Independent Local Radio
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Image:Independent Local Radio logo.jpg Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom.
Contents |
History
Development of ILR
Until the early 1970s, the BBC had a legal monopoly on radio broadcasting in the UK. Despite competition from the commercial Radio Luxembourg and, for a period in the mid-1960s, the off-shore "pirate" broadcasters, it had remained the policy of both major political parties that radio was to remain under the BBC.
Upon the surprise election of Edward Heath's government in 1970, this policy changed. The new Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Christopher ChatawayTemplate:Ref, announced a Bill to allow for the introduction of commercial radio in the United Kingdom. This service would be planned and regulated in a similar manner to the existing ITV service and would compete with the recently developed BBC Local Radio services (rather than the four national BBC services).
The Sound Broadcasting ActTemplate:Ref received Royal Assent on 12 July 1972 and the Independent Television Authority (ITA) accordingly changed its name to the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA).Template:Ref
The IBA immediately began to plan the new service, placing advertisements encouraging interested groups to apply for medium-term contracts to provide programmes in given areas. The first major areas to be advertised were London and Glasgow, with two contracts available in London, one for "news and information", one for "general and entertainment".Template:Ref
The London news contract was awarded to London Broadcasting Company (LBC) and they began broadcasting on 8 October 1973. The London general contract went to Capital Radio, who began broadcasting on 16 October 1973. In total, 19 contracts were awarded between 1973 and 1976. Due to government limits on capital expenditure and turbulence in the broadcasting field (mainly due to the Annan Report), no further contracts were awarded until 1980, when a second tranche of contracts were awarded. All stations were awarded an AM and an FM frequency, on which they broadcast the same service.
First and second tranche contracts
| AirdateTemplate:Ref | Town | Station name |
| 8 October 1973 | London (news and information) | LBC |
| 16 October 1973 | London (general and entertainment) | Capital Radio |
| 31 December 1973 | Glasgow | Radio Clyde |
| 19 February 1974 | Birmingham | BRMB |
| 2 April 1974 | Manchester | Piccadilly Radio |
| 15 July 1974 | Newcastle-upon-Tyne | Metro Radio |
| 1 October 1974 | Sheffield | Radio Hallam |
| 21 October 1974 | Liverpool | Radio City |
| 30 September 1974 | Swansea | Swansea Sound |
| 22 January 1975 | Edinburgh | Radio Forth |
| 19 May 1975 | Plymouth | Plymouth Sound |
| 24 June 1975 | Stockton-on-Tees | Radio Tees |
| 3 July 1975 | Nottingham | Radio Trent |
| 16 September 1975 | Bradford | Pennine Radio |
| 14 October 1975 | Portsmouth | Radio Victory |
| 28 October 1975 | Ipswich | Radio Orwell |
| 12 April 1976 | Wolverhampton | Beacon Radio |
| 8 March 1976 | Reading | Radio 210 |
| 16 March 1976 | Belfast | Downtown Radio |
| — | — | — |
| 11 April 1980 | Cardiff | CBC Radio |
| 23 May 1980 | Coventry | Mercia Sound |
| 10 July 1980 | Peterborough | Hereward Radio |
| 15 September 1980 | Bournemouth | 2CR (Two Counties Radio) |
| 17 October 1980 | Dundee | Radio Tay |
| 23 October 1980 | Gloucester | Severn Sound |
| 7 November 1980 | Exeter | DevonAir Radio |
| 14 November 1980 | Perth | Radio Tay |
| 12 December 1980 | Torbay | DevonAir Radio |
| 27 July 1981 | Aberdeen | Northsound Radio |
| 1 September 1981 | Leeds | Radio Aire |
| 7 September 1981 | Leicester | Centre Radio |
| 12 September 1981 | Southend-on-Sea | Essex Radio |
| 15 October 1981 | Luton | Chiltern Radio |
| 27 October 1981 | Bristol | Radio West |
| 4 December 1981 | Ayr and Girvan | Westsound Radio |
| 10 December 1981 | Chelmsford | Essex Radio |
| 23 February 1982 | Inverness | Moray Firth Radio |
| 1 March 1982 | Bedford | Chiltern Radio |
| 4 October 1982 | Worcester | Radio Wyvern |
| 5 October 1982 | Preston | Red Rose Radio |
| 12 October 1982 | Swindon | Wiltshire Radio |
| 6 November 1982 | Bury St Edmunds | Saxon Radio |
| 4 April 1983 | Guildford | County Sound |
| 13 June 1983 | Newport | GB Radio |
| 29 August 1983 | Brighton | Southern Sound Radio |
| 5 September 1983 | Stoke-on-Trent | Signal Radio |
| 5 September 1983 | Wrexham | Marcher Sound (Sain-Y-Gororau) |
| 17 April 1984 | Kingston-upon-Hull | Viking Radio |
| 1 October 1984 | Norwich | Radio Broadland |
| 1 October 1984 | Northampton | Hereward Radio |
| 1 October 1984 | East Kent | Invicta Sound |
| 20 October 1984 | Crawley | Radio Mercury |
Extension of ILR
In the late 1980s, the expansion of ILR continued at a similar rate. Under the Broadcasting Acts, the IBA had a duty to ensure that any area it licensed for radio could support a station with the available advertising revenue. Therefore, many areas were not included in the IBA's ILR plans as it was felt that they were not viable Template:Ref. This did not prevent Radio West in Bristol getting into financial trouble and having to merge with Wiltshire Radio on 1 October 1985Template:Ref; nor did it prevent Centre Radio going into receivership on 6 October 1983Template:Ref.
