Ofcom Cuts Talksport Licence Fee

Ofcom has cut the cost of UTV’s licence for TalkSport after a review revealed that new station entrants wouldn’t be prepared to pay the licence.

The licence fee for TalkSport will now be set at £10,000 a year for the next seven years – a huge drop from the £100,000 a year that UTV currently pays.

Ofcom’s ruling follows the Digital Economy Act, which states that national analogue radio licences can be renewed without a competitive auction in return for support for the DAB platform from radio companies as the digital listeners rise in numbers.

Ofcom reduced the fee as; over time the profits generated from analogue licences could largely fall as the nation gradually switches to digital radio.

It was ruled that any newcomer wouldn’t pay the larger amount as it would look at broadcasting digitally.