A request from Town & Country Broadcasting Ltd to co-locate Bridge FM (Bridgend) and Bay Radio (Swansea) anywhere within the South Wales approved area (both services are currently co-located within the West Wales approved area, at Neath) was discussed by the Radio Licensing Committee at its meeting on 13 December 2010.
In our Statement on commercial radio localness regulation Ofcom introduced a new set of approved local areas within which stations would have far greater flexibility to co-locate and share programming, while still being required to provide output relevant to their individual local areas. Bridge FM and Bay Radio were both confirmed as being in the West Wales approved area, and as such (under our localness guidance) we would be likely to consent to any request from the stations to co-locate or share programming within this area, provided we are satisfied that the stations involved will continue to meet their licence obligations to provide local material relevant to the listeners in their individual licensed areas.
Bridge FM and Bay Radio are not, however, located in the South Wales approved area, which Town & Country proposed the stations should also be able to co-locate within. Our published policy is that requests, such as this, to co-locate outside a stations approved area can still be considered, but will require separate assessment and consultation.
There was only one response to the consultation. Although the respondent stated that he was in favour of granting the request, he actually argued to the contrary, saying that Bay Radio and Bridge FM (currently both co-located at Neath) should move to studios in the main population centres that they serve (Swansea and Bridgend respectively).
Ofcom has the ability to consent to Format changes under conditions included in each local analogue commercial radio licence, in accordance with Section 106 (1A) of the Broadcasting Act 1990, if it is satisfied that at least one of the following criteria is met:
a. The departure would not substantially alter the character of the service
b. The change would not narrow the range of programmes available in the area by way of relevant independent radio services
c. The change would be conducive to the maintenance or promotion of fair or effective competition, or
d. There is evidence that, amongst persons living in the affected areas, there is a significant demand for, or significant support for, the change.
e. That the change would result from programmes in the licensed service ceasing to be made at premises in the area, or those programmes would continue to be made wholly or partly at premises within an area approved by Ofcom.
The Committee was satisfied that the proposed change of Format met criterion (1A)(b) in that there was no evidence that it would narrow the range of programmes available in the Swansea and Bridgend areas by way of relevant independent radio services. (There was no request made for any programme sharing between Bay Radio and The Bridge FM, or with any other Town & Country-owned stations).
In the case of co-location requests, Ofcom has previously identified additional key factors which it will also consider when assessing co-location requests. These are as follows:
- The size of the stations involved (in terms of the population they cover)
- The distance and affinity between the relevant areas
- Financial factors
Having considered these additional key factors, and also taking into account that Ofcom's approved areas were previously consulted upon, the Committee's conclusion was that Town & Country's request to move Bridge FM and The Bay Radio to a location anywhere within the South Wales approved area should be rejected.
This was on the following basis:
Size of station
Ofcom has previously stated that there may be a stronger case for co-location and/or programme sharing outside of Approved Areas in cases where stations have a licensed area which contains a population of fewer than 250,000 adults. That is not the case with the Swansea service, which has a Measured Coverage Area population of 314,466 adults.
The distance and affinity between the areas
Swansea lies some distance from the major towns and cities in the South Wales Approved Area. For example, the centre of Cardiff is 41 miles from the centre of Swansea and a 52 minute car drive ( source: AA Route Master). The committee also felt that there was a potential lack of cultural affinity between the areas. It was of the view that Cardiff (in the South Wales approved area) and Swansea (in the West Wales approved area) can be seen as competing, rather than complementary, cities. Both are large regional centres in their own right (for example, much of West Wales looks to Swansea as its regional centre), and there are fierce sporting rivalries between the two cities.
Financial factors
The Committee felt that Town & Country had not submitted strong enough evidence to suggest that that the two stations would not, in the long-term, be financially viable without the co-location request being approved.