NEWS: LOCAL COVENTRY RADIO STATION 'TOUCH FM' FAILING TO COMPLY WITH FORMAT, OFCOM'S FIRST CONTENT SAMPLING

FINDS by GRANT GODDARD

www.grantgoddard.co.uk April 2006

Ofcom has issued CN Radio Limiteds Coventry radio station 'Touch FM' with a 'Yellow Card' warning for failing to comply with the Format of its licence. This is Ofcoms first such sanction since introducing routine 'content sampling' of its licensees output, a regulatory activity that has been in abeyance for at least the last fifteen years. From its analysis of the stations output in January and February, Ofcom found that Touchs black music programming was complying with the letter of its licence, but not with its spirit. The stations Format requires that a third of its output comprises reggae and soul songs, but Ofcom found that the station was complying with this requirement by playing a diet of UB40 and Shaggy to fulfil requirements to serve the African Caribbean communities, and by playing mainstream soul/pop crossover hits that were already heard during the course of the day in its playlists. Ofcom concluded that the stations output was structured in such a way as to bypass the community obligations contained within the Format. Additionally, the five hours of Irish programming required by the Format was executed by the station in a presenter-free, back-to-back music show broadcast once a week between midnight and 5am. Ofcom said that, although no specific time slot for the Irish show was mentioned in the stations Format, it believed this time slot was not in keeping with the spirit of the Format. Following Ofcoms rejection last July of CN Groups application to turn the stations (then called 'Kix 96') format more mainstream, the companys managing director Jon Hewson had said: "We will be reviewing the programmes we currently offer and, with advice provided by Ofcom, will look at other solutions." The CN application had been rejected by Ofcom on the grounds that the revised Format would have removed significant elements that required the station to serve identified communities. The station had originally been launched as 'Radio Harmony' in 1990 to serve all Coventrys ethnic communities, but most of those requirements had been progressively eroded with the agreement of the former regulator, The Radio Authority. In this first outcome of its new content sampling activity, Ofcom explained that it ensures that an individual station is meeting its Format requirements by listening to that stations output. If a problem is found, Ofcom says it might require a brief dialogue with the station, the issue of a Yellow Card that will only be lifted when matters have been put right, a written warning, or a fine. The last two sanctions will only be imposed if the problems are not rectified swiftly, or are sufficiently serious in their own right.

[First published in 'The Radio Magazine' as 'Format Police "Feel First Collar"', #733, 26 April 2006]

News: Local Coventry Radio Station 'Touch FM' Failing To Comply With Format, Ofcom's First Content Sampling Finds Page 2 2006 Grant Goddard

Grant Goddard is a media analyst / radio specialist / radio consultant with thirty years of experience in the broadcasting industry, having held senior management and consultancy roles within the commercial media sector in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. Details at http://www.grantgoddard.co.uk

News: Local Coventry Radio Station 'Touch FM' Failing To Comply With Format, Ofcom's First Content Sampling Finds Page 3 2006 Grant Goddard