A reminder has been issued by Ofcom for stations taking third party content to make sure it is compliant with the Broadcasting Code.
It follows a complaint made against Humber Wave Radio about an advertisement which was not clearly separated from news programming, appearing to be a commercial reference within news output.
This was in regards to audio provided by Radio News Hub, which contains an advert on the end separated by an ID saying “Radio Works”.
The issue was in relation to the following local news bulletin which was broadcast with the same music bed as the national bulletin, giving the impression it was one news bulletin with an advert in the middle.
The station has since moved its local news to before the national bulletin to avoid confusion.
The regulator says, given the actions taken by the broadcaster to prevent recurrence, it considered the matter resolved.
Also today, Beverley FM has been found in breach after failing to provide information.
The community radio station was asked to explain how it was meeting its Key Commitments after Ofcom received a complaint.
After some mis-communication, Beverley FM provided a response to the original Key Commitments request, but did not submit representations on the Preliminary View. Ofcom said licensees must provide information within its set timescales and have measures in place to respond promptly.
In its decision, Ofcom said the failure “prevented Ofcom from assessing the Licensee’s compliance with its Key Commitments in a timely manner”.
The regulator also noted the licensee’s view that the original response period was too short, but said its General Procedures require requested information to be provided within five working days, with broadcasters able to ask for an extension.
In addition, three radio licensees failed to pay their annual licence fees by the required payment date but subsequently made payment late, giving them a Breach of Condition 3(2) of their licences. The stations are Blackpool Community Radio, Horizon Radio, and Bournemouth One/News Radio UK.
