Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether there is a limit on the number of stations on a digital audio multiplex aimed at the same section of the listening audience.

Digital broadcasting services are regulated by Ofcom, the independent broadcasting regulator. Ofcom, is responsible for the licensing of digital radio multiplexes and for ensuring that a licence holder complies with the conditions of their licence.

Ofcom is required under legislation, among other things, to further the interests of consumers in relevant markets, where appropriate by promoting competition and to secure the availability throughout the UK of a wide range of television and radio services which (taken as a whole) are both of high quality and calculated to appeal to a variety of tastes and interests.

When considering an application to operate a digital radio multiplex or in the instance where an existing licence holder of a digital radio multiplex is seeking a change to the services broadcasting on the multiplex. Ofcom will take account of a digital radio multiplex licence holder’s ensemble of digital sound programme services as a whole when considering whether such services appeal to a wide variety of tastes and interests. This would not necessarily preclude a digital radio multiplex operator from including in their ensemble digital sound programme services which are of the same or a similar genre and/or appeal to the same or a similar demographic group.