ITC’s ‘Unbundling’ High Court Case Draws To A Close

The Independent Television Commission (ITC) is currently facing the possibility of High Court action this week as the case against the Commission’s minimum carriage requirements review, led by Flextech (see Flextech Takes ITC ‘Unbundling’ Move To High Court), draws to a close.

In August this year Flextech, the pay-TV group, took action against the ITC’s decision to remove minimum carriage requirements (MCRs) from the distribution of pay-TV channels. This meant that the smaller channels, like Live TV, were no longer guaranteed carriage across pay-TV networks and packages. Flextech argued that the ITC was acting outside its legal powers and so took the case to the High Court. The ITC said that it believed to have ‘followed the correct’ procedure and that it had acted ‘within its powers’.

A spokesperson for Flextech this morning told Newsline that the case had no real precedent and so it is very difficult to predict the outcome. The hearing is expected to close later this week, although the judge will not necessarily make a decision at that point. “It is a complicated case which means that it is not necessarily a win/lose, two option outcome,” said Flextech head of communications, Nicola Howson.

The ITC was not able to comment on the case when contacted this morning, but said that there could be a conclusion either today or tomorrow.

Independent Television Commission: 0171 255 3000 Flextech: 299 5000