According to a report in today’s Guardian the Labour party is planning a radical overhaul of the television regulatory system which will see the ITC merged with Oftel.
The BBC, which currently regulates itself, would also lose most of its regulatory powers to the Independent Television Commission. At the moment the ITC monitors only commercial TV but has strong powers whereby it can impose fines or withdraw licences. Labour however plans to merge the ITC with the telecommunications watchdog Oftel. The new body would be called Ofcom, the Office of Communications. The Broadcasting Standards Council, which monitors taste and decency and is shortly to be merged with the Broadcasting Complaints Commission, would then be subsumed into Ofcom after a period of two years.
It is believed the reason behind the proposal, drawn up by Jack Cunningham, the shadow heritage secretary, is to create a level playing field between the BBC and commercial broadcasters. The plans would require legislation to be passed through Parliament.
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