News story about the explanation offered by UK media regulator Ofcom for its award of the new local commercial FM radio licence for the Ashford market to the Kent Messenger Group, written by Grant Goddard in February 2005 for The Radio Magazine.

1. NEWS: OFCOM EXPLAINS
AWARD OF NEW ASHFORD FM
RADIO LICENCE TO KENT
MESSENGER GROUP
by
GRANT GODDARD
www.grantgoddard.co.uk
February 2005

2. News: Ofcom Explains Award Of New Ashford FM Radio Licence To Kent Messenger Group Page 1
©2005 Grant Goddard
Ofcom has explained the reasons for its award last month of the new Ashford
local commercial FM radio licence to the KM Radio group owned by the Kent
Messenger. Significantly, Ofcom noted that the new 'KM-FM' Ashford “would
benefit from a stable ownership structure” provided by the Kent Messenger, a
statement that could be read as a warning to 'gold digger' applicants for local
licences who, in the past, have sold out to larger radio groups within a new
station’s first few years of operation.
Ofcom also praised KM Radio for its “proven track record of investing in local
radio in Kent” and felt that its proposals “offered the best chance of providing
Ashford with a financially secure and well-resourced local radio service.” This
could offer an indication that direct investment in locally produced
programming satisfies Ofcom’s determination to license genuinely local radio
services much more than a proposal to merely extend the coverage of an
applicant’s existing national radio brand. Ofcom noted that KM-FM Ashford’s
“programming proposals contained a suitable proportion of local material and
locally-made programmes.”
[First published in 'The Radio Magazine' as 'Ofcom Explains Ashford Award', #672, 26 February 2005]
Grant Goddard is a media analyst / radio specialist / radio consultant with thirty years of
experience in the broadcasting industry, having held senior management and consultancy
roles within the commercial media sector in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. Details at
http://www.grantgoddard.co.uk