THE controversial decision not to renew North West Radio’s broadcasting franchise from September 2004 for the Sligo/ South Donegal/North Leitrim region was made after deliberations of the six Members (including the chairperson) of the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland present at the crucial meeting produced a split vote.
Three voted for North west Broadcasting Ltd (t/a Ocean FM Radio) and three Members voted for the franchise holder, North West Radio. The Chairperson of the BCI, Conor J. Maguire cast the deciding vote in order to award the licence to North West Broadcasting Ltd (Ocean FM), in accordance with the provisions of Section 7 of the Schedule to the Radio and Television Act 1988, and the Commission’s own Standing Orders.
Details of the decision reached by the BCI on April 29th to award the franchise to North West Broadcasting Ltd (Ocean FM Radio) were made known to NWR FM by the Commission on May 27th.
In its report, the BCI say: “The Chairperson acknowledged the arguments of those (Memebrs) who had supported the NWR application. However, in his view, the interests of listeners in the franchise area over the next ten years would best be served by the proposals of the NWBL applicant group. While the decision to appoint a new group would always have some risks attached to it, in his view it was a considered risk. The group in question, in his view, had a vision for the needs of a greater number of listeners in the area over the next ten years. The Chairperson cast the deciding vote in favour of NWBL.”
In its communication to Paul Claffey, CEO of North West Radio last week, the BCI said its report was intended to convey reasons to NWR FM as to why its submission was not awarded the licence by the Commission.
Said the Commission report: “In general terms, the NWR application was considered to have strengths. The Commission acknowledged the listenership success of the station over many years. While the station’s track record was considered generally to have been a good one, breaches of the statutory advertising regulations were viewed negatively by Members. Some Members also expressed concern about the station’s failure to provide satisfactory disabled access to its main studio facilities, in accordance with its contractual obligations, although it was noted that NWR FM had committed in its application to do so in the future.
“The Members of the Commission who supported the proposals of the successful applicant group considered the proposals to have two principal strengths over those of NWR FM. Firstly, the group proposed a fully dedicated service for the franchise area. They expressed a preference for such a service and considered that, given the maturity and success of the local radio sector, the franchise area was now capable of sustaining a full service that did not require the level of shared programming and other resources proposed by NWR FM.
“Secondly, they considered that the programming vision of the successful applicant group reflected to a greater extent the changing social and economic climate in Ireland and, more specifically, in the franchise area. They took the view that NWR FM would be likely to enjoy continued success with its programme service, given its track record to date. However, they were also of the view that the successful applicant group had presented a strong case in respect of the demographic changes in the franchise, particularly in respect of the need to provide a greater level of service to younger listeners. As such, the successful service would be likely to better serve the needs of a greater range of listeners over the period of the licence.
“In respect of the management of the proposed service, those Members who supported the successful applicant group were of the view that a fully dedicated management team (not shared with another station) would be likely to better serve the radio service.
The Commission considered other aspects of the application to be satisfactory.”

Decision deferred

In its Minutes of meeting on April 29th, contained in the Report, the BCI noted:
“At the outset, Dr. Colum Kenny stated that, prior to the meeting, he had advised the Chairperson that in order to avoid the possibility of any conflict of interest or any perception of a conflict of interest, he wished to withdraw from the decision regarding the award of the licence for the franchise area. His decision to withdraw had arisen as a result of this information that was not available in the original submission to the Commission from the North West Broadcasting Limited applicant group. The information had only become available in the course of the oral hearings, which were held following the initial consideration and shortlisting of applications.
“Ms. Mary Kerrigan informed the Members that she had previously notified a conflict of interest to the Executive and would, therefore, not be participating in the decision.
“Mr. Frank Masterson and Ms. Lenore Mikwicka indicated that they had not been in a position to participate in any of the previous phases of the application process and, therefore, could not participate in the decision.
“Arising from these declarations, there was an insufficient number of Members to form a quorum for a decision. For this reason, it was agreed that the Commission would defer consideration of the matter. However, in order to make a decision as expeditiously as possible, it was agreed to hold a meeting on the following evening, Tuesday 29th April, commencing at 4.30pm. In anticipation of this situation, the Chief Executive confirmed that both absent Members - Caimin Jones and Olive Braiden - had indicated to him that they would be available in this regard.”

