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Business News Media
Commercial radio lobbyist calls for review of broadcast rules
By Chris Cooke | Published on Wednesday 3 June 2015
The boss of commercial radio group RadioCentre, Siobhan Kenny, has called on the government to initiative a wide-ranging review of the rules and regulations governing radio, by which she really means a review that would result in less rules and regulations governing radio.
Radio, of course, has a challenging decade ahead as the internet properly arrives in the kitchen, bathroom and the car, where a lot of radio listening occurs, putting traditional radio services in head-to-head competition with the streaming music platforms, which are all busy evolving their services to incorporate more radio-style features. And while radio’s overall listening figures are holding up well, listening hours are generally down, and younger consumers are more likely to get their music from YouTube than FM.
Kenny insisted that her industry is “shaping up well in the face of new competition and challenges”, but said that strict rules governing advertising and content could hinder the broadcaster’s ability to take on their new less regulated competitors.
She told the Voice Of The Listener And Viewer Spring Conference this week: “With a new government in place and new leadership at OfCom, now is a perfect time to look again at the statutory framework in which commercial radio operates. There are challenges ahead without a doubt which radio is in good shape to meet, building on its traditional strengths of local links, audience connection, great music and entertainment. But current regulation is a barrier to success in some ways”.
Honing in on one very specific example, she continued: “So-called consumer protection is responsible for the garbled warnings you hear on financial product advertising. Research shows, as any advertising person knows, that too much information is tantamount to no information at all. We would love to work with the Financial Conduct Authority and European regulators to come up with more effective ways of delivering the ‘always read the small print’ message”.
So get to it FCA and OfCom, and get your reviewing hats on. Though radio stations are reminded rules and regulations can go up as well as down, terms and conditions apply.
