AM/FM #3 — September 1992

News from the UK Radio Industry. Edited by Stephen Hebditch.

BBC Network Radio Changes Denied

The Director General of the BBC, Sir Michael Checkland, has denied reports that that Radio Two is to be axed, Radio Five radically reshaped and Radio One is to become a youth station rather than a music station. The story circulated at the Edinburgh International Television Festival and was picked up by several newspapers. The changes were reported to be part of plans being made by Director General Designate John Birt. Other changes would include a huge management and programme shake-up, including the departure of the current Managing Director of Radio, David Hatch.

There has been a large debate over the future direction of the BBC and its role in the rapidly expanding broadcasting environment of the 1990s. The festival also saw an attack on the current BBC board and its senior executives by Michael Grade, former Controller of BBC 1 and now Managing Director of Channel Four Television.

Exhibition Opens To Celebrate BBC Birthday

A new exhibition on the history of the Corporation has opened at Broadcasting House as part of the celebrations of seventy years of the BBC and sixty years of Broadcasting House. It features exhibits from the history of BBC radio to help tell the tale of its evolution and climaxes with a multimedia presentation.

The exhibition is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10.30am to 7.30pm until the 4th of October and costs 3.50 UKP for admission. Nearest tube Oxford Circus.

Radio One Celebrates 25th Birthday

Radio One has begun celebrations of its 25th anniversary. On the August Bank Holiday it counted down its listeners all-time top 100 with Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody at number one. Past deejays including Emperor Rosko, Tom Browne, Tony Blackburn and Noel Edmonds return for special programmes in September. An Intercity 225 train will be named after the station. The RAF Red Arrows aircraft display team will fly from Surrey to Dundee in a special Radio One formation. There will also be a number of special concerts, including Michael Jackson live from Budapest. The station has also announced that will also ID exclusively as One FM from October.

CLassic FM Launch

Britain's first Independent National Radio station, Classic FM, took to the air at 6am on September 7th. The station hopes to take seven percent of the UK radio audience — around 2.8 million listeners. Presenters include three former BBC Radio Four staffers — Henry Kelly, Susannah Simons and Margaret Howard — along with Adrian Love, Petroc Trelawny and former Radio One deejay Paul Gambaccini. 11 transmitters are initially in use, covering around 80% of the country.

Copyright Tribunal Adjourns

The Copyright Tribunal, who have been deciding if Independent Radio pays too much for playing records, has adjourned until October. ILR, under its trade body the Association of Independent Radio Contractors, appealed to the tribunal after PPL, who manage recorded music copyright on behalf of the record companies, tried to introduce new charges. These would have been up to 20% of advertising revenue for the biggest stations like Capital Radio and Radio Clyde.

PPL says that with stations now relying more heavily on recorded music for their output they should be paying more to the record companies. The AIRC counters that the new charges, the highest in the world, could cripple some stations — the recording industry's shop window. A judgement is expected by the end of the year. In the meantime the stations are continuing to pay the old rates.

Review Of Radio Frequencies In UK

The Radiocommunications Agency of the Department of Trade and Industry are to carry out a major review of radio broadcasting frequencies in the UK. One of the main aims is to set aside space for new Digital Audio Broadcasting stations, possibly on frequencies currently occupied by cellular telephones.

The Agency is also under pressure from advertisers and some sections of the radio industry to make space available for two new national commercial radio stations. These would need to occupy the 105 to 108 megahertz space which will be freed for use in 1996. Currently this is in use by a number of low power point-to-point services. Others consider that the public would be better served by setting aside this space for a wider variety of lower-powered local services.

BBC Local Radio Loses AM Frequencies

More BBC Local Radio stations are losing their simulcast AM frequencies. BBC Radio Shropshire is to lose its for new local station Sunshine 819. GLR in London and GMR in Manchester are likely to lose their frequencies by the end of next year to new Independent stations. Radio WM in the Midlands wants to keep its AM channel because of the separate Asian programming it provides.

