RTV Theory and Practice - Special Issue

music station . Radio 1 was a сору of the prognamming format of the pirate stations , with atmost all of its d.J.s coming from the outlawed ships! Most of the offshore pirates disappeared after the Act was passed , though one of them , Radio Caroline , is still broadcasting from the North Sea today . The establishment of Radio 1 did not satisfy the companies interested in running on-shore commercial stations , even if the pop music fans were placated . In 1970, the Tories won the election with the open support of the remaining pirate stations. (LRW 1983: 13-4) The new government proceeded to introduce commercial radio through setting up the IBA . However the dream of the pirates that they would sail up the Thames to receive licenses was not f ulf illed. The Tories were interested in commerce , not in the romance of the high seas , The new government converted the old commercial television authority into the IBA . The Chairman and members of the IBA were appointed by a government minister , though the authority was given day-to-day autonomy over its own affairs in the BBC tradition. (IBA 1973; 1-2) The IBA system was a mixture of private and state enerprise . The authority awarded franchises to companies who provided programs for the radio transmitters run and owned by the IBA . These new services made various fine promises to win their contracts. However , in reality, most ILR stations broadcast a top 40 format not unsimillar to Radio 1 . Чп the UK, the history of the IBA has been markeđ by its recurrent failure , first to publish details of the promises given by success'ful applicants when they tendeređ for a broadcasting contract, anđ second, to reguire them to fulfill their promises.' (Porter 1988: 32) This regulatory failure by the IBA did not arise simply out of the contradiction between commercial radio stations and an authority with public service commitments . The problems of the ILR stations were not due to inadepuate regulation , but to economic difficulties . The commercial television stations could accept the IBA's Reithian gestures because they were making large profits . But the ILR stations were never a financial success on the same scale . This was surprising as each commercial radio station had a local monopoly over the sale of radio advertising in its own transmission area . The only exception was London where two stations were licensed . But, despite this protectionism . most commercial stations have been in and out of financial crises since their launch . Their biggest difficulties were durmg the early years of Thatcher's government , with a 15Х fall in revenue during 1981-2. (PeacocK 1986: 20) As with the rest of British mđustry , the 'monetarist shocK' led to cutbacKs and redundancies m the ILRs . The balance sheets of most stations improved during the mid-1980s,