A NEW REGULATION

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 148, 19 December 1929, Page 34

A NEW REGULATION

Another little storm has broken out over-the rights of the B class stations in New Zealand.-'-Tho P. and T., Department has recently issued notice to the owners of these privately owned stations, .which derive no financial support/from listeners' fees, that they must not exceed a certain very low minimum of advertising announcement./ Under a new regulation, of which the date of enforcement has yet to be announced, the name of the licensee or his business can only be announced at the beginning and end of the programme; interim announcements may contain only the call signal of the station. , ■

The; secretary, says that the practice of repeatedly identifying the station •with^ a business places non-broadcasting concerns at a disadvantage, and that in consequence other firms are seeking the right, to broadcast; while to license n»any_. additional stations would crowd the available channels and cause an impossible situation.

Those interested in the B class stations, have naturally resented this proposed- restriction of their practice; ■which'they declare is not abused; and they.-rcon^end that their existence is threatened by the destruction of the very; function which enables thorn to provide their programmes. That it is an effective method of providing programme ijiaterial is shown by the fact that in the -United States all broadcasting is carried out on the "B class" principle, and that the very finest talent in, the States is continually in the service of the broadcasters. What the !>,•■ and T. Department is opposing is of bourse anything like the horrible congestion which : unregulated occupation of the available channels produced in the United States.

There is obviously room for many more broadcasting stations in New Zealand,'if practical reasons dictate their existence. If any stations are allowed to exist as advertisers, it is difficult to understand why their privileges should be-reduced -till* they become useless as such. ' This seems v a peculiar way to control a condition which can be directly;, controlled by the authority possessed by the Post Office in its right to refuse licences. It is quite obvious that in any ono locality the station1 which will get the worst of • a conflict with

a rival will be the weaker one; and it is quite a simple matter to keep the power "of a B class station down so that it cannot interfere appreciably with the YA station in its area. It may, of course, be locally stronger than the YA stations in other centres, but the company itself does not pretend that 3YA, for example, is intended to serve Wellington, much as Wellington people enjoy 3YA's excellent transmissions.

Below is given a list of the existing B class stations in New Zealand. How many of these, are familiar to listeners? Can it be pretended that they are even beginning to interfere with the main stations, or even with each other? It should be possible to allocate to each district a maximum number of stations and allow the first-comers to use them. This would give a safeguard against interference, whereas ■ the proposed restriction of announcements does not, of itself, impose any positive restriction.

There is abundant evidence that the YA stations do not adequately serve the whole country. At certain distances from any station, night reception is chronically bad; and the existence' of a second station on a different ■wavelength may effect a cure. Nothing has been heard lately of the big scheme for establishing a chain of relay stations scattered about the Dominion, and it seems, unlikely, if. the company's own figures are any guide, that anything will come of it for a long time. The finances will not stand it. If, however, the B class stations attract any additional listeners^ the Broadcasting Company gets the benefit. It may be added that the.reference to the new regulation affecting B class stations is an indication of a revision of all the rules governing broadcasting. Hitherto the regulations, issued in several; groups at intervals of years, have been unsatisfactory, many of them being out of date. They are being completely remodelled, and when issued will no doubt contain some interesting features.

LIST OF PRIVATE BROADCASTING STATIONS. IZB, La Gloria Gramophones, Ltd., Auckland. . : . IZQ, L. R. E. Keith, Auckland. 2ZD, "W.: D. Ansell, Jiasterton. 2ZE, G. R. S. Allen, Eketahuna. . 2ZF, Manawatu Radio Clutv, x*almei--ston North. 2ZG, G. C. Carrad, jun., Wanganui. 2ZH, C. B. Hansen and Co., Ltd., Napier. , ■'■■-.[ 2ZK, D. A. Morrison and C 0.,. Wanganui. 2ZM, Atwater Kent Radio Service, Ltd., Gisborne. 2ZQ, N. R. Cunningham, Ltd., Masterton. 3ZC, 3ZC Broadcasting Service, Ltd., Christchurch. 4ZB, Otago Radio Association, Dunedin. 4ZL, Radio Service, Limited, Dunedin. . 4ZM, J. D. M'Kewen, Duncdin. 4ZO, Barnett's Radio Supplies, Dunedin. '