Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting ) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship, for example. It was the United States' first model of radio (and later television) during the 1920s, in contrast with the public television model during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, which prevailed worldwide, except in the United States, Mexico, and Brazil, until the 1980s.
35-703: Century Radio was the brand name of a group of Independent Local Radio stations in England. The brand was developed with the launch of 100-102 Century Radio in North East England in 1994, with John Myers as managing director and John Simons as programme director. The brand grew when Myers launched 106 Century FM for the East Midlands , and further when 105.4 Century Radio was launched in North West England in 1998. Ocean FM used
70-444: A Post Office licence. Manx Radio is funded by a mixture of commercial advertising and a yearly £860,000 Manx Government subvention. Commercial broadcasting Commercial broadcasting is primarily based on the practice of airing radio advertisements and television advertisements for profit. This is in contrast to public broadcasting , which receives government subsidies and usually does not have paid advertising interrupting
105-589: A new logo, matching that of sister station Real Radio . On 31 March 2009, after over 14 years of using the Century name, Century Radio was renamed Real Radio to fit in with the branding and network programming of the other stations in the Real Radio network. Independent Local Radio Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. As
140-617: A result of the buyouts and mergers permitted by the Broadcasting Act 1990 , and deregulation resulting from the Communications Act 2003 , most commercial stations are now neither independent (although they remain independent from the BBC ) nor local with all of the frequencies now used by Bauer or Global , and almost all of them are now relays of one of either company's national brands, with all remaining locality reduced to
175-599: A week took place, although the first experimental part-time split service had taken place two years earlier when Radio Forth created Festival City Radio for the duration of the Edinburgh Festival . The first station to permanently split their frequencies was Guildford's County Sound who rebranded the FM output as Premier Radio and turned the AM output into a new golden oldies station, County Sound Gold in 1988. By 1988,
210-600: A weekday regional programme and localised news, weather and peak-time travel information. The same name is used for Independent Local Radio in Ireland . Until the early 1970s, the BBC had a legal monopoly on radio broadcasting in the UK. Despite competition from the commercial Radio Luxembourg and, for a period in the mid-1960s, the off-shore " pirate " broadcasters, it had remained the policy of both major political parties that radio
245-558: A year – and to reduce the criteria for a "viable service area" with the introduction of Small Scale Local Licences (SALLIES) for villages, special interest groups and small communities. By this time the medium wave band had become unpopular with radio groups and the majority of new stations were awarded an FM licence only, even when an AM licence was jointly available. In 1994 the Radio Authority introduced regional stations (Independent Regional Radio, again usually grouped under
280-495: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to control commercial broadcasting. Commercial broadcasting overlaps with paid services such as cable television , radio and satellite television . Such services are generally partially or wholly paid for by local subscribers and is known as leased access . Other programming (particularly on cable television) is produced by companies operating in much
315-401: The audience measurement of a station or network. This makes commercial broadcasters more accountable to advertisers than public broadcasting , a disadvantage of commercial radio and television. In Europe, commercial broadcasting coexists with public broadcasting (where programming is largely funded by broadcast receiver licenses , public donations or government grants). In the UK, Sky UK
350-513: The Century format, but not the brand. The group was initially owned by Border Radio Holdings until 2000, when Capital Radio Group took over the brand. When the larger GCap Media acquired the group in 2005, they were forced to sell the Nottingham -based "106" station to Chrysalis Group for competition reasons. GMG Radio , with Myers and Simons as senior executives, bought the stations in 2006. They were rebranded Real Radio to conform to
385-665: The IBA's ILR plans as it was felt that they were not viable. This did not prevent Radio West in Bristol getting into financial trouble and having to merge with Wiltshire Radio on 1 October 1985; nor did it prevent Centre Radio going into receivership on 6 October 1983. In 1986 the Home Office sanctioned in principle the idea that different services could be broadcast on each station's FM and AM frequency and six experiments of split programming on Independent Local Radio of up to ten hours
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#1732783894821420-485: The IBA's time as the regulator and did not receive a commercial station until after its successor, The Radio Authority, came into being in 1991. In the late 1980s, the expansion of ILR continued at a similar rate. Under the Broadcasting Acts, the IBA had a duty to ensure that any area it licensed for radio could support a station with the available advertising revenue. Therefore, many areas were not included in
