Boom Radio declares victory in battle against the BBC

STATION HAS A MILLION LISTENERS A MONTH

- By OLIVER PRIDMORE

A NOTTINGHAM radio station left “utterly distraught” by BBC plans has now triumphed over the broadcasting giant.

Ofcom has ruled that the BBC cannot go ahead with a Radio 2 spin-off station targeting older listeners.

The regulator said the BBC plans would harm commercial operators like Boom Radio, a station for over-55s founded in 2021 and co-ordinated from Nottingham.

David Lloyd, who lives in Nottingham and cut his teeth at Radio Trent, co-founded the station with Phil Riley and it now attracts around a million listeners every month.

Mr Lloyd says this success would have been seriously hampered if the BBC had been allowed to go ahead.

He said: “We were utterly distraught when they announced their plans, because we thought this could seriously damage Boom Radio. The BBC is not fair competition.

“The BBC is funded by the taxpayer and can spend so much more money than we can. The BBC has the best possible transmission that anyone can have.

“The BBC doesn’t have to carry adverts, which is a clear benefit for some listeners who don't like adverts, and if licence fee-payers don’t pay the BBC, there are criminal sanctions.”