SSDAB & Community Radio: Past, Present, & Future
University of Bedfordshire, Luton - Saturday 25th March, 11am-4pm
This free event was for community radio stations, commercial radio broadcasters and individuals interested in small-scale digital audio broadcasting (SSDAB) and community media.
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Ownership and Economics of SSDAB - SSDAB & Community Radio: Past, Present, & Future
1. Ownership and Economics
of Small Scale DAB
Steve Buckley
Chair, Sheffield Live Radio and TV
Managing Director, Community Media Solutions
2. Ownership and economics of SSDAB
Costs – CapEx and OpEx
Access to finance
Revenue models
Ownership models
Lessons from Local TV
Issues and takeaways
3. Capital Expenditure
Planning and design
Equipment and software
Equipment installation
Network installation
Contribution – studio(s) > mux
Distribution – mux > tx
Licence application fee
Pre-start operating costs
10. Cost per channel – SSDAB trials
Ofcom (2016) Small Scale DAB trials, Annex 5
11. Ownership models and
mux management
Single licence/ local ownership
Content provider e.g. community radio licensee
Local consortium of content providers
Other local ownership – public/private?
Multiple licence mux operator
Technical provider
Hybrid broadcaster / technical provider
12. Lessons from the Local TV Mux
(Comux UK Ltd)
Single licence to operate the mux for all Local TV
Local TV channels equal shareholders in Comux UK
Charge administrative cost to local TV channels
Sell spare mux capacity at market price (NVS x 3)
Distribution from post-tax profits to local TV
channels as shareholders
Net carriage cost to local TV channels = zero
13. Issues and questions
How to guarantee community radio channels have
an ownership stake in their local SSDAB mux?
What regulatory constraints will apply to setting
carriage fees for channels (fair competition)?
How to define what is “a non-commercial basis” for
the provision of SSDAB radio multiplex services?
What prospects to engage a major investor to
support a local ownership model for SSDAB?
What services to assure the viability of SSDAB could
best be organised on a national basis?
14. Recommendations and takeaways
No one entity should be permitted to hold more
than one SSDAB mux service licence – key driver
for local ownership, resilience, public benefit and
development of a market for technical services
Regulatory approach should guarantee affordable
carriage for community radio while permitting
market value to be extracted from other capacity
Each SSDAB mux should be required to be
established as an entity that does not operate
primarily for commercial gain, including an asset
lock and profits applied to community benefit
15. Recommendations and takeaways
Community radio services seeking to be on SSDAB
should be planning, consulting and partnership
building now to develop credible local consortia,
business models and sources of investment
CMA should explore with major social investors and
DCMS the possibility of establishing a national
funding scheme to support adoption of SSDAB
CMA should commission business modelling for
SSDAB, including insights from the Ofcom SSDAB
trials, to support future SSDAB planning and to
identify scope and potential for joint services
16. Thank you for tuning in!
Steve Buckley
steve@cmso.co.uk