More FM Radio Allocations and Licenses in Europe

Almost daily Europe’s national media regulators offer new FM broadcasting licenses for which there are dozens of applicants. Though certainly not the waves of new licenses offered a decade and a half ago when market liberalization ended State broadcasting monopolies, the consistent interest in FM broadcasting shows that both regulators and broadcasters see considerable value in the terrestrial analogue spectrum. Of course, regional differences exist: fewer new licenses offered in Western and Northern Europe, far more in the central and eastern countries.

In Ireland and the UK regulators offer, rarely, very specific license applications, reflecting the crowded spectrum.

The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) drew up a plan for new and existing licenses in September 2005. The result, to date, has been a new quasi-national news/talk - awarded to Dublin’s NewsTalk 106 - and regional youth station in the Ireland’s South West – awarded to the SPIN consortium. In process are new regional youth station licenses in the North West and Midlands/North East.

In the coming months, the BCI will open applications for country/Irish music stations in the North West and North East and a classic rock station for the Dublin area.

The UK’s Office for Communication (OFCOM) recently opened applications for a Manchester license with the understanding that this would be the last FM license offered for the UK’s 7th largest city. The 11 applicants included every major UK broadcast group, a new joint venture of Ireland’s Communicorp and former GCap CEO David Mansfield, US broadcaster Emmis Communications and Canadian media giant CanWest. OFCOM is in the process of allocating free FM spectrum, where available, for commercial broadcasters.

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Regulators in Spain and France are moving toward optimizing the entire FM spectrum. Last summer the Spanish government opened about 1000 FM frequencies. Regional regulators or governments will then determine which will be reallocated to existing broadcasters and which will be offered to new licensees.

The Consell de l'Audiovisual de Catalunya (CAC) will offer about 100 FM frequencies and began the process in October. “Many stations actually were operating without license, under different degrees of piracy, so a large part of this new licenses are intended to give legal coverage to what already exists,” said CAC’s Joan Botella.

At the end of 2005 France’s Conseil Supériér de l’Audiovisual (CSA) announced plans to reallocate 57% of all FM frequencies used by private broadcasters, about 1600 frequencies, set to expire between 2006 and 2008. Rolling region by region over two years, new authorizations will be announced beginning in spring 2007. Most will be given to existing operators with provisions in place to protect community, not-for-profit stations.

The only slow-down detected is in Scandinavia. Swedish regulator Radio- och TV – Verket (RTVV) has not licensed new FM stations in the last year and “has no plans to allocate new ones,” according to spokesperson Eva Bengtsson. Sweden, like the rest of the Nordic countries, is moving quickly to digital platforms.

There is no slow-down in new FM broadcast allocations across Central and Eastern Europe. From Latvia to Cyprus, regulators are rapidly opening new license allocations, almost exclusively for either private, commercial or community radio.

Cyprus Radio-Television Authority (CRTA) issued just one new license in the last, a “small one” for the University of Cyprus, according to radio and television officer Maria Psaras. However, CRTA began taking applications for a new national FM license in October.

Slovenia’s Post and Electronic Communications Agency (APEK) issued nine new FM licenses this year. “More will be issued,” said spokesperson Igor Funa. “It is not known how many since the procedure is to go to public tender.”

Several regulators deferred questions about future FM allocations to telecom agencies. The common procedure is for telecom regulators, when separate, to draw and re-draw allocation maps based on bi-lateral or multi-lateral agreements as well as changing availability. As György Ocskó of Hungary’s National Radio and Television Commission (ORTT) explained, once the telecom regulator and the distribution providers agree that frequencies are available the media regulator is informed. Only then, and after public and industry consultation, are specific requirements – if part of national law – and public tenders offered.

Further east, regulators are issuing first or second round private FM licenses. The Council for Coordination on Audiovisual in Moldova has issued five new FM licenses this year, 2 regional and 3 local stations.

Occasionally, licensing causes controversy, usually among those not chosen. The recently awarded new local FM license for Vienna, Austria raised complaints that the regulator improperly granted the new, much sought-after license to a company with no broadcasting experience, indeed a record company. Similarly, Swiss broadcasters have asked for a review by regulators on the award of a Zürich local FM license after the concession holder lost a partnership that was an integral part of the award. And in Latvia, the broadcasters association has complained to the regulator about the recent award of three new FM licenses, each of which had 30 applications.

Spectrum auctions, once thought more democratic, are out. Every national regulator offering new FM radio allocations chooses among applicants by “beauty contest.” Auctions have fallen into disfavor because the result, even if adding to State coffers, often has unintended consequences. In the Netherlands, News International returned a license two years after bidding millions. FM license auctions in Sweden resulted in almost all licenses now owned by two companies plus the public broadcaster, contrary to the intent of Swedish media law.

“The ‘beauty contest’ procedure is in the Catalan law, not at the Spanish general level,” explained CAC’s Joan Botella, who is also European Platform of Regulatory Authorities chairperson, “because there is only the government's will. In those regions with independent regulatory bodies, ‘beauty contest’ is the rule, under very clearly fixed parameters.”

Previously published in Radio World International, December 2006, in a slightly different form

More FM Radio Allocations and Licenses in Europe

It’s an easy impression to make. Digital broadcasting roars ahead while FM radio creeps toward extinction. It’s a perception that’s not quite reality.