Predecessor | Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA) |
---|---|
Formation | 1 July 2006 |
Merger of | CRCA and Radio Advertising Bureau |
Purpose | Representing interests of UK commercial radio |
Headquarters | 15 Alfred Place, London |
CEO | Matt Payton |
Staff | 20 |
Website | www |
Radiocentre is the industry body for commercial radio in the UK. It exists to maintain and build a strong and successful commercial radio industry. The organisation works on behalf of over 40 stakeholders who operate over 300 licensed radio stations across the UK and represent 90% of commercial radio in terms of listening and revenue.
Radiocentre performs three main functions on behalf of its members.
Radiocentre's chief executive Matt Payton was appointed in July 2022.
Its predecessor Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA) was founded by the first radio companies under the name Association of Independent Radio Companies when independent radio began with LBC and Capital in 1973. It became the CRCA in 1996. [1] Since it was founded the body has always represented the interests of UK commercial radio to government, parliament, Ofcom, the European Commission, the European Parliament and other organisations concerned with radio and broadcasting. These functions continue to be administered under the Radiocentre name by the external affairs department.
Radiocentre is a patron of cross-industry registered charity the Radio Academy as well as being the joint owner of the national radio ratings analyst Radio Joint Audience Research Ltd and online audio player Radioplayer alongside the BBC. [2]
Radiocentre offers three areas of expertise each with different functions: policy, advertising (formerly the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB), and clearance (formerly the Radio Advertising Clearance Centre.
The RAB was founded in 1992. [1] It is the marketing body for radio, funded entirely by the UK commercial radio industry. The RAB works for the commercial success of radio, raising its profile with advertisers and agencies and helping them use the medium more effectively and creatively.
The Radio Advertising Clearance Centre, which since 1996 has been the UK commercial radio industry's advertising clearance body, is responsible for clearing up to 25,000 ads per year against the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (BCAP Code) as developed by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). This regulatory code, plus nearly 60 Acts of UK Parliament, determine what can and cannot be said in all UK radio advertisements. All stations contribute to the cost via their broadcasting licence fees.
Radiocentre member stations [3] together represent approximately 90% of commercial radio listening. Any commercial radio station in the UK holding a terrestrial radio broadcasting licence from Ofcom is eligible to become a station member of the Radiocentre. Major member groups are Global Radio and Bauer Media, while regional groups include Nation Broadcasting and DC Thomson.
Radiocentre leads or collaborates on many industry-wide initiatives.
Tuning In is Radiocentre’s flagship event, with a focus on the latest developments and innovations in audio advertising. The audio conference is free to attend for UK advertisers and agencies, radio and audio professionals and Radiocentre members stations. Held in multiple cities across the UK, Tuning In has heard from John Cleese, Mel C, Alain de Botton, alongside radio personalities like Ronan Keating, Jordan North, Harriet Scott and more. Also expect speakers from the world of advertising. You can stream previous Tuning In sessions on Radiocentre's YouTube.
Since 2018, the Mental Health Minute has brought together commercial radio, BBC stations and community radio to broadcast a unique, one-minute message during Mental Health Awareness Week on the importance of talking about mental health issues, reaching out for support or to check in on someone who may be suffering, and listening to each other. It broadcasts to one of radio's biggest collective audiences, with an average listenership of more than 20 million.
Led by Radiocentre in collaboration with The Royal Foundation's Heads Together initiative, the minute features His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge with recognisable voices from music, film, TV and sport, with 2020's edition including England football captain Harry Kane, singer-songwriter Dua Lipa, actor David Tennant and two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, as well as The Duchess of Cambridge for the first time. [4]
The award, run by Radiocentre in partnership with Campaign since 2022, celebrates creativity in audio advertising and champions the teams behind excellent work that has run within the year. Droga5 London took home the 2022 title with a campaign for Rustlers, followed by Adam&Eve DDB winning in 2023 with their campaign for Quorn.
Radiocentre works closely with Creative Access to try and improve the representation of young people from BAME backgrounds and those with a lower socioeconomic status, hosting radio masterclasses for Creative Access interns who are looking to start careers in radio and audio. [5]
Radioplayer is a radio technology platform, owned by UK radio broadcasters and operated under licence in more than a dozen other countries. It operates an internet radio web tuner, a set of mobile phone apps, an in-car adaptor, and a growing range of integrations with other connected devices and platforms.
The Association of European Radios (AER) is the Europe-wide trade body for commercial radio, representing the interests of over 5,000 commercial radio stations to the EU Institutions. AER promotes the development of European commercially funded radio broadcasting, by ensuring a fair and sustainable economic framework for radio to thrive in. Radiocentre is a member of the AER. [6]
Television broadcasts in the United Kingdom began in 1932, however, regular broadcasts would only begin four years later. Television began as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection of free-to-air, free-to-view and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channels for consumers as well as on-demand content. There are six main channel owners who are responsible for most material viewed.
Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom.
