Radio?
In general, yes - but there have been well-documented instances where Officers have misled the sector by comments which have been found to be inaccurate. If this comes from ignorance of the facts, it is inexcusable. If it is deliberately intended as deception then it is surely actionable.

Is the funding of Community radio by Ofcom and H M Government right?
No - it's a totally unacceptable process and level of finance. With the severe restrictions placed on advertising and sponsorship following the influence of the then CRCA the sector was given token funding which is of marginal use and is arbitrarily allocated.

Is Ofcom's approach to Small-Scale DAB right?
No - The concept was excellent but misjudgement of the level of interest, the provision of limited amounts of equipment, the exclusion of other interested parties and the execution of propagation was poor. Ofcom is quoting administering the test and preparing legislation as a reason for not carrying out other more vital work.

Is Ofcom user-friendly?
No - in most cases queries are met with repetition of oft-stated policy. Occasionally we find people who are prepared to listen, understand and look for a fair and equitable solution.

There could well be more - but that will suffice for now.



Ian Hickling

Partner

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