Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the success of commercial radio in the UK.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government strongly supports a vibrant radio sector, including national and local commercial stations as well as community stations and the BBC, which between them provide a rich variety of choice for listeners across the UK.
The UK’s commercial radio sector now accounts for approximately 55% of radio listening in the UK, according to figures published by RAJAR for Quarter 4 2023, with 39 million people tuning in to national or local commercial stations at least once a week. This compares to 42% of radio listening and 34 million listeners in Quarter 4 2013. The growth in commercial radio listening over the past 10 years is thanks to the investment the sector has made to develop and grow new services and its ability to adapt what it offers to listeners on digital radio or via internet-connected devices such as smart speakers.
The measures in the Media Bill to reduce regulatory burdens on commercial radio and to secure protections for the carriage of radio on smart speaker devices are intended to help support and secure commercial radio’s long-term future.
Written Evidence Feb. 21 2024
Inquiry: The future of news: impartiality, trust and technologyFound: BACKGROUND: NEWS AND INFORMATION ON COMMERCIAL RADIO 7.UK radio listeners are well served by a diverse
Nov. 17 2023
Source Page: I. Media Bill: memorandum from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee. 53p. II. ECHR memorandum for the Media Bill as introduced into the House of Commons. 15p. III. Media Bill: Overarching Impact Assessment. Incl. Annexes A (Governance and Regulatory Reform), B (Repeal of Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013) and C (Commercial radio de-regulation De Minimis Assessment) (4 docs.) IV. A principles-based framework for a new prominence regime for PSB online services. 59p. V. Modernising the UK’s system of public service broadcasting: Impact Assessment. 59p. VI. Regulation of radio services across voice assistant platforms: Impact Assessment. 91p. VII. Video-on-Demand Regulation and Accessibility Impact Assessments. (2 docs.) VIII. Assessment of Impacts: The removal of Channel 4 Television Corporation (C4C)’s publisher-broadcaster restriction and accompanying mitigations. 33p. IX. Letter dated 08/11/2023 from Lucy Frazer MP to the Deposited Papers Clerk regarding documents relating to the Media Bill to be deposited in the House libraries. 1p.Found: Governance and Regulatory Reform), B (Repeal of Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013) and C (Commercial
Mentions:
1: Andy Carter (Con - Warrington South) by commercial operators. - Speech Link
2: Damian Green (Con - Ashford) when I am on TV or radio. - Speech Link
3: Andy Carter (Con - Warrington South) The combined weekly audience for all BBC and commercial radio in the UK remains extremely healthy. - Speech Link
4: Julia Lopez (Con - Hornchurch and Upminster) In particular, that should include commercial radio stations and local newspapers, especially when it - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: None The present national grouping of most commercial radio stations compounds the leeching of resources away - Speech Link
2: Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Con - Life peer) services that commercial radio cannot afford to provide. - Speech Link
3: Lord Foster of Bath (LD - Life peer) The free flow of data is crucial—for commercial radio, community radio and even the BBC—in order to create - Speech Link
Nov. 17 2023
Source Page: I. Media Bill: memorandum from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee. 53p. II. ECHR memorandum for the Media Bill as introduced into the House of Commons. 15p. III. Media Bill: Overarching Impact Assessment. Incl. Annexes A (Governance and Regulatory Reform), B (Repeal of Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013) and C (Commercial radio de-regulation De Minimis Assessment) (4 docs.) IV. A principles-based framework for a new prominence regime for PSB online services. 59p. V. Modernising the UK’s system of public service broadcasting: Impact Assessment. 59p. VI. Regulation of radio services across voice assistant platforms: Impact Assessment. 91p. VII. Video-on-Demand Regulation and Accessibility Impact Assessments. (2 docs.) VIII. Assessment of Impacts: The removal of Channel 4 Television Corporation (C4C)’s publisher-broadcaster restriction and accompanying mitigations. 33p. IX. Letter dated 08/11/2023 from Lucy Frazer MP to the Deposited Papers Clerk regarding documents relating to the Media Bill to be deposited in the House libraries. 1p.Found: Governance and Regulatory Reform), B (Repeal of Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013) and C (Commercial
Jan. 22 2024
Source Page: BBC Mid-Term Review 2024Found: RADIO MARKET REMAINS STRONG, WITH INCREASED REVENUES DRIVEN BY NATIONAL COMMERCIAL RADIO Radio shares
Jun. 23 2008
Source Page: Interim report of the Digital Radio Working Group. 13 p.Found: Interim report of the Digital Radio Working Group. 13 p.
Found: There is strong support for the radio measures in the Media Bill from across the whole commercial
Written Evidence Feb. 19 2024
Committee: Public Accounts CommitteeFound: In October 2022, the BBC announced cuts to local radio, and the creation of 11 investigative reporting