Ofcom has halted BBC plans to launch a Radio 2 “golden oldies” spin-off station after complaints from commercial rivals. The “pop nostalgia” digital station would target older listeners with music from the 1950s to the 1970s, voiced by some of the “best-known presenters” of the era. But Boom Radio , which launched in 2021 to target Radio 2 listeners disaffected by the BBC station’s move to court younger music fans, said the new outlet would drive it out of business.
The BBC wanted to launch the station – the name of which is not yet known – on its Sounds app later this summer, and then on DAB+ later this year. But Ofcom has instead put the Sounds plan on pause. The regulator has ordered the corporation to conduct a full public interest test after raising concerns that a launch on Sounds could damage online stations already serving “baby boomer” music fans.
Ofcom will also conduct its own assessment of whether the Radio 2 extension could have a “significant adverse impact” on the ability of the likes of Boom to compete, before deciding whether it can launch. Radio 2 is the UK’s most popular station, with 13 million listeners. But figures from Rajar, which measures radio audiences , suggest a million fewer people have been listening to Radio 2 since Ken Bruce quit to launch a new show for Greatest Hits Radio last year.
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