CRCA publish results of survey on radio history

The Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA) today published the results of the largest survey undertaken in its history and the most extensive audit of PSB in action within UK broadcasting.

For six weeks between 14 June and 25 July, over 200 of CRCA’s analogue station members participated in an audit of their public service activity, recording the type and amount of news, weather, travel, ? What’s On’ , community information, charitable work, off-air community support and fundraising that they were engaged in.

Key findings from the research are: –

? Commercial radio broadcasts, on average, almost 470 minutes of news every week ? well over an hour per day per station. Around half of this news is local news.
? In the course of a year, the commercial radio industry broadcasts over two million weather forecasts and almost 1.4 million minutes of travel news.
? Every week, commercial radio promotes over 8,500 events across the UK within regular ? What’s On’ bulletins.
? Commercial radio stations broadcast material in support of their local community around 38 times a week.
? In the past year, the commercial radio industry has raised over ?8.5 million for charity through its own direct fundraising.
? Across the course of a year, commercial radio representatives attend over 44,000 events in support of the local community.

Lisa Kerr, External Affairs Manager of the CRCA , comments, ” The information gathered over this six-week audit among CRCA member stations clearly demonstrates how UK Commercial Radio delivers public service content to its 38 million listeners every day of the week. Commercial radio plays an important role in our society, and not merely as an entertainment medium; rather the station’s relationship with its community of listeners is built on the information broadcast between the tracks. This report explains why commercial radio means so much to its listeners, its localities and to UK society as a whole and we hope that it will assist Ofcom as it poses the complex question ?What is Public Service Broadcasting?