24 OCTOBER
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE
4657

With the exception of Golden Coast Radio, we found all the applicants had the necessary financial and commercial ability. The obvious ability of Mr Gold and other executives of Radio Windy had however to be considered in the light of their proposal to operate the station to some extent as a training operation with younger and less experienced staff. The support and experience of Radio Windy staff would tend to minimise this disadvantage.

Mr D. A. Campbell of Radio Horowhenua has had experience working in short term broadcasts and has proved to have put together a detailed and well researched application which indicates both financial backing and a commercial ability to carry on the proposed activity.

The United application also met these requirements.

(f) The likelihood of the applicant carrying on the proposed service satisfactorily

We have, in fairness to other applicants, to take into account the fact that Capital City Radio Ltd. has not always carried on its services satisfactorily. Its last warrant was renewed for less than the maximum period of 5 years because of a breach of warrant condition.

There was no other reason to expect that the service would not be carried on satisfactorily.

We did not have confidence in the Golden Coast Radio applicant in this respect. We did not have an opportunity to hear evidence from any of those, other than Mr Little, who would be concerned with the operations of the station.

It is no reflection on Mr Little to say that the evidence as to management left us in no position to be satisfied that the applicant had the ability to so carry on the service.

We concluded all the other applicants would carry on their proposed services satisfactorily.

(g) The results of any survey available to the Tribunal

Horowhenua Reactions to FM Radio, a research paper prepared by McComish Research Ltd., was produced on behalf of United Broadcasters Ltd. It related to the trial broadcasts during the 1982/83 short term authorisation.

While too much reliance cannot be placed on the survey, based as it was on a short term broadcast period, it did show a considerable interest in FM broadcasting by listeners in the area. One in four said they would listen to their favourite music station more if it broadcast in stereo FM and 80 percent said that if another station were to broadcast in stereo FM they would listen to it instead of their present station.

The survey was confined to respondents aged over 25 years. Most of the respondents will be able to receive FM broadcasts under the new proposals and we consider that the present predominant interest in that mode by younger audiences is likely to be met by the transmissions from the major sites.

A survey was also prepared arising out of Radio Kapiti’s short term broadcasting authorisation the same summer. It was to determine the proportions of people listening to 2XL and its listenership. Radio Horowhenua is a descendant of Radio Kapiti.

Likewise we put only limited weight on this survey for the reasons above stated.

(h) The requirement that frequencies be best utilised in the public interest

The Radio Horowhenua and Capital City Radio applications do involve the commitment of an AM frequency but one is available.

On balance the Tribunal would have preferred to have seen the FM spectrum used to serve the area but considers that programming considerations should predominate. In the case of each applicant one frequency would be used.

(i) The desirability of avoiding monopolies in the ownership or control of news media

None of the proposals would have produced a monopoly or tendency to monopoly. It is however convenient here to discuss news matters.

The Windy news service would be provided through Capital City Radio with a local bulletin added to a national and international news bulletin edited in Wellington.

United would provide a local news service, supplying the news to the 2XS newsroom for editing. During periods of local origination, local bulletins would be broadcast. Outside those times some local news would be fed to 2XS for inclusion in their local bulletins. One full-time and one part-time journalist would work under the supervision of Radio 2XS’s News Editor.

Radio Horowhenua proposed to take a national and international service from Radio New Zealand, with local bulletins prepared by its own staff based in Levin and Paraparaumu.

(j) The hours during which the applicant proposes to broadcast programmes

Golden Coast Radio would broadcast for 18 hours a day.

The other stations would all broadcast for 24 hours a day but the periods of local origination varied.

The lowest was United which would provide 7 hours a day on weekdays and no local origination on Sundays. It would however increase the local origination during daylight saving time to 10 hours. In the second stage of development, not later than 3 years after starting broadcasting, the hours of local origination would be increased from 7 to 10.

Radio Horowhenua would provide local programming from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday. On Sundays the station would broadcast locally from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Local origination would be increased 3 hours daily in the summertime from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Capital City Radio proposed 13 hours local origination from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. The hours would be reviewed after one year with a view to increasing them.

The advantage to the local listeners of locally originated programmes would arise from the grant of a warrant to either Capital City Radio or Radio Horowhenua Ltd. There is a slight advantage with Radio Horowhenua because of the proposed increase during the summer periods.

(k) The extent of advertising matter which the applicant proposes to broadcast

In each case the extent of advertising matter during links with other stations would be governed by the advertising policies of those other stations.

United proposed a smaller content—6 minutes per hour—than would be the case on 2XS when it was being rebroadcast.

Capital City Radio claimed that there was an advantage in a local community station having a high advertising content.

No applicant had an unusually high or low proposed level of advertising.

We do not find any advantage to any particular application on this ground.

(l) Proposed rates and charges to be made in respect of advertising programmes

The Golden Coast rates were out of line with the others.

The other rates and charges appeared to have been carefully considered but we do not find that there is any particular advantage as far as the Tribunal is concerned in one or other of the stations’ proposed rates.

It should of course be noted that one of the advantages of local programming is to provide a service at a reasonable price for local advertisers which is not at present available from nearby larger stations.

(m) All relevant evidence or representations received by it at the hearing

There were no matters requiring special consideration under this heading. All relevant evidence and representations received at the hearing have been considered under the other headings.

(n) Such other matters as may be prescribed in regulations on that behalf

Regulation 15A of the Broadcasting Regulations requires the Tribunal to have regard to Government policy for the development of FM broadcasting as an integral part of sound broadcasting in New Zealand. The Tribunal has carefully considered this and regards it as a factor of some importance.

However, in considering this particular region and its present needs and its existing lack of any community radio station, the situation is not typical. In addition, FM services from Mount Whitire and Mount Kaukau will provide stereo service into most of the area.

We should observe at this stage that it may well be that some relay stations should be established at the Mount Field site proposed by United to provide a good FM service to that end of the region. Whether it would be practicable or not to do that with some local origination would need to be assessed by United or any other potential applicant. We do consider however that Radio Horowhenua will have to be prepared to accept that the need to provide some FM service in that specific part of the region might best be met by such an approach. The Tribunal has an open mind.

The Tribunal decided the revenue available to be drawn from the area would not at this stage support the grant of the United application as well as the Radio Horowhenua application.