AudioUK, the trade association for independent audio production companies and Radiocentre, the industry body for commercial radio, who jointly oversee the Audio Content Fund, today issued the following statement. This regards the decision not to finance contestable funding through the TV Licence Fee, as confirmed in the TVLF settlement letters from DCMS to BBC and S4C dated 21 January.
“We are disappointed that further funding is not currently available for the Audio Content Fund. While the Fund will be able to see through its current commissioning rounds, beyond this it is regrettable that audiences seem likely to miss out on the ACF’s diverse range of distinctive high-quality public service programmes on their commercial and community station of choice. The Fund provides enormous value-for-money and we will now work with DCMS on an evaluation and to explore other means of supporting the Fund in the future.”