Section 355 Review of Output: Juice FM (Liverpool)1
When a local commercial radio licence undergoes a change of control (this includes licence transfer), Ofcom is required, under section 355 of the Communications Act 2003 (the Act), to undertake a review of the effects or likely effects of the change of control in relation to:
• the quality and range of programmes included in the service; • the character of the service, and; • the extent to which Ofcom’s duty under section 314 of the Act is performed in relation to the service. Ofcom’s duty under section 314 of the Act relates to securing the inclusion of an appropriate amount of local material, and a suitable proportion of locally-made programmes in the service.
Under section 356 of the Act, where it appears to Ofcom from its review that the change of control would be prejudicial to any of the three matters listed above, then it must vary the licence, by including such conditions as it considers appropriate, with a view to ensuring that the relevant change of control is not so prejudicial. In doing so, any new or varied conditions must be such that the licence holder would have satisfied them throughout the three months immediately before the change of control. Ofcom is required to publish a report of its review, setting out its conclusions and any steps it proposes to take under section 356. Where Ofcom proposes to vary the licence, it is required to give the licence holder a reasonable opportunity to make representations about the variation.
In October 2015, a change of control took place at Juice Holdco Limited, which holds a local commercial FM licence for the Liverpool area (AL207). Juice Holdco Limited was previously owned by TalkSPORT Limited, and ultimately owned by UTV Media (GB) Limited. Juice Holdco Limited is now 100 percent owned by Global Radio Holdings Limited, a company which is owned by This is Global Limited.
Ofcom has now carried out its review under section 355 in relation to the Liverpool service Juice FM. In doing so, it has reviewed the output of Juice FM in the three months prior to the change of control taking place,2 and considered information provided to it with regard to the future programming on the station.
1 Capital, from 18 January 2016 2 At Ofcom’s request, Juice Holdco Limited supplied Ofcom with recordings of the station’s output between 27-30 September 2015.
Ofcom’s assessment of the output of Juice FM (prior to the change of control)
The Character of Service of the station is:
A STATION REFLECTING THE YOUTH CULTURE OF LIVERPOOL PLAYING A MIX OF BREAKING NEW MUSIC, CHART AND DANCE, WITH RELEVANT INFORMATION AND A COMMITMENT TO LOCAL ARTISTS
The station’s Format is shown in Annex 1. Annex 2 is the licensee’s completed Review of Output, which summarises the output of this service and its programme schedule is shown at Annex 3.
In reviewing the station’s output prior to the change of control, it was noted that the licensee was required to broadcast locally-made programming, including local material, for at least 10 hours during each weekday daytime3 and for at least four hours during daytime on each of Saturday and Sunday. The station’s output during the period monitored exceeded this requirement; all daytime programming was locally-made (i.e. broadcast from studios in Liverpool).
The Format also required the station to provide local news bulletins at least hourly at peaktime4 throughout the week. Bulletins of between 70 and 90 seconds duration containing local news and local (football) sports news were in fact broadcast hourly between 06:00 and 19:00 on weekdays, and hourly in the late breakfast shows at weekends. All local news was produced and presented from the station’s Liverpool studios by a team comprising two full-time journalists (a local head of news and a local reporter), and bulletins were unique to Juice FM.
Traffic and travel reports were broadcast during weekday daytimes and during the weekend breakfast show (29 per day Monday-Thursday; 28 on Friday and four each Saturday and Sunday. Local weather reports were broadcast following the news across the day.
As noted above, Juice FM’s Format requires it to broadcast “a mix of breaking new music, chart and dance”, which we interpret to mean pop, dance pop, r&b, house and hip hop. Among the songs played on this station, those listed below, while satisfactorily meeting these terms were also noted to be likely to have the effect of appealing to and reflecting the youth culture of Liverpool, a requirement set out in the station’s Character of Service description.
Artist Title Rita Ora feat. Chris Brown Body On Me Sam Feldt feat. Kimberly Anne Show Me Love Pitbull Hotel Room Service Mase Feel So Good Lasgo Something Taylor Swift Wildest Dreams Little Mix Black Magic Sigala Easy Love James Bay Hold Back The River
3 0600 to 1900 4 Weekday breakfast and drivetime, and weekend late breakfast
Juice FM also broadcast three specialist/themed programmes during the late evenings: current dance music mixed by DJ/producer presenters on Thursdays; classic dance anthems on Fridays and Saturdays, and a mix of local artists, features and current chart music on Sunday nights (the latter meeting the Format requirement to deliver a commitment to local artists).
The new owner’s plans
Global Radio proposes to re-brand Juice FM as Capital Liverpool5. Global will provide an ‘enhanced news’ service in accordance with Ofcom’s localness guidelines. This means news bulletins containing local news stories will be broadcast hourly throughout daytime on weekdays, and hourly between 06:00 and 12:00 at weekends. Global’s plans are shown in more detail at Annex 4. The bulletins will be one-minute long outside peak-times (05:00, 10:00-15:00 and 19.00), and between 90 seconds and two minutes long during peak times (06:00–09:00 and 16:00–18:00).
A full time News Editor and a full time broadcast journalist will be based in Liverpool, and the station will be supported by Global’s existing Manchester news team outside weekday breakfast and drive. During weekends, news will be provided from either the Liverpool station or the Manchester regional news hub. All bulletins (except 05:00) will be written, produced and broadcast in either Liverpool or Manchester.
The local breakfast and drive programmes will feature half-hourly traffic and travel updates, and local weather forecasts after the hourly news bulletins. Outside the weekday breakfast and drive and weekend breakfast shows, Global says that the use of ‘split links’ will enable Capital Liverpool to respond to, and provide listener information in respect of, extreme weather conditions, travel disruption and local breaking news.
Capital Liverpool will also “feature relevant Liverpool artists across the radio station’s platforms so that [they] fulfil the commitment to local artists”. Added to this will be a remix programme containing local remixes. These aspects are part of the station’s commitment to local artist as set out in the station’s Character of Service description.
Recommended variations to the licence
Based on our assessment of the station’s output in the three months prior to the change of control, we do not believe that Juice FM was broadcasting any programming not already reflected in the existing requirements of the station’s Format which would, in our view, have a significant impact upon:
• the quality and range of programmes included in the service; • the character of the service; and, • the extent to which local material and locally-made programmes are included in the service.
Therefore, we are not proposing any variations to the licence.
January 2016
5 On Monday 18 January 2016. Annex 1
COMMERCIAL RADIO STATION FORMAT
JUICE FM
Character of Service
A STATION REFLECTING THE YOUTH CULTURE OF LIVERPOOL PLAYING A MIX OF BREAKING NEW MUSIC , CHART AND DANCE, WITH RELEVANT INFORMATION AND A COMMITMENT TO LOCAL ARTISTS
Licensed area Liverpool area (as in Ofcom advertisement) Frequency 107.6 MHz Service duration 24 hours Locally-made hours At least 10 hours a day during daytime weekdays (must include breakfast). At least 4 hours daytime Saturdays and Sundays. Local news bulletins At least hourly at peaktime weekdays and weekends. Outside peak, UK-wide, nations and international news should feature.
Shared arrangements (if applicable)
Co-location No Arrangements
Programme sharing No Arrangements
Definitions
Speech / Music Excludes advertising, programme/promotional trails & sponsor credits Peaktime Weekday breakfast and drivetime, and weekend late breakfast Daytime 0600 to 1900 weekday and weekend Locally-made Production and presentation from within the licensed area
MCA population: 905,894 Licence number: AL 207-1
Notes
This Format should be read in conjunction with Ofcom’s published Localness Guidelines as updated with additional text from “The Future of Radio : The Next Phase” (2007) AGREED MARCH 2008
Annex 2 Review of output questionnaire
Date of review: 6th October 2015 Station Name: 107.6 Juice FM Licensed area and licence Liverpool (AL207) number: Licensee company: Juice Holdco Limited Submitted by (name and Piers Collins position):
Existing Format
Character of Service A station reflecting the youth culture of Liverpool playing a mix of new music, chart and dance, with relevant information and a commitment to local artists
Programme sharing and/or No arrangements co-location arrangements
Locally-made hours and/or Locally-made hours: at least 10 hours during local news bulletins daytime weekdays (must include breakfast) and at least 4 hours daytime Saturday and Sunday.
Local news bulletins: at least hourly at peaktime weekdays and weekends. Outside peak, UK- wide, nations and international news should feature.
Station output questions
Please answer, as fully as possible, the following questions regarding the station’s broadcast output (the ‘station’s output’ being defined as that being broadcast regularly prior to any change of control taking place at the licence-holding company).
Ofcom also reserves the right to ask additional questions regarding the station’s output that may be specific to the particular licence.
1. Please provide details of the content, scheduling and duration of any specialist or themed programming (music-based or speech-based, and including sports shows) broadcast regularly by the station in the three months prior to the change of control.
Thursday 2200-0100, Friday 1800-2200, Saturday 1600 – 2200. Music is commercial current dance music mixed by the DJ / producer presenters. Friday and Saturday 2200 – 0100 Classic Dance Anthems. Sunday 2200 – 0100 Mix of Local artist music and features with current chart music.
