Radio station's potential licence breach probed

A potential licence breach over the amount of speech content offered by the Isle of Man's national public broadcaster is being formally investigated by the regulator.

The conditions of Manx Radio's licence mean its weekday daytime programming should contain at least 40% speech.

However, the launch of a sister station – Manx Radio Gold, which offers predominantly music programming – has drawn concerns that the combined output meant that figure fell below the requirement.

The regulator said it had now launched the formal probe after reaching an "impasse" with the station over potential "remedies". Manx Radio has been asked for a comment.

Established in 1964, Manx Radio receives a government grant of £1.3m each year to enable it to meet its public service broadcasting requirements.

Under its licence conditions, set out by the Communications and Utilities Regulatory Authority (Cura), "locally produced and presented speech will normally form a significant part of daytime output".

Speech content "should not generally fall below 40% of its total output" between 06:00 BST and 19:00 on weekdays.

Cura said Manx Radio Gold, launched in July 2024, had "attracted complaints and scrutiny" over its impact on the overall speech content.

The regulator said the service was not considered distinct enough from the main station to need a separate licence but that meant it was treated as part of the station's overall output.

Analysis carried out by the authority ahead of further planned consultation had "caused concern" the speech level was not as high as required.

It said while that had been shared with the station, which had been "invited to suggest remedies that could be put in place", there had been "no progress towards resolving this matter".

The authority said it therefore "has little choice but to treat the matter as a potential licence compliance issue".

Although the investigation was currently limited to determining if the speech requirements were being met, the regulator said it reserved "its right to investigate any additional matters that may arise during the course of the investigation".

Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.