Summary
This section maps the UK radio industry and the regulatory framework for radio. It will present an overview of the different sectors for radio: BBC, commercial and community radio (including hospital and student stations) and the small but growing sector of independent production companies and web and podcasting operators. At the beginning of the second millennium the very use of the term 'radio' has become debatable because it is now available on so many platforms other than that provided by the traditional transmitter-receiver model. This section will survey these platforms including Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) Digital Multimedia Broadcasting through mobile devices (DMB) web radio and podcasting.Introduction
Knowledge of the context of changing social, economic, political, technological and cultural factors (or STEP factors) is crucial for radio station managers when they plan the way a station runs. How people receive the station, how it spends its budget and what it can broadcast are all issues critical to its success. An understanding of the radio industry 'landscape' and the three main sectors of BBC, commercial and community radio is important for any radio station manager in the UK. Similarly managers need insight into changes in national and global patterns of media ownership and concentration and important concepts such as public service broadcasting if they are to have an informed framework to work within.In this Section we will consider how these factors have helped influence the development of the radio broadcast industry - including how it is politically regulated; how the commercial sector has consolidated economically in to several major groups alongside the license funded BBC and community stations; how different broadcasters meet different social needs - including community broadcasting and hospital and university radio, and; how new technology has again opened up this market to new forms of broadcasting and competition. We will do this by considering how the industry has developed and how it may continue to develop influenced by its current and possible future technological needs.
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
BBC radio has been established as a public service, funded by a licence fee since 1922. The radio channels and services that have developed over the last century are some of the most sophisticated and varied in world radio. BBC Radio is divided in to five analogue national networks: Radio 1 provides new music and entertainment for 15-24 year olds; Radio 2, music & entertainment for over 25s; Radio 3, Classical, Jazz, World, Arts and Drama; Radio 4, 'intelligent speech radio' and Radio Five Live, live news and sport. There are five digital channels: 1xtra. Black Music; 6 Music, contemporary music; BBC 7, archive and contemporary comedy, drama and children's programmes; Five Live Sports, extra additional commentaries from major sporting events and The Asian Network, providing speech and news based programming of Asian interest. In addition there are five national channels: Radio Scotland, Radio nan Gaidheal, Radio Wales, Radio Cymru, Radio Ulster and Radio Foyle, and 39 local radio stations across England.Integral to BBC Radio is BBC Online, a vast selection of web pages that provide programme related services, back up information and increasingly audio content to enable people to time shift their listening. The BBC World Service is funded separately by government, not through the licence fee. Under its public service remit each channel attracts a wide range of listeners in terms of age, demographic and lifestyle however each station does have a format and 'core' target audience. BBC managers strive to cater for existing audiences whilst always keeping an eye on 'bringing on' new listeners, for instance younger audiences to local radio or Radio 4.
BBC local radio has operated since 1967 and 40 stations across Britain provide local audiences with news, entertainment and specialist programming. Since 2005 these stations largely stopped having programmes for specific groups and instead they aim at a broad demographic of 50 plus with a centralised playlist across all stations. There has also been a rationalisation of programming across regions in the evening with regional programme sharing (see section 2.2 for discussion BBC management of how presenters 'imagine' their target listeners).
The BBC operates under a Royal Charter that was last renewed on 1st January 2007 after extensive internal review in the BBC, scrutiny within Parliament and consultation with members of public and many different organizations representing public interests. There was much debate about the repositioning of Public Service Broadcasting, how the BBC should be funded and the roles and responsibilities of BBC journalism, particularly in the light of BBC reporting about David Kelly, the weapons expert who apparently committed suicide after being named as the source for a BBC story about the government's case for war with Iraq. (See also discussion about the formation of media policies in Freedman, 2008).
The Charter lays out its core aims and rules for governance in terms of the BBC Trust and Audience Councils (see below). The Department for Culture Media and Sport has also established detailed agreements governing the BBC's services and regulation. It's core purposes are:
- Sustaining citizenship and civil society;
- Promoting education and learning;
- Stimulating creativity and cultural excellence by using the licence fee as venture capital for creativity;
- Representing the UK, its nations and regions;
- Bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK;
- Building digital Britain.
(DCMS 2006: 9)
The BBC Trust has Members who are appointed by the Queen on advice from ministers, following an open appointments' procedure. They have extensive experience in public and commercial life and are there to represent the licence payers, to 'ensure the BBC is independent, innovative and efficient: a creative and economic force for good in the UK, and for the UK internationally (http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/about/index.html). National and Regional Audience Councils are made up of members of the public who have who meet monthly to present issues of audience feedback and concern which are then fed back to Trust members - each council is chaired by a Trustee. Issues about management and performance of all radio stations are considered alongside online and television.
The BBC Executive Board, chaired by the Director General, is responsible for the overall operational management of the BBC with priorities laid down by the BBC Trust. The Board member directly concerned with radio is the Director of BBC Audio and Music who is responsible for all the network and digital channels as well as the Radio Drama, BBC Proms and audio across TV and radio. The deputy Director General is currently responsible for News and journalism across the whole of the BBC that includes all radio news. The Director of Nations and Regions is responsible for local radio and does not sit on the Executive Board.
