SNP call for a national talk radio licence
New station would benefit listeners and broadcasters |
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Saturday, 31 December 2005 |
SNP Holyrood leader Nicola Sturgeon MSP has called on Ofcom to issue a
new licence to allow the establishment of a new national talk radio
station in Scotland.
Ms Sturgeon has written to Ofcom to set out the case for opening up the
market for such a station in Scotland, stating that this move would
increase the choice and diversity in the market, and provide impetus
for other speech based broadcasters in Scotland to raise their game.
Ms Sturgeon said:
"Scotland has a strong track record in providing top quality
broadcasting. We should be proud of our abilities in this area,
and look for new opportunities to capitalise on this expertise. What
I'm asking Ofcom to do today is to investigate the option of opening up
a new national radio licence for Scotland for a talk radio station.
"There are a number of London based stations competing in this area who
have shown that there is a market for this type of broadcasting in
Scotland. Rather than relying on stations like Talk Radio and BBC
Radio Five Live for this type of talk based programming, we should be
looking at developing the market in Scotland.
"In addition to increasing the choice and diversity available to
listeners in the Scottish radio market, such a move would also provide
an impetus for other speech based broadcasters in Scotland to raise
their game and improve their news and current affairs output.
"Better competition in Scotland would mean that the London based media
would have to improve their Scottish news coverage or they would simply
lose listeners. This can only be good for both broadcasters and
the listeners alike.
"Scotland has a distinct media market, and we need to examine new ways
to develop this potential. Providing a new license for a talk
radio station in Scotland could be the first step in revitalising
Scotland's broadcasting.
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