LBC Relaunch On AM

London news / talk station LBC relaunched its AM service on August 24th. It will now run separate programmes on AM and FM between 5.30am and 9pm. Douglas Cameron, Pete Murray, Steve Allen and Mike Dicken will make up the main presenters on the AM service. LBC hopes that the six month gap until the next audience figures are released will give it time to build the new service.

On-Air Name Chosen For Second National Commercial

Independent Music Radio have announced that they will be using the on-air name Virgin Radio or Virgin Rock Radio. Rumours that the station was to poach several Radio One deejays appear to have come to nothing. One report says these were circulating at a time when a number of Radio One presenters had their contracts up for renewal...

New Local Licences

The Radio Authority has increased the cost of applying for a licence. For an FM licence the price is 250 UKP for areas with a TSA of up to 100,000, 625 UKP for up to 400,000 and 1,475 for areas reaching more than one million adults. AM licences for an equivalent area are around two thirds of the cost.

The Radio Authority have advertised the licence for High Wycombe. The size of the station's target audience will depend on where the transmitter for the station is based.

Channel Radio on Jersey and Island FM on Guernsey will both launch in October.

Three groups have applied for the Glenrothes and Kircaldy ILR licence in Scotland. These are Eastsound Radio, Radio Fife and United Christian Broadcasters. The winner will be announced in October.

Former London pirate Trax FM has put in plans to the Radio Authority for a station to broadcast in North East London aimed at a young black and Asian audience.

Restricted Service Stations

Offshore Radio broadcast from a boat moored off Walton on the Naze in Essex to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act, which outlawed the sixties offshore radio stations. Programmes featured extracts from the original stations along with music from the past 30 years. Edited highlights from the 28 days of broadcasts were featured on the Euronet satellite-delivered radio station.

Bromley Local Radio will broadcast to Bromley on the South East London / Kent borders for 28 days from September 6th. The station will be heard on 101.8 FM and includes 'The Intrepid Birdman Show', which has previously aired on pirates Thameside Radio and The Clockwork Wireless Broadcasting Company.

Darlington Community Radio is broadcasting on FM for 28 days from Darlington Railway Museum during September.

Deptford Community Radio, with backing from the Community Radio Association, will be on the air in November.

Financial News

Kiss FM's Gordon Mac is nearly a hundred and fifty thousand pounds better off after selling half his stake in Kiss FM. Media company EMAP now hold almost all the shares in the London dance music station.

Asian broadcaster Sunrise Radio has failed in its attempt to raise two and a half million pounds on the stock exchange to fund future expansion in its radio and television activities. Sunrise will still go ahead with a joint deal with Midlands Radio to launch a 24 hour a day Asian service on Medium Wave for Leicester.

Bits

The BBC are carrying out more advertising for their national radio services. A new 250,000 UKP poster campaign for Radio Three has begun and Radio Two are to spend 1,500,000 UKP to try and attract younger listeners. An advert for Radio Two will also appear on a poster site by the Albert Bridge on BBC television soap Eastenders.

Capital Radio has banned Channel Four's new breakfast service from booking ads on the station in the morning. Other stations seem set to follow suit in an effort to prevent their audience deserting for the TV. The new breakfast show, featuring Radio One and GLR deejay Chris Evans, aims to bring the breakfast zoo radio format to television.

Paul Coia and wife-to-be Debbie Greenwood stood in for the holidaying Jamesons on their late night Radio Two programme.

BBC Local Radio has secured the right to broadcast full match commentaries for soccer matches in both the Premier League and the Football League. They will pay 400 UKP a game for live commentary rights.

Spectrum Radio have begun a new gay programme on Thursdays. This follows the success of Wear FM's programme Gay to Gay which can now also be heard via Euronet on the Astra satellite.

Radio Wyvern has won a prize as part of Noise Awareness Month for a promotion that asked listeners to turn down the volume on their radios