Government Ends Media Ownership Deadlock

In an attempt to avert a last minute defeat in the House of Lords, which would effectively end three years of policy making, Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, has conceded to Puttnam’s demands that any large media group wanting to buy Channel Five should be subject to a special public interest test (see Puttnam Plan Could End Media Ownership Deadlock).

The Government has previously been unwilling to compromise on the issue but peers from all parties, concerned that the relaxation of media ownership regulations would give Rupert Murdoch too much power in the newly deregulated landscape, have vowed to vote down the Communications Bill if the amendment is rejected (see Puttnam Plan Could End Media Ownership Deadlock).

A spokesman for the Department of Culture Media and Sport said: “Although we are prepared to admit we have changed our minds, we have never been ideologically opposed to the concept of a plurality test. Lord Puttnam has convinced us that the idea would be workable.”

The compromise will make it harder for Murdoch’s News International and any other large newspaper groups wanting to own Five, by giving the Ofcom the power to block high-profile take-overs if they are found to against the public interest.

Puttnam is understood to have withdrawn his opposition to the so-called ‘Murdoch clause’ to allow non-EU investors to own major UK broadcasting assets, making defeat for the Communications Bill in the House of Lords much less likely.

The amendment to the Bill, which is likely to be tabled later this month, will also provide Ofcom with more generous funding to help it face potential legal challenges from global media corporations. This will come as welcome news to Ofcom’s chief executive, Stephen Carter, who yesterday warned that good regulation is not synonymous with cheap regulation (see Carter Blasts Risky Amendments To Communications Bill).