BSkyB is to apply to the Independent Television Commission (ITC) today for status as a nominated news provider. This would enable the satellite broadcasters’ news service, Sky News, to vie for the ITV news provider contract when it goes up for renewal in two year’s time.
The heat of competition between news services was already set to rise this week with the launch on Tuesday of ITN’s 24-hour cable and digital satellite news service (see The Week Ahead). Some view the timing of Sky’s announcement of its intentions during the weekend as a deliberate spoiler attempt.
ITV’s news service has been making headlines of its own this year. The re-timing of the evening news and subsequent drop in audience figures led to investigations and controversy between ITV and regulators the ITC (see ITC Says ITV Must Reschedule Nightly News). These in turn ended in last week’s application by ITV for a judicial review into the ITC’s decision to insist on another re-timing of the evening bulletin (see ITV Applies For Judicial Review Of News At Ten Decision).
In order to bid for the ITV contract, BSkyB, or any other company competing to provide news to the network, has to meet criteria set by the ITC. These include having the resources to provide a global news service. Sky News has been providing its own 24 hour service for eleven years now, and has recently been winning awards for its coverage.
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