The next tier of management is the Channel controllers. In 2008 some Radio controllers are responsible for a digital only channel in addition to one of the main networks, thus Controller Radio 1 is also responsible for 1Xtra, the Asian Network and BBC Switch. The Controller of Radio 2 is also responsible for 6 music, theController of Radio 3 is also Director of BBC Proms; Controller, Radio 5 Live also controls 5 Live Sports Extra. There is also the post of Controller, Radio 4 and Head of Radio Entertainment. Each regional level has a Head of Regional & Local Programmes responsible for radio, TV and online, usually several stations and each station will have a Managing Editor responsible for the day to day operations of each local radio station. Under this layer will be production (including programme editors, producers, broadcast assistants and presenters, journalism, technical and support staff responsible for daily programme making for each station.
From this it may be seen that there is a complicated but clear management hierarchy within the BBC. What is also apparent is that this structure focuses on 'divisions' where each Controller has responsibility for several different areas and a geographic focus at a regional level (Mintzberg 1988). In addition to this structure the BBC has endeavored to empower its managers rather then retain control and authority at the top of the organization. Managers are however encouraged to 'refer' issues up the management hierarchy should they be unsure of what action to take. Interestingly in the wake of the October 2008 Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross controversy it was the Controller of BBC Radio 2 who took ultimate responsibility and resigned - not the programme producer. Perhaps the production team in this particular case was held not to be responsible for the hiring and retention of two 'controversial' media presenters. That may have been a decision referred up to the Controller, Radio 2.
Commercial Radio
Commercially funded radio is acknowledged to be 'the most dominant form of sound broadcasting in the world' (Barnard 2000: 49). In the UK it is a relatively young sector and it operates in competition for BBC local, regional and national audiences. Established under the then Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) it started off in 1973 with two stations in London which were rapidly joined by 17 others dotted across the UK over the next three years. By 1985 the IBA had licensed 49 stations but growth really took off after the 1990 Broadcasting Act replaced the IBA with the Radio Authority. By the start of the new millennium the UK had around 250 commercial radio services, a number which has continued to grow under Ofcom and with the introduction of digital channels.Ofcom (Office of Communications) was established by the 2003 Communications Act as the regulator and licence awarding body for UK radio. It awards licences to commercial analogue and digital radio, community radio and restricted service licences (RSLs). It monitors programmes and format compliance and lays down codes of practice for broadcast content and deals breaches of these codes and complaints.
Growth in terrestrial licences and the development of digital, internet and satellite radio services has been followed by a consolidation of the UK commercial radio business into the hands of a smaller number of larger companies. Of the 300 or so commercial radio stations operating by the end of 2007 over half were controlled by just four companies, GCap, Bauer, TLRC and UTV. The majority of the remainder were held by groups of between 3 and 13 stations. A list of local analogue stations in group ownership shows that, of the 260 such services listed in 2007, more than 100 (some 40 per cent) have since changed branding or ownership, or closed down.
The number of licences held may not be the best indicator of power in the sector however, some of the latter groups were very well-funded operations holding a small number of licences for major cities or regions, commanding significant population coverage without the overheads of the dozens of smaller stations held by the more thinly spread groups.
The comparable position ten years earlier was set out in 'Report on UK Commercial Radio's Future' published by National Economic Research Associates (NERA 1998) In October 1997 there were only 180 analogue commercial radio licences of which the largest four groups (GWR Group, Capital Radio, Emap and Scottish Radio Holdings) held only 41 per cent. GWR and Capital subsequently merged to form GCap while Scottish Radio Holdings was taken over by Emap, later to become Bauer.
The majority of local and regional commercial radio stations are in group ownership, some groups focussing on one part of the country and others on particular formats while the two largest groups have a disparate range of services dotted across most of the UK.
By the end of 2007 two of the largest groups were GCap, with some 74 radio brands ranging from Capital FM and dozens of town and city-sized FM stations across England and Wales to 25 Capital Gold and Classic Gold stations on AM and the XFM regional stations in London, Manchester and Scotland, and Chrysalis with the Galaxy and Heart regional FM brands plus LBC on AM and FM in London. During 2008 Gcap (itself formed from an earlier merger of Capital Radio Group with GWR) and the former Chrysalis stations all became part of the Global Radio Group. Global also operates the national station Classic FM.
Similarly Bauer Media now controls own the stations formerly run by Emap, including the Big City Network of local FM stations, the Magic, Kiss and Kerrang brands and the Scottish stations, including Clyde and Forth, formerly operated by Scottish Radio Holdings.
The Guardian Media Group operates regional FM stations under the Real Radio, Smooth and Rock Radio brands, having incorporated the former Saga services into the Smooth stable and Century Radio into the Real brand.
The remaining, mainly smaller, local radio services are largely group into the hands of a few groups, including CN Radio, Kent Messenger Group, Lincs FM Group, The Local Radio Company, Tindle Radio, UKRD Group and UTV Radio (who also operate national commercial station TalkSport).
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