Radio: Digital 2015 – the debate goes on…
Scott Taunton, managing director of UTV Media, is this week leading a crusade across the radio industry to gather political support for Early Day Motion 436. This motion calls for debate around the Digital Economy Bill, which in its current form threatens the future of local radio with over 100 local stations facing an uncertain future on the analogue spectrum once digital switchover has occurred.
According to Taunton, research shows that radio is thriving in its current form and this motion is asking the Government to protect the future of local radio (and its weekly audience of 46 million adults) by ensuring that all local radio stations have a viable digital migration path.
Taunton, who recently made waves by removing all UTV radio stations, including talkSport, from the Radio Centre in protest at what it sees as the disproportionate influence of the industry’s biggest player, Global Radio, is this week asking the radio industry to support the motion. He stresses that the two-tier transmission plan which requires smaller stations, unable to fund the move to digital, to stay on FM, will have a wholly detrimental affect on smaller, more locally focused stations, with the larger regional and nation stations reaping the benefits.
There is a feeling in the industry that the take-up of DAB is no where near reaching the critical mass needed to make the 2015 digital switchover viable and successful. 10 million DAB sets have now been sold but, in real terms, this only represents around 10% of all sets in UK households (according to RAJAR). The belief is that DAB can and should benefit the entire radio industry, and most importantly the listeners, but changes need to be made to the Digital Economy Bill before this can happen and the industry needs to come together to make safe radio’s future.