GCap pursues legal course over new digital capacity

LONDON – GCap Media has confirmed to Ofcom it will take legal action to stop the regulator releasing capacity for more national digital radio stations.

The Independent on Sunday reports the radio group has told to Ofcom it is ready to go to court, and will not accept compensation. It communicated its stance in its response to Ofcom's current consultation on its proposals to release more digital radio spectrum.

A GCap spokeswoman confirmed: "We believe we have got a strong legal case."

The company has engaged its corporate lawyers to argue that it was promised by Ofcom's predecessor, the Radio Authority, that the national digital licence it was issued in 1998 would be for "the one and only" multiplex.

The group does not have a formal contract to prove this, but is supporting its case with press releases and ministers' statements issued at the time of the licence award, referring to the multiplex as the "first and only" in the UK.

While blocking additional national digital stations, GCap is also reported to be planning to switch off the AM signal for its regional stations from spring 2007 in an effort to move listening on to the digital platform.

The group owns 25 Capital Gold and Classic Gold branded stations that broadcast an AM signal. Of these, there are 11 that do not have a DAB signal, although some are available on Sky.

Industry forecasts indicate that digital radio sets will have been taken up by 40% of UK households by 2009.

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