Split services
Nevertheless, the areas served by ILR continued to increase and 1986 the IBA sanctioned in principle the idea that different services could be broadcast on each station's FM and AM frequency. The first station to split was Centre Radio's replacement, Leicester Sound, who converted their AM frequency into Sabras Sound, a service for the city's large Asian populationTemplate:Ref. Other stations also experimented with split services.
By 1988, the government had decided that the practice of splitting was beneficial and a quick way to increase choice for listeners. The IBA then began a programme of encouraging ILR stations to split their services and most stations had soon complied. The usual format was to have a "gold" (oldies) service on AM and pop music on FM, although Radio City tried "City Talk" on AM before abandoning the format.
The Broadcasting Act 1990
The 1990 Broadcasting Act provided for the abolition of the IBA and its replacement by the Independent Television Commission. The IBA continued to regulate radio under the new name of the Radio Authority, but with a different remit.
As a "light-touch" regulator (although heavier than the ITC), the Radio Authority was to issue licences to the highest bidder and promote the development of commercial radio choiceTemplate:Ref.
INR, RSLs, SALLIES and IRR
This led to the awarding of three national contracts (known as Independent National Radio, but still usually referred to under the banner of "ILR" by most commentators) to Classic FM, Virgin 1215 (later Virgin Radio) and Talk Radio (later talkSPORT).
The Radio Authority also began to licence Restricted Service Licence (RSL) stations - low-power temporary radio stations for special events, operating for up to 28 days a year - and to reduce the criteria for a "viable service area" with the introduction of Small Scale Local Licences (SALLIES) for villages, special interest groups and small communitiesTemplate:Ref.
At this point in time the AM waveband had become unpopular with radio groups and the majority of new stations were awarded an FM licence only, even when an AM licence was jointly available.
The Radio Authority also introduced regional stations (Independent Regional Radio, again usually grouped under the banner "ILR" by most commentators) and began to licence the commercial Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) multiplexes in October 1998Template:Ref label.
The Radio Authority was replaced by the Office of Communications (Ofcom) in 2004, which also replaced the ITC, the Broadcasting Standards Commission, the Radio Communications Agency and the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel). Ofcom has stated that they plan to continue the development of Independent Local Radio, with an emphasis on digital broadcasting, and to "ensure the character" of local stations, following the mergers and loss of local identities that followed the 1990 ActTemplate:Ref label.
ILR stations
As of 2005, there are 217 licensed analogue ILR and IRR services in England; 16 in Wales; 34 in Scotland; 8 in Northern Ireland; and 2 in the Channel Islands. It should be noted that these are licences rather than stations - some licences are grouped nationally, regionally or by format to provide one service; other licences cover two or more servicesTemplate:Ref label.
There are three national analogue services. There is one national DAB service (Digital One) and 47 regional DAB services, owned by 10 companies and operated by 9 Template:Ref.
Manx Radio
The first licensed commercial radio station in the United Kingdom is often stated to be Manx Radio, which launched in June 1964Template:Ref. However, since the Isle of Man is not part of the United Kingdom and has its own broadcasting laws, Manx Radio is not considered to be an ILR station.
See also
References
- Template:Note Wikipedia entry on Christopher Chataway
- Template:Note BFI researchers' guide - legislation Retrieved 4 January 2006
- Template:Note Henry, Brian (Ed.) British Television Advertising - The First Thirty Years Century Benham, London 1986; p145
- Template:Note Croston, Eric (Ed.) Television and Radio 1985 - Guide to Independent Broadcasting Independent Broadcasting Authority, London 1984.
- Template:Note Graham, Russ J Original ILR Airdates Radiomusications from Transdiffusion, retrieved 4 January 2006
- Template:Note Croston, Eric (Ed.) Television and Radio 1981 - Focus on Independent Broadcasting Independent Broadcasting Authority, London 1980.
- Template:Note Rogers, Andrew RW + WR = GWR Radiomusications from Transdiffusion, retrieved 4 January 2006
- Template:Note Parry, Simon Off Centre Radiomusications from Transdiffusion, retrieved 4 January 2006
- Template:Note Parry, Simon Asian Sound Radiomusications from Transdiffusion, retrieved 4 January 2006
- Template:Note Template:Note label Template:Note label Template:Note label Ward, Inna (Ed.) Whitaker's Almanack 2006 A & C Black, London 2005; pp621–631
- Template:Note Woodyear, Clive (Ed.) Radio Listener's Guide 2003, The Clive Woodyear Publishing 2002
- Template:Note Ofcom radio licensing webpages retrieved 4 January 2006
- Template:Note Manx Radio website, retrieved 4 January 2006