Channel 4 squared up to National Grid Wireless yesterday as the two companies presented rival bids to win the right to provide spectrum for a host of new digital radio stations.

The broadcaster swatted away an offer from National Grid Wireless to carry two of its three proposed radio stations if the utility group triumphed, arguing that it was uneconomic to work with its direct competitor.

A spokeswoman for Channel 4 said that “there is no guarantee” that the television broadcaster would create radio stations if it loses, because it needs income from leasing out radio spectrum to other broadcasters to help to generate a return on investment.

National Grid Wireless, a division of the utility group, said that it wanted to offer two slots out of 13 to Channel 4 because it was seeking to provide “innovative content” in a bid whose sketchiness contrasted sharply with the broadcasters’ detail.

Channel 4 said that it would offer space for ten stations, on a set of digital radio frequencies, or multiplex, in which it would own 55 per cent. It identified all the station providers, while National Grid Wireless was less specific, describing some of its stations generically as “Adult/Album” and “Love Songs”.

The decision as to who will win the multiplex licence rests with Ofcom, the communications regulator, which accepted bids at 3pm yesterday.

The body is due to decide in the summer and will evaluate the bids in a “beauty parade” against a range of criteria, including the ability of proposed services to appeal to a variety of tastes and interests.

It is the third multiplex to become available. The others are held by the BBC and GCap Media, the radio group behind Classic FM and Capital 95.8.

The Channel 4 executives said that their bid would help to provide “public service competition” to the BBC, which dominates radio, with a 56 per cent share of listening.

Nathalie Schwarz, Channel 4’s director of radio, said she believed that the BBC could be pushed below 50 per cent as a result of its launch, but would not provide any precise financial or audience targets.

The most striking of Channel 4’s partners was a new joint venture between BSkyB, 39.1 per cent owned by News Corporation, parent company of The Times, and Chrysalis. The two will create Sky News Radio, with Chrysalis injecting its AM LBC licence into the venture, a rolling news radio service, and the first Sky-branded station.

Channel 4 itself will provide a speech station under its own name, a youth-oriented E4 Radio, and a Pure4 music-led format, while other station providers include Emap, with Closer, aimed at 30-plus women, UTV, with a political talk station, and Radio Disney, a children’s channel from The Walt Disney Company.

The broadcasters named by National Grid Wireless included Premier Christian Radio and Radio Luxembourg.

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