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According to a report commissioned by the Commercial Radio Companies Association, if the BBC's request for the licence fee to be raised by 2.3% above inflation from 2007 to 2016 is approved, commercial radio's viability will be threatened.

Up to 9,000 jobs and £1.1bn of economic value are at risk and many commercial stations would close over the next 10-15 years, the report by economic consultancy Indepen claims.

The CRCA's chairman, David Elstein, called for Ofcom to carry out market impact assessments into BBC services and accused the corporation of aggressively challenging the commercial sector.

In an interview with The Observer yesterday, Elstein said that the BBC launched digital station Radio 7 to take on the UBC and Channel 4-owned Oneword, the speech and arts digital station.

He attacked the BBC for its move into every possible sector of radio, leaving no space for commercial rivals.

"Every time commercial radio finds a niche, the BBC moves in and takes over," he said.

The BBC's share of the UK radio audience is currently at a record high of 55.1%, according to Rajar figures for the last quarter of 2005.

In response to the CRCA the BBC dismissed claims that it copied commercial radio formats.

"The BBC absolutely refutes the idea that it imitates formats and that commercial radio alone has been at the forefront of innovation. The CRCA is also well aware that the five new local radio services referred to in the document will all be subject to a market impact test before they are allowed to go ahead.

"Listeners tune in to the BBC's services because they provide innovative and distinctive content and provide the widest possible audience with services that the market alone would not provide," the BBC said.

Last year, the CRCA asked the BBC to disclose its radio programming and budgets by submitting a request under the Freedom of Information Act, which the BBC turned down. The CRCA subsequently asked the Information Commissioner to intervene to force the BBC to supply the information, but it still waiting for a response.

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