Ofcom names stations which failed to pay

Ofcom has published a list of community radio licensees that have failed to pay their licence fees.

The regulator has also published advice for anyone applying for a licence, based on the recent quality of some applicants.

They say failure by a licensee to pay its licence fee when required is a serious breach of a broadcast licence. Only one station, GTFM in Pontypridd has so far failed to pay its annual licence fee in full, in accordance with the original deadline, despite repeated requests to do so.

“This licensee has therefore been found in breach of its licence,” Ofcom says. “As a consequence of this serious and continuing licence breach, we’re putting the licensee on notice that the contravention is being considered for the imposition of a statutory sanction, which could include licence revocation.”

Nine other radio stations also failed to pay their annual licence fees in full, in accordance with the
original deadline, but have subsequently paid. They are Sunny Govan Community Radio, ALL FM 96.9, New Style Radio 98.7 FM, OnFM, Radio Teesdale, Pulse 98.4 Community Radio, Inspire FM, In2beats FM and Betar Bangla Radio.

Anyone wanting to apply for a licence is advised to read part of Ofcom’s annual report with hints and tips on how to manage expectations when running a five year licence. They say some of the applicants have been overly optimistic in their business planning.

Read the report here.