In today’s consultation document on media ownership, culture secretary Tessa Jowell inferred that the 20% rule which currently governs cross media ownership may remain and may yet be extended to cover all media markets.
Driven by the belief that “the existing media ownership rules are outdated, inconsistent and not flexible enough to respond to the rapid change we have seen in media markets”, Jowell, in a joint statement with trade & industry secretary Patricia Hewitt, outlined the government’s proposals for media ownership reform.
Currently, no newspaper owner with more than a 20% share of the market may own a free-to-air TV or radio broadcaster. The suggestion is that this rule may be applied to all sectors e.g. no media owner may be allowed to control more than 20% of the audience in any three markets or more than 30% of any two etc., or it may be that a plurality test is introduced in order to consider the circumstances of each individual case. The Government is undecided on this currently and invites opinions on the matter.
As suggested in last year’s white paper, the radio points system which currently governs radio ownership will be replaced by a “simpler, fairer regime” or may be revoked completely. Decisions on concentration of radio ownership would then be left to the competition authorities.
The consultation paper invited views on “whether the existing points system should be abolished in respect of UK-wide ownership. No alternative system would be established to limit total concentrations of radio ownership. It could be left to the competition authorities to determine the appropriate limits on the accumulation of radio interests on a UK-wide basis.”
The laws governing non-EU ownership of UK terrestrial broadcasters remains meaning that BSkyB, in which American citizen Rupert Murdoch has a 36% stake, is not permitted to hold more than a 20% stake in any UK terrestrial broadcaster.
The bar on ownership of more than one London ITV licences is to be lifted and the 15% limit on TV audience share is to be replaced paving the way for a single ITV company. Today’s statement said: “There has already been a considerable degree of concentration within ITV which has benefited the industry. Further consolidation may bring benefits for consumers and companies alike. Concerns over the plurality of ownership within commercial TV are now less valid, given the range of alternative media and pay-TV options that are widely available. Therefore, in addition to revoking the rule prohibiting joint ownership of the London licences, we propose to remove the 15% rule. These two changes will make possible the creation of a single ITV company.”
The statement also outlined what the basis for a ‘plurality test’ might be and detailed media ownership legislation in other countries.