2. Please confirm, in the three months prior to the change of control, the hours and scheduling of all locally-made programming on the station, and where this is broadcast from. Where applicable, please list any other stations the locally-made hours are shared with.
Locally made from Juice FM, 39 Strand St, Liverpool L1 8LT. Mon – Thurs 0000-1900, 2200 – 2400 Fri 000 – Sun 1600, 1900 – 2400
All Juice FM content is broadcast on 107.6 Juice FM only
3. Please list, as fully as possible, the amount and type of local material (excluding local news bulletins) broadcast by the station in the three months prior to the change of control. Examples could include what’s on information, travel news, local weather, phone-ins, sports coverage, guest interviews, local music programmes etc.
Traffic and travel bulletins: Mon-Thurs– 29 per day Fri – 28 per day Sat/Sun – 4 per day
4. Please confirm, in the three months prior to the change of control, the scheduling and approximate duration of all local news bulletins. Please state whether these bulletins were ‘unique’ to this licence or shared with any other stations. Please also describe the arrangements in place for the compilation, production and presentation of local news (for example, the number of journalists employed, and any sharing of resources with other radio stations, local newspapers, news agencies or other sources).
Local news bulletins are produced locally and coordinated by a local head of news plus one local reporter. Bulletin duration is approximately 60 seconds. All bulletins during daytime are unique to Juice.
Monday – Friday: Half hourly bulletins 0600-0900 and 1700-1800. Hourly 0900-1900. Saturday and Sunday: hourly bulletins 0800-1200.
Support to the UTV network is given by Juice via pre-recorded bulletins at weekends.
5. Please attach to this document a copy of the station’s programme schedule (prior to the change of control taking place).
Version 1 – June 2011
Annex 3 Programme Schedule
Monday 1am – 6am – Juice FM Non Stop 6am – 10am – Juice Big Breakfast 10am – 2pm – Baz Todd 2pm – 3pm - #JuiceTwitterMix 3pm – 7pm - Mark Kaye 7pm – 10pm - Total Access With Elliot Holman 10pm – 12am - The Late Show – Darren Spence
Tuesday 12am – 6am – Juice FM Non Stop 6am – 10am – Juice Big Breakfast 10am – 2pm – Baz Todd 2pm – 3pm - #JuiceTwitterMix 3pm – 7pm - Mark Kaye 7pm – 10pm - Total Access With Elliot Holman 10pm – 12am - The Late Show – Darren Spence
Wednesday 12am – 6am – Juice FM Non Stop 6am – 10am – Juice Big Breakfast 10am – 2pm – Baz Todd 2pm – 3pm - #JuiceTwitterMix 3pm – 7pm - Mark Kaye 7pm – 10pm - Total Access With Elliot Holman 10pm – 12am - The Late Show – Darren Spence
Thursday 12am – 6am – Juice FM Non Stop 6am – 10am – Juice Big Breakfast 10am – 2pm – Baz Todd 2pm – 3pm - #JuiceTwitterMix 3pm – 7pm - Mark Kaye 7pm – 10pm - Total Access With Elliot Holman 10pm – 1am – The Juice PreKend With Liam Hincks
Friday 1am – 6am – Juice FM Non Stop 6am – 10am – Juice Big Breakfast 10am – 2pm – Baz Todd 2pm – 3pm - #JuiceTwitterMix 3pm – 6pm - Mark Kaye 6pm - 8pm - The Juice FM Weekend – With Anton Powers 8pm – 10am - The Juice FM Weekend – With Ian Longo 10pm – 1am - Juice FM Anthems – With Baz Todd
Saturday 1am – 8am – Juice FM Non Stop 8am – 12pm - Saturday Breakfast With Darren Spence 12pm – 4pm - Mark Kaye 4pm – 7pm - The Juice Weekend – With Anton Powers 7pm - 10pm - The Juice Weekend – With Ian Longo 10pm –1am – Juice FM Anthems – With Baz Todd
Sunday 1am – 8am – Juice FM Non Stop 8am - 12pm – Love Sunday - Juice 12pm - 4pm – Dylan Evans 4pm - 7pm - The Big Top 40 With Marvin Hulmes 7pm - 10pm – Dave Pearce: Anthems 10pm – 1am – One Big Gig: Jay & Ellie
Annex 4
Section 355 Review: Future plans questionnaire
Station name and licence number: Currently Juice FM (will become Captial Liverpool from early 2016) (Licence Number: AL000207BA/2)
Please answer, as fully as possible, the following questions regarding the licensee’s plans for the future output of the station. Some of these may have already been implemented since the change in control took place; others may be future plans requiring a Format Change Request and would therefore be subject to Ofcom approval. This information will remain confidential to Ofcom and will not be published without the licensee’s consent.
