THE RADIO NOTTINGHAM SCANDAL

 

NOTTS COUNTY FANS DEMAND FAIRER TREATMENT

 

For many years BBC Radio Nottingham had the fair and reasonable policy regarding commentary on Notts County and Nottingham Forest games. They always broadcast the team that was playing away, which is fair as far fewer fans can get to these games and anyway true fans will attend home games. It could even be argued that commentary on home games could reduce attendances, whereas it is unlikely to have any effect on away games.

 

However for the past couple of seasons Radio Nottingham have done full match commentary on every Forest game, home and away and rarely indeed are Notts games ever featured in commentaries. In fact Mansfield Town games have been covered more often than Notts this season, although you cannot argue they are entitled to their fare share as Mansfield is within the Radio Nottingham broadcast area - they even have a satellite studio in the town.

 

There have been numerous complaints to BBC Radio Nottingham about the unfair treatment of Notts games by the station. A meeting was even held between their programme editor and the Pie fanzine editorial team. Until recently he station has been claiming that:

• Notts demand the full £500 fee (£300 to the home team, £200 away team) to allow commentary at their games

• Mansfield allow games to be broadcast for free

• Forest allow all of their games to be broadcast for a seasonal payment of £10,000

It was claimed that lack of funds meant that the station could not afford to do match commentaries on Notts games, particularly as they had already paid out the fee to Forest. They claim their sports budget is one of the smallest in the country. See the letter from Martin Fisher, Sports Editor of the station to Notts fan Darren Jones in October 1997.

 

However a truer insight into the thinking of the radio station emerged following the Mansfield Town v. Notts County game on 31 January 1998. Consider the following points:

• The match was a local derby between two of the three clubs covered by Radio Nottingham

• The match was not all-ticket and an estimated 500 fans were locked out

• Radio Nottingham have stated themselves that Mansfield allow games to be broadcast for free

• Notts were set for their tenth consecutive straight win and the sixth consecutive away win. We were also thirteen points clear at the top of the table

• Nottingham Forest were playing Oxford at home in front of an average size gate, by no means a sell-out.

You would have thought that the Mansfield game would have been accorded full match commentary. But no the Forest game was on air as usual.

 

Notts fans were so incensed that the Pie wrote to Martin Fisher on 1 February to demand an explanation. Because budget was said to be a problem the Pie also offered to pay the £500 broadcast fees for the station for any Notts away game in the next two months, provided Forest were playing at home on that day.

 

The reply from Martin Fisher dated 3 February is very revealing. It admits that:

• They are committed to broadcasting every Forest game home and away this season

• They are only interested in the size of their audience and in not losing listeners to other stations

• They do not see their role as serving the community

• They are not interested in minority groups

Most revealingly they declined our offer to pay the broadcast fees at a Notts game because of the condition attached to it i.e. it must be when Forest are at home!

 

For those of you not convinced by the above facts that Notts are being unfairly treated, there is one more piece of information of which you should be aware.

Every Forest game, home and away is also broadcast live by GEM AM the local commercial station!

 

So by not broadcasting Forest home games Radio Nottingham would not be preventing Forest fans from hearing a commentary on their game.

 

The club have been kept abreast of these developments, see letter from The Pie dated 1 February and reply from Geoff Davey dated 3 February 1998.

 

HELP US PROTEST

 

You can help our protest by writing letters of complaint to:

 

Head of Programme Complaints, Programme Complaints Unit, BBC Broadcasting House, London W1A 1AA

By e-mail: vlc@bbc.co.uk

 

Your own MP or Nottingham East MP - Mr John Heppell.

To contact your MP, write to him/her at House of Commons, Westminster, SW1A 0AA; or telephone 0171-219 3000.

 

THE FIGHT GOES ON!

 

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Last Update 8 February 1998

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