The BBC’s plans to launch a “golden oldies” spin-off station on Radio 2 have been thwarted after a commercial rival complained to the media regulator.
In February, BBC Radio 2 Planned to target older listeners The new online channel will showcase music from the ’50s to ’70s and “the people who shaped the cultural landscape of those times.”
Despite a decline in listenership since Ken Bruce’s departure last year, Radio 2 remains the UK’s biggest radio station with 13.2 million weekly listeners. In recent years, Bruce, as well as Graham Norton, Chris Evans, Vanessa Feltz and Simon Mayo have all left the station, and been replaced by DJs such as Vernon Kay, Scott Mills and Zoe Ball.
Bruce will leave Radio 2 in March 2023, saying he wanted to take on the challenge after not being offered a new contract by the BBC. He has increased the audience for Greatest Hits Radio’s new morning slot by 73% in the past 12 months, helped by his regular Pop Masters Quiz.
The BBC had hoped to launch a new online station, BBC Sounds, as early as this month – which would not automatically be subject to the same level of scrutiny as its analogue and digital stations – and an internal BBC investigation found it would not have a significant adverse effect on competitors.
But Ofcom expressed concerns that the Sounds launch could damage online stations targeted at baby boomers, such as Boom Radio and Absolute Radio’s digital channels, and ordered the company to carry out full public interest tests.
Ofcom decided that two other planned spin-offs from Radio 1 and Radio 3 were unlikely to have a significant adverse effect on competition, and could launch on BBC Sounds. The Radio 1 spin-off would focus on music from the 2000s and 2010s and satisfy younger listeners’ desire for “recent nostalgia”, while the Radio 3 spin-off would play calming classical music to help listeners “unwind, de-stress and escape the pressures of everyday life”.
Boom Radio co-founder Phil Riley has warned that a BBC Radio 2 spin-off could put the station out of business.
“[The BBC] “The new station is saying ‘the best-loved presenters will play nostalgic tunes from the 50s, 60s and 70s’ but that’s exactly what has boomed since Radio 2 was set up to cater to a disenfranchised audience,” he said.
“As a small, independent company, we could hardly afford this threat. We are pleased to have prevailed in this first round of arguments.”
Matt Payton, chief executive of commercial radio trade body Radio Centre, said the move was an “encouraging first step” and a “significant shift by Ofcom”, marking the first time the regulator has acknowledged that an online-only BBC Radio service could affect competition. “This is unsurprising given the rapid growth in online radio listening and the importance of online revenues,” he said.
A BBC spokesman said the broadcaster was “surprised” that the commercial radio stations’ comments had come before Ofcom’s decision, which is expected to be published after Parliament sits next week.
“We are respectfully following the due regulatory process, in line with our Charter, Agreement and Ofcom regulations,” they said. “This includes carrying out detailed public interest tests on our music expansion and ongoing dialogue with colleagues in the music industry, Ofcom and the radio industry. Our plans are unique and prudent, delivering more choice and value for licence fee payers – and in a way that only the BBC can do.”
An Ofcom spokesman said: “We will announce our decision on whether the BBC’s plans require a public interest test in the next few days.”
