To: HM Government
Properly fund Community radio
Presently we have several hundred Community Radio Stations serving many diverse communities, viz www.celticmusicradio.net, serving a wide community of singers and songwriters .
These broadcasters are not permitted to be for profit.
When lockdown happened much of their sources of financial support dissappeared, small businesses are struggling to survive themselves. Community Radio Stations cannot tap into the "big business" markets as this requires membership of RAJAR, a very expensive source of audience data.
Local Community Radio Stations impart information to small focused groups and provide the Central Office of Information (COI) with a regular outlet for public information announcements, these are NOT paid for, though commercial broadcasters collect a fee each time they are played.
Ofcom have a VERY small fund available , £400k annually, to assist community broadcasters. This sum is spread very sparsely amongst a few stations.
We need to see a fund to support these groups during this time, basic running costs of around £25k - 30k annually would enable these groups to continue their work .
These broadcasters are not permitted to be for profit.
When lockdown happened much of their sources of financial support dissappeared, small businesses are struggling to survive themselves. Community Radio Stations cannot tap into the "big business" markets as this requires membership of RAJAR, a very expensive source of audience data.
Local Community Radio Stations impart information to small focused groups and provide the Central Office of Information (COI) with a regular outlet for public information announcements, these are NOT paid for, though commercial broadcasters collect a fee each time they are played.
Ofcom have a VERY small fund available , £400k annually, to assist community broadcasters. This sum is spread very sparsely amongst a few stations.
We need to see a fund to support these groups during this time, basic running costs of around £25k - 30k annually would enable these groups to continue their work .
Why is this important?
Community Broadcasters provide a platform to impart information, they are manned mostly by unpaid volunteers and provide an essential service to local communities. Commercial broadcasters are now centralising their programming, resulting in fewer local information sources.
