Jowell Hints At New Laws If Murdoch Moves On Five
Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, has issued a stern defence of the Communications Bill, warning that if Rupert Murdoch takes control of Five, new rules will be introduced to prevent him from using the channel to cross promote his other media interests.
Peers are due to gather in the House of Lords today to discuss the Government’s plans to relax the UK media ownership regulations. Lord Puttnam has warned that the Bill will face defeat unless proposals to allow the foreign ownership of ITV and Five are abandoned (see Puttnam Threatens To Quash Communications Bill).
However, Jowell is determined not to give in to rebel peers threatening to quash almost three years of policy making. She told the Independent: “We would if it were necessary, ask Ofcom to look again at cross-promotion in order to ensure that a newspaper proprietor could not abuse their position through the advertising outlets of channel Five.”
Murdoch’s reported interest in Five has provoked concerns that the media mogul’s empire would achieve unprecedented dominance of UK broadcasting in the newly deregulated landscape. The Australian-born magnate already owns The Sun, News of the World, The Times and The Sunday Times in the UK, as well as a large stake in Sky television.
However, the Culture Secretary claimed that allowing a large media group such as Murdoch’s News International or Daily Mail & General Trust to take control of Five was “good and progressive”. She pointed out that Five has an audience share of just 6% and described it as a “minority channel with a small viewing audience”.
She is quoted as saying: “If channel Five becomes a serious competitor with ITV then we will tighten the obligations on channel Five in order to preserve its distinctive public broadcasting ethos.”
Jowell also defended proposals to allow the foreign ownership of ITV, insisting that American media organisations produce quality products for British TV. Her comments echo the recent argument that US ownership of UK television assets will not trigger a decline in programming standards (see Jowell Moves To Defend Foreign Ownership Deregulation).
Labour peers, including Lord Puttnam, Lord Alli and Lord Bragg appear unwilling to compromise in their opposition to the Bill and there now appears to be a real possibility that the foreign ownership regulations could be voted down. However, it remains unclear as to whether ministers would use parliamentary powers to force through the Bill.
Meanwhile in the US, the Federal Communications Commission yesterday voted to amend the regulations governing the ownership of television, radio and newspapers. The amendments, which will enable major US broadcasters to own TV stations reaching 45% of the viewing public, have met with considerable criticism from opponents claiming they will destroy competition in local markets.
DCMS: 020 7211 6200 www.dcms.gov.uk
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