27.01.03

The Government is beleived to have made a last-minute amendment to the Communications Bill to calm fears that a foreign-owner of Channel Five would flood the station with imported programmes.

In what is being seen as an effort to smooth the passage of the Bill through the House of Lords, new clauses have been introduced that will give the new super-regulator, Ofcom, the power to oversee Channel Five’s content if it is sold.

Under the amendments, which have been propossed by culture minister Kim Howells and e-commerce minister Stephen Timms, Ofcom will have the power to examine any potential bid for Channel Five and introduce safeguards relating to the amount of domestically produced content on the channel.

Certain safeguards were included in the origional Bill, but it is feared that a foreign ower could exploit the fact that Channel Five’s public service obligations are less stringent that those impossed on other UK commercial channels.

News International chief, Rupert Murdoch has strongly denied speculation that he plans to buy into Channel Five when the Communications Bill becomes law in the summer (see Murdoch Denies Interest In Five). However, it is widely expected that he will make a move on the channel, currently owned by RTL, next year.

The amendments to the Bill would ensure that Murdoch, or any other foregin owner