In article <681e1cf11cd872b19378a3ce765b8996@jiglu-wc>, ... (Neil Gates) wrote:

Eric Tesug <...> said:

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/smoothfmformat/statement/

It shouldn't be the job of govenment departments to dictate the
programme format of commercial radio.

Those decisions should be taken by the companies themselves based
on the demand for different programme formats and their commercial
viability.

I think it is crazy that licence holders should be lumbered with a
programme format that just does not work just because the original
licence applicant gave undertaking to broadcast a set number of
hours of x,y or z.

So what may well happen is that a whole bunch of services would be very limited or no longer exist – Jazz is not, for what ever reason, a winner on radio. Rock isn't either. So what you would end up with is nothing but the same on all frequencies, just my view.
If you were starting a radio station from scratch the best way to do that in commercial terms would be to go ask the agencies with the most money what the clients want and then play music to suit audience of those clients. So then you would find out that in addition to country and jazz that country is another non-starter.
However, if the station has to come up with something creative and extend listener choice then that makes a big difference – something that extends listener choice, or where ever possible retains listener choice has to be a good thing in my view.

Eric