Department for Culture Media and Sport

community media

We support local news and programming, which helps foster communities and contributes to local economies.

The Office of Communications (Ofcom) is responsible for licensing and regulating community television and radio.

Local television

We want to see more local television stations in the UK. The Government is currently looking at what measures are needed to enable commercially sustainable local television to emerge.

Community radio

Community radio encourages social inclusion, provides local education, training, experience, and wider public access to broadcasting opportunities.

Ofcom is responsible for awarding community radio licences. We contribute up to £500,000 a year to the Community Radio Fund.

The Community Radio (Amendment) Order 2010 made three changes to the community radio licensing regime. It: 

  • removed the 50% funding limit from any one source
  • allows a station to be licensed in an area that overlaps with a small commercial service
  • allows licence holders to apply for a one-off renewal of their existing licence of up to five years