The ITC has issued its draft invitation to apply for the Channel 5 licence, which it expects to award by August 1992.
The service will begin no later than December 1994, and should have coverage of not less than 40% of the UK population from the outset, and full coverage (i.e., all sites to be operational) within five years. … The licence, as required under the Broadcasting Act, will be awarded by competitive tender . Applicants will have to satisfy a quality threshold and submit a cash bid . In ordinary circumstances, the ITC will award the licence to the qualified applicant who has submitted the highest cash bid.
As with the Channel 3 licences, how- ever, the ITC will have the power to invoke an ‘exceptional circumstances’ clause.
The ITC is currently seeking comments on the percentage of qualifying revenue which should apply in setting the first part of the tender. In the draftInvitation To Apply , the ITC has proposed a level of 5%.
The Broadcasting Act stipulates that the Channel 5 service must include national and international news and current affairs of high quality, and children’s and religious programmes. These four programme strands are there- fore mandatory.
Of the four compulsory programme categories, the ITC proposes to set an initial minimum amount. For news, there must be a mimimum of 30 minutes each weekday, of which 15 minutes must be in peak time. There must be at least one hour per week averaged over a yearof current affairs programmes which are of high quality and deal with both national and international matters.
A minimum of three hours 30 minutes of children’s programmes per week is stipulated, and there must be at least one hour each week of religious programmes.
In addition, at least 40% of the hours of programming transmitted within a calendar year must be originally produced or commissioned for Channel 5.
These minima will be increased from the start of year six of the licence. … It is intended that the channel will appeal to a wide range of tastes and interests, and the Invitation lists a further six programme strands; to ensure diversity, the ITC proposes that some programming from a majority of the six non-mandatory strands should be included.
The six are: drama , entertainment, sport,documentary and feature material, education, and the arts.
Applicants may decide to provide some local services, using the capability of opt-outs from particular transmitters, but the licensee will not be required to provide such services. The service must operate seven days a week, but the hours of broadcasting are for the licensee to determine. However, the ITC may decide to advertise a separate licence or licences for any unused hours from the start of the sixth year of the licence.
The ITC intends to invite applications for the licence in January 1992.
ITC: 071 584 7011