Track record of NWR

The Minutes of the BCI meeting on April 29th read:
“At the outset of the discussions, one of the Members requested the Chief Executive to review the track record of the incumbent franchisee, NWR FM.
The Chief Executive briefed the Members as follows:
i)
• The shareholders and Board of Directors had remained largely unchanged from those who had been awarded the licence in 1990. Mr. Tommy Marren had a successful period as Station Manager. He was succeeded in more recent years by Ms. Mary Daly, who also acts as Sales Manager to the station. The CEO and Financial Controller operated in a dual capacity with Mid-West Radio.
• The staffing levels at the station were satisfactory with numbers remaining largely unchanged for a number of years. Salaries at the station are average for the sector.
• From a programming perspective the station has enjoyed very successful listenership from the outset and has demonstrated a consistently good performance in JNLR surveys. The station has been generally compliant in programming terms. However, there had been some ongoing difficulties in respect of breaches of the statutory provisions in respect of advertising minuteage and the statutory code on advertising and sponsorship.
• The station had delivered in respect of all of its programme policy obligations. The Station had provided a good range of programming and, in particular, had had a strong commitment to drama and writing in the franchise area. The station had benefited from a number of awards under the Commission’s New Adventures in Broadcasting scheme.
• To date, the station had not provided full disabled access at its main studios in Sligo. However, it had given a commitment to do so within its application for the licence. A new studio facility, opened in 2002, in Donegal Town, was satisfactory and provides disabled access.
• From a transmission perspective, coverage was generally good, although there are a number of transmission gaps in South-West Donegal due to terrain problems in the area.

JNLR
clarification

(iii) Before discussing the merits of each of the applications, the Chairperson requested the Chief Executive to provide clarification in respect of statements made by North West Broadcasting Ltd (t/a Ocean FM Radio) with regard to the integrity of the JNLR research. The Chief Executive made two points as follows:
a) The JNLR research is the industry standard. All commercial players participate fully in the survey, which has been operated by Market Research Bureau of Ireland since the outset. There is an accepted margin of error of several percentage points in the information provided in JNLR reports in respect of local radio services. This arises from the audience sample size and the industry accepts that margin of error. North-West Radio has consistently recorded listenership of between 55% and 70% since the outset of the survey, averaging in the region of 63%. The claim of North West Broadcasting Limited that the station (NWR) had a listenership of 39% did not seem to fairly reflect in any way North West Radio’s JNLR performance over the past twelve years.
b) In response to the BCI’s query at the oral hearing in respect of its market research, Mr. Tim Collins, on behalf of North West Broadcasting Ltd., had suggested that the integrity of the JNLR survey had recently been brought into question. The Chief Executive informed the Members that an investigation had taken place on foot of a complaint received. The issue in question had been specific to a sub-sample of housewives in the age of 25-34 age group in the Dublin market. Following an investigation, the integrity of the survey had been upheld, as the figures in question were within the margin of error accepted as the industry norm, and it did not affect the overall result or the result of that sub-sample. The issue in question did not impact on the results in the North West area franchise.
iv) Correspondence received from MWR FM, dated 1st April 2003, concerning approaches made by other applicants group to the staff of NWR FM, was noted by the Members.
v) In accordance with agreed procedures, each member was, in turn, invited to express his/her views in respect of the three applications received for the licence.

