British commercial radio stations have called on the UK media watchdog to block proposals by the BBC to create four new music stations that they claim “directly imitate” existing services.
On Wednesday, the BBC said it would spin-off several new stations as part of an overhaul of radio strategy.
Among them, one — an extension to Radio 2 — will provide “pop nostalgia” from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, while a spin-off of Radio 3 will offer listeners calming classical music.
A Radio 1 extension will focus on music of the 2000s and 2010s. Radio 1 Dance, which is already available on the BBC Sounds app, will also launch on digital radio.
They will be the first full stations since 1Xtra, 6 Music and the Asian Network launched in 2002. However, the national broadcaster’s new services risk competing with genre-specific stations offered by commercial rivals such as Virgin, Absolute and Heart.
Radiocentre, which represents commercial stations, said Ofcom should reject these “proposed market interventions that would just offer duplicate services and not deliver against the BBC’s obligations, at the same time as harming commercial innovation”.
The BBC has been criticised in the past for using its licence-fee funded financial size to launch services directly against rivals relying on advertising revenues.
The corporation will need to carry out a public interest test before creating the stations, which will in effect be required to show that their public value outweighs the adverse impact on commercial rivals. A separate commercial impact assessment will then be undertaken by Ofcom.
Radiocentre said the BBC was “yet again, attempting to compete directly with commercial radio stations, interfering with the market and failing to provide distinct public value”.
The BBC said the stations would give people “more choice and value from the licence fee” and “give more choice especially to those who currently are underserved by the BBC, and whom Ofcom have challenged the BBC to do more for”.
Lorna Clarke, director of BBC Music, said the proposed stations would “allow listeners to deep-dive into more pop and classical genres and periods of music they love the most”.
Ofcom said: “We are aware of the BBC’s plans to make changes to its audio services. At this early stage, it’s for the BBC to consider the impact of these changes on competition, and we expect it to engage with industry stakeholders as part of this process.”
The proposals come after sharp cuts in funding to the BBC’s local radio services last year, which were met with alarm by MPs over fears that the corporation was failing to serve local communities around the UK.
The new stations, which will be digital and feature mostly music, are likely to be cheaper to run than extensive local services with their own dedicated staff. The BBC described them as “a cost-effective way to reach audiences” on digital platforms.
The stations will offer on-demand music programmes available on BBC Sounds, with material from the corporation’s archive over the past six decades, and some new commissions.
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