Commercial radio: Serving UK communities

Abstract Sixty‐six per cent of the UK adult population listen to commercial radio and 77 per cent of all listening to UK local radio is captured by the commercial sector. While those working within this sector argue that it provides a popular and innovative broadcasting service, outside the sector opinion is mixed as to whether commercial radio offers much of value to UK society. This chapter examines the claim that commercial radio stations function as public service broadcasters. In doing so, it seeks to discover what commercial radio offers listeners that can be defined as public service broadcasting. It identifies the social benefits offered by commercial radio, such as the involvement of listeners, the provision of information and encouraging citizenship, and it explains how these processes work, as well as providing what data have been collected on the sector as evidence. Finally, the chapter closes with a discussion of the capacity of all radio to draw on these social benefits and prosper in an era of technological change.