Ofcom has found Birmingham’s community station BRMB in breach of its licence after ruling it failed to meet its Key Commitments and character of service.
The regulator said BRMB, operated by Big City Radio CIC, did not provide enough on-air content focused on Aston’s minority ethnic communities, as required by its licence. The decision follows Ofcom monitoring a week of output between 7 and 13 July this year.
While the station provided local news and music appealing to the wider Aston community, Ofcom said there was “little to no content” directly relevant to the area’s minority ethnic groups, which are a core part of its target audience. BRMB argued that its mix of music, community work, and online activity reflected its diverse audience and helped to unite different groups.
However, Ofcom said off-air activities or online content could not replace on-air delivery of the character of service. The regulator also noted that BRMB failed to provide its programme schedule for the monitored week by the requested deadline, breaching Licence Condition 9(1) relating to the provision of information.
The broadcaster has a long history of similar issues. Ofcom highlighted previous breaches dating back to 2015, including two financial penalties of £500 in 2020 and £1,200 in 2024. Despite these, BRMB was again found in breach of Licence Conditions 2(1) and 2(4) for not maintaining its character of service.
Ofcom said the latest breaches were “serious and repeated” and confirmed they will now be considered for a statutory sanction by the regulator’s Sanctions Panel. The body will also continue to monitor BRMB’s compliance with licence conditions.
The decision was published in Ofcom’s Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin, Issue 531, on 6 October 2025.