455-693: The US and some Latin American countries. Commercial broadcasting is the dominant type of broadcasting in the United States and most of Latin America. "The US commercial system resulted from a carefully crafted cooperation endeavor by national corporations and federal regulators." The best-known commercial broadcasters in the United States today are the ABC , CBS , Fox , and NBC television networks , based in
490-661: The United Kingdom. This service would be planned and regulated in a similar manner to the existing ITV service and would compete with the recently developed BBC Local Radio services (rather than the four national BBC services). The Sound Broadcasting Act received royal assent on 12 July 1972 and the Independent Television Authority (ITA) accordingly changed its name to the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) that same day. The IBA immediately began to plan
525-460: The United States. Major cable television in the United States operators include Comcast , Charter Communications and Cox Communications . Direct-broadcast satellite (DBS) services include DirecTV and Dish Network . In an hour of broadcast time on a commercial broadcasting station, 10 to 20 minutes are typically devoted to advertising . Advertisers pay a certain amount of money to air their commercials , usually based upon program ratings or
560-742: The banner "ILR" by most commentators) and began to license the commercial Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) multiplexes in October 1998. The Radio Authority was replaced by the Office of Communications ( Ofcom ) in 2004, which also replaced the ITC, the Broadcasting Standards Commission, the Radio Communications Agency and the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel). Ofcom has stated that they plan to continue
595-438: The branding and network programming of the other stations in the Real Radio network that Myers had developed since in 2000. The stations were very successful using their 'radio you just have to sing along to' format, but later RAJAR figures showed a decline in market reach and market share. The head offices were based at Salford Quays , along with the studios of Century's north west station, 105.4 Century Radio . In addition,
630-555: The broadcasting field (mainly due to the Annan Report ), no further contracts were awarded until 1980, when a second tranche of contracts were awarded. All stations were awarded an AM and an FM frequency, on which they broadcast the same service. In July 1981, the Home Secretary approved proposals for the creation of Independent Local Radio services in 25 more areas. However some of these areas were not licensed during
665-468: The building also accommodates GMG Radio 's sales division, and has completed building work to fit in sister station Smooth Radio and newly launched Rock Radio . It was established by John Myers and John Simons of Border Radio Holdings, a subsidiary of Border Television . The brand was later expanded to two further stations in North West England and the East Midlands. In 2000, ownership of
700-850: The development of Independent Local Radio, with an emphasis on digital broadcasting, and to "ensure the character" of local stations, following the mergers and loss of local identities that followed the 1990 Act. In 2005, there were 217 licensed analogue ILR and IRR services in England; 16 in Wales; 34 in Scotland; eight in Northern Ireland; and two in the Channel Islands . These are licences rather than franchises . Some licences are grouped nationally, regionally or by format to provide one service; other licences cover two or more services. There were three national analogue services. There
735-524: The final stations ending waveband simulcasting by the mid-1990s. Incremental Radio was a new type of radio licence given out by the IBA between 1989 and 1990. These were additional radio services introduced into areas already served by an Independent Local Radio station and most had to offer output not already available on ILR, such as specialist music, programmes for a specific section of the community or for smaller areas than ILR stations cover. 22 stations went on air, most of which were eventually acquired by
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#1732783894821770-438: The government had decided that the practice of splitting was beneficial and a quick way to increase choice for listeners. The IBA then began encouraging ILR stations to split their services and most soon complied. The usual format was to have a "gold" (oldies) service on AM and pop music on FM, although Radio City tried "City Talk" on AM before abandoning the format. By the start of the 1990s, most stations had done 'the splits' with
805-517: The large radio groups and absorbed into their networks. As of 2024 only a few remain independently owned and operated. The regulatory model these stations were under was a precursor to commercial radio stations licensed by the incoming Radio Authority. The Broadcasting Act 1990 provided for the abolition of the IBA and its replacement by the Independent Television Commission . The IBA continued to regulate radio under
840-741: The new name of the Radio Authority, but with a different remit. As a "light-touch" regulator (although heavier than the ITC), the Radio Authority was to issue licences to the highest bidder and promote the development of commercial radio choice. This led to the awarding of three national contracts, known as Independent National Radio to Classic FM , Virgin 1215 (later Virgin Radio and then rebranded Absolute Radio ) and Talk Radio (later Talksport ). The Radio Authority also began to license Restricted Service Licence (RSL) stations – low-power temporary radio stations for special events, operating for up to 28 days