United Kingdom Independent Broadcasting (UKIB) is an affiliation of three British independent television production companies and broadcasters. The primary function of its predecessor, the Independent Television Companies Association (ITCA), was to represent independent British television interests as a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The current members of UKIB are the ITV network centre, the 4 ITV licence holders, Channel 4, and S4C.
Demon FM is a student radio station based at De Montfort University in Leicester, England. The station broadcasts online during term time. It was established in 1995 by the Communications Officer of the time, Rob Martin. The first licensed broadcast was on 106.4 FM from 29 September 1995 to 26 October 1995 and the second broadcast was on 106.2 FM from 22 April 1996 to 19 May 1996. Demon FM continued to broadcast on Restricted Service Licences until 2008 with the last of the RSL broadcasts taking place on 97.5FM. Demon FM finished their 26th and final RSL on 30 November 2008.
Radio enjoys a huge following in the United Kingdom. There are around 600 licensed radio stations in the country. For a more comprehensive list see List of radio stations in the United Kingdom.
Radio Joint Audience Research Limited was established in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United Kingdom. RAJAR is jointly owned by the BBC and Radiocentre. RAJAR's predecessor was called Joint Industry Committee on Radio Audience Research. Prior to this, the BBC and Radiocentre's predecessor CRCA carried out their own measurements independently of each other.
Radio Clyde is a group of two Independent Local Radio stations serving Glasgow and West Central Scotland. Radio Clyde is owned and operated by Bauer, based at studios in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire and forms part of Bauer's Hits Radio and Greatest Hits Radio Network of local stations.
In the United States, commercial radio stations make most of their revenue by selling airtime to be used for running radio advertisements. These advertisements are the result of a business or a service providing a valuable consideration, usually money, in exchange for the station airing their commercial or mentioning them on air. The most common advertisements are "spot commercials", which normally last for no more than one minute, although extended versions, commonly running for up to 45, 60 or more minutes, are termed "informercials" because they delve deeper into detailed information on and stories about commercial product or service offerings.
In the United Kingdom, the roll-out of digital radio has been proceeding since engineering test transmissions were started by the BBC in 1990 followed by a public launch in September 1995. The UK currently has one of the world's biggest digital radio networks, with about 500 transmitters, three national DAB ensembles, one regional DAB ensemble, 48 local DAB ensembles and an increasing number of small-scale DAB ensembles broadcasting over 250 commercial and 34 BBC radio stations across the UK. In London there are already more than 100 different digital stations available. In addition to DAB and DAB+, radio stations are also broadcast on digital television platform as well as internet radio in the UK. Digital radio ensemble operators and stations need a broadcasting licence from the UK's media regulator Ofcom to broadcast.
Peter Jarrod Poulton, known professionally as Bam Bam and briefly as Peter Jarrod, is a British radio personality. Born in Chester, Poulton has lived in the London Borough of Barnet with his girlfriend Emma and their two children - Oscar and Felix since 2003.
In the United Kingdom, community radio refers to a system of licensing small, micro-local, non-profit radio stations, which started in 2002. In its early days, the pilot scheme was known as access radio. New legislation paved the way for this additional tier of radio, starting in 2005, and hundreds of community stations have since been set up. Unlike commercial radio licensing, which is generally advertised to cover a specific region, community radio stations are usually limited to broadcast areas smaller than commercial or BBC local stations, nominally within a 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) radius of their transmitter.
The media in Northern Ireland are closely linked to those in the rest of the United Kingdom, and also overlap with print, television, and radio in the Republic of Ireland.
The Superstation Orkney, also known as just The Superstation, was a commercial radio station, broadcasting to Orkney and Caithness. Until its closure in November 2014, the station was Orkney's only independent radio station, and broadcast 'a broad range of popular and contemporary music'. The station also broadcast local news bulletins on the half-hour and national news from Sky News Radio on the hour.
John Calvert is a radio commercials producer, managing director of Airforce: The Radio Commercial and Advertising Music Production Company, a voiceover artist, radio advertising consultant, speaker, and awards judge.
Clearcast is a non-governmental organisation which pre-approves most British television advertising. It is originated on 1 January 2008, and took over the responsibilities of the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre. Clearcast is now owned by four UK commercial broadcasters: ITV, Channel 4, Sky and Warner Media.
Calon FM is a community radio station serving Wrexham and surrounding areas.
The Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) was an organisation funded by UK commercial radio stations to help advertising agencies advertise effectively on radio. In 2006, it merged with the Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA) to form Radiocentre, the industry body for UK commercial radio. Trading was however kept under the RAB name until 7 July 2015.
The Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) is a regulatory body of the United Kingdom which has responsible for writing and reviewing the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising. It was established under the Communications Act 2003 and has responsibility to the Office of Communications (Ofcom). BCAP's remit is to ensure that advertising on radio and television in the United Kingdom are not misleading, that they do not cause harm or offence to viewers and listeners, and that they stay within the boundaries of taste and decency.
Radioplayer is a radio technology platform, owned by UK radio broadcasters and operated under licence in some other countries. It operates an internet radio web tuner, a set of mobile phone apps, an in-car adaptor, and a growing range of integrations with other connected devices and platforms.
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