Not as
extensive

“In general terms, the application of Ocean FM Limited (OFL) was considered to be weaker than that of the other two applicants groups, North West Broadcasting Limited (NWBL) and NWR FM Limited (NWR). The track record of Highland Radio, which had enjoyed significant listenership and commercial success in its own franchise area, was acknowledged. However, the programming proposals were considered to be not as extensive or as imaginative as those of the other applicant groups. In particular, the applicant group had not proposed as wide a range of commitments to cater for specific audiences within the area, as the other applicants for the licence. The station’s presentation at oral hearings was considered to have been weaker than both other applicant groups and the Commission was not satisfied with the level of market research provided by the group.
“Both NWBL and NWR were considered to have significant strengths. NWR’s track record and success in respect of programming was acknowledged. Its strong financial base and commercial success was also acknowledged. Members considered that programming was likely to continue to be successful into the future. However, a number of Members queried whether the proposals in respect of Bay FM had been thoroughly researched and thought through. Some Members questioned whether the station format might tire over the ten years of the proposed licence, given the changing economic and social conditions of the country. One of the Members was of the view that the station might have availed of the opportunity, presented in the application process, to build on the station’s success, while at the same time responding to such local changes. A number of Members also questioned why NWR had not taken on the challenge of providing a greater level of dedicated programming, sourced and presented from the franchise area.
“In respect of NWBL, some Members acknowledge that the applicant group did not have the same level of broadcasting experience as the other applicants for the licence. However, those Members considered that they had sufficient experience, as well as a strong financial base and were focused on what they wished to achieve. They were also impressed with the freshness of approach of NWBL to the operation of the service. In the view of a number of the Members, the programming was targeting a broader audience than that of the current franchise, with content that would reflect, to a greater extent, the needs of the listeners in the franchise area over the next ten years. Some of the Members questioned whether their revenue targets were overly ambitious and the likely impact that a failure to reach such targets would have on the group’s ability to run the service proposed.
“Following the preliminary discussion, it emerged that there was no support for OFL. Members then debated whether the licence should be awarded to NWBL or NWR. In general terms, NWR FM’s application was considered to have strengths. The listenership success of the station over many years was acknowledged. However, while the station’s track record was generally considered to have been a good one, Members viewed negatively breaches of the statutory provisions in respect of advertising and sponsorship. Some Members also expressed concern about the station’s failure to provide disabled access to its studio facilities, in accordance with its contractual obligations, although it was noted that NWR FM had committed in its application to do so in the future.

Strengths

“Three of the Members present considered that the proposal of NWBL had two strengths over those of NWR. Firstly, the group proposed a fully dedicated service for the franchise area. Those who expressed the preference for such a service considered that, given the maturity and success of the local radio sector, the franchise area was capable of sustaining a full service. As such, it did not require the level of shared programming and other resources proposed by NWR. Secondly, those who expressed a preference for the NWBL group considered that the programming vision of this group reflected to a greater extent the economic and social changes which had taken place in recent years in Ireland and, in particular, the shifting needs of the listeners in the franchise area. These Members took the view that NWR FM was likely to continue to be successful with its programme service, given its track record to date. However, they were also of the view that NWBL had presented a strong case in respect of the demographic changes in the franchise area over the next ten years. As such, it would be more likely to be in a position to serve the needs of the listeners it was licensed to serve over the licence period. Those who supported the NWBL application also felt that a fully dedicated management team (ie not shared with another station) would be likely to better serve the radio service.
“Those who supported the NWR application pointed out that the station had enjoyed one of the most successful listenership records in the local radio sector. The situation had significant broadcasting experience, linked to performance and had shown no complacency in its approach to programming or to the application process. It had catered well for the specific audiences in its service area with its opt-out programming for South Donegal. The proposed opt-out service for Sligo acknowledged the different needs of listeners in the rural and urban parts of the franchise area. It also had a strong commercial and financial base.

The vote

“Following discussion, it was agreed to vote on the decision. Three Members supported the application of NWBL and three Members supported the application of NWR FM. In accordance with the provisions of Section 7 of the Schedule to the Radio and Television Act 1988, and the Commission’s own Standing Orders, the Chairperson cast a deciding vote in order to award the licence.
“The Chairperson acknowledged the arguments of those who had supported the NWR application. However, in his view, the interests of listeners in the franchise area over the next ten years would best be served by the proposals of the NWBL applicant group. While the decision to appoint a new group would always have some risks attached to it, in his view it was a considered risk. The group in question, in his view, had a vision for the needs of a greater number of listeners in the area over the next ten years. In conclusion, the Chairperson cast the deciding vote in favour of NWBL.”
•The Western People is a shareholder in North West Radio Ltd.