Anorak
6th September 2002, 20:18
Hello all,
Now this is a story that has been keeping us all busy at Phantom towers for the last 48 hours!
Basically the way it works is this. My apologies if it seems a bit long winded but it needs a little bit of backround.
In late 2000 the BCI advertised a special interest music licence after pressure from groups such as ourselves and others representing different musical genres. Out of the dozen applications received, 4 were shortlisted:
Phantom FM
Jazz FM
Star FM (Dublins Country)
and
Country 106.8fm
We were all invited to make oral presentations in March 2001 and at the end of April 2001 Star FM were awarded the licence on the basis that they were filling "a more significant niche" than the other applicants. We subseqently found out that the decision came down to a vote between ourselves and Star FM which they won.
Star FM went on air as "Dublins Country 106.8" in October 2001. The special interest licence was awarded under strict performance criteria and by that stage the BCI policy on ownership stated that:
The Commission will generally look unfavourably upon proposed changes in ownership structures within a two-year period after the granting of a licence. The Commission takes the view that such changes are likely to undermine the integrity of the licensing process itself and be unfair to unsuccessful applicants.
The station itself was less than a roaring success and by early 2002 was cutting back on staff and budgets due to income shortfalls. These problems have continued and the station has lost many of its staff since then.
It has been known within the industry for some time that the station was struggling and the backers were looking for a new investor or to sell the operation. Of course though, the latter was considered unlikely on the basis of the stated BCI policy.
On Wednesday morning it was announced that the station had in fact been sold to Scottish Radio Holdings, who also own Today FM, Irelands only independent national station. This was greeted with shock and various other emotions by all at Phantom towers and we immediately contacted our legal advisers to see if this sale was possible. In their opinion, it is not possible.
In the last 48 hours we have been contacting other unsuccessful applicants who have been affected by this decision. What it in effect means is that, even with the stated policy of the BCI, a station can sell itself lock, stock and barrel to another market player without reference to those who had taken part in the BCI licence competition. In this case, this means that the last opportunity that the BCI had to keep a specialist radio station in local dedicated ownership has been lost. By the BCI themselves ironically enough.
This will be pursued as far as it has to go. Its implications, if allowed to stand would basically be that Phantom would never have a chance of broadcasting legally. The resources that Scottish Radio Holdings would have compared to us would leave us with no chance. The only way for smaller niche broadcasters to get on air is to be chosen by the BCI but if the same BCI is then willing to let the licence be sold for cash against its own policy then none of us have a chance.
We can only hope that the BCI see sense and decide to, as a novelty, obey their own rules on this one. Only time will tell.
Regards,
Pete Reed
Phantom FM
Now this is a story that has been keeping us all busy at Phantom towers for the last 48 hours!
Basically the way it works is this. My apologies if it seems a bit long winded but it needs a little bit of backround.
In late 2000 the BCI advertised a special interest music licence after pressure from groups such as ourselves and others representing different musical genres. Out of the dozen applications received, 4 were shortlisted:
Phantom FM
Jazz FM
Star FM (Dublins Country)
and
Country 106.8fm
We were all invited to make oral presentations in March 2001 and at the end of April 2001 Star FM were awarded the licence on the basis that they were filling "a more significant niche" than the other applicants. We subseqently found out that the decision came down to a vote between ourselves and Star FM which they won.
Star FM went on air as "Dublins Country 106.8" in October 2001. The special interest licence was awarded under strict performance criteria and by that stage the BCI policy on ownership stated that:
The Commission will generally look unfavourably upon proposed changes in ownership structures within a two-year period after the granting of a licence. The Commission takes the view that such changes are likely to undermine the integrity of the licensing process itself and be unfair to unsuccessful applicants.
The station itself was less than a roaring success and by early 2002 was cutting back on staff and budgets due to income shortfalls. These problems have continued and the station has lost many of its staff since then.
It has been known within the industry for some time that the station was struggling and the backers were looking for a new investor or to sell the operation. Of course though, the latter was considered unlikely on the basis of the stated BCI policy.
On Wednesday morning it was announced that the station had in fact been sold to Scottish Radio Holdings, who also own Today FM, Irelands only independent national station. This was greeted with shock and various other emotions by all at Phantom towers and we immediately contacted our legal advisers to see if this sale was possible. In their opinion, it is not possible.
In the last 48 hours we have been contacting other unsuccessful applicants who have been affected by this decision. What it in effect means is that, even with the stated policy of the BCI, a station can sell itself lock, stock and barrel to another market player without reference to those who had taken part in the BCI licence competition. In this case, this means that the last opportunity that the BCI had to keep a specialist radio station in local dedicated ownership has been lost. By the BCI themselves ironically enough.
This will be pursued as far as it has to go. Its implications, if allowed to stand would basically be that Phantom would never have a chance of broadcasting legally. The resources that Scottish Radio Holdings would have compared to us would leave us with no chance. The only way for smaller niche broadcasters to get on air is to be chosen by the BCI but if the same BCI is then willing to let the licence be sold for cash against its own policy then none of us have a chance.
We can only hope that the BCI see sense and decide to, as a novelty, obey their own rules on this one. Only time will tell.
Regards,
Pete Reed
Phantom FM