SanomaWSOY granted licences for two nationwide radio stations
MTV3 gets to keep Nova, but loses Sävelradio
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The Finnish media group SanomaWSOY is to launch two radio stations that can be heard almost everywhere in Finland – Rock FM, a station with a rock music format, and Lady FM, with women as its target audience.
In addition to Rock FM and Lady FM, the Ministry of Transport and Communications granted new operating licences for six national and 47 local radio broadcasters for the 2007-2011 period.
The only national commercial network, Radio Nova, will remain under its current owner, MTV3, and most of the other current radio stations will be allowed continue their broadcasts.
MTV3 was disappointed, however, since it will lose Sävelradio, which it purchased early in 2005, and will not get a rock-and-sport station. Radio City is one of the existing radio stations that did not get a license.
According to Minister of Transport and Communications Susanna Huovinen (SDP), the basis for granting the permits was to offer something for as many different target groups as possible.
Huovinen said that Sävelradio lost its license because local radio stations are able to satisfy the needs of its listeners.
"The local license holders are told to offer something for different types of audiences", Huovinen explains.
She points out that this is also what the Parliament has called for.
"The purpose of this is that all radio stations would not sound the same. The radio is not a music box. It is a medium for communication", Huovinen explains.
She also said that the ministry will closely monitor that the stations’ content is in line with the conditions of the operating licenses, and that they have the right proportion of non-musical content.
The ministry’s decision did not surprise Leena Ryynänen, the CEO of SBS Finland and chairman of the Association of Finnish Broadcasters. She did not find the reasons that were given for the decisions to be convincing, however.
"SanomaWSOY was the best of the new candidates. It is good that a major European company is interested in radio broadcasting. But if this is not a concentration of media then what is?" Ryynänen wondered.
She also finds it strange that the ministry wants to set a precise percentage to dictate the amount of non-musical content. "It is a restriction of the freedom of speech", Ryynänen said.
Petri Manninen, the head of MTV3's radio operations, is disappointed.
"The government gave us the license for Sävelradio just over a year ago", he noted. "Sävelradio had just found its place, and acquired over half a million listeners and started to make a profit."
Sävelradio has 16 full-time and 15 part-time employees.
Radio Nova is the most profitable commercial radio station. Its turnover was EUR 15 million last year, and it turned a profit of about four million euros.
The combined turnover of commercial radio stations was about EUR 50 million, of which MTV3 and SBS Finland have the most.
Tapio Kallioja is the head of SWelcome, which is in charge of SanomaWSOY’s electronic operations. He says that the company would not have started its business with just one non-nationwide permit, because it would not have been profitable.
"The combined turnover of these two stations will be less than half of that of Radio Nova", he estimates.
According to Kallioja, the stations of SanomaWSOY will be different in content, but the engineering, advertising, and sales can be done collectively. Programming will also be bought from outside producers.
Helsingin Sanomat is a part of the SanomaWSOY group.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 1.6.2006 - TODAY |
 SanomaWSOY granted licences for two nationwide radio stations
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