MEDIA regulator Ofcom has blocked the BBC’s plans to extend its Radio 2 and Radio 5 broadcasting.
In a ruling published on Wednesday, the watchdog said that a BBC Radio 2 extension – which would have broadcast music and archive content from the 50s, 60s and 70s – and plans to extend the broadcasting hours of Radio 5 Sports Extra could not proceed.
However, it further allowed plans for new DAB+ stations Radio 1 Dance, Radio 1 Anthems, and Radio 3 Unwind to go ahead.
The watchdog is required to consider the effects of “material” changes to the BBC’s TV, radio and online public services on commercial competition.
Ofcom’s judgment said: “Radio 1 Dance, Radio 1 Anthems, and Radio 3 Unwind can proceed. We found these stations would have a limited impact on fair and effective competition, which would be justified by the public value of the proposals.
“The BBC Radio 2 extension, which would broadcast music and archive content from the 50s, 60s and 70s, cannot go ahead. Although the proposal could provide some public value, this would not be enough to justify the significant impact on fair and effective competition, which includes the potential to reduce investment incentives for commercial radio operators.
“The BBC’s plans to extend the broadcasting hours of Radio 5 Sports Extra may not proceed. While it could offer some public value, for example by broadening the amount of sport on linear radio, this wouldn’t be sufficient to justify the significant impact it would have on fair and effective competition, in particular on the talkSPORT network.”
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) welcomed the decisions.
Paul Siegert, NUJ national broadcasting organiser, said: "We welcome this decision by Ofcom. While a Radio 2 spin-off might have benefited audiences in terms of archive music performances, the BBC already has a network of 39 local radio stations which are perfectly placed to serve an older demographic.
“This would be an ideal time for the corporation to think again about how best to spend money from the licence fee, and perhaps channel the investment that had been earmarked for Radio 2 back into restoring some of the local programming already lost around the country."
A BBC spokesperson said: "We are pleased that Ofcom has approved Radio 1 Anthems, Radio 1 Dance and Radio 3 Unwind. The extensions with their brilliant programming have already proved popular on BBC Sounds and will now reach even more listeners on DAB+.
“However, we are disappointed that in a thriving audio market, we are not able to launch the new Radio 2 extension or expand the content offer on Radio 5 Sports Extra. They would have provided audiences with a unique BBC take on the music, stories and archive performances from 1950s, 60s and 70s, and helped more listeners across the UK discover our diverse sports podcasts.
“We believe our plans for Radio 2 and Radio 5 Sports Extra were distinctive and formed an important way for us to reach those audiences who currently get less from the BBC. We significantly redeveloped the proposals following an extensive consultation with the industry, so that they would complement the offer across the market for the benefit of listeners.”
