Broadcasting Act 1996

54 Conditions attached to national or local radio multiplex licence

(1) A radio multiplex licence shall include such conditions as appear to the Authority to be appropriate for securing—

(a) that the licensed service is established by the licence holder in accordance with the timetable and other proposals indicated in the technical plan submitted under section 46(4)(b) or 50(4)(b),

(b) the implementation of any proposals submitted by the licence holder under section 46(4)(c) to (f) or 50(4)(c) to (e),

(c) that all digital sound programme services broadcast under the licence are provided—

(i) in the case of a national radio multiplex licence, by the holder of a national digital sound programme licence under section 60, and

(ii) in the case of a local radio multiplex licence, by the BBC or the holder of a local digital sound programme licence under that section,

(d) that all digital additional services broadcast under the licence are provided by the holder of a licence under section 64,

(e) that in the terms on which the holder of the licence contracts, or offers to contract, for the broadcasting of digital sound programme services or digital additional services, he does not show undue discrimination either against or in favour of a particular person providing such a service or a class of such persons,

(f) that the holder of the licence does not, in any agreement with a person providing a digital sound programme service or digital additional services which entitles that person to use a specified amount of digital capacity on the frequency or frequencies to which the licence relates, restrict that person’s freedom to make arrangements with some other person as to the use of any of that digital capacity (except to the extent that the restriction is reasonably required for the purpose of ensuring the technical quality of the broadcasts or for the purpose of securing compliance with any other condition of the licence),

(g) that the signals carrying the radio multiplex service attain high standards in terms of technical quality and reliability throughout so much of the area or locality for which the service is provided as is for the time being reasonably practicable, and

(h) that, while the licence is in force, at least 90 per cent. of digital capacity on the frequency or frequencies to which the licence relates is available for the broadcasting of digital sound programme services, simulcast radio services, programme-related services or relevant technical services.

(2) In paragraph (1)(h)—

(a) “programme-related service” means any digital additional service consisting in the provision of services (apart from advertising) which—

(i) are ancillary to the programmes included in one or more digital sound programme services, simulcast radio services or local or national services (within the meaning of Part I of the 1990 Act) and are directly related to the contents of those programmes, or

(ii) relate to the promotion or listing of such programmes, and

(b) “relevant technical service” means any technical service which relates to one or more digital sound programme services.

(3) The Secretary of State may, after consulting the Authority, by order amend subsection (1) by substituting a different percentage for the percentage for the time being specified in paragraph (h) of that subsection.

(4) No order under subsection (3) shall be made unless a draft of the order has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

(5) Any conditions imposed in pursuance of subsection (1)(a) or (b) may be varied by the Authority with the consent of the licence holder (and section 42(3)(b) shall accordingly not apply to any such variation).

(6) Where the licence holder applies to the Authority for the variation of any condition imposed in pursuance of subsection (1)(b) and relating to the characteristics of any of the digital sound programme services to be broadcast under the licence, the Authority shall vary the condition accordingly unless—

(a) it appears to the Authority that, if the application were granted, the capacity of the digital sound programme services broadcast under the licence to appeal to a variety of tastes and interests would be unacceptably diminished, or

(b) in the case of a national radio multiplex licence in relation to which a direction under section 45(4) has effect, the Authority are not satisfied that the proposed variation complies with that direction.

(7) Section 94 of the 1990 Act (Government control over licensed services) shall apply in relation to a radio multiplex service licensed under this Part as it applies in relation to a service licensed under Part III of that Act.