Radio Authority Response To Green Paper

The Radio Authority has today issued its response to the government’s green paper, “The Future of the BBC”, rejecting the idea that BBC stations should take any form of advertising or sponsorship – BBC services permitted to take advertising or sponsorship should ‘not remain within the BBC’.

On the subject of public service broadcasting the Radio Authority believes that, in some cases, the BBC’s output is indistinguishable from that of its competitors. It also stated that a feasability study is to be carried out with regard to Radio 1’s transfer into the commercial sector.

On frequency distribution, the RA does not consider the BBC to have a need for 6 national services in the future, and that the current 4:1 FM frequency inbalance should be redressed. A more speech based local BBC should move to AM, the authority believes.

On regulation the RA feels there should be one regulatory body for radio and one for TV; the idea of a Public Service Broadcasting Council is not supported. The BBC Charter and Licence and Agreement are outmoded according to the Authority, which sees no reason why the BBC should not be governed by legislation similar to that of the independent sector.