Tiff the Valkyrie writes passionately about the enshittification of the once diverse UK independent local radio environment, which has largely been bought up and turned into bland, grey, play-listed uniformity by Bauer Media and Global Media, which between them own most of the stations that were previously truly local and distinctive:
Things are indeed grim, but not hopeless. Community radio stations exist in surprising numbers, some online only and those which are on FM or DAB necessarily being limited in the area they cover, but they are definitely there:
UK Community Radio Network - Find a Station
The broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, recently conducted a review of the future of radio licensing in the UK and concluded that there should be more new stations on FM and AM, but that all new analogue services should be community-based, because Ofcom has no plans to licence new commercial radio stations to use FM. Bauer and Global are closing AM transmitters as fast as they can, so FM is where hope lies for the kind of distinctive local content Tiff is talking about.
The Ofcom report also says that small scale DAB multiplexes will continue to be licensed in un-served areas, mostly focused on improving or extending coverage for existing broadcasters, including community stations. That sounds hopeful too, and I think there is a general recognition that consolidation in the independent radio sector has restricted listener choice even if the media companies claim the opposite, so I expect Ofcom's focus on the local and small scale to continue.
In the long term I think that FM and DAB are both likely to have a limited future and that eventually linear broadcasting will disappear, to be replaced by internet based services. I think that's probably decades away though, which will see me out.
Email: kdan01 [at] posteo [dot] net