Ofcom also reserves the right to ask additional questions regarding plans for the station that may be specific to the particular licence.
If no changes are planned (in comparison with the output of the station in the three months prior to the change of control), simply answer “No change from previous output” under each relevant question.
1. Please provide details of the content, scheduling and duration of any specialist or themed programming (music-based or speech-based, and including sports shows) which the station plans to broadcast regularly, following the change of control.
Capital Liverpool won’t have any speech-based or specialist programming regularly featured in its schedule. It will feature relevant Liverpool artists across the radio station’s platforms so that we fulfil the commitment to local artists.
2. Please outline your plans with regard to locally-made programming arrangements and hours on the station. Where applicable, please list any other stations the locally-made hours will be shared with.
From launch in early 2016, Capital Liverpool will, subject to Ofcom approval, provide an enhanced news option, as defined in Ofcom’s localness guidelines. Capital Liverpool will have a local breakfast show 6-10am weekdays and a local drive show 4-7pm weekdays. Saturdays and Sundays will see one 4 hour local show per day. Local news will run hourly from 6am through till 7pm weekdays. At weekends local news will run hourly from 6am till midday. 3. Please list, as fully as possible, the amount and type of local material (excluding local news bulletins) that the station plans to broadcast following the change of control. Examples could include what’s on information, travel news, local weather, phone-ins, sports coverage, guest interviews, local music programmes etc.
Local breakfast and drive will feature twice hourly traffic and travel updates for Liverpool and the surrounding areas, covering major issues with roads, rail and air travel. Local weather follows the hourly news bulletins at breakfast and drive, with additional ad hoc updates falling frequently in links throughout the shows.
Listener interaction is a big part of our local programming focus, with calls, texts, tweets and Facebook posts from the Liverpool audience expected to make big contributions to our content.
As “Liverpool’s Number One Hit Music Station” we will drive ownership of any hit music artists playing in Liverpool and the surrounding areas through ticket giveaways, co- promotions, using on-air trails, talk ups and publicising on the Capital Liverpool website. We will run interviews with many of our artists when they are in the TSA to air in our breakfast or drive shows.
Outside of our local breakfast, drive and weekend shows, we run split links to promote local activity. That may be pushing an act playing at the Echo Arena, pointing to the weekend’s big sporting fixtures, to extreme weather conditions and travel disruption, to local breaking news. If a local story is big enough, we will also opt out of network programming and go completely local.
4. Please confirm the planned scheduling and approximate duration of all local news bulletins following the change of control. Please state whether these bulletins will be ‘unique’ to this licence or shared with any other stations. Please also describe the arrangements that will be in place for the compilation, production and presentation of local news (for example, the number of journalists employed, and any sharing of resources with other radio stations, local newspapers, news agencies or other sources).
Capital Liverpool will broadcast bulletins containing a mix of Liverpool, UK and world news together with sport, entertainment, travel and weather information on the hour from 6am to 7pm on weekdays, 6am to 12 noon on Saturdays and Sundays. There is an additional UK and world news bulletin at 5 and 5.30am on weekdays.
Bulletins are written, produced and broadcast in Liverpool, or from our news hub in Manchester, with the exception of 5 and 5.30am weekdays which is a national bulletin written and presented from London.
Durations:
Weekdays: 5am, 5.30am bulletin – 1 minute 6am, 7am, 8am, 9am, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm bulletins – Between 1.30 and 2 minutes dependent on the day’s news. 10am, 11am, 12 midday, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm & 7pm bulletins – 1 minute (can be extended if required by day’s news agenda) Weekends: All bulletins are 1 minute 30 seconds in duration.
Capital Liverpool’s news output is resourced by our teams in both Liverpool and Manchester.
In Liverpool we will have a two person news team. This is made up of a full time News Editor, and a full time broadcast journalist. They will staff the news desk and read both breakfast and drive time news. They will also help with on the ground reporting when required.
Our news team in Manchester will provide additional support for bulletins and on the ground reporting; travelling across to Liverpool when required. Weekends will be from Liverpool or Manchester.
In Manchester a full time North West regional News Editor and 5 full time broadcast journalists staff the desk, along with freelancers to help cover bulletins and on the ground reporting when required. The North West editor oversees all regional news output, with support and direction also provided by Global Radio’s central news team based in London.
All bulletins, with the exception of the weekday 5am and 5.30am news, are written, produced and broadcast in Liverpool or Manchester, including bulletins during network progamming time. The news team will also report live from the scene when judged appropriate. Audio “from the scene” will be used in Liverpool bulletins, and is often shared further afield with other Capital stations and wider Global brands, if the story is deemed of UK appeal.