Big shot commercial stations call for action
Last month in Parliament, a debate was sparked by the Chrysalis Radio Sales Group with hopes to fight off all competition, particularly that faced from pirate radio stations.
Chrysalis said they were tired of seeing the channels such as Heart FM, which they provide advertising for, being disrupted by pirate stations as they were losing listeners as well as revenue from this.
Stronger and more immediate action needs to be taken, according to the sales group, was required from Ofcom to put a stop to the interferences.
In a statement to Radiojam, a Chrysalis spokesperson said: "We need Ofcom to develop a plan to make a serious impact on pirates, and be given the resources to execute it. We need the government to recognise the connection between pirate radio and organised crime, and introduce appropriate penalties for piracy. And we all need to lose our romantic notions of pirates as being a positive part of the broadcasting ecology."
However, Peter Moore, station manager of Radio Caroline during the 1980s, strongly believes that these coroprate organisations need pirate radio to challenge them. He said: "Almost every legitimate station around the country is in it for profits, so I don't think to say that pirates are in business for profit is a demeaning thing. All the other stations are broadcasting for profit, and the smaller stations just need to survive so they don't get wiped out by the big guys."
Peter Moore also highlighted that there is much scope in the spectrum to enable many stations to operate without interference if licences were made more affordable.
Robert Thelen-Bartholomew, head of field operations at Ofcom, said: "Illegal broadcasting affects safety-of-life services and has links with serious crime. Ofcom will continue to pursue and prosecute those involved in this criminal activity."
Charlie Wolf believes that giving more power to the large media groups would leave little to no room for creativity or talent on the stations as he states in the clip below.
Chrysalis still believe that the radio pirates need to be stopped and the parliamentary debate continues.