THE BROADCASTING Commission of Ireland (BCI) has initiated a review of the radio licences held by businessman Denis O’Brien in light of his increasing stake in Independent News Media (INM), although the parameters of its inquiry remain unclear.
The process was triggered by Mr O’Brien’s announcement last Friday that he had increased his interest in INM beyond the 25 per cent threshold that would empower him to block special resolutions from its board.
The BCI, which has the power to block media mergers on the basis of cross-media ownership, is obliged by law to guard against any person having “control of, or substantial interests in, an undue amount of the communications media”.
The commission will examine the appropriateness of Mr O’Brien’s control of several national and local radio licences via his firm Communicorp while he builds his interest in INM, publisher of the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent, the Sunday World, the Evening Herald and numerous regional titles.
There was no comment on the BCI review from Communicorp, which owns the only two national commercial stations, Today FM and NewsTalk, as well as Dublin pop station 98FM, Dublin youth station Spin 103 and regional station Spin SouthWest.
“The BCI was in touch today with Communicorp and discussions have been had on the matter,” said a BCI spokeswoman, “but until this is progressed, it’s too premature for them to be discussing it.”
She declined to specify the legislation under which the review will be executed and would not say whether Communicorp had any right to appeal he conclusions of the review.
Neither would she say whether, in event of findings adverse to Communicorp’s retention of licences, the BCI was empowered to withdraw any licences directly or would have to ask the Minister for Communications to withdraw them.
The 1988 Radio and Television Act, one of four statutes that guides the BCI’s work, says that the Minister may vary any term or condition of a licence “if it appears to him to be in the public interest so to do”, or “on request from the commission after consultation with any affected sound broadcasting contractor”.
The BCI says on its website that it “monitors all of its licensed services to ensure that licence-holders comply with their statutory obligations as well as the terms of their contracts”.
Monitoring includes ownership and control structures.
