LGBT radio station 'does not broadcast enough LGBT content'

Ofcom ruled that the vast majority of Juice's output could not be distinguished from a mainstream radio service

The head of a Belfast LGBT radio station has called a ruling that it does not broadcast enough programmes for the LGBT community "truly baffling".

The broadcasting regulator Ofcom found Juice Radio to be in breach of some of its "key commitments" of service.

Ofcom said Juice Radio aired "a very limited amount of specialist programming for the LGBT+ community, rather than a service specifically for that community".

But Juice Radio's head Shane Pearce has criticised the ruling and said Ofcom was "flip-flopping" over what it wants.

'All the coherence of a poorly tuned radio signal'

In 2022, Ofcom had previously ruled that Juice "was not meeting its requirement to broadcast LGBT anthems as part of its music output," and was instead a "dance music service".

But after subsequent monitoring the regulator decided that the station "no longer appeared to be a dance music service."

"Three years ago, Ofcom challenged us with all the coherence of a poorly tuned radio signal," Mr Pearce told BBC News NI.

Shane Pearce told BBC News NI said Ofcom "had changed their tune"

"We defended our mission rooted in community, diversity and authentic music and Ofcom conceded that we met their requirements.

"Ofcom has changed their tune, claiming that our still compliant music policy and character of service no longer cut it.

"This flip-flopping isn't just inconsistent, it's a masterclass in contradiction."

Juice is a community radio station based in Belfast which broadcasts online and on FM.

It was set up to serve "the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Belfast," according to the commitments in its licence.

"Juice exists to create a community for people of all ages who identify as LGBT to showcase and discuss the aspirations, concerns, successes and issues affecting them," its commitments state.

But Ofcom investigated after receiving a complaint that Juice was not serving its target community.

As part of their investigation, they requested recordings of the station's output.

In its response to Ofcom, Juice said it broadcast a show called 'AMDMs' (A Morning Dedicated to Matters), which it described as "a dedicated space for exploring LGBT+ issues".

It also said it broadcast a feature called "Listen with Pride" highlighting support organisations more than 160 times a week.

The station also said that it recruited volunteers from the LGBT community and broadcast live from events like Belfast Pride.

'Limited amount of specialist programming for LGBT+ community'

The station said it broadcast live from events like Belfast Pride

But Ofcom ruled that the vast majority of Juice's output could not be distinguished from a "mainstream" radio service.

"The speech content we listened to consisted heavily of presenters announcing the music being broadcast within the hour," the regulator's judgement said.

"A small amount of content was clearly for the station's target community," Ofcom said, but "there was little to no content to signpost to the listener that service was specifically targeted at the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Belfast.

"It was not clear from listening to the content on-air that the service targeted the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Belfast.

"This therefore suggested that Juice FM Belfast was a general service broadcasting a very limited amount of specialist programming for the LGBT+ community, rather than a service specifically for that community."

Ofcom has the power to sanction broadcasters if they decide they are not complying with their key commitments.