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.
32-628: Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. As 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, as almost all of them are now relays of
64-444: 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
96-508: A bill to allow for the introduction of commercial radio in the United Kingdom. This service would be planned and regulated similarly 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
128-541: A national brand, with all remaining locality reduced to nothing more than a weekday regional programme and localised commercials, 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
160-515: A period in the mid-1960s, the off-shore " pirate " broadcasters, it had remained the policy of both major political parties that radio was to remain under the BBC. This policy changed after the election of Edward Heath 's government in 1970 . It is possible that Heath's victory was partly due to younger voters upset by Harold Wilson 's government closing down the popular pirate radio stations. The new Minister of Post and Telecommunications and former ITN newscaster, Christopher Chataway , announced
192-574: 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 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
224-447: 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 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
256-550: 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
288-460: Is a group of two Independent Local Radio stations serving Edinburgh , Lothians and Fife . Radio Forth is owned and operated by Bauer , based at studios in Edinburgh and forms part of Bauer's Hits Radio network and Greatest Hits Radio network of local stations. Radio Forth was launched on 22 January 1975 by current chairman Richard Findlay, whose opening speech included the words: This, for
320-523: Is available and WorldSpace Satellite Radio was available. The best and most known commercial broadcasters in Asia are the South Korean radio and television networks SBS , Hong Kong television networks TVB , Taiwanese television networks FTV and Philippine radio and television networks GMA Network . Contemporary hit radio in bold . & Borno Radio Television (BRTV) Radio Forth Radio Forth
352-482: 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
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#1733085076450384-590: 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 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
416-569: The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) that same day. The IBA immediately began to plan 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
448-401: 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
480-670: 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
512-460: 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
544-939: The abolition of the IBA and its replacement by the Independent Television Commission . The IBA continued to regulate radio under 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
576-705: 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
608-874: 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
640-493: The funds raised going to a local charity or providing much needed funds for causes throughout the broadcast area. In 1990, Forth created a second station on its AM frequency. Before this, Radio Forth was broadcast as a single station on both FM and AM frequencies although in 1984 Radio Forth had been the first Independent Local Radio station in the UK to operate a split service when it created Festival City Radio to provide coverage of that year's Edinburgh Festival . The FM station
672-657: 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 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
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#1733085076450704-470: 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
736-473: 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
768-401: 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
800-609: 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
832-490: The very first time, is Radio Forth . The first presenter on air was breakfast show host Steve Hamilton. Other presenters included Steve Jack, Bill Torrance on the day time shows including drive time slot and also had a special night time slots including a once a week show for the public to call into the show and discuss their issues and problems. The station is also well known for its Radio Forth charity auctions where it auctioned off donated item, services and what have you with all
864-496: 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, 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
896-483: 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 the broadcasting field (mainly due to the Annan Report ), no further contracts were awarded until 1980, when
928-527: 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
960-466: Was redesigned as an adult contemporary music station while Forth One continued to play chart and contemporary music for under 35s. Radio Forth was originally owned by a consortium of local companies (The Scotsman, Scottish & Newcastle, Salvesens among them) until acquired by Scottish Radio Holdings in [1995?] and on 3 June 2005 British media group EMAP took over SRH. In January 2008, the EMAP's radio business
992-430: Was renamed Radio Forth RFM and aimed at a younger age group, while Max AM was designed for over 35s. The FM station was later renamed Forth FM and then in the mid-late 90s, Max AM was later renamed Forth AM to match its sister station. In 2000, both stations were relaunched as 97.3 Forth One and 1548 FORTH2 . Many changes occurred at this time, including new presenters and a revamped station sound. Forth 2
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1024-582: 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 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
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