875-720: The new service, placing advertisements encouraging interested groups to apply for medium-term contracts to provide programmes in given areas. The first major areas to be advertised were London and Glasgow , with two contracts available in London, one for "news and information", one for "general and entertainment". The London news contract was awarded to London Broadcasting Company (LBC) and they began broadcasting on 8 October 1973. The London general contract went to Capital Radio , who began broadcasting on 16 October 1973. In total, 19 contracts were awarded between 1973 and 1976. Due to government limits on capital expenditure and turbulence in
910-475: The radio networks. This sustained programming, according to the Blue Book, had five features serving the public interest: Commercial time has increased 31 seconds per hour for all prime time television shows. For example, ABC has increased from 9 minutes and 26 seconds to 11 minutes and 26 seconds. Programming on commercial stations is more ratings-driven— particularly during periods such as sweeps in
945-489: The sale of 106 Century FM to Chrysalis Group . Under the ownership of Chrysalis Group, 106 Century FM relaunched as Heart 106 at Midnight on Friday 26 August 2005. Later in 2005, Ocean FM also began to move away from the Century format dropping Century branding, straplines, and networked programming for a more individual approach. Finally, on 18 October 2006, it was announced that the two remaining Century stations had been sold to GMG Radio . Perhaps ironically, GMG Radio
980-473: The same manner as advertising-funded commercial broadcasters, and they (and often the local cable provider) sell commercial time in a similar manner. The FCC's interest in program control began with the chain-broadcasting investigation of the late 1930s, culminating in the "Blue Book" of 1946 , Public Service Responsibility For Broadcast Licensees . The Blue Book differentiated between mass-appeal sponsored programs and unsponsored "sustaining" programs offered by
1015-401: The show. During pledge drives , some public broadcasters will interrupt shows to ask for donations. In the United States, non-commercial educational (NCE) television and radio exist in the form of community radio ; however, premium cable services such as HBO and Showtime generally operate solely on subscriber fees and do not sell advertising. This is also the case for the portions of
1050-416: The stations was transferred to Capital Radio Group , when Capital Radio Group bought Border Television. The buy-out was largely seen as Capital attempting to gain control of Century and its three regional licences, especially when Border Television itself was rapidly sold on to Granada Media Group . Under the ownership of Capital the stations were subtly rebranded from Century Radio to Century FM . There
1085-609: The two major satellite radio systems that are produced in-house (mainly music programming). Radio broadcasting originally began without paid commercials. As time went on, however, advertisements seemed less objectionable to both the public and government regulators and became more common. While commercial broadcasting was unexpected in radio, in television it was planned due to commercial radio's success. Television began with commercial sponsorship and later transformed to paid commercial time. When problems arose over patents and corporate marketing strategies, regulatory decisions were made by
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1120-410: Was also a transfer away from the sixties, seventies, eighties, and nineties music format, which clashed with Capital's Capital Gold brand to a more modern music format. The south-coast based Ocean FM also took the "Century Format" but did not take the Century brand name. With the merger of Capital and GWR in 2005, the Century brand became part of GCap Media , however, the terms of the merger forced
1155-537: Was one national DAB multiplex (Digital One) and 47 regional DAB multiplexes, owned by 10 and operated by nine companies (each multiplex carrying multiple services). The first licensed commercial radio station in the United Kingdom is often stated to be Manx Radio , which launched in June 1964. However, since the Isle of Man is not part of the United Kingdom, Manx Radio is not considered to be an ILR station and launched with
1190-464: Was run by Myers and Simons who created the original Century brand in 1994. In December 2006, Century Digital ceased broadcasting on Sky Digital channel 0113 and was replaced with theJazz . Century Digital was replaced by Real Radio on DAB, a GMG Radio brand, in London on 23 March 2007, leaving Birmingham as the only area with Century Digital available, it finally closed a few days later. In 2008, Century FM changed its name to Century Radio and adopted
1225-428: Was to remain under the BBC. Upon the election of Edward Heath 's government in 1970, this policy changed. It is possible that Heath's victory was partly due to younger voters upset by the UK government closing down the popular pirate radio stations. The new Minister of Post and Telecommunications and former ITN newscaster, Christopher Chataway , announced a bill to allow for the introduction of commercial radio in
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