Source · Select Committees · Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Recommendation 14
14
Accepted in Part
Require Ofcom to consider resource implications when recommending radio service designation thresholds.
Recommendation
The absence of a full impact assessment of the radio provisions makes it difficult to ascertain how burdensome the preferred route provisions will be. However, the evidence we heard suggests that there will be far fewer routes required than platforms are anticipating. Nonetheless we recognise that platforms will not only have to facilitate on-boarding but provide ongoing support as well and we expect these responsibilities, and their associated costs, to be considered when deciding the threshold at which selection services should be designated. Ofcom should consider the resource implications of providing preferred routes when recommending the threshold at which radio selection services should be designated. The Government should take account of this recommendation in its decision on designation. (Paragraph 57) 24 Draft Media Bill: Radio Measures
Government Response Summary
The government partially accepted the recommendation, stating it does not anticipate disproportionate burden but has amended the Bill to require that a station’s request for a particular route must be reasonable, providing additional assurances to platforms.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
The Government understands the Committee’s concerns here, and has listened carefully to similar concerns raised by some stakeholders. We continue to think that enabling access to all licensed UK stations will not result in a disproportionate burden on platforms. Smart speaker platforms, for example, already facilitate routes for UK radio stations to reach listeners which, in the Government’s view, are compatible with the provisions in this Bill. As such, the measures are largely intended to reflect and secure the current situation on those platforms which are likely to fall within scope. Furthermore, very complex, bespoke routes can impose costs on radio stations as well as platforms. We do not agree, therefore, that a plausible outcome of these provisions will be disproportionate demands on platforms. However, the Government does recognise that the platforms have expressed concerns with the current drafting. As a result, without undermining the core principle that UK stations may specify a “default route” to the listener, the Bill has been amended to make it clear that a station’s request for a particular route must be reasonable. That test will provide additional assurances to platforms on the ways in which UK stations may request a particular default route.