A request from Panjab Radio London Limited the holder of an AM local commercial radio licence for the North London area, to change the Format of Turkish Gold Radio was discussed by Ofcom's Broadcast Licensing Committee (BLC) at its meeting on 03 March 2015. The BLC approved the change.
The existing Character of Service (as set out in Turkish Gold Radio’s published Format document) is:
A TARGETED NEWS, INFORMATION AND BROAD TURKISH MUSIC SERVICE FOR LONDON'S TURKISH AND TURKISH CYPRIOT COMMUNITY
The new Character of Service proposed was:
THE SERVICE WILL BE KNOWN AS PANJAB RADIO AND WILL PROVIDE A SERVICE AIMED AT THE PANJABI COMMUNITY. IT WILL EMBRACE PANJABI CULTURE AND LANGUAGE WITH SPIRITUAL MUSIC AND THE CELEBRATION OF FESTIVALS FOR A VARIETY OF RELIGIONS. THE SERVICE WILL BE BROADCAST IN PANJABI AND ENGLISH LANGUAGES
Statutory and policy criteria
Ofcom may consent to a departure from the character of the licensed service (a “Format change”) in accordance with section 106 (1A) of the Broadcasting Act 1990 only if it is satisfied in relation to at least one of the following criteria:
a. The Format change would not substantially alter the character of the service (section 106(1A)(a));
b. The Format change would not narrow the range of programmes available in the area by way of relevant independent radio services (section 106(1A)(b));
c. The Format change would be conducive to the maintenance or promotion of fair and effective competition in that area (section 106(1A)(c)); or
d. There is evidence that, amongst persons living in the affected areas, there is a significant demand for, or significant support for, the Format change (section 106(1A)(d));
e. That the change would result from programmes in the licensed service ceasing to be made at premises in the area, but those programmes would continue to be made wholly or partly at premises within an area approved by Ofcom (section 106(1A)(e)).
Under section 106ZA of the Broadcasting Act 1990, a change that is not considered by Ofcom to satisfy the first or last of these criteria (i.e. a change that Ofcom considers would or could substantially alter the character of the service, or does not relate to the origin of locally-made programmes) must, if it is to be considered further under any of the other three criteria, be consulted upon.On the basis that the request entailed a change to almost every aspect of the Format, Ofcom determined that it would substantially alter the character of the station’s existing service, and therefore was not satisfied in relation to section 106(1A)(a). It was also noted that the change was not related to the origin of locally-made programming, so section 106(1A)(e) was not engaged. In line with statute, the proposed change was therefore subject to a public consultation, which ran for six weeks until 12 January 2015.
We received 64 responses to the consultation, of which 56 were in favour of the change and the remaining eight were opposed.
The 53 non-confidential responses may be found, along with the consultation document, at: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/turkish-gold/?showResponses=true Even if Ofcom is satisfied that the proposed change would meet one of the statutory criteria, Ofcom still has discretion as to whether to agree to the change. Ofcom has published guidance about how it generally expects to exercise its discretion. This guidance refers in particular to the following criteria:
- The extent of the impact of the change on the Character of Service
- The time elapsed since the licence was awarded
- Considerations taken into account in making the original award
- The views of listeners and stakeholders
- The avoidance of ‘Format creep’
- Whether the station broadcasts on AM or FM
- Ofcom’s statutory localness and other obligations.
Ofcom’s decision
Following the consultation, the BLC examined the Format Change Request for Turkish Gold Radio in light of the application itself and of all consultation responses, and first considered whether it was satisfied in relation to any of the three remaining statutory criteria (i.e. section 106(1A)(b), (c) or (d)).
The Committee was not satisfied in relation to section 105(1A)(b), as the effect of the change would be to replace a service targeted at a community (i.e. the Turkish community) which is not served by any other local analogue service available in the area with a service targeted at a community (i.e. the Panjabi community) which is at least in part already served by existing local analogue commercial radio services available in the area. Therefore, while appreciating the service may offer some programming not currently offered by other services, considering the net effect Ofcom was not satisfied the departure would not narrow the range of programming available.
The Committee was also not satisfied in relation to section 106(1A)(c), as there was insufficient evidence available (either from the licensee or respondents to the consultation) to enable it to reach the view that the departure would be conducive to the maintenance or promotion of fair and effective competition.
In this particular case, however, the Committee was satisfied that, amongst persons living in the area, there was evidence of significant support for the change that would result from the departure. The Committee therefore was satisfied in relation to section 106(1A)(d).
In reaching this view, the Committee noted that the vast majority of responses to the consultation were in favour of the change, and that the consultation garnered a relatively high number of responses compared with previous, analogous consultations. It also noted that, in addition to the consultation responses, the licensee had also submitted 34 letters of support with its application for the change. The Committee recognised that satisfying itself on this criterion was not merely a matter of the number of positive consultation responses, and that applicants for format changes are often better placed to mobilise support than opponents who may be unaware or unprepared for the change. The Committee carefully considered the nature of responses. In particular, the Committee took into account that there was evidence of support for the change from elected representatives, religious bodies and other organisations that might reasonably be expected to speak for a wider body of opinion, and that this support was in addition to the support from a comparatively large number of individuals. It also noted that comments raised in opposition to the change, whilst referring to the impact on the Turkish community, did not include objections from individuals or organisations purporting to be representative of or speak for the Turkish community.
Having been satisfied in relation to one of the relevant statutory criteria, the Committee then considered this request under Ofcom's policy criteria. The BLC recognised that the extent of the impact of the change on the character of service would be significant, and that the effect of the change would be the loss of a service for the Turkish community of north London. However, it balanced this consideration with the views of listeners and stakeholders, and the extent and nature of support for the change as set out above. Also weighing in favour of the change was Ofcom’s policy that substantial changes to AM station Formats will be more willingly agreed than changes to FM station Formats to mitigate for the technical disadvantages of medium wave transmission. The BLC noted that a significant time had elapsed since the original licence award, reducing the direct relevance of considerations at the time of that award.
In sum, therefore, the BLC agreed this Format change request because it was satisfied in relation to one of the relevant statutory criteria, and for the policy reasons set out above.
The new Format for Panjab Radio will read as follows:
THE SERVICE WILL BE KNOWN AS PANJAB RADIO AND WILL PROVIDE A SERVICE AIMED AT THE PANJABI COMMUNITY. IT WILL EMBRACE PANJABI CULTURE AND LANGUAGE WITH SPIRITUAL MUSIC AND THE CELEBRATION OF FESTIVALS FOR A VARIETY OF RELIGIONS. THE SERVICE WILL BE BROADCAST IN PANJABI AND ENGLISH LANGUAGES
