[CMA_Radioforum] Extending the pilots licences.

[Info Northern Visions E Mail]

Hi all,
Northern Visions Radio has decided to give up its licence (due to expire at
the end of the year) in order to
concentrate on getting the community television service up and running. We
always knew the service as being a pilot, to pave the way for community
licensing, and the pilots have clearly been successful in achieving this.
We were quite happy for the opportunity to stay on air for an additional few
months after the year but did have reservations that we were being somewhat
favoured in this respect considering hundreds of others were waiting
patiently to have the opportunity to get on air.

The lead up and short length of time envisaged for the pilots in many ways
excluded any long term funding but we took this risk and went ahead anyway.
In the end our station
was sustained with no direct funding......which had its advantages - and
disadvantages.
When the community licences are advertised, and we have been informed by
Ofcom that
this will happen very early in the new year, we look forward to applying as
part
of a consortium.

The effort and capital outlay required to launch the station was
considerable, but we were never under any illusion that this was a time
bound pilot which would eventually culminate with community licences being
openly advertised for any group to apply. This is about equal opportunities,
something we are very conscious of in the north of Ireland. The
determination of the application process, a timetable, criteria and
formulating a clear and transparent basis on which the licences are awarded,
should be a matter of joint consultation and involvement between the fifteen
pilot projects and OfCom.

Best wishes
Dave Hyndman
Northern Visions Radio

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Nicky Edmonds" <nicky at commedia.org.uk>
To: <radioforum at commedia.org.uk>
Cc: "'Alan Fransman'" <alan at commedia.org.uk>
Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2003 6:30 PM
Subject: [CMA_Radioforum] Extending the pilots licences.


> Desi Radio have asked me to send this to the list on their behalf to
> inform discussion at the meeting in London next Wednesday and to find
> out the views of other access radio pilots. If you would like to
> respond, email  radioforum at commedia.org.uk  and it should go out to all
> the other pilots.
> Nicky
>
>
> Our basic premise is that we would like our licence extended on a
> reasonable and fair basis when judged against the sort of licences that
> may be awarded in the future and also to give the current stations
> suitable security beyond the end of the year.
>
> Points for the CMA supporting an extension of the current Access radio
> Licences
>
>
> 1. All the current licensees went through a competitive application
> process to win one of the original 'experimental' licences. There is no
> reason to assume that this process was any less competitive than any
> future round will be,
>
> 2. It is likely that any new licence that is awarded will be for a
> greater period, with greater certainty, than the experimental stations
> had. This would seem to be unfair in the light of the above and
> therefore all the current stations that wish to carry on should have
> their licences extended so that they are at least as long as those given
> to the next round of stations.
>
> 3. Because of the delay in the creation of OFCOM, the current
> fifteen stations have been in a state of limbo for some time, not being
> able to plan for the future in terms of programming and funding. Some
> consideration should be given to this when it comes to considering their
> case against any new applicant.
>
> 4. These fifteen stations were the pioneers as far as
> Access/Community Radio is concerned. They have discovered opportunities
> for funding, proved that there is any audience for this type of radio
> and discovered new forms of programming, particularly based around
> training schemes that have given opportunities and a voice to otherwise
> disenfranchised sections of their respective communities. Their success
> in this area should be recognised and in many cases the training schemes
> that have been developed are too far down the line for the final part of
> the training, i.e. the on-air part, to be cancelled with only a few
> weeks notice, as might be the case if the licences are not extended
> beyond the end of the year.
>
> 5. Some recognition should be given to the investment made by the
> original fifteen stations, both financially and personally. Whilst it is
> appreciated that the stations are non-profit making, they should also be
> non-loss making and by not offering a reasonable length licence which
> will cover the not inconsiderable investment made by the founders of
> these stations, the new stations will have a far more secure future
> knowing over how many years they will be broadcasting and therefore
> spreading their costs. The current stations have put in a lot of time
> and money to get off the ground and their endeavours should be
> recognised by awarding them a licence that will at least provide a
> reasonable return to the charitable organisations that have supported
> them. This return can be ploughed back into the radio stations or into
> the other areas of that charities work, such as training.
>
> 6. It could be pointed out to any station that says the original
> fifteen have an unfair advantage that they could (and may have) applied
> a at the same time, a couple of years ago had they wished. Many may not
> have done so as they were not so well established as the current fifteen
> and had not done the groundwork to lay the foundations that the
> successful stations did. Why should they now be able to come in having
> seen what is required from the incumbent stations and pull the rug from
> under their feet?
>
> 7. We do not know when OFCOM will be in a position to offer new
> licences, or indeed what the terms of those licences will be - for how
> long, how many, where and what format. Having laid the foundation for
> community radio, we feel that the current stations have suffered for too
> long, not being able to plan for the future, not being able to look at
> new forms of programming, not being able to raise long term funding or
> sponsorship, not being able to renegotiate with suppliers such as NTL
> and BT for long term discounts on the services that they supply.
> Short-term extensions are not a satisfactory way to reward these
> stations and any extension to the licence, to cover the settling down of
> the regulator, should be of a suitable duration to give the stations
> some power for negotiation with its suppliers.
>
> 8. We, at Desi Radio, would expect that a reasonable length for a
> full Community Radio licence should be five years, therefore not as long
> as a commercial licence but long enough for a station to reasonably
> cover its costs and supply a service to the community. There should be
> no reason why an incumbent station should not be able to reapply for its
> licence at the end of this period should it wish. Some thought should be
> given to the inequality between city stations, such as Desi, where there
> will be great competition for the frequencies and stations in more rural
> areas where the pressure on resources will be less. A station's success
> at providing a service to the community should be recognised and a
> station should not be replaced because it is someone else's turn. There
> should be no confusion between being successful and the assumption that
> a successful station is too commercial. Community radio can have
> listeners too.
>
> 9. We feel that any extension to the licence beyond the end of 2003
> should be for at least eighteen months to cover the settling down period
> for OFCOM and a reasonable period for the regulator to decide the
> criteria for new applicants, the advertising of new licences, the award
> of these licences and the setting up of new stations. If a licence
> period for new applicants were decided early on (say five years), then
> it would be reasonable that this eighteen-month period be extended at
> the earliest opportunity to give the current stations at least a
> five-year licence. It could also be suggested that the probationary
> period that the current stations are going through should not count as
> part of their time on air and they should be awarded five years from 1st
> January 2004. This could easily be justified by the fact that any new
> station, knowing that they had, for instance, a five year licence could
> plan their programming, investment and aspirations accordingly. We have
> never had that luxury, having had, at most a one-year future. Therefore
> we have had to base our aspirations on what might be achievable in that
> period. As an example, it has not been possible to recruit a full time
> station manager on the basis of the short-term nature of the licence.
> Therefore innovative production has been more difficult to achieve using
> committed, but non-staff volunteers who inevitably have other jobs to go
> to.
>
> 10. Recognition should be given to the time as effort expanded by
> the current fifteen stations to get the Access Radio experiment off the
> ground. Without our research, lobbying and contributions to the Access
> Radio Report, Community Radio might not now be so high up the OFCOM
> agenda.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Community Media Association
> Celebrating 20 years of Community Media
> 1983-2003
>
> http://www.commedia.org.uk
>
> Telephone 0114 279 5219
> Email nicky at commedia.org.uk
>
>
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