A Restricted Service Licence station in North Shropshire has been found in breech of Ofcom rules for sponsoring news bulletins provided by Sky. A listener complained when they heard the news on Whitchurch FM was sponsored by a local business.
When Ofcom appreached the RSL owners, they said that it had misinterpreted Rule 9.1 of the broadcasting code, and had thought that the rule only applied to news that it itself produced, not to “external news feed from Sky”.
Ofcom welcomed the broadcaster’s acknowledgement of its mistake and efforts to prevent a recurrence. Ofcom also noted that the RSL had been granted for a period of 12 days only. However, the finding of a breach is a factor that would be taken into account by Ofcom in considering any future application for an RSL by the broadcaster.
The broadcaster apologised and assured Ofcom that there would be no recurrence.
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