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Wireless Group Local FM Stations

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Wireless Group Local FM Stations Section 355 Review of Output Wireless group local FM stations [] Redacted for publication Publication Date: 14 November 2019 Section 355 Review: Wireless group local FM stations Introduction 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. On 04 February 2019, Ofcom received a formal request from Talk Sport Limited (part of the Wireless group) to transfer the following 12 local FM analogue commercial radio licences to Bauer Media Audio Limited acting as a general partner for Bauer Media Audio LP (‘Bauer’): • Peak FM (Chesterfield) • Pulse 1 (Bradford & Huddersfield) • Radio Wave (Blackpool) • Signal 1 (Stoke-on-Trent) • Signal 107 (Wolverhampton) • Signal 107 (Telford) • Signal 107 (Kidderminster) • Signal 107 (Shrewsbury & Oswestry) • 96.4 The Wave (Swansea) • Tower FM (Bolton) • WIRE FM (Warrington) • WISH FM (Wigan) The licences were transferred to Bauer, following the granting of Ofcom’s consent, on 28 February 2019. Ofcom has now carried out its review under section 355 in relation to each of the 12 licences listed above. In doing so, we have reviewed the output of each service in the three months prior to the change of control taking place, and considered information provided by the new owners regarding the future programming on the station. 1 Section 355 Review: Wireless group local FM stations Ofcom’s assessment of the output of the Wireless group local FM stations (prior to the change of control) Each station broadcast 13 hours per day of locally-made programming on weekdays (06.00-19.00), eight hours per day on Saturdays (10.00 – 18.00), and four hours per day (08.00 – 12.00) on Sundays. This meant that, in each case, the licensee was compliant with, and - except on Sundays - exceeded, the requirements in its Format regarding the number of hours per day that were either locally-made, or made within an ‘Ofcom Approved Area’.1 Outside of these times, Wireless group networked programming was broadcast. Local news bulletins of around 90 seconds’ duration were broadcast at the top of the hour between 06.00 and 19.00 on weekdays, plus news headlines and sport on the half-hour during peak time programming. At weekends, local news was provided hourly between 07.00 and 13.00 on Saturday, and from 08.00 to midday on Sundays. For all of the stations except the four Signal 107 licences, this represented an over-delivery of local news provision2. Local Traffic and weather reports were broadcast regularly by each of the stations during local programming hours. The following stations provided full match commentary of fixtures involving their local football or rugby clubs: • WISH FM – Wigan Athletic, Wigan Warriors, St Helens RFC. • WIRE FM – Warrington Wolves. • Signal 107 – Wolverhampton Wanderers. • Radio Wave – Blackpool FC. • Tower FM – Bolton Wanderers. In terms of music output, the requirements in each station’s Format are relatively broad, enabling the stations to share a common music policy. However, Signal 1, Pulse 1 and 96.4 The Wave each had a slightly more contemporary playlist – 66% of the music was drawn either from the current chart or the past two years – than the other stations, reflecting the younger target audience and more contemporary sound required by the Formats of those three licences. Specialist or themed specialist music shows aired by each of the stations were a contemporary music show featuring star interviews (‘Total Access’) on weekday evenings, a dance/ party hits show on Saturday nights, and a retro dance show, ‘Old Skool Anthems,’ on Sunday evenings. 1 All stations except the four ‘Signal 107’ licences are required to provide 10 hours per day of locally-made programming on weekdays, and four hours per day on weekend days. The Signal 107 licences are required to provide seven hours per day of locally-made programming on weekdays, and four hours per day on weekend days. 2 All stations except the four ‘Signal 107’ licences are required to provide local news at peak-times. The Signal 107 licences are required to provide local news throughout weekday daytimes and weekend peak-time. 2 Section 355 Review: Wireless group local FM stations The new owner’s plans Recommended variations to the licence Based on our assessment of each station’s output in the three months prior to the change of control, we do not consider that any of Wireless group’s local FM services were broadcasting any programming not already reflected in the existing requirements of each 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 to vary any of these licences under section 356 of the Act. 3 .
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