Manx Radio's speech output falls below that required by licence agreement

CURA carries out monitoring review of public service broadcaster

A report into Manx Radio has found that the station's level of speech content had fallen below that required by its licence agreement.

The Communication and Utilities Regulatory Authority has carried out a ten-day monitoring review of the public service broadcaster's output.

Under Manx Radio's Public Service Broadcasting Licence it's determined that: “Speech content should not generally fall below 40% of its total output between the hours of 6am and 7pm each weekday with news, at least hourly, for 12 hours a day on weekdays and 6 hours a day at weekends. Regular sports coverage must also be maintained.”

CURA's review found that the station delivers an indicative average of 36% speech across its combined FM and AM terrestrial services.

Managing Director Chris Sully says the issue dates back to the launch of the station's 'Manx Radio Gold' service, a predominantly music-driven service.

Whilst on DAB, the Gold service has also been carried on Manx Radio's AM frequency and ultimately reduced the amount of speech content available on its medium-wave offering.

Mr Sully says: "This isn't a question about the public service remit of Manx Radio or the level of speech we produce overall, just the balance between programming on AM and FM, which we've now worked with Cura on, we've tweaked and they're happy and content that we're now fulfilling it.

"If you take FM alone, some days we were almost at 50%", he adds.

Meanwhile, speech output on AM could dip to as low as 20% when carrying the Gold service. 

On days when the station provided coverage of the Island's Tynwald sittings, speech content on the AM service would rise to around 55%.

In light of the 'imbalance' of music and speech content across its services, Mr Sully says the station has implemented some changes to its AM service.

The 1368 AM frequency now switches to the broadcaster's phone-in programme Mannin Line at midday each weekday and stays with the FM output through until 7pm, including the news and current affairs programmes The Home Run and Island Life.

Mr Sully says the regulatory authority is 'content' with the changes Manx Radio has introduced, and will continue to monitor the situation.

He adds that the station will "work collaboratively with [CURA] to make sure that we stay on track and exceed what's required of us". 

"We'll make sure, if there are issues, they're dealt with early and properly and to the satisfaction of all", he explained.

Listen to the interview with Manx Radio's Managing Director Chris Sully below: