Government push for C4 privatisation meant radio was ‘left out in cold’

Former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s desire to push forward with privatising Channel 4 led to the UK’s radio sector being “left out in the cold” during last year’s consultation about the future of broadcasting.

Sources familiar with the legislation have told The Media Leader that the rationale behind not initially including radio in the Broadcaster White Paper, the forerunner to the draft Media Bill published yesterday, was partially down to Channel 4 privatisation being “expedited” as a policy priority.

The C4 privatisation policy was dropped by Rishi Sunak’s government within weeks of the former Chancellor taking office, having drawn widespread criticism from across the UK media and advertising sector trade bodies and stakeholders.

The Media Leader understands the delay in including clauses on radio was due to a lack of preparation time for officials in Government to undertake the detailed policy work and necessary legal instructions.

This is despite widespread support in Parliament for new laws to protect the UK radio industry, which a Digital Radio & Audio Review Government response, published on the same day as the Broadcasting White Paper, indicated.

While the delay arguably allowed for more cross-industry collaboration on the necessary provisions to ensure access and prominence of radio in the new draft Bill, the then CEO of commercial radio trade body Radiocentre Ian Moss called it “disappointing” and said radio had been “left out in the cold”.

The new proposed regulation is “ex-ante” which requires smart speaker platforms, like those made by Google and Amazon, to ensure access on their devices to all licensed UK radio stations without charging for carriage or putting their own ads on top of stations’ programmes. Currently these tech giants do not charge radio stations for hosting on their smart speaker devices, but this could have been a potential risk going forward.

These developments come as radio listenership in the UK is increasingly going digital with more people using internet-connected devices to tune into their preferred radio stations.

Matt Payton, Radiocentre’s CEO, said: “Support for radio in the draft Media Bill is welcome recognition from Government on the enduring importance of UK radio content for audiences. Ministers and parliamentarians from across the political spectrum understand that as listening increasingly shifts to online platforms, such as smart speakers, that guaranteed access need to be secured. Radio broadcasters in the UK are driving innovation in audio so it’s great to see these future-facing legislative proposals being confirmed.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said: “The draft Media Bill has been welcomed across the industry and will enable public service broadcasters and the radio industry to accelerate growth and better compete in the digital age.”

Editor’s note- this article has been updated since publication.