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Ofcom has today fined the BBC a total of £150,000 for the Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand scandal, which took place on Radio 2 last year.The watchdog called Ross and Brand’s comments about Georgina Baillie, the granddaughter of actor Andrew Sachs, “gratuitously offensive, humiliating and demeaning”.Ofcom said: “the scale of the fine reflects the extraordinary… Continue reading Ofcom fines BBC £150,000 for “Sachsgate” affair

Global Radio is set to sell its 63% stake in the national digital radio multiplex, Digital One, to its fellow shareholder Arqiva.The deal, which is thought to be for a nominal sum, will see Global swap its share of Digital One in exchange for cheaper transmission costs for its digital stations from Arqiva, according to… Continue reading Global to sell Digital One stake

The Local Radio Company has received a £1.25m cash takeover bid from Cornwall-based radio group UKRD.The Local Radio Company, which owns 20 local stations around the UK, is one of the few remaining publicly listed radio companies in the UK.Trevor Smallwood, chairman of UKRD, said: “We believe the offer represents an attractive premium over recent… Continue reading Local Radio Company receives £1.25m takeover bid

Absolute Radio has signed a deal to sell Planet Rock’s airtime and online advertising from 1 April, alongside its own network of stations.Planet Rock – which will be sold alongside Absolute Radio, Absolute Classic Rock and Absolute Xtreme – will be establishing its own sponsorship and promotions team.Donnach O’Driscoll, CEO of Absolute Radio, said: “Absolute… Continue reading Absolute Radio and Planet Rock sign ad sales deal

Around 80% of mobile media users access mobile media once a week, with 46% using it daily, according to new research from Orange.The survey, of more than 2,000 mobile media users from across all UK mobile networks, also found that the strongest usage of mobile media being in the home: 67% of participants who used… Continue reading Mobile media usage rises

Current radio regulations are a barrier to the development of commercial digital radio, according to UTV Media’s response to Lord Carter’s Digital Britain report.UTV said that as well as obstacles highlighted by the government such as DAB coverage, receiver and in-car take-up issues, it would “add a fourth: an overly rigid legislative and regulatory environment”.It… Continue reading UTV recommends relaxation of radio rules

The BBC could launch an online radio player open to all broadcast radio providers within the year.According to reports, under the preliminary proposals – which would have to be approved by the BBC Trust – commercial stations such as Capital Radio or Heart FM would available on one hub, similar to the BBC’s iPlayer.Tim Davie,… Continue reading BBC could launch online player for UK radio stations

Global Radio is set to complete the second phase of its national Heart roll-out venture today by launching 12 new stations across the south-west region.The new additions, which will be on-air in Bristol, Bath, Wiltshire, Oxford, Reading, Plymouth, North Devon, South Hams, Exeter, Somerset, Torbay and Gloucester today, will join the nine Heart stations that… Continue reading Heart launches 12 new stations

Enders Analysis founder Claire Enders warned the industry that commercial radio in its current form could disappear within the next 15 years.Speaking at the MediaGuardian Changing Media Summit yesterday, Enders said a combination of arduous radio regulations and the ways in which media consumption habits are changing poses a risk for the future of commercial… Continue reading Commercial radio under threat, warns Enders founder

The Sun is set to launch an online radio station, Sun Talk, on April 20 as part of News International’s £1 million investment in to new TV and radio studios.Former talkSPORT host and current Sun columnist, Jon Gaunt, will host the online-only radio station every morning between 10am and 1pm, according to reports.News International is… Continue reading Sun to launch online radio station