BBC To Face Regulatory Fines Under Ofcom
The BBC could face fines of up to £250,000 for breaches of programming regulations after the Government changed its stance on how much power the new super-regulator, Ofcom, will have over the Corporation.
Following intense lobbying from commercial broadcasters, Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, announced that the BBC should face the same penalties for breeches of the taste and decency codes as its rivals.
A spokesperson for the DCMS said: “This makes it absolutely clear that there’s no question of the BBC somehow being subject to lesser standards of regulation than the other public service broadcasters.”
The BBC, which is currently regulated by its Board of Governors and the Broadcasting Standards Commission, is highly opposed to the decision on the grounds that fines would only serve to punish the licence fee-payer.
Earlier this year chairman of the BBC, Gavyn Davies, said that he would rather sack those responsible for breaking taste and decency codes than use licence fee payers money to pay regulatory fines (see Davies Says Sack Staff Don’t Pay Regulatory Fines).
The decision, which is based on the recommendations of Lord Puttnam’s Joint Scrutiny Committee (see Committee Advises Government To Rethink Media Ownership), will be welcomed by commercial broadcasters, which have long argued that the BBC, like the rest of the communications and telecoms industry, should be regulated by Ofcom.
Speaking at this year’s Guardian Edinburgh International TV Festival, Lord Puttnam warned of the dangers of the BBC abusing its position of “tremendous power” and called on Culture Secretary to be “smart and wary” when legislating for the new super-regulator (see GEITF 2002: Puttnam Calls For BBC To Come Under Ofcom).
In her response to the Joint Scrutiny Committee, Jowell also confirmed the Government’s intention to push ahead with plans to allow the foreign ownership of ITV and to permit newspaper owners, such as Rupert Murdoch, to buy Channel Five.
BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk DCMS: 020 7211 6200 www.culture.